chennai l Thursday l June 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION U.S. officials reveal text of Interim agreement with Iran Senior American officials dictated the memorandum of understanding with Iran to journalists Wednesday after days of secrecy Iran to open strait, dilute enriched uranium $300 bn fund for Iran reconstruction The interim agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow Iranian oil sales. The US will waive, but not eliminate, some wide-ranging sanctions against Iran. As for the issue of enriched uranium, Iran has agreed to down blend its stockpile. Down blending or diluting involves mixing enriched uranium with depleted uranium to reduce its radioactivity | P13 ■ ■ Another key point is that the United States and its allies would make plans for a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran Ending uncertainty over Lebanon, the deal calls for “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon in recent days 60 days How long the U.s. and Iran have to strike a final deal Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi Construction of the Grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya Transformation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Mahakal Mahalok and Kedarnath Dham Vishwas ke, Vikas ke, Jan-Kalyan ke PM urges priority to safety of seafarers in talks with Trump Stresses importance of keeping Hormuz open; trade deal close, says US prez Indo axed from Pacific Command J ayanth J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday placed the safety of Indian seafarers at the centre of discussions on restoring peace and stability in West Asia, saying he was confident the issue would receive the “highest priority” in implementing a new agreement between the US and Iran aimed at ending the recent conflict, during his first bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in 16 months on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. “You are aware that across the world, Indian seafarers and hundreds of thousands are working and performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and their safety is of utmost importance to us,” Modi said. The PM linked the protection of seafarers directly to the implementation of the agreement between the US and Iran. “You made tremendous efforts towards reaching this understanding and this agreement,” he said. “I’m confident that the issue of seafarers will receive the highest priority during the implementation of this agreement,” Modi said in the backdrop of mounting concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers in West Asia, including the deaths of three Indian nationals in a US strike on a tanker off the Oman coast. Asked about the deaths of Indian sailors in US Navy strikes, Trump said: “It’s a rough profession. This has express read Police cremate body of ‘custodial torture’ victim Madurai: The Madurai City Police on Wednesday conducted the last rites of R Aakash, who allegedly died due to custodial torture, as per the order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC. His body had remained in the mortuary for 102 days after the family refused to receive it, demanding action against police personnel suspected to be responsible for his death | P2 T o day 's m at ch e s Group A: Czechia vs South Africa 9.30 PM, Mexico vs South Korea 6.30 AM* Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 12.30 AM*, Canada vs Qatar 3.30 AM* *IST Monday morning Live on Unite8 Sports & Zee5 J ava r i a Rana @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit | AFP been happening throughout time. I love all of those people,” Trump said. Modi also stressed the strategic importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The waterway is among the world’s most critical energy and trade chokepoints, carrying 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Trump praised Modi as a “very tough negotiator.” Responding to questions on how close are two countries in finalising a trade deal, Trump said, “Very close. We have been there for a little while. He is a very tough negotiator; one of the toughest.” He then added, “He is the most beautiful looking man, he looks so nice, he is like an angel. But actually he is just tough, he is a killer… He looks so good, he gets you by surprise.” Trump said the US would support India in the event of an attack, even without a formal mutual defence treaty while describing bilateral de, fence ties as strong. The Trump administration has renamed its largest unified military command from the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) back to the US Pacific Command (PACOM), reversing an eight-year-old designation that had come to symbolise India’s growing role in Washington’s strategic thinking. The US said on Tuesday that the command would revert to the name it carried from 1947, adding the change was limited to nomenclature. USPACOM’s area of responsibility stretch, ing from the US West Coast to India’s western border, remains unchanged, as does its stated mission of working with allies and partners to maintain a free and open regional order. The 2018 renaming had referred to the “increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.” It came as Trump 1.0 was advancing its Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy amid growing competition with China. Questions on the “Indo-Pacific” formulation had emerged last month during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth referred to the “Pacific” while outlining US’s regional approach. Uddhav Sena stares at split, issues whip for meet today don’t attend. The development came as Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut alin a rerun of the TMC crisis, leaders leged that MPs were being offered `50 of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena crore to switch sides. as well as the rebel faction Sources said a letter met Lok Sabha Speaker Akhilesh rejects signed by the six rebel MPs SP split buzz Om Birla separately on has been submitted to the Wednesday, each staking Speaker and a formal anSamajwadi Party claim to legitimacy . chief Akhilesh Yadav nouncement of the merger While the UBT camp on Wednesday said with Shinde-led Sena will urged the Speaker to prebe made soon. According his party remains vent unlawful defections, to sources, the MPs are united amid claims the rebel group claimed Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb by Uttar Pradesh the support of six MPs. minister Om Prakash Wakchaure, Sanjay DeshAmid rumours of six Rajbhar that a major mukh, Nagesh Patil AshMPs switching to the rul- split in SP is on the tikar, Omprakash Niming Sena led by Maharash- cards and several of balkar, and Sanjay Patil. tra deputy CM Eknath its leaders are ready MPs from UBT camp Shinde, a three-line whip who met Birla are Arvind to join the BJP was issued to all nine MPs, Sawant, Sanjay Raut and directing them to attend a parliamen- Anil Desai. “Rebels can’t merge with tary party meeting on Thursday . a party even if they have the support The party may start disqualifica- of two-thirds of MPs. Only the origition proceedings against those who nal party can merge,” Desai said. P8 PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi Pongal cash, subsidy trap TNCSC in `27K-cr debt B A N B U S E LV A N @ Chennai Bank borrowings that funded the state’s Pongal cash gift and special Public Distribution System (PDS) — under which pulses and cooking oil are supplied at subsidised rates through ration shops — have saddled the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) with a `27,181 crore debt as of March this year. Successive state governments have failed to fully reimburse the food sub- sidy and cash distribution expenditure to the TNCSC, the agency responsible for procuring commodities and raising loans to fund these schemes, revealed the White Paper on Tamil Nadu’s financial position released by the TVK government on Tuesday . According to the report, a total of `24,023 crore was spent on Pongal cash aid and gift hampers between 2016 and 2026. Of the corporation’s total liabilities, more than 90% is owed by the state government and the rest by the centre. Sources said when the special PDS scheme was launched in 2007, tur dal was procured at `50/kg and cooking oil at `45/ litre. These commodities were supplied to beneficiaries at subsidised rates of `30 and `25, respectively At present, tur dal is purchased . at `109/kg and cooking oil at `143/litre. Despite the steep increase in costs, the selling prices have remained unchanged. As a result, the government’s subsidy burden on these two commodities alone has increased to nearly `4,800 crore annually  . P7 CBC 44101/13/0005/2627 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Two ex-DGPs quit key posts amid govt’s rejig E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Two senior retired IPS officers, including former Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal, resigned from key positions in state government bodies on Wednesday amid an ongoing administrative reshuffle by the TVK government. Shankar Jiwal Jiwal stepped down as chairman of the Tamil Nadu Fire Commission, while another retired DGP-rank officer Sunil Kumar resigned as chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB). They were both appointed by the previous DMK government. Sources said three other members of the fire commission Sunil Kumar – Vikraman, Sathyamurthy and Namachivayam – also resigned on Wednesday . Shankar Jiwal, a 1990-batch IPS officer who served as Commissioner of GCP and later as DGP and Head of Police Force, was the first chairman of the TN Fire Commission constituted by DMK government to oversee policy related to fire and rescue services in TN.  P7 first session 17th TN Legislative Assembly’s first session will start today with Governor RV Arlekar’s address that will outline key policies of CM Vijay’s government | P4