A top Iranian official has said the country is prepared to make a number of concessions related to its nuclear programme, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

It comes as Donald Trump, during his tour of the Middle East, urged Qatar to wield its influence over Iran to persuade it to give up its nuclear programme.

Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.

He said Tehran was willing to commit to never making nuclear weapons again, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, which can be weaponised, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process.

This was in exchange for the prospect of the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on the country.

Asked if Iran would sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Mr Shamkhani told NBC: “Yes.”

His comments are the clearest public indication of what Iran hopes to get out of a deal and their willingness to do one.

“It’s still possible. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Mr Shamkhani added.

However, he expressed frustration at continued threats from the US president, describing them as “all barbed wire” and no olive branch.

Similarly, he warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might try to derail the deal.

Trump goes to the Middle East

Elsewhere, on the second of three stops on his tour of the Middle East, Mr Trump appealed to Qatar for help in the process.

He urged the country to use its influence over Iran to persuade its leadership to reach a deal with the US and dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

Mr Trump made the comments during a state dinner.

He said: “I hope you can help me with the Iran situation.

“It’s a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing.”

Over the years, Qatar has played the role of intermediary between the US and Iran and its proxies – including talks with Hamas as its 19-month war with Israel grinds on.

This comes after Mr Trump told a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week that he wants “to make a deal”.

However, he said that as part of any agreement, Iran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Middle East.

A nuclear Iran

Mr Trump has always said Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

While Iran has always denied doing so, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has warned that Tehran has enough enriched uranium close to weapons-grade quality for nearly six bombs.

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The US and Iran reached a nuclear deal in 2015, under Barack Obama, in which Iran agreed to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and limit enriching up to 3.67%.

But Mr Trump scrapped that deal in his first term.

Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Washington and Tehran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early April.

Through long, winding roads, we weave through a wonderland. A place of intense beauty, with wide valleys, rushing rivers and terraced hills. The roads are brimming with hand-painted trucks, slowed only by the occasional herd of goats stopping traffic.

We’re entering Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a disputed borderland at the centre of decades of conflict and at the heart of recent escalating tensions with India.

We’re with the Pakistan army on our way to Muzaffarabad, the provincial capital. Few thought this city would be hit in the recent round of strikes, but it was.

Missiles destroyed Bilal Mosque, the roof’s been ripped off, there’s a vast crater in the floor and a huge hole in the ceiling of the prayer room.

Jameel Akhtar is staring into the distance. His 82-year-old father Muhammad was killed in the strike. But he is able to find comfort amid the rubble.

He says: “We are Muslim. My father was martyred in this attack. That’s honour for us. Revenge against India, that is the duty of our armed forces and government and we have full faith in them.”

The Indian government insist this was a terror site with links to Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist group designated as a “terrorist” organisation by the UN Security Council. But the imam of the mosque, Khursheed Ul Hasan, flatly denies that accusation.

“This is an allegation from their side,” he says. “I’ve been here for 17 years and everybody knows me. I am the leader of this mosque. You can see I’m a normal person. I’m not a terrorist.”

What is striking is how close this mosque is to homes and schools. Across a narrow path, I meet Nimra Safeer who was sleeping next to the mosque when the strike came.

She was hit in the chest with shrapnel and says she now can’t sleep. She is desperate to see her government and New Delhi sit down to talk about the enduring issue that plagues this region.

“Children like me who were attacked, our education system was disturbed,” she tells me. “I want to say to India, whatever your issues, we need to sit down and resolve it. Pakistan wants peace and I want Pakistan to talk on the Kashmir issue.”

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Strongmen, religious nationalism and modern warfare in the mix

But she may be waiting a long time. Islamabad sounds emboldened and hopeful after the recent clashes. But India’s leader Narendra Modi is conceding nothing. He’s made clear he doesn’t want a third party like America trying to mediate and he’s made no commitment to formal talks with Pakistan either.

While the world waits to see what the diplomatic shakedown of this moment is, ordinary people on both sides fear their safety net has slipped, the threat a little deeper, a little closer, a little more dangerous now.

There’s strongmen, religious nationalism and modern warfare in the mix and a fragile truce.

School also damaged in strike

In Muzaffarabad, right opposite the mosque, is a school that was also damaged. Thankfully, the children were at home sleeping. But in the cold light of day, you can see their unease and upset.

“Our school is destroyed,” Fatima tells me, her eyes narrowing as she speaks. “I have so much anger. Because we study here. Our principal built this school. They built it for us. But India destroyed it.”

The recent skirmishes may have abated for now. But with them has come more animosity calcifying in these beautiful mountain ranges.

India has made clear its muscular response is part of a “new normal” when responding to terror. Pakistan sounds like it feels it’s scored a win against the odds. That’s a defiant dynamic that could easily unravel.

Could pressure from a third party like America signal a sudden shift in this enduring conflict? Right now, that seems unlikely. But this week has been full of surprises.

Guests used furniture as an “improvised ladder” to try to escape after the Bayesian superyacht capsized last year, a new safety report has said.

The interim report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) contains the fullest account yet of how the superyacht capsized and the last-ditch efforts of those on board to get out.

It also found that the boat may have been vulnerable to high winds, with gusts exceeding 70 knots (80.05mph) on the day of the incident.

These “vulnerabilities” were said to be “unknown to either the owner or the crew of Bayesian” as they were not included in the stability information book carried on board.

The boat was owned by British tech tycoon Mike Lynch.

He was among seven people – including his 18-year-old daughter Hannah – who died when it sank on 19 August last year, off the coast of Sicily during a storm.

Work is now underway to recover the ship, although progress has been hampered after a diver recently died during salvage efforts.

MAIB principal investigator Simon Graves previously said it’s expected to be lifted and brought to shore by the end of May.

Chaos on board

The report, published Thursday, detailed the events of 18 and 19 August last year, how the Bayesian and its crew acted as a storm swept in and began tilting the boat overnight.

After the crew was woken up by the strong winds and waves, the captain prepared to manoeuvre the ship, the report said.

But winds were said to have suddenly spiked around 4.06am, causing the boat to “violently” tip 90 degrees in less than 15 seconds.

“People, furniture and loose items fell across the deck,” the report said, adding that in the carnage that followed, at least five people, including Mr Lynch and the captain, were injured.

One of the crew members, who had been keeping a lookout when the storm struck, was tossed overboard into the sea.

After much of the furniture was thrown across the deck and uprooted from the rooms, two of the guests were forced to use “drawers as an improvised ladder” to escape one room.

Others similarly climbed up the walls to get out as water began flooding in over the rails, and entering the inside of the ship.

Across the capsized vessel, the report explained how various groups scrambled to escape.

At the port forward wheelhouse door, one of the deckhands who had been on the lookout that night helped lift two stewards onto the upper deck.

Not seeing anyone else inside, they jumped into the sea, and the door was seemingly shut behind them.

According to the report, with Bayesian now sinking, a number of guests and crew found themselves trapped in an air pocket by the same door.

It was only with the help of an injured guest on the outside that they were able to open the door and escape.

Elsewhere, the chief officer had found Mr Lynch and “pushed [him] through cascading water” to get him to the captain.

The pair managed to evacuate two other guests this way.

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However, amid the rough weather, the chief officer was swept to the back of the saloon.

The report details his precarious escape, jumping into the water, diving down and opening the sliding doors in the room to be able to swim free of the ship.

The report said the captain organised the “abandonment” of the ship, and as they floated there, some guests had to use cushions as improvised life rafts.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, who were all British nationals.

The others who died in the sinking were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel.

Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, were rescued.

The fatal boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a US trial after he was accused of a massive fraud over the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.