Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, said U.S. forces are seeking a face-saving withdrawal from the region and that the Israeli regime has no future there; its ambitions will never be realized.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel said on the 18th that Israeli forces need not withdraw from the Gaza Strip until Hamas is "completely disarmed." He denied reports of a clash on the 17th between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Jared Kushner over the next phase of a Gaza peace plan, saying the U.S. does not expect Israel to withdraw while Hamas still holds weapons. He added the U.S. and Israel have reached a "good" agreement. President Trump has said Hamas must be disarmed and barred from future Gaza governance.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell as much as 2.00% intraday.