The second straight day of tit-for-tat strikes, with Iran targeting US bases across the Gulf, sent oil prices rising again.

US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly said negotiations with Tehran were close to an end, said on Wednesday that Iran keeps “playing us for suckers” and will now “have to pay the price”.

Hours after, US Central Command (Centcom) said American forces began “additional self-defence strikes” at 5:15pm on Wednesday Washington time — early Thursday in Iran — in response to what it called Tehran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression”.

Iranian media reported explosions across the south near the Strait of Hormuz, with explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Minab, and sources reporting hits by “enemy projectiles” in Kargan and Sirik.

Centcom said later that it had “completed” its strikes on “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defence sites”.

American forces “fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters”, the command said.

The renewed hostilities came as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that if Trump required it, “we’ll negotiate with bombs, and we’re very good at it”.

In response to the US strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they had struck US targets on bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and that they also “hit and destroyed Sheikh Isa air bases”, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Iranian media said the army had conducted drone strikes targeting communications antennas and radar facilities belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

An air raid alert was issued in Bahrain and residents were urged to “head to the nearest safe place”, the Gulf nation’s interior ministry said on X.

Kuwait closed its airspace temporarily as its military said its air defence systems were working to intercept “hostile aerial targets”.

Iran also renewed its warning over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport which it has essentially closed.

“Are you making the sacred Strait of Hormuz unsafe?! We will make the region hell for you,” Majid Mousavi, the head of the Iranian Guards’ aerospace force, said in a social media post.

The Iranian navy said it had hit two ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, state television IRIB and the Mehr agency reported.

Another Iranian news agency, Tasnim, quoted the country’s military operational command as saying the crucial waterway was “completely closed” and that “any vessel traffic” there would be targeted.

Centcom denied that, saying “commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight”.

Trump said on Wednesday that the US military had secretly helped 100 million barrels of oil pass through the contested strait.

‘Bomb the s out of them’

Earlier, American broadcaster Fox News reported that Trump said Iranian leaders had called him directly in the White House Situation Room as the US bombs began falling.

Iran’s IRGC quickly denied Tehran had done so, the IRNA news agency said.

Trump said US forces hit Iran with 49 Tomahawk missiles and some targets were as close as 60 kilometres from Tehran, Fox News said.

Its reporter Trey Yingst, who spoke to Trump, quoted the president as saying that if Iran did not accept US terms for ending the war, “We’ll bomb the S out of them tomorrow night”.

It was the second straight day of US attacks, following tit-for-tat strikes this week partly in response to the Iranian downing of an American helicopter.

The fresh salvos followed Trump’s complaint that Tehran’s negotiators were taking too long, having suggested earlier this week that an accord was days away.

“We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday morning.

“We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along.”

Hegseth suggested the strikes could extend into a third night, saying they would be “strong” and “clear”.

The escalation drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting and Iran is participating in.

UN chief Antonio Guterres cautioned against a return to “full war”.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, meanwhile, rejected Trump’s threat, saying “no sustainable deal can be reached through threats, intimidation, or the use of force”.

Still, diplomacy has not collapsed entirely, with Qatari negotiators travelling to Tehran “to meet with the Iranians in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps”, a diplomat with knowledge of the situation said.

The war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, shaking the geopolitical balance in the Middle East and roiling global markets before a ceasefire took effect on April 8.

Asian stocks tracked losses in New York, while oil prices jumped as much as two per cent on Thursday, extending similar gains the day before.

Iran has also insisted that any deal to end the war must include a truce in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting.

A new report by the rights group found that the campaign was aimed at accelerating the annexation of the Palestinian territory, with these rural communities bearing the brunt of Israeli settler violence and forced displacement.

“Israeli authorities are accelerating annexation through a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities” of the West Bank, said the report.

Amnesty said its research showed that 27 Bedouin and herding communities comprising hundreds of Palestinians were forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or were at risk of displacement in the West Bank’s Area C, which encompasses 60 percent of the territory and is under full Israeli control under the 1990s Oslo agreements.

In the report titled “Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel’s ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities”, Amnesty accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of Israel’s most right-wing to date, of catering to the settler movement’s religious nationalist agenda.

“It has accelerated settlement expansion and land grabs, increased financial and logistical support to settlements, and it has armed settlers, thereby enabling a brutal state-sanctioned campaign of settler violence,” the report said.

Amnesty pointed to “explicit calls by Israeli officials for settlement expansion” and “measures aimed at minimising Palestinian presence in Area C”.

The “ethnic cleansing campaign is state-led, and state-sponsored, not driven by rogue settlers or so-called extremist ministers”, the report concluded.

‘Unlawful deportation’

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement, is a vocal proponent of annexing the West Bank to Israel and on Tuesday was banned from France for actively promoting the idea.

In May 2026, the UN rights office also decried indications of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and the West Bank.

Amnesty pointed to Israel’s legal responsibilities as an occupying power in the West Bank, and its violations of international humanitarian law.

“These violations include the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer and the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population,” the report said.

Bedouin and herder communities, often isolated and without security services, are particularly vulnerable to the threat of violence or displacement.

Since 2023, reporters have witnessed the departure of several Bedouin communities of the West Bank under pressure from settler groups, including the community of Ras Ein al-Auja in early 2026.

“What is happening today is the complete collapse of the community as a result of the settlers’ continuous and repeated attacks,” Farhan Jahaleen, a Bedouin from the village, said in January.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026

TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: After a US helicopter triggered a latest round of tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran, President Trump on Wednesday said Iran will be “hit hard” for taking too long to negotiate a deal that would have ended the weeks of violence.

The US president made these remarks after the US forces struck Iranian targets along the Strait of Hormuz overnight, forcing Iran to strike the US bases in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain with drones and missiles.

These strikes reignited fears of fresh hostilities as the global powers urged both sides to exercise restraint. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he wanted a “meaningful deal” but he refused to rule out the use of force against Iran. “I’ve been working with Iran for a number of months, and they should sign their deal,” he said. “It’s a good deal, it doesn’t give them the right to have a nuclear weapon, in fact, it totally prohibits them from ever having a nuclear weapon.”

“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” he said, adding that a deal was close. “We’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal. But they keep tapping us along.”

He also mentioned that he “gave them (Iran) a break” at the request of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling them “great”. “They’re close to Iran, and they still are working on trying [to get] them to do what’s right,” he added. “We want a deal that’s meaningful; we want a deal that works.”

‘Will stand firm’

Iran’s President Masoud Peze­shkian said the country will “stand firm” amid threats of more attacks against the country. In a post on X, President Pezeshkian also den­ounced warnings to target Iranian infrastructure. “Threats to target them — from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries — are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,” he said.

Earlier, Fox News reported Trump told them in an interview that he was close to ordering new strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges. In a later media talk, he refused to confirm if the US would bomb Iranian infrastructure.

The Iranian president also said Iran “must move” beyond the current “no war, no peace” situation in the region. “War is certainly not in the country’s interest, but if they seek to violate our dignity, our land, and our territory, we will not surrender,” he said during an event in Tehran, according to state news agency IRNA.

Latest attacks

In a statement published by Iran’s state media on Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched drone attacks on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, as well as a long-range missile strike on an airbase in Azraq, Jordan. According to Al Jazeera, Iran attacked 21 US targets and destroyed four of them, including an F-35 fighter jet hangar at the base in Jordan.

All projectiles were intercepted without casualties in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, the Qatar-based outlet reported. The IRGC warned that its forces remain fully prepared to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any US military actions and that Washington would bear full responsibility for the consequences of further escalation.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported that long-range ballistic missiles and drones of Iran’s armed forces, by passing through air defence systems, struck approximately 70 per cent of the targets with precision at US bases in West Asia. The Iranian attacks on the Gulf states were denounced by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other regional countries.

The latest flare-up came after US military attacked Qeshm Island and ports along the Iranian coast in the Strait of Hormuz after accusing Iran of downing a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday. Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik lost access to drinking water after US strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said, according to AFP. The strikes damaged two reservoirs supplying Bemani and Kouhestak areas of Sirik town.

As tensions escalate, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of the risk of returning to “full war” in the Middle East after Iran and the United States traded strikes overnight, AFP reported. “We should not minimise the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in another word — full war,” Mr Gut­­erres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the region.

Russia urged “restraint” in the Iran war after Washington and Tehran traded new strikes in the worst escalation since their April 8 ceasefire. “We are extremely concerned about the new round of US-Iranian armed confrontation, which began with the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We call on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately cease military attacks,” the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters.

China said it was “deeply concerned” over the conflict in the Middle East and urged against escalation after Washington carried out strikes on Iran over the downing of a US helicopter, according to AFP. “Various relevant parties should maintain calm and exercise restraint, stop intensifying the conflict and escalating the situation, take concrete measures to ease and cool down tensions,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said diplomatic efforts with the US cannot advance un­­der repeated ceasefire violations. He accused Washi­ngton of undermining dipl­o­­­­m­­acy through contradictory messages, shifting positions and repeated cea­sefire violations, and said Israel was also damaging the process through repeated ceasefire breaches in Lebanon.

A Qatari delegation also arrived in the Iranian capital to discuss and exchange views on bilateral relations and regional developments, Al Jazeera reported.

US diplomat summoned

Meanwhile, India summoned a top US diplomat in Delhi over a strike on a tanker off the coast of Oman, where three Indians were missing, two Indian sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. India has lodged a “strong protest” with the US deputy chief of mission to the country, Jason Meeks, the sources said. Centcom said it has disabled an oil tanker which has violated Washington’s naval blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran. Centcom has “disabled Palau-flagged M/T Settebello as it transited the Gulf of Oman”, it said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026

A London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Riyadh Air’s white and lavender livery took off at 2:30am local time, putting in motion a flagship project in Saudi Arabia’s push to reduce its economic reliance on oil.

Riyadh Air, the country’s second state-owned airline after Jeddah-based Saudia, is meant to help turn the Saudi capital into a global hub to rival Dubai, the world’s busiest for international passengers.

“We want to bring glamour, we want to bring refinement, we want to bring grace back,” Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas told AFP.

The launch, originally planned for 2025, was set back by delivery delays from Boeing, which has suffered a series of manufacturing and safety problems in recent years.

It also follows unprecedented attacks from Iran, which has fired thousands of drones and missiles at Gulf targets, including airports, casting the wealthy region into sudden economic uncertainty.

But, for Douglas, ex-CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad airline, the inaugural flight is “the culmination of four years’ worth of preparation”.

“I think Riyadh, as a result of its geography, during this particular point in time, has been less affected” by the attacks, he said, seated in a Riyadh Air Dreamliner cabin at a pre-launch event.

“You have the trials and the tribulations, you win some, you lose some, you make progress, you sometimes have setbacks, but you have made it, and this day we’ve made it,” added the CEO.

Saturated market?

Saudi Arabia is building a major new airport in Riyadh with a planned capacity of 120 million passengers a year by 2030, compared to 53m at the existing King Khalid International Airport.

Riyadh Air is owned by the $900 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), the main vehicle for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 economic reforms.

In a statement of intent, the airline ordered 132 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and last June signed for 25 Airbus A350-1000s, with an option for 50 more.

“Our ambition is to be able to connect to over 100 international cities over the next five years,” Douglas said.

At a ceremony celebrating the first planes’ delivery, PIF chief and Riyadh Air chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan described “a historic moment for the nation” and said the company would create “200,000 direct and indirect jobs”.

Saudi Arabia is focusing on Vision 2030’s more pragmatic ventures as extravagances like Neom, a futuristic city in the desert, and Riyadh’s cuboid skyscraper Mukaab, are scaled back or scrapped to save costs.

Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the 2030 World Expo and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and welcomes millions of pilgrims to Makkah each year, aims to triple its annual air traffic to 330 million passengers by 2030.

Some analysts have cast doubt over these ambitions in a regional market that is saturated with competitors such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad.

Yet Saudi airlines hold a significant advantage over Gulf competitors: a domestic market of approximately 35m people, by far the region’s largest.

“As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our friends and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” said Pakistan Permanent Representative to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Tuesday.

The statement came against the backdrop of the US carrying out attacks in Iran in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday. In retaliation, Iran said it attacked bases and other targets in the Gulf.

The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

During the UNSC session, Ambassador Ahmad said Pakistan was deeply concerned at the ongoing situation in the region marked by renewed conflict and heightened tensions.

“Events of the last few days have amply underscored the fragility of the situation, the risk of escalation and the need for diplomatic efforts to come to fruition – sooner than later,” he added.

The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a “stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to”, he said.

“The cycle of violence and instability must end for the good of regional and international peace, security and prosperity,” Amabassador Ahmad added.

He regretted that the “breakdown of diplomacy and outbreak of hostilities has also impacted the consideration of the Iran nuclear issue, pushing the parties further apart on this complex file. It also disrupted the IAEA’s crucial verification mandate”.

“We reaffirm our support for the resolution of all outstanding issues, including Iran nuclear issue, through peaceful means, diplomatic engagement and sustained dialogue,” he said.

“We are of the view that diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles for achieving negotiated settlement of all contentious issues in accordance with the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the parties concerned,” he further stated.

Pakistan, he said, along with partners, initiated diplomatic efforts to stop the war and bring the parties to the table. He added that “Pakistan had been undertaking constructive diplomatic engagement in support of de-escalation, ceasefire, and the broader pursuit of stability in the region”.

He also referred to mediation efforts by Pakistan, saying that “we appreciate both parties for reposing their trust in Pakistan, and engaging in dialogue to achieve a ceasefire and participating in the ‘Islamabad Talks’ – the highest-level direct engagement between the United States and Iran for over four decades”.

In his remarks, he said that “through sustained interaction at the leadership level with both Washington and Tehran, as well as with other partners in the region and beyond, notably Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkiye, Qatar, China and others, Islamabad had sought to encourage dialogue, facilitate the exchange of messages, and help create space and conditions conducive to meaningful negotiations”.

“Pakistan’s sincere efforts are meant to break the momentum of hostilities, save lives and give diplomacy a chance,” he added.

The ambassador further said that “our approach underscores Pakistan’s consistent commitment to regional stability and international peace, reflecting our preference for principled, dialogue-oriented diplomacy in addressing geopolitical challenges and managing complex disputes”.

“As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our friends and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” he asserted.

Ambassador Ahmad concluded: “So let us continue to tread the path of peace and diplomacy, for it has bright prospects of success, something that the international community has pinned its hopes on.”

The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April.

The Iranian strikes, which included attacks in ‌Kuwait and Bahrain, came after the US military said on X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday.

“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday.

The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran ​responded by firing on US bases and assets in Gulf countries and all but choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.

The fresh Iranian strikes came after the United States carried out its own attacks on the Islamic Republic in response to Tehran shooting down an American helicopter.

The latest US strikes lasted around four hours before the ​US Central Command posted just before 9pm ET (0100 GMT on Wednesday) that they had ended. A US official said almost 20 Iranian targets had been struck.

Iran’s state media reported that ⁠Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.

Sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, and later in the vicinity of Jask, near the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local ​sources and residents.

Iranian forces fired “long-range missiles” and “targeted and destroyed four major targets” in Jordan, including F-35 fighter nests at an air base and the US command centre in Al-Azraq, the country’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by state-run IRNA news agency early on Wednesday.

Jordan’s military said it shot down five missiles from Iran, with no casualties or material damage.

The hostilities extended to other countries in the Middle East, with air raid sirens sounding in Bahrain after the Guards said they had struck another US base there.

The Kuwaiti army said its air defence systems were engaging hostile aerial targets and urged the public to follow official safety instructions, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the Ali Al-Salem base in Kuwait with drones.

Iran’s Revolutionary ​Guards said earlier they attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones and threatened “more severe responses” if hostilities continued, according to media.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a warning siren had been sounded and urged the public to head to safety. ​Air defences had repelled Iranian attacks, a media adviser to Bahrain’s king said soon after.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened payback, saying on X: “The US [has] opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”

Oil prices climbed about one per cent in early Asian trade on Wednesday following the escalation in hostilities.

Deal or no deal?

During the US strikes, Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours earlier, Trump had said talks to end the three-month-long war were in their final stages — a claim he has made repeatedly in the past few weeks.

Asked whether it would be a matter of days or weeks, the US leader said it would take “two or three days”.

But after the downing of the helicopter on Monday, Trump said in a telephone interview with ABC News that the United States was responding “in a strong manner”.

“And I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” he said.

The shaky ceasefire between Washington and Tehran already faced a serious test over the weekend when Iran and Israel briefly resumed their attacks, before later announcing a halt.

Iran has insisted any deal to end the war must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2.

Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that has killed more than 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not stopped despite a nominal truce.

Lebanese officials said 11 people were killed in airstrikes on the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday.

The Israeli military also warned the entire city to evacuate.

An AFP correspondent saw residents of Tyre, including from the Christian quarter, fleeing and heavy traffic heading north after the Israeli warning.

Another correspondent in the coastal city of Sidon, further north, saw displaced people arriving from Tyre, some with belongings strapped to the roofs of their cars.

Strait on the edge

The renewed fighting has also overshadowed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global fuel supplies that Iran has virtually blockaded since the start of the war.

Crude prices jumped 1pc on Wednesday amid dimming prospects of a deal to reopen the strait, having fallen as much as 5pc at one point the previous day on optimism an agreement would be reached.

On Tuesday, Araghchi urged foreign forces to leave the strait and surrounding areas, warning that they faced a risk of being caught in the crossfire if they remained.

“The Strait of Hormuz is NOT international waters but shared between Iran and Oman,” Araghchi said. “Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk… [the] best solution is for them to leave,” he said.

The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.

Centcom said the two crew members were rescued after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.

United States President Donald Trump earlier on Monday told both Iran and key ally Israel to stop fighting, against the background of reports of an increasingly testy relationship between the US leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel overnight and Israel responded by targeting military sites in the Islamic republic, sparking fears the escalation could usher in a new full-scale conflict after the April 8 truce.

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’ President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the US leader wrote on his Truth Social network.

Minutes later, he added in a new post that “final negotiations” towards peace were proceeding “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” Iran’s military command then said it was halting the operation against Israel after delivering a “painful response”.

But it warned “that should acts of aggression and hostility continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow”.

Shortly after, Israel’s army intercepted three projectiles fired from Lebanon, according to an AFP journalist near their shared border, with the military confirming the munitions had targeted its forces operating in Lebanon’s south.

“Some of the projectiles were intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory, and an additional projectile fell near IDF soldiers. No injuries were reported,” the military said.

Tehran’s earlier strikes followed attacks by Israel against targets of the Lebanese group Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Iran had repeatedly warned it would strike Israel if the Lebanese capital was targeted.

‘People frustrated’

On Monday in Tehran, there was little sign of any return to war, with cafe terraces packed.

Traffic seemed lighter than usual for a weekday, suggesting that some people had stayed home and there were also many more people queuing at gas stations.

Maryam, 41, an accountant in Tehran, described “a sense of uncertainty and confusion”.

“You don’t know if there’s going to be a war, nor do you know if the peace agreement will last. Nothing is clear. People are frustrated,” she said.

Residents of Tel Aviv meanwhile went to shelters as sirens went off.

“I hope it will be short, but you can never know. Last time we thought it will be short and then it was a month, so I don’t know,” said Jonathan Ariel, 30.

Oil prices surged more than five per cent on worries that war could break out again, with hopes now punctured of a rapid end to the standoff that has seen shipping limited through the key Strait of Hormuz trade bottleneck.

The strikes also came at a critical moment with diplomatic efforts to end the conflict involving mediator Pakistan on a knife-edge.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP that diplomacy was continuing but risked being “affected” by the escalation.

As he was speaking at the foreign ministry, a huge explosion shook the building, followed by repeated explosions believed to be from air defence systems, the AFP reporter said.

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran to deliver what he said was a “special letter” to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Iranian state television.

He has since travelled back to Pakistan, an official Pakistani source said on Monday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezehskian wrote on X that Tehran was still “at the negotiating table”.

‘Prepared for long-term war’

No casualties have been reported in either Israel or Iran after the exchange of fire.

The Israeli military said it struck and dismantled Iranian defence systems deployed across several areas in the country. Iran fired nearly 30 missiles towards Israel since Sunday night, an Israeli military official said.

An AFP correspondent also saw a missile fall in agricultural land in the area of Najha, in the countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus, causing a fire around the impact site but no reported human casualties.

“Material damage is minor, but the psychological impact is significant. The area is home to children, farm caretakers, livestock and solar power installations,” said Fadil Ataya, a local farmer.

A military source told the Tasnim news agency that “Iran is prepared for a long-term war with the Zionist regime and for strikes against US interests” in the region.

It also remains unclear who is leading decision-making in Tehran with Mojtaba Khamenei, said to have been wounded in a US-Israeli strike, yet to appear in public after taking over from his father Ali Khamenei who was assassinated on the first day of the war on February 28.

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas called on both sides to “sit down to a negotiation table and agree”, adding that “the region does not need an escalation.”

Israeli strikes on Iran ‘fully coordinated’ with US, says Tehran

Iran said on Monday that the recent wave of Israeli strikes against the country was “fully coordinated” with US forces.

Tehran’s statement comes after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks for the first time since the shaky ceasefire in the Middle East war took effect on April 8, despite Trump calling for restraint.

The flare-up, which also drew in other countries in the region, saw Israel striking Iran after the latter targeted it in vengeance for an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. No casualties have been reported so far in either Israel or Iran.

“The direct responsibility of the United States for the actions of the Zionist regime is clear, and the consequences of escalating tensions will also fall on the United States,” Baqaei told a new briefing, according to state news agency IRNA.

“No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” Baqaei said.

“It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected,” the official observed.

Nonetheless, Baqaei said that Pakistan’s mediation efforts to end the war with the US were continuing even after fighting resumed with Israel.

“Diplomatic consultations are naturally continuing in all circumstances,” the spokesman said.

Baqaei further stressed that it had “been frequently repeated by us together with the Pakistani mediator that Lebanon is part and parcel of the [ceasefire] agreement”, according to Al Jazeera.

“We cannot allow the Zionist entity or the United States to undermine this part of the part of the deal,” he was quoted as saying.

“These events [of the past day] will definitely intensify suspicions. We were already exchanging messages with the American side in an atmosphere of extreme suspicion,” the Iranian official noted.

“The US’s contradictions to date — whether intentional or unintentional — have caused enough chaos in the diplomatic process. The incidents that have occurred in the past 24 hours will only fuel this chaotic situation in the diplomatic process,” he added.

Baqaei also reiterated Tehran’s stance that the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog was disregarding the realities of the conflict and held biased views.

He contended that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi was “acting with deliberate bias against Iran and the Iranian nuclear issue”, according to Al Jazeera.

Tit-for-tat strikes after Iran’s warning

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike targeted a petrochemical firm in southwestern Iran, causing partial damage to the industrial complex, Iranian officials said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tehran had retaliated against the attack by striking similar industrial targets in Israel’s Haifa.

Israel’s attacks had followed missile launches by Iran, whose military said it targeted Israel’s Ramat David Airbase with ballistic missiles in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

The statement warned that any further attacks would be met with “a broader and more severe” Iranian response.

Last night, the IRGC demanded that the Israeli army stop its attacks on Lebanon.

“We had previously warned that if the crimes in the Dahieh area of Beirut expand, we will attack targets in the occupied territories,” the IRGC’s top joint military command said.

On late Saturday night, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also shared an image on X depicting Iran and Lebanon’s national flags.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel launched strikes in the Beirut area for the first time since the US announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week.

The region has been on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation on Israel and other regional countries hosting US military sites.

A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments.

The new attacks, including a strike on an Iranian petrochemical complex, came hours after US President Donald Trump called on Israel to refrain from retaliating against Tehran’s missiles.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tehran retaliated for the strike on its petrochemical complex by attacking similar industrial targets in Israel’s Haifa.

AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard a series of explosions as they took shelter and the Israeli army said it worked to intercept a new wave of Iranian missiles.

The retaliation followed Israel saying it fired on western and central Iran, tit-for-tat action against Tehran’s strikes on Sunday of 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, with no casualties.

Israel’s military and Iranian local media said Monday that Israel struck a petrochemical company in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran.

Trump had sought to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel accused Tehran of making a “grave mistake”.

Trump has also said new strikes by Israel and Iran would not affect his administration’s peace talks with Tehran, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “doesn’t call the shots.”

He has leaned on Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon to allow room for a deal to end the wider war with Iran, including rebuking Netanyahu with obscenities in a phone call last week.

However, earlier on Sunday, Israel launched strikes in the Beirut area for the first time since the US announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week.

Iran fired a salvo of missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation, putting US-Iran peace talks at risk. But Trump insisted that an agreement to end the wider war remained well within reach.

“It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” Trump told the Financial Times. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He (Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”

A few hours later, Israel’s defence forces said they had struck Iranian military targets.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Israel used air-launched ballistic missiles in its attacks.

“Everyone has had enough of this maniacal Iranian regime,” Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said on X, adding that Iran had fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel. “No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel,” he said, adding that Israel was targeting Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launch sites and infrastructure facilities unrelated to the energy sector.

The latest hostilities drove oil prices up more than three per cent in early trading on Monday, with benchmark Brent futures back above $96 a barrel.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Ramat David air base, near Nazareth. The Israeli military said it identified missiles launched from Iran and its defence systems had intercepted them. As air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, according to a Reuters witness, the Israeli military added it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward its territory with aerial defence systems activated to intercept the threat.

The attack is also the first from Yemen on Israel since the April 8 truce.

Trump urges Netanyahu

Trump spoke with Netanyahu by telephone from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for a little less than half an hour on Sunday, an Israeli official said, without giving details.

The White House and the Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump told Netanyahu during the call to refrain from further strikes because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” according to a US official quoted by Axios.

In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump said: “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough, get back to the table and make a deal.”

Since the start of the talks, Israel has kept up attacks in Lebanon in a conflict with Hezbollah that Israeli officials insist should be treated separately from any Iran ceasefire. Tehran has long said any peace deal with the US would depend on a ceasefire also holding in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March.

Iran’s chief peace negotiator, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, said US bases and Israeli assets were legitimate targets because of hostile acts, including the “violation of agreements over Lebanon.”

Before Sunday, Iran had not attacked Israel since a ceasefire in the wider war started in April, although Hezbollah had done so.

Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington and Tehran were close to an agreement on ending the war.

“We’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them,” Trump told NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ in a recorded interview that aired on Sunday to mark 100 days of the conflict.

Trump wants no attacks in Lebanon

Israel has never halted its Lebanon campaign, which has killed thousands of people and driven hundreds of thousands more from their homes.

Hezbollah, which kept out of truce talks, has also continued its attacks and says it will not give up its weapons unless Israel halts its attacks and withdraws from Lebanon.

Netanyahu said Israel’s Sunday strikes on Beirut’s southern outskirts, a district known as Dahiyeh and a longtime Hezbollah stronghold, were ordered in response to Hezbollah firing toward Israel.

The wider war has been stalled since the US and Israel paused attacks on Iran in early April, with Tehran blocking most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Though Washington and Tehran have said they are close to a preliminary deal to reopen the strait, they have repeatedly traded strikes, with escalations in recent days that included attacks on nearby Arab states hosting US bases.

Trump has said any agreement to end the war must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and he is under pressure to deliver terms tougher than those agreed in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama in a deal Trump later repudiated.

Tehran’s demands include the lifting of US and international sanctions, recognition of its sway over the strait and the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday stepped up efforts to break the impasse in the US-Iran dialogue, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arriving in Tehran carrying a message from Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir for Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Mr Naqvi was received by his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni. Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador to Iran, Imran Ahmad Siddiqui, was also present.

The visit comes at a delicate moment in the diplomatic process that Pakistan has been facilitating for months, as indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran have drifted into what diplomats describe as a fragile stalemate despite both sides continuing to publicly endorse diplomacy over renewed confrontation.

Iran’s official news agency IRNA, quoting an informed source, reported that Mr Naqvi was carrying an “important message” from Field Marshal Munir for Mojtaba Khamenei.

The source said the interior minister had held extensive consultations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials before leaving for Tehran.

The source further claimed that PM Shehbaz had given special instructions to Mr Naqvi regarding the future course of the Iran-US talks.

The Prime Minister’s Office, meanwhile, said in a statement that PM Shehbaz had met the interior minister in Lahore and discussed his visit to Tehran.

According to the official statement, Mr Naqvi briefed the prime minister on his recent engagements on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Orga­nisation conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The two also held consultations on the Tehran visit, while the prime minister provided guidance for the discussions.

Mr Naqvi had also met Mr Momeni in Bishkek.

Diplomatic sources said Mr Naqvi’s mission was part of Pakistan’s efforts to prevent the collapse of a ceasefire arrangement that Islamabad helped broker earlier this year and to create space for the resumption of meaningful negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The ceasefire, reached in April after weeks of intense fighting involving Iran, the United States and Israel, remains formally in place but has been repeatedly tested by military incidents in and around the Gulf region.

Recent exchanges involving US strikes on Iranian military assets and Iranian retaliatory actions have further complicated efforts to move negotiations beyond crisis management towards a more comprehensive political understanding.

At the centre of the deadlock are disagreements over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, its enrichment programme, the future of sanctions, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and regional security issues.

While US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that negotiations remain active and that progress is being made towards a deal, Iranian officials have struck a far more cautious tone.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said there had been no tangible progress in the talks and that Tehran was still reviewing proposals conveyed through intermediaries.

Diplomatic sources familiar with the process said both sides remained far apart on key questions, particularly Washington’s demand for substantial restrictions on Iranian enrichment activities and Tehran’s insistence that its right to peaceful enrichment remains non-negotiable.

Complicating matters further is the Lebanon question, which Iranian officials increasingly view as linked to the broader diplomatic track.

Tehran has repeatedly argued that any durable arrangement must address developments across all theatres of confrontation, including Lebanon, while Washington has sought to treat the Lebanon-Israel track separately from the nuclear and sanctions negotiations.

Against this backdrop, Mr Naqvi’s discussions in Tehran are expected to focus not only on the state of the US-Iran talks but also on regional issues that continue to affect prospects for a settlement.

Besides talks with Interior Minister Momeni, the Pakistani minister is expected to meet Foreign Minister Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Meetings with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Bagher Zolghadr are also expected, according to Iranian sources.

The significance attached to the visit has fuelled speculation that Islamabad may be attempting to inject fresh momentum into a process that appeared to be losing traction after weeks of military incidents and diplomatic setbacks.

Pakistan’s mediation role has drawn increasing international attention in recent months, with both Washington and Tehran publicly acknowledging Islamabad’s efforts and several European governments expressing support for the initiative.

Lebanese army chief’s visit

Meanwhile, in a related development that attracted attention in diplomatic circles, Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal left for Pakistan on Saturday on an official visit.

The Lebanese Armed Forces announced that the visit was being undertaken at the invitation of General Haykal’s Pakistani counterpart, but did not disclose details of its agenda or duration.

Officially, the trip is being described as part of ongoing military-to-military cooperation and discussions on training and institutional support.

However, the timing of the visit has generated speculation because it coincides with Pakistan’s efforts to overcome obstacles in the US-Iran negotiations and follows renewed tensions in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has increasingly emerged as one of the factors complicating the broader diplomatic process.

President Joseph Aoun has recently called for strengthening state authority and reducing the role of non-state armed groups, while Iranian officials have strongly rejected suggestions that Tehran uses Lebanon as leverage in its dealings with Washington.

Iran has also linked progress in its discussions with the United States to developments on what it describes as other fronts of the conflict, including Lebanon.

Western diplomats say the Lebanese armed forces are expected to play an important role in any future security arrangements in southern Lebanon and have therefore become an important part of regional stabilisation efforts.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026

Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.

A ceasefire in the Middle East war, triggered nearly 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran’s top leadership, has been in place since April 8.

But tensions surged again on Friday when the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran after downing drones headed toward the strait.

Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in neighboring Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain — both US allies — and AFP correspondents in both countries heard explosions.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early on Saturday they had targeted “enemy bases in the area” with missiles in response to a US “invasion” of the country’s Sirik and Qeshm islands.

US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain.

Centcom said six of the missiles were downed while the seventh “did not reach its intended target”.

“There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false,” the command said in a statement.

The latest flare-up came despite the United States moving ahead with allowing Iran’s national football team to travel to the FIFA World Cup it is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirmed the visa issuances, saying that “sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world”.

However, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that visas had yet to be issued for some members of the team’s “technical and executive staff”.

An unnamed US administration official said in a statement: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”

The team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before traveling on to their base camp in Mexico, where they will arrive on Sunday.

Trading strikes

Earlier Friday, Centcom said its forces also downed four Iranian drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz before striking Iranian coastal radar installations in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” while the strikes on radar installations “defend against further attacks,” it said in a statement.

Iranian state television IRIB reported early on Saturday, local time, that “several explosions were heard” in Sirik in southern Iran at around 2:30am (2300 GMT Friday).

“Following the invasion of the child-killing and terrorist US army into Sirik and Qeshm Island, enemy bases in the region were hit by aerial missiles,” IRIB reported, quoting the Guards after the US strikes on Iran.

Kuwait’s military said early on Saturday it was responding to “hostile” missile and drone attacks, days after a strike on the country’s international airport killed one and wounded dozens.

“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently responding to hostile missile and drone attacks,” the military said on X, without specifying their origin.

US President Donald Trump told NBC News on Friday that Iran still retained roughly “21, 22 per cent” of its missile stockpile despite repeated claims from US officials that Tehran’s military capacity had been crippled.

That figure was higher than the 18pc Trump gave in May.

Lebanon asks for ‘mercy’

Efforts to turn the truce into a lasting settlement have repeatedly stalled, while the conflict has rattled global markets and increased political pressure on Trump at home ahead of midterm elections.

“The negotiations are at a deadlock and Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an interview on Friday, as he called for the release of frozen Iranian assets to the tune of “$24 billion”.

Lebanon — which was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 — called on Friday for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.

Israel and Hezbollah traded attacks after a new truce deal was flatly rejected by the group.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed Iran’s leaders in frank terms during a press conference, saying: “Have mercy on our south, stop treating it and its people as merely a bargaining chip.”

“We are the people of a sovereign nation that refuses to serve as … an open battlefield for their wars.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took aim at similar criticism from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun early on Saturday, calling on him to save Lebanon from its “real foe”.

Iran, in peace negotiations with Washington, has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon and the war in the Gulf are inextricably linked.

Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a regional conflict stretching across the Gulf and into Lebanon, disrupting key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, forcing vessels to reroute and sharply constraining global energy flows and supply chains.

In March, the WFP forecast as many as 45 million people could fall into acute food insecurity if oil prices remained around $100 per barrel through June. That scenario is now unfolding, the agency said, with benchmark crude prices staying above that level since early March.

Households in Afgh­anistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka are among the most seriously affected and face mounting pressure due to higher fuel costs, food price spikes, income losses and disrupted trade.

In Somalia, 6.5m people — roughly a third of the population — are expected to face severe hunger in 2026, while Afghanistan could see 17.4m people affected, the WFP said.

The situation is projected to worsen, with an additional 2.5m Somalis and 2.3m Afghans at risk of falling into food insecurity if disruptions persist. Both countries are reliant on imported energy and food.

‘Very vulnerable children’

The Middle East crisis comes amid a deep funding shortfall for aid agencies. The WFP said it expected to serve 1.5m fewer people globally in 2026, and 9m fewer if the situation persists for six months.

In Somalia, supplies of nutritious food for children under 5 suffering from moderate malnutrition will run out as soon as July, as the WFP faces an 89 per cent funding gap in the country.

“We are running out of food. The food is not available for distribution, and the ones who will experience the impact of this are going to be very vulnerable children,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service. The situation is being worsened by supply chain issues, with fewer ships stopping in Somalia.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026

BEIRUT: Israeli air strikes intensified across southern Lebanon on Friday, killing seven people in the historic city of Tyre and five in Zebdine, Nabatieh district, prompting new evacuation warnings, as Iran reaffirmed support for Hezbollah and the United Nations more than doubled its aid appeal for the war-torn country.

The strikes followed warnings of imminent attacks against Hezbollah, coming after the group rejected a US-brokered truce. Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 to avenge the Feb 28 assassination of Iran’s supreme leader.

A strike on Thursday had badly wounded Mona Khalil, a prominent environmental activist in her seventies, a medical source said. She had been holding out in her home in Mansouri near Tyre, near coastline that serves as a nesting site for endangered sea turtles.

One strike near Tyre’s Jabal Amel hospital killed four people, wounded seven and lightly damaged the facility. Another in a residential area killed three and wounded five, including two children. An AFP correspondent saw a bank heavily damaged near the hospital.

The dead in Nabatieh included a woman and an emergency worker.

“The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Zebdine in the Nabatieh district killed five people, including a woman and a paramedic from the Risala Association, and wounded two people including a paramedic,” a ministry statement said.

Later on Friday, the Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings for nine southern Lebanese towns and villages, with Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reporting people fleeing. Following orders to leave most of Tyre, many sought shelter in the Old City. With shelters full, displaced people slept in cars or tents.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army will continue ground operations. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that Israeli strikes have killed at least 3,526 people since the war began.

Three months into the war, the UN on Friday more than doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon, saying nearly $640 million is needed over six months to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

“Communities across Lebanon have faced an appalling situation due to the escalation of hostilities,” Imran Riza, the UN’s resident humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, told reporters in Geneva. “We have witnessed too many casualties, widespread and repeated displacement, destruction of housing and basic service infrastructure, and far-reaching psychological trauma.”

Meanwhile, Iran reaffirmed support for Hezbollah and demanded that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring complications facing an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the US and Iran.

Tehran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

“This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen late on Thursday.

The comments came after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a US-brokered pact, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire without the Israeli enemy having the freedom to kill.

However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday accused Iran of using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with the US, delivering some of his toughest criticism yet of Tehran.

In a CNN interview, Aoun said “the people of Lebanon are paying the price … for the sake” of Iran’s interests, adding they were fed up with the war.

“They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States,” Aoun said. “It’s unacceptable.”

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026

WASHINGTON / TEHRAN: Tensions remained high in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran claimed to have fired ‘warning shots’ at US vessels, while Washington denied the claim, and responded with a fresh set of sanctions targeting Iranian assets and vessels.

According to the Tasnim news agency, the Iranian navy fired missiles attack drones, forcing two US destroyers to leave the Sea of Oman.

However, the US military denied the claim. “Iranian forces did not attack or fire at US Navy warships. Doing so would be a gross violation of the ceasefire. US forces continue to operate freely in regional waters while fully enforcing the ongoing blockade against Iran,” Centcom wrote on X.

However, around the same time, Oman’s Mina al Fahal terminal briefly suspended oil loading following an explosion near its single-buoy mooring (SBM) berths. It later said that operations were proceeding normally, but the development causes oil prices to fluctuate.

Separately, US forces announced the interception of a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean.

The Davina, a supertanker capable of carrying up to two million barrels of crude oil, was placed under US sanctions in October 2024 for Iranian oil trading, according to ship tracking data.

The vessel, also known as the Lenore, was last seen on June 5 off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Friday.

The exchange comes amid heightened tensions over maritime security, and follows attacks on US bases in Kuwait and other neighbouring Gulf states.

On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued another direct warning, saying: “We warned regional states that US bases used for any aggression against Iran are legitimate targets.”

He said that “standing against the world’s greatest power, equipped with nuclear weapons, for 40 days is no joke”, and that “the world has realised the true power of the Iranian nation”, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on a network of individuals, entities, and tankers smuggling Iranian-origin liquid petroleum gas disguised as Omani LPG to South and East Asia.

The latest targets include 12 entities, five of which are based in the Marshall Islands, four in the UAE, and one in China, according to details posted on the department’s website. Six LPG tankers were targeted, including four Panama-flagged vessels.

The Treasury Department, in a statement, alleged the network used front companies in the UAE and China, as well as foreign bank accounts, to move millions of barrels of Iranian LPG while concealing its origin to evade US sanctions.

Moscow backs negotiations

Russia on Friday said it supports ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States and that any potential agreement must take into account the interests of Iran and its neighbours.

In an interview with Izvestia, a state-aligned Russian newspaper, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Washington recognised the tensions with Iran and was disturbed by the situation, but did not know how to resolve it.

“Of course, they themselves are primarily responsible for this situation,” he added.

However, Mr Lavrov said Moscow backed the negotiations, “taking place in one way or another between officials in Washington and Tehran with Pakistani mediation”.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also trying to contribute to the process, he said, adding that it was very important that these dialogues continue.

“Any agreement reached must take into account the interests of Iran and its neighbouring countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin also weighed in on the US-Iran war, saying that Moscow wanted oil prices on global markets to be balanced and stable.

Speaking at Russia’s annual economic forum, Putin said that the reduction in oil supplies was causing concern in the market, but that Russia was participating in OPEC+ in order to balance the market.

Trump ‘upbeat’

Even though the dialogue process between the warring sides is at an impasse, US President Donald Trump appeared upbeat about the prospects.

Washington is having “great success” with Iran, he claimed, saying: “They’re in no position to have a nuclear weapon.”

Asked about oil prices and production in the US, he responds, “We have everything we need, the world doesn’t.

“But I will say, people thought it was going to be a lot worse,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

However, CNN reported that a potential agreement between Washington and Tehran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

According to Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader: “The negotiations are at a deadlock and [US President Donald] Trump must break this deadlock,” he said.

‘Close to agreeing N-framework’

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says Iran and the US are close to agreeing on a nuclear framework, which would give both parties time to address outstanding issues.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Gross says the organisation is in contact with both sides but is not directly involved in talks.

“Our sense is that they seem to be pretty close to agreeing on what I would describe more with regards to the nuclear … to sort of a framework, organisational structure to give themselves time to look into the different problems,” he states.

Grossi made the comments following an emergency meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors in Vienna.

The meeting was requested by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia in response to Iran attacking the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant last month — an incident that Grossi said was “unacceptable”.

Earlier, at the board of governors, Iran detailed how the US and Israel carried out 17 waves of strikes against Iranian safeguarded nuclear sites in 2025 and 2026.

It called on the international community to adopt a “zero-tolerance policy” toward armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities

In a statement, Iran’s delegation said one of the gravest attacks targeted a structure just 350 metres from the reactor at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which contains thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material.

The IAEA director general has previously said a direct hit on the plant could result in a “very high release of radioactivity to the environment.”

Iran maintained that the attacks constitute war crimes and acts of aggression, entailing international responsibility and individual criminal liability for the perpetrators.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026

Mojtaba, who has not appeared publicly since being named as the supreme leader on March 8, made these remarks in his message on the death anniversary of Iran’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The message shared on his official X account and reported by the Iranian media.

Mojtaba’s message stated, “The malicious enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with the armed forces. Since it has received a decisive blow both in military combat and in Iran’s public squares and streets, it’s experiencing a profound and significant humiliation.

“The enemy has focused its schemes in hybrid warfare on two points: the resilience of the Iranian people and trying to create errors in the assessments of the country’s officials. The instrument it’s using for both is sowing the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust and discord.”

“In confronting these ill intentions, everyone must, through steadfastness, insight, preserving unity and cohesion … neutralise their sinister plot,” his message said.

He further said, “Imperialism, led by the US, has built a military base called Israel over the past 80 years. And they don’t accept the existence of a strong, independent Iran on the eastern border of the false, illegitimate geography of ‘Greater Israel’ — that is, east of the Euphrates River.”

Mojtaba also highlighted the role of Iranian authorities in this regard, saying that “any act that causes pessimism and disappointment among the people is considered a kind of aid to the enemy of this country and its people”, Press TV reported.

The remarks by Iran’s third supreme leader were read out by a prayer leader at the mausoleum of Khomeini, on the 37th anniversary of his death.

After Khomeini’s death in 1989, Ali Khamenei succeeded him as supreme leader until he was assassinated on February 28 this year during US and Israeli attacks that triggered a regional war.

The conflict was halted with a ceasefire deal on April 8, followed by direct and mediated talks for a permanent end that have failed to reach an agreement.

Every June 4 since 1989, Ali Khamenei had delivered a speech at the commemoration. This year, an empty chair bearing his portrait stood at the mausoleum, according to footage broadcast from the site.

Portraits of Mojtaba and the two previous supreme leaders were displayed at the mausoleum in southern Tehran, according to the live broadcast.

Attendees waved the flag of the Islamic republic and banners of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The two sides, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese armed forces “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors”.

The development came despite continued cross-border attacks earlier in the day, with Hezbollah saying it targeted Israeli troops and Israeli strikes killing at least ten people in southern Lebanon.

Just hours after the agreement was announced, air raid alarms sounded in northern Israel with a “suspicious aerial target” identified without causing any casualties.

The joint statement said the ceasefire was “contingent on a complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah as well as evacuation of the group’s operatives from southern Lebanon.

The meetings in Washington were the fourth round of direct talks by Lebanese and Israeli diplomats since fighting erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah renewed attacks against Israel in support of Iran.

Both sides will meet for more talks the week of June 22, the statement said, “with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement”.

Hostilities continue

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon and those on the war with Iran.

Tehran, however, insists the conflicts are linked and its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of war.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a “hostile aircraft” and two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon on Wednesday.

Hezbollah, for its part, said that “in response to the Israeli enemy army’s violation of the ceasefire”, its fighters targeted soldiers in northern Israel with a rocket barrage.

Early on Thursday, the group said it aimed a “salvo of rockets” at Israeli soldiers and vehicles in the southern Lebanon town of Al-Qantara, and also targeted an Israeli command position near the Chqif Castle with two drones.

A truce to halt the fighting in Lebanon was meant to take hold on April 17, but has never been observed, with both sides justifying their ongoing attacks by the other’s alleged violations.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati had told AFP on Tuesday that the group would “not accept a partial ceasefire”.

Paramedics

Among the Israeli strikes on Wednesday was one targeting a car on the main highway out of the capital, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said.

The NNA also reported strikes on more than 20 locations in the south, some after Israel’s military warned residents of several villages to evacuate.

The Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli attack on Al-Hawsh near the city of Tyre killed four Syrians and two Palestinians.

The health ministry also said an Israeli strike elsewhere in the south targeted an ambulance, killing two paramedics from the Risala Scouts Association.

The ministry circulated images of a badly damaged ambulance, with medical masks spilling out of the vehicle and scattered on the road.

A third paramedic was later reported killed in an attack that the NNA said targeted an ambulance team affiliated with the Islamic Health Committee in the town of Zibdine.

At least 130 emergency and health workers have been killed since the fighting began.

Lebanon’s army said a soldier was also killed in an Israeli strike, while an officer and a soldier were wounded in a separate attack on a military vehicle.

The force denounced what it called Israel’s “deliberate targeting of army personnel, vehicles and positions”.

Mohammad Ali Tavakolizadeh said the Revolutionary Guards are in charge of organising the funeral and that discussions are underway about extending the time for preparations in order to better organise the event.

He said three days had been allocated for the public to bid farewell and that the ceremony in Tehran would last at least 24 hours. Tavakolizadeh added that Khamenei’s body would also be taken in a funeral procession to the holy city of Qom. The former supreme leader will be laid to rest in Mashhad at the shrine of Imam Reza, in accordance with his will.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2026

On Monday, American news outlet Axios reported citing sources that Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude during the phone call.

The report quoted a US official as saying that Trump told Netanyahu “you’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this”.

Trump confirmed to New York Post’s Miranda Devine during ‘Pod One Force’ podcast that he called Netanyahu “f****** crazy”, but also insisted that they have “worked very well together”.

Asked if the Axios report was true and whether he spoke to Netanyahu in those terms, Trump replied, “I did. I wouldn’t say angry, I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.

“At some point, I said Bibi, we’re gonna stop this. We got to stop it,” he added.

At the same time, Trump said, “But I have a very good relationship. […] We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump insisted after confirming his expletive-laden outburst demanding that Netanyahu cease attacks.

“I’m a wartime president,” the commander-in-chief said. “He’s a wartime prime minister.”

Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the phone conversation since the Axios report, but Israeli media have quoted sources playing down the friction between the two leaders.

Trump further said that although he was frustrated by the possibility of Lebanon-Israel conflict derailing a larger peace, he remained optimistic about having a deal with Iran “fairly quickly”.

At one point during his interview, Trump was also asked about people saying Netanyahu “tricked” him into the Iran war.

Criticising the Democrats for such remarks and their policy stances, Trump said, “I’m the one that started it […] because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.

“Now, that pertains to Israel because they probably would have been the first ones to get hit […] I’ll tell you what, if it wasn’t for me, there would be no Israel right now,” he added, recalling his move to terminate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire more than three months after initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

The delicate diplomatic process keeping hopes for peace between Iran and the US seemed to teeter on Monday after Tehran and Washington offered diverging assessments of the status of negotiations, with Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon proving to be the main spoiler.

After Netanyahu ordered attacks on Beirut on Monday, Tehran said it considered the ceasefire violated “on all fronts” and accused the US of violating the truce. Iran also said it had suspended indirect negotiations with the US.

The announcement was initially shrugged off by Trump, but he later moved to allay Iranian concerns over Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Not only did he speak to his ally Netanyahu, but he also claimed to have exchanged views with Hezbollah through intermediaries — a first for a US president — to stop the fighting.

“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back”, he posted on Truth Social, adding that Hezbollah had also agreed to stop attacking Israel.

Iran situation ‘rapidly evolving’

During his interview with The Post, Trump voiced optimism regarding talks with Iran, saying that they were “rapidly evolving”. He also insisted that Iran had agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and “lots of other good things are going to happen”.

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said he is close to a deal to end the fighting and allow negotiators to tackle thorny issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump has said his top priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb and says its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.

Trump also said during the interview that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was “involved, absolutely” in decisions to end the war. “I’d like to meet him,” he said, adding that the two would “probably meet at some point, depending on how it all works out”.

He reiterated his claims of destroying Iran’s military, saying, “Their navy’s wiped out. Their air force is all gone after three days. Their military was virtually wiped out.”

Trump remarked, “Now we have to make a determination — do we sign a deal or we do it the other way. And the other way is not nice.”

However, he added, “But I’d rather do it the nice way from a humanitarian standpoint.”

Asked about whether his “other way” would involve only bombing Iran, Trump replied, “Yeah, you don’t have to. We don’t need boots on the ground.”

Moreover, the US president asserted that gas prices in the United States would come down when the Iran conflict ends and that inflation at the moment is not “very much”.

“We don’t have very much inflation. Look, if you take away just the price of gasoline, the energy, we have very little inflation,” Trump said.

The latest flare-up, which sent oil prices up more than 1 per cent, comes with the conflict stalemated in a shaky ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz largely closed, more than three months after initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended and diverted elsewhere until further notice, the state news agency said, citing aviation authorities, after an Iranian drone and missile attack on its T1 building.

The attack caused injuries and severely damaged some airport facilities, it added, but gave no further details.

Ministry of defence spokesman Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan described the attack as “criminal Iranian aggression which resulted in significant material damage to the building and injuries”.

Earlier, the US Central Command said two Iranian missiles shot at Kuwait fell short or broke up in flight, while several ballistic missiles aimed at regional targets failed and three missiles heading for Bahrain were intercepted.

Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases.

Central Command said the US military also downed Iranian drones targeting civilian ships in regional waters and US forces in Kuwait, and carried out strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz following attempted attacks by Iran.

Iran’s state media said the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as an airbase and helicopters in an unspecified regional country.

It sent missiles and drones in response to what the IRGC described as a US attack on a communications tower south of Qeshm.

Central Command said all the attacks failed, however, and US forces stayed ready to repel “unwarranted Iranian aggression”.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US attacks, saying they violated a ceasefire understanding and international law.

The ministry said Kuwait and Bahrain bore “direct and clear responsibility” for the attacks, alleging their territory and facilities had been used to support US military operations against Iran.

Tehran said it reserved the right to self-defence and would use all available means to respond, including by targeting the source of any future attacks.

Last week, Iran and the United States said they had reached a tentative initial agreement to halt the war, but they have yet to sign off on the deal.

Iranian media said Tehran has not communicated with Washington for several days, but US President Donald Trump said negotiations had not stopped.

“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” he said in a social media post.

Discussions on nuclear programme

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said he is close to a deal to end the fighting and allow negotiators to tackle thorny issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has said his top priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb and says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.

Tehran is seeking access to billions of dollars in oil revenues, waivers on crude exports, a lifting of a US blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the strait, traversed by a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traffic before the war.

Iranian media said the IRGC’s navy targeted a vessel it identified as the Panaya with missiles in response to what it said was a US attack on an Iranian tanker near Hormuz.

“Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the US military,” media cited the IRGC as saying.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would agree to sanctions relief only if Iran agreed to give up its nuclear activity.

“The war is over,” Rubio declared during a sharp exchange with Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who disagreed.

Israel keeps up strikes in Lebanon

The war has killed thousands since it began on February 28, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, while also causing global economic pain by pushing up energy prices. It also triggered the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel pursuing its deepest incursion into Lebanon in 25 years.

On Tuesday, Israel kept up strikes on a string of southern towns, Lebanese security sources said, despite a US-mediated partial ceasefire unveiled on Monday.

The move failed to reassure many Lebanese, 1.2 million of whom have been displaced, and an Israeli drone over Beirut kept residents on edge on Tuesday.

BEIRUT / WASHINGTON: Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire on Tuesday, despite US President Donald Trump’s declaration that he had brokered a deal between the two sides.

The fighting came even as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats met in Washington for a fourth round of direct talks, described by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam as “the least costly choice for Lebanon”.

However, these developments were overshadowed by the sensational account of a purported phone call between Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, which reportedly devolved into an expletive-laden argument between the two men.

American news outlet Axios reported that Trump lashed out at Netanyahu over the latter’s escalation in Lebanon, calling him “crazy” and accusing him of ingratitude.

According to Axios, Trump told Netanyahu that following through on his threats to bomb Beirut would further isolate Israel around the world.

The US president also stated that he “helped keep Netanyahu out of jail”, which the publication said was a reference to his support during Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

“You’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” the report quoted Trump as saying.

The publication also said that Trump was “pissed” and at one point yelled at Netanyahu: “What the f*** are you doing?”

“Another US official said Trump was concerned by the fact that Israel had killed so many civilians in

Lebanon, and objected to the Israelis knocking down buildings to take out a single Hezbollah commander,” Axios reported.

“One official said this was one of Trump’s worst calls with Netanyahu since he returned to office,” it added.

For its part, the Israeli prime minister office said after the call that Netanyahu told Trump that Tel Aviv would strike Beirut if Hezbollah “does not stop firing at our cities and citizens”.

He also said Israel would continue military operations in southern Lebanon, where ground forces are pushing toward the Zaharani River, their deepest incursion in Lebanon in 25 years.

Fighting continues

Despite Trump’s claim that Hezbollah had assured him it wouldn’t target Israel, both sides continued to trade attacks in Tuesday.

Trump had announced an agreement to halt some attacks on Monday, but neither side has publicly accepted it and Israel’s defence minister said the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs remained potential targets.

The deal, according to a statement from the Lebanese embassy in Washington, would, at first, stop Israeli attacks on Beirut and Hezbollah attacks on Israeli territory.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told AFP in a written statement the group “will not accept a partial ceasefire”.

Near Sidon, in the south, rescuers recovered the bodies of six members of the same family, including two children and a woman, following an Israeli strike.

Further south in the historic city of Tyre, the Jabal Amel hospital, severely damaged by an Israeli attack nearby on Monday that wounded 39 staffers, resumed operations.

In the southern suburbs, which many residents had fled the day before, many shops were closed on Tuesday, while a military drone flew over the area at low altitude, according to an AFP journalist.

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Tuesday that Israeli attacks had killed at least 3,468 people since March 2 — an increase of 35 compared to Monday.

Talks in Washington

Meanwhile, the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon began a new round of direct talks at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.

Participants include Israel’s ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese envoy Nada Hamadeh Moawad, as well as Daniel Holler, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Meanwhile, top US diplomat Marco Rubio described Hezbollah as the only impediment to a peace deal.

“Israel and Lebanon can do a peace deal tomorrow,” Rubio told a hearing of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.

The US secretary of state said Washington wanted the talks to remain independent of those with Iran to end the wider Middle East war launched by the US and Israel against Tehran on February 28.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2026

TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: The delicate diplomatic process keeping hopes for peace between Iran and the US seemed to teeter on Monday after Tehran and Washington offered diverging assessments of the status of negotiations, with Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon proving to be the main spoiler.

Saying that it considered the ceasefire violated “on all fronts” after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on Beirut, Tehran accused the US of violating the ceasefire and said it had suspended indirect negotiations.

The announcement was shrugged off by President Donald Trump, who said talks with Iran were moving forward at a “rapid pace”.

Initially, Trump said he was not aware whether Iran had suspended the talks. He then told CNBC that he did not care if the talks were over.

“If they’re over, they’re over. If they’re not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring,” he told CNBC.

But soon afterwards, he moved swiftly to allay Iranian concerns over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Not only did he speak to his ally Netanyahu, but also claimed to have exchanged views with Hezbollah through intermediaries — a first for a US president — to stop the fighting.

“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back”, he posted on Truth Social, adding that Hezbollah had also agreed to stop attacking Israel.

A Lebanese official told Reuters that Hezbollah had informed the US, through Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, that it was willing to halt attacks on northern Israel in exchange for Israel sparing Beirut and its suburbs from any strikes.

Soon after, President Trump announced on his Truth Social website that the talks with Iran were ongoing at a rapid pace.

Ceasefire violation

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the ceasefire violation on one front was akin to violations on all fronts. “Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” he said on X.

Also, Iran’s top negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of violating the ceasefire, saying the US naval blockade on Iran’s ports and the escalation in Lebanon were “clear evidence of US non-compliance with the ceasefire”.

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. It has also caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global supply route for oil and liquefied natural gas.

New fronts

Earlier in the day, Iran warned of opening new fronts across the Gulf, including the Red Sea, if the ceasefire with the US collapsed. The Tasnim news agency said Iran and the Resistance Front, which includes its allies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq, had set an agenda to completely block the strait and activate other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, to “punish” Israel and its supporters.

If the Houthis, Iran’s allies in Yemen, open a new front in the conflict, one obvious target would be the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, a shipping chokepoint and narrow passageway that controls sea traffic towards the Suez Canal. Referring to Iran’s demands on Lebanon, the Tasnim news agency said that “there will be no talks until Iran and the Resistance Front’s views on this matter are met”.

Sporadic clashes

Before tensions escalated due to Lebanon, Iran and the US traded blows despite the ceasefire. The US military said it had, over the weekend, struck Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two drones that were threatening ships after “aggressive Iranian actions”, including shooting down a US drone over international waters.

The IRGC said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the US in response to an attack on southern Iran. It did not identify the base, but Kuwait activated air defences on Monday and denounced

Iranian missile and drone attacks, which it said were undermining efforts to reduce tensions in the region. US forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait late on Sunday, the US military said on Monday, adding that no American personnel were harmed.

Separately, two explosions struck a cargo vessel in the Gulf about 40 nautical miles southeast of Iraq’s Umm Qasr, one of which was caused by a drone attack, Iraqi officials said on Monday. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Dar-Araghchi call

Amid the uncertainty plaguing the peace process, Mr Araghchi expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s “constructive role in regional diplomacy”, and requested Islamabad to continue its efforts to help facilitate de-escalation in the region and maintain the ceasefire.

The comments came in a phone call with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, where both men discussed concerns about the sustainability of the ceasefire currently in place.

According to a statement by the Foreign Office, “FM Araghchi (in his call with Dar) expressed serious concern over recent developments in the region, including ceasefire violations in Lebanon by Israel and the orders by the Israeli government regarding a potential attack in parts of Beirut”.

Mr Dar also spoke with his Egyptian counterpart to discuss regional tensions.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2026

The strikes on Iran’s Gulf coast were in response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.

“US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said, adding it will continue to protect US assets and interests during the ongoing ceasefire.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the US for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base.

Air defences in Kuwait, where a major US base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, the state news agency KUNA reported, without providing further details.

The foreign ministry later said in a statement that it was “holding Iran fully responsible for these heinous attacks”.

Shortly after the US military issued the statement, US President Donald Trump said that Iran really wanted to make a deal with the US and that it would be a good one for Washington and its allies.

“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA and those that are with us,” Trump posted on Truth Social. However, Trump also said it was tougher for him to negotiate with Iran with all the political commentary surrounding the conflict.

”… it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively ‘chirping,’ at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever,” the president said.

“Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end — It always does!”

The US and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their ceasefire took effect in early April as negotiations aimed at a more durable agreement drag on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday and was described in similar terms by both sides.

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has plans to do that.

Trump is under pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get US gasoline prices down ahead of the November congressional elections, as voters show increasing frustration over rising prices. At the same time, he faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks in his own party over any concessions to Tehran.

The two sides remain at odds on several other issues, such as Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.

Israel’s war in Lebanon with Hezbollah is another major impediment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle against Hezbollah.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu on the diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and has proposed a plan to allow for “gradual de-escalation,” a US official said.

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: After US President Donald Trump proposed more changes to a ‘largely negotiated’ deal, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran did not trust Washi­ngton, and demanded tangible outcomes instead of “words and promises”.

Speaking at a virtual session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly held in the morning, he said, “There is no trust in the enemy’s words and promises. Our only criterion is to achieve tangible res­ults before we fulfil our commitments in return.”

“We will not approve any agreement until we are sure” that the decision protected the rights of the Iranian people, he was quoted as saying by the Iranian media.

After the speaker’s remarks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that talks and message exchanges with the United States are ongoing.

“We should not give importance to speculation and we can not judge the talks until we get to a clear result,” Araghchi added.

The comments from Iranian officials came amid reports in the American media that President Trump proposed more changes to “toughen” the deal.

According to CNN, the president insisted “on tougher language surrounding Iran’s nuclear commitments and its pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz”. One foreign official familiar with the matter told CNN that the changes were not substantive and mostly centred on a US desire for assurances on those issues, the media outlet reported.

The New York Times reported that Trump’s changes involved toughening the terms of the deal, and has sent the new framework back to be considered by Iran, according to officials familiar with the proceedings. The report said it was not immediately clear what the changes entailed, but news site Axios reported President Trump wanted to reinforce multiple points of the deal that he personally felt were important, such as what is done to Iran’s nuclear material.

In an interview on Fox News, Donald Trump said the US was “close to a very good deal” with Iran to end the war. However, he added: “If you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal, and slowly but surely, we’re getting, I think, what we want — and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it a different way.”

President Trump also said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons. “The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that, and it was very interesting,” he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in the Fox News interview.

“We’ve actually left their military alone — people would be surprised to hear that.” President Trump said Iran’s military hasn’t been hit as aggressively because it’s “somewhat moderate” compared to other elements of the regime. He said that wiping out “everybody” could cause a country to be unable to rebuild for generations.

‘Strategic miscalculation’

A top Islamic Revolu­tionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, meanwhile, said Iran’s enemies made a strategic miscalculation in assessing Iran’s capabilities and resolve, arguing that Tehran emerged in a stronger position while the United States faced decline and failure.

Speaking to IRNA last night, IRGC Deputy for Political Affairs Yadollah Javani said the enemies had incorrectly assumed they could achieve a quick victory by imposing war on the Iranian nation.

The enemies’ strategic objectives included destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities, eliminating its missile defence capacity, and ultimately overthrowing the Islamic Republic, he said, adding that those goals failed, resulting in a shift in regional equations in Iran’s favour.

Javani said the US must choose between acce­pting the conditions and rights of the Iranian people or continuing the war.

The IRGC also claimed to have shot down a US drone that entered Iran’s territorial waters. Iran’s IRIB broadcaster, carried a statement from the IRGC which said the MQ1 drone “attempted to carry out a hostile operation”.

“It was immediately detected and targeted by the Revolutionary Guard’s modern defence missiles and shot down,” it said.

Pars gas field

Moreover, Iran restored gas production at three offshore platforms in the South Pars gas field that had been forced to halt output after Isra­eli attacks disrupted processing capacity at some onshore facilities.

Pars Oil and Gas Company CEO Touraj Dehqani said the platforms had not been damaged, adding that the production from the three platforms was being routed to other processing plants in the region while repairs continue at damaged facilities, including Phase 14 refinery.

With a peace deal in sight that could end the blockade of Iranian ports, Iran’s parliament deputy speaker Hamid Reza Haji Babaei stated that planning for the coming months should be based on the assumption that the siege of its ports would continue and should not be affected by “possible partial openings by the enemy”.

“We are encircling the enemy’s economic siege, and we must vigorously pursue and activate alternative routes and land corridors.”

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026

The Associated Press noted that Israel’s capture of the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon was Israel’s deepest incursion into the country in 26 years.

Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area as the invading army’s banner was seen by AFP above the castle, which Israeli forces famously used as a base during their previous two-decade-long occupation.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had captured the historic strongpoint, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, as they expanded their ground operations, which Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned as a “scorched earth” policy.

“Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War, our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there,” Katz said, in a social media post.

“Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and my direction, the IDF expanded the operations in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River, and captured the Beaufort Ridge — one of the most important strategic points for defending the communities of the Galilee and safeguarding the security of our forces.”

Describing the capture as a “major gain for Israel”, AP said Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

It elaborated that the 1982 capture of the castle from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was a “major victory for the Israeli military” led by then-defence minister Ariel Sharon, which “pushed all the way north and occupied Beirut” at the time.

The push to Beaufort came as the Israeli military issued a sweeping displacement order to areas south of the Zahrani River, north of the Litani and around 40 kilometres from the border, claiming that it was targeting Hezbollah.

“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat means endangers their life. Any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become subject to targeting!” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned in a social media post.

‘Collective punishment’

“A significant number of IDF ground soldiers commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defence Line… The operation is currently expanding to additional areas,” the Israeli military said.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel on Saturday of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” in the south, urging a halt to the fighting and warning it was “destroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exile”.

Military delegations from both countries held security talks in Washington on Friday, with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week.

Salam said the outcome of the negotiations was “not guaranteed”, but called them “the least costly path for our country and our people”.

A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah officially began on April 17, but has never been observed. Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other daily of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other’s alleged breaches.

A US statement issued after Friday’s Israel-Lebanon talks made no mention of the truce, but said the “productive military-to-military discussions” would inform next week’s political meeting.

Hezbollah vehemently opposes the direct talks.

On Saturday, the armed group said it launched multiple attacks targeting northern Israel and clashed with Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.

‘Drone death’

Hezbollah said it was confronting Israeli forces around the outskirts of the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Yohmor al-Shaqif and Dibbine, adding that the troops “had not yet succeeded in taking control of the towns”.

The Israeli military told AFP that more than 25 projectiles were launched from Lebanon towards Israel on Saturday, while air alert sirens sounded in the northern cities of Karmiel and Safed for the first time since the ceasefire, according to the army’s Home Front Command.

Public broadcaster Kan aired footage shared on social media showing rockets falling into the sea off Israel’s Nahariya, near the border, sending beachgoers fleeing.

The Israeli army also said on Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed a day prior by a Hezbollah explosive drone, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths in Lebanon since early March.

The Lebanese health ministry says that Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,371 people since March 2.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump met advisers in the White House Situation Room for about two hours on Friday as he considered a potential agreement with Iran, though Tehran insisted there was still “no final agreement” on ending the Middle East war.

A report from Iran’s Fars news agency also rebutted several key elements of Trump’s characterisation of the deal, citing informed sources as calling his remarks a “mixture of truth and lies”.

US sources had told AFP the deal was just waiting on Trump’s sign-off following weeks of halting negotiations to end a conflict that had engulfed the Middle East and shaken the global economy.

“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determinat­ion,” Trump said in a leng­thy social media post before the session, reiterating long-held demands that Iran agree never to have nuclear weapons and must open the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, however, told state media that the Islamic republic “said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago”.

“Regarding the understanding… exchanges of messages are continuing, but no final agreement has been reached yet,” he added.

In his post, Trump said Tehran would remove mines in the Strait of Hormuz and end its blockade of the waterway with “no tolls”, while the US would lift its parallel blockade of Iranian ports, and the two countries would coordinate on removing and destroying Iran’s enriched uranium.

He also said “no money will be exchanged, until further notice”.

Fars, however, cited Iranian sources as saying that Tehran was demanding “the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets”, and that “until this payment is made, Iran will not move to the next phase of negotiations”.

As for the toll-free reopening of Hormuz, they said, “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement”, while the comment on destroying Iran’s nuclear material “is fundamentally baseless”.

Baqaei also told state TV that there were currently “no negotiations” taking place on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Earlier Iran’s parliament speaker, who led its delegation at peace talks with the US in Pakistan last month, said Tehran had gained leverage not “through talks, but through missiles”, and was sceptical of US promises.

“We place no trust in guarantees or words; only actions matter,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.

‘A lot of progress’

Hopes of an agreement had risen on Thursday after US officials were positive about the direction of diplomacy, with Vance telling reporters “a lot of progress” had been made.

The optimism boosted US and Asian stock markets on Friday, while oil prices receded slightly.

Energy markets have whipsawed this week as investors parse the chances of an agreement that could potentially resume normal shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Washington and Tehran have accused each other of violating the truce in and around the strait as recently as this week, with US strikes on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas countered by retaliatory Iranian fire.

Iranian state TV said on Friday that 24 ships had transited the strait in the past 24 hours, in coordination with the Revolutionary Guards and the foreign ministry.

But it warned that “ships from hostile countries face a severe response” from Iran’s military.

‘US aircraft destroyed’

Earlier, Iran’s state TV said on Friday that a US aircraft was destroyed in Iran’s Jam governorate in Bushehr, citing its governor Masoud Tangestani, with no confirmation from the United States.

However, the US military said no American aircraft were shot down near Bushehr, Iran, despite a claim made on Iranian state TV. “No US aircraft were shot down. All US air assets are accounted for,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.

Iran president thanks Pakistan

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “thanked Malaysia for its humanitarian stance and Pakistan for its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement” to end the US-Israel war on his country.

In a post on X, Pezeshkian said that in his conversations with the prime ministers of Malaysia and Pakistan, he had emphasised “Iran’s commitment to diplomacy”.

“Iran’s policy is to expand cooperation with Muslim and neighbouring countries in all fields,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he told his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, that any final agreement to end the three-month war in the Middle East would depend on Washington abandoning what he des­cribed as “excessive demands” and inconsistent positions. In a summary of the call, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Mr Araghchi stressed that progress in talks with the United States required a shift in the American stance.

Separately, in a post on X, Araghchi said he and Albusaidi held a “productive call” that included discussions on the Strait of Hormuz and its future management in accordance with their sovereign responsibilities and international law.

He added that he expressed Iran’s solidarity with Oman “in the face of any threat”. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Baghaei separately said management of the strait “must be decided by Iran and Oman.”

The diplomatic exchange followed sharp remarks from Trump, who on Wednesday threatened Oman, a longtime US partner, against any role in imposing fees for passage through the strait.

“The Strait is going to be open to everybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that, they’ll be fine.”

Trump said he was not satisfied with the status of negotiations with Iran and that Washington was not discussing sanctions relief. He said that under a potential framework agreement, the strait would reopen immediately and “nobody’s going to control it”.

The US on Thursday reiterated its warning. “The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X.

“Oman should know that the US Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved - directly or indirectly - in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalised,” Bessent added.

The Strait of Hormuz, parts of which lie in Iranian and Omani territorial waters, has been largely blocked since fighting erupted Feb 28, sending global energy prices higher and disrupting trade. US efforts, including a naval blockade of Iranian ports, have yet to fully restore commercial shipping.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to take control of more territory in the Gaza Strip, flouting the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.

He said the military had controlled 50pc of the Palestinian territory under the terms of the ceasefire, then advanced to take over 60pc.

“My directive is to move to… 70pc,” he said.

The United Nations children’s agency Unicef warned that this would deepen the health crisis among children in the territory, suffering from acute lack of food, water and hygiene.

Israel controls the flow of aid into the territory along with all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

Even before Israel’s assault in Gaza that began in 2023, the territory was already very densely populated.

Now “people have been crammed into around 40pc of the space”, Unicef spokesman Salim Oweis told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Gaza.

People there were left “sheltering among broken buildings, rubble and mounting solid waste”, he said, adding “there is no accessible space left to clear” the waste.

“The effects of this are now widely apparent: children with respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea, and more than half of all households reporting skin diseases.”

Rats biting children

“Fleas, lice and scabies are commonplace,” Oweis said, also pointing to numerous cases of rats biting young children and even babies.

Oweis said a woman named Hind “hasn’t slept since her four-year-old daughter, Masa, was bitten by a rat during the night”.

“Like many families, they sheltered wherever they could, in their case, the second floor of a building block where sewage water leaks through the ceilings, and rodents crawl through the cracks in the building and climb the exposed pipes,” he said.

Rats are not the only menace.

Oweis said he had spoken with another woman named Amani whose seven-year-old daughter had “developed deep lesions and sores on her head, back and legs due to a bacterial infection”.

He warned that “increasing numbers of children are requiring hospitalisation, all without a single fully functioning hospital across Gaza”.

The situation was “dire”, Oweis said, noting the overcrowding was already “creating more spread of diseases, straining the systems and of course cutting … services”.

If Israel takes control of even more land, he warned, that “means that we will lose access to some of the service points, but also [to] some hard to reach places [where children and families are living”.

“This will just mean that more children will suffer,” he said.

The Palestinian foreign ministry slammed Netanyahu’s announcement as “a serious violation of the foundations of the ceasefire”.

Since then, Gaza has been gripped by daily violence, with Israel killing more than 900 people there, according to Gaza’s health ministry in the territory, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

They are among the over 72,800 people killed in Gaza since the start of the assault, according to the health ministry.

The October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the genocide, meanwhile, resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

An agreement would represent a big step towards ending a war that has pushed the world towards an energy crisis, though the underlying dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme would only be thrashed out in talks over subsequent weeks.

Where have the discussions got to?

Following a ceasefire in early April, the two sides have remained at odds on issues including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with Hezbollah, and Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets.

After weeks of mainly indirect talks, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that the US and Iran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding that would halt the war and give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal.

However, both sides have said several times before that they believed an agreement was close but without ever concluding an agreement.

The position of Israel, which launched the air war on Iran on February 28 alongside the United States, is central to any deal but its role in the agreement is unclear.

US President Donald Trump has not yet approved the deal, according to the sources. Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday: “We’re not there, but we’re very close and we’re going to keep working on it”.

Iran has not yet formally commented, but the semi-official Tasnim news agency cited a source close to the negotiating team as saying the text of the agreement had not yet been finalised or confirmed.

Iranian sources have previously said a framework deal is only about ending the war on all fronts, establishing a 30-day framework for international and Iranian movement through the Strait of Hormuz and possibly providing some financial relief.

There would then be negotiations on the more difficult issues, such as the status of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and details concerning the strait and the sequencing of the many points in the preliminary deal such as sanctions relief and security.

The last deal over the nuclear programme — struck in 2015 and torn up by Trump in 2018 — took years of negotiations between large teams of technical experts.

What are the main issues?

Hormuz and Gulf blockade

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas, has pushed up oil prices.

Reopening the strait is the US priority and Iran’s main point of leverage, but it could take time.

The US blockade on Iranian ports is hitting Iran’s own exports and state revenue. Lifting this is one of Tehran’s main goals. A sensitive issue could be how far US forces withdraw.

Nuclear

The US alleges Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Iran has always denied this, saying its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes only. The focus is on its enrichment of uranium, which generates fuel for nuclear power but can also make material for a warhead.

Ballistic missiles

A prominent US demand before the war was that Iran limit the range of its ballistic missiles so that they could not reach Israel.

Iran has always said its right to conventional weapons is non-negotiable and that it still has a large arsenal.

Sanctions and frozen assets

Iran’s economy has been hurt by sanctions for years, contributing to the nationwide unrest in January. Tehran badly needs them to be lifted and tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks to be released. It also wants reparations for war damage.

The United States has resisted this, with Trump having lambasted former president Barack Obama for having returned some frozen assets to Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Some media have reported that the latest draft agreement would include an investment programme for Iran.

Lebanon

Iran has repeatedly said that Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon must be included in any deal.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire last month but both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of repeated violations and Israel’s military is ramping up its campaign in southern Lebanon.

Israel would oppose any US-Iran agreement that limits its ability to act in Lebanon.

The Prime Minister’s Office in a statement said that President Pezeshkian had telephoned PM Shehbaz to extend Eid greetings in a call that lasted around 30 minutes.

During the call, PM Shehbaz hoped that a peace deal which afforded dignity and honour to the Iranian nation could be reached soon. “This would help unlock the true economic potential of Iran and benefit the entire region,” the premier said.

The prime minister stated that as a brotherly and neighbouring country, “Pakistan would always stand by Iran and that a great future lay ahead for both countries, once peace was restored in the region.”

The two leaders also exchanged Eid greetings and conveyed their best wishes to each other, the people of their two countries, and the Muslim Ummah, the PMO added.

“The Iranian president expressed his profound gratitude to the prime minister and Field Marshal Asim Munir for Pakistan’s important role in the efforts to bring peace to the region.

“He appreciated the fact that other regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye, were also on board in these peace efforts,” it stated.

The prime minister once again expressed solidarity with the Iranian leadership and nation over the loss of precious Iranian lives suffered in the current crisis, the PMO said.

“He appreciated the Iranian president’s kind words for him and his team and stated that Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had undoubtedly made tireless efforts to bring peace to the region, the PMO said, adding, “The two leaders agreed to remain in close coordination with each other.”

‘Kuwait fully supportive of Pakistan’s mediation efforts’

In a separate telephone call, PM Shehbaz extended Eid greetings to Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Mubarak Al Sabah, highlighting Pakistan’s “humble and sincere efforts” towards regional peace.

The PM told the crown prince that Pakistan was making a “humble and sincere effort” to bring peace back to the region. The crown prince appreciated Pakistan’s “important role” in the ongoing regional peace efforts, assuring him that Kuwait was “fully supportive” of Pakistan.

PM Shehbaz thanked brotherly countries, including Kuwait and its leadership, for supporting Pakistan’s efforts in this regard, the PMO added.

PM Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s condemnation of the attacks on Kuwait and expressed solidarity with the Kuwaiti leadership on the losses suffered by them during these attacks, the PMO said.

The prime minister also acknowledged the untiring diplomatic efforts of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir to ensure that the peace talks continue to move forward, PMO said.

The two leaders exchanged heartiest Eidul Azha greetings and conveyed their best wishes to the people of the two countries on this joyous occasion, the PMO said.

It added that the prime minister thanked Kuwait’s emir and the crown prince for their kind words and reiterated his warm and cordial invitation to them to undertake official visits to Pakistan, at their kind convenience.

‘Malaysia appreciates Pakistan’s remarkable role in ceasefire’

Moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Anwar Ibrahim appreciated Pakistan’s “remarkable” role in the ceasefire in the Gulf in a telephonic conversation with PM Shehbaz today, the PMO said.

During the call, the prime minister stated that progress in the peace efforts could not have been possible without the contribution of brotherly countries, including Malaysia, it added.

“He stated that it was due to the untiring diplomatic efforts of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the active role played by FM Dar, that Pakistan had been able to steer the peace process forward.”

The Malaysian prime minister “acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan’s remarkable role in the ceasefire in the Gulf and the ongoing peace efforts to ensure an enduring peace settlement in the region.”

PM Shehbaz also thanked his counterpart and briefed him on the latest developments in the peace efforts, the PMO said.

“The prime minister stated that progress in the peace efforts could not have been possible without the contribution of brotherly countries, including Malaysia.”

According to the PMO, PM Shehbaz expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence in Lebanon perpetrated by Israeli security forces and deteriorating situation in Gaza in a telephonic conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Anwar Ibrahim, the PMO said.

Meanwhile, the PM Shehbaz conveyed heartfelt Eidul Adha greetings to the Malaysian leader as well as the brotherly Malaysian people.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister said that he looked forward to the next opportunity to meet the Malaysian prime minister, either in Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur or on the sidelines of any other event.

“The two Prime Ministers agreed to keep each other fully informed about developments in the region.”

Trump first conceived of the board to rebuild Gaza, where Israel and Hamas agreed to a US-backed ceasefire in October in a bid to halt two years of devastating war.

But he quickly raised eyebrows by sending out wide invitations, including to Russian President Vladimir Putin and to countries far removed from traditional Middle East diplomacy.

Since the board was set up, its fund — administered by the World Bank and endorsed by the United Nations — has received no money from donors, the source familiar with the Board of Peace told AFP.

The source said money had not been deposited because the fund was designed for the reconstruction and development phase, which has not yet been reached.

Israeli military operations in Gaza have continued despite the ceasefire, with at least 910 people killed since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Israel still retains control over 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip, including all entry and exit points, while the population is concentrated on the coast.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Financial Times (FT) reported that the board had received donations directly into a JPMorgan account, citing the board’s spokesperson.

There are no “independent transparency requirements” in place for the JPMorgan account, the FT noted.

Major European nations have shunned the board, which is heavy on longstanding US partners in the Middle East, ideological allies of Trump and smaller countries eager for Trump’s attention.

France and Britain had refused to join.

The board is unambiguously led not just by the US but personally by Trump, who holds the final say and can remain in charge past his presidency.

Trump previously said that the US would contribute $10 billion to the board, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each promised at least $1 billion.

Members of the board are required to pay $1bn for a permanent spot, according to its charter.

A European Union-United Nations assessment published in April estimated that more than $71bn will be needed over the next decade for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Gaza, where the UN says the humanitarian situation is “critical.”

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the “commander of the armed wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza was eliminated yesterday”.

Hamas has not yet commented.

“In the Prime Minister’s name and in my own, congratulations to the IDF and the Shin Bet on the brilliant execution,” Katz claimed in a post on X.

“We committed ourselves to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do: they are all marked for death, wherever they may be.”

After announcing the strike on Tuesday, Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement that Odeh had “served as head of Hamas intelligence during the October 7 massacre and was appointed approximately one week ago as successor to Ezzedine al-Haddad”.

Haddad was killed by an Israeli strike on May 15.

“Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction and injury of numerous Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” Katz and Netanyahu said.

In the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, retaliation against Israel, Netanyahu pledged to target and eliminate the Hamas leaders behind it.

Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed at least 72,803 people, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Israel has previously killed Hamas’s former political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, its Gaza chief who was widely regarded as the mastermind of the October 7 attack.

It also killed Mohammed Deif, the longtime commander of Hamas’s armed wing, known as the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, as well as Mohammed Sinwar, who succeeded his brother Yahya Sinwar, as Gaza chief.

Israeli strikes have also targeted Hamas operatives in Lebanon and senior Iran-backed Hezbollah commanders allied with the group, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.