Top US commander visits aircraft carrier, Gaza talks in Egypt and other Mideast news

military commander in the Middle East visited the long-deployed USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea during a regional tour that ended on Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said.A Hamas delegation and, separately, U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner were in Egypt for Gaza ceasefire-related talks with Egyptian officials.

And the 60-day negotiating period that began with the June 17 signing of an interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran is set to end with no word of an extension.Here’s a look at the latest developments on Sunday in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.US Central Command chief visits aircraft carrierAdm.

Brad Cooper visited the USS Lincoln as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues. The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January and has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, including the blockade on Iranian ports.

It has spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.“History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper said of the Lincoln strike group in a statement released Saturday. Extended deployments of carriers — which can have more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on board — have raised concerns.Cooper also went to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to meet with civilian and military leaders, according to the Central Command statement.The U.S. Navy's blockade is in response to Iran asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz after the war started on Feb.

Before then, about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through what had been considered an international waterway.Talks between the U.S. and Iran have stalled while Iran talks with Oman about how to manage the strait that runs between them.Hamas delegation is in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talksA Hamas delegation, chaired by leader Khalil al-Hayya, was in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire-related talks, the group said. Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt’s intelligence service, Egyptian state-run media reported.Al-Hayya reiterated Hamas’ commitment to implement U.S.

President Donald Trump’s peace plan in Gaza to “end the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip and to begin the reconstruction process," al-Qahera News television …