War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari says the longer the US-Israeli war with Iran goes on, the greater the risks of higher inflation and economic damage, Reuters reports.

I’m very focused on the Iran war and its impacts and when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz closure, the longer it’s closed, the more it will lead to higher energy and fertiliser prices, Kashkari said in an interview with CBS.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that energy prices, which are currently surging amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, should decline later this year, Reuters reports.

Oil prices on the other side of this conflict are going to be much lower, Bessent said on Fox Business Network’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give up its nuclear weapons programme in a telephone call with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, AFP reports.

“I emphasised that Germany supports a negotiated solution,” Wadephul said in a post on X about the call. “As a close US ally, we share the same goal: Iran must completely and verifiably renounce nuclear weapons and immediately open the Strait of Hormuz, as also demanded by” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif at their Jati Umra residence in Lahore, a statement issued by the PM’s Office (PMO) says, adding that the Middle East conflict and the political situation in the country were discussed during the meeting.

The PMO statement said the premier briefed Nawaz on the “situation in the country” and exchanged views on the political situation.

He further informed him about the situation in the Middle East and Pakistan’s efforts for the restoration of peace in the region, the statement added.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, on Iran’s diplomatic initiatives to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, says an official statement.

Opec+ has agreed on a modest oil output hike for June, an increase that will remain largely on paper as long as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven Opec+ countries will raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June, the third consecutive monthly increase, Opec+ said in a statement after an online meeting. The increase is the same as that agreed for May minus the share of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which left the group on May 1.

The move is designed to show the group is ready to raise supplies once the war stops and signals that Opec+ is pressing on with a business-as-usual approach despite the departure of the UAE from Opec+, sources associated with the alliance and analysts said.

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Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have killed at least one person and wounded four rescuers, reports AFP, citing the Lebanese health ministry.

In separate statements, the ministry said a strike on Arabsalim killed at least one person and wounded three, including a child, and another strike on Srifa wounded five people, including four rescuers from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee, as the strike hit near one of their centres.

“The Ministry reiterates its condemnation of these repeated attacks and recalls what is included in Article 19 of the Geneva Convention regarding the need to verify that medical facilities are safe from any danger caused by attacks in conflict zones, while what is happening is exactly the opposite.”

The Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed the Kingdom’s support for the sovereign measures taken by the leadership of Bahrain to safeguard its security and preserve its sovereignty.

Seven Opec+ countries are set to agree on Sunday a modest oil output hike of about 188,000 barrels per day in June, sources said, but the increase will remain largely on paper as long as the US-Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies.

The move is designed to show the group is ready to raise supplies once the war stops. It is also pressing on with plans to raise output targets despite the departure of the United Arab Emirates from the group this week, sources said.

The output hike will remain largely symbolic until shipping through the Strait of Hormuz reopens and even then it will take several weeks if not months for flows to normalise, oil executives from the Gulf and global oil traders have said.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken with his Omani counterpart Albusaidi to discuss the latest regional developments, Press TV reports.

“Araghchi also briefed him on Iran’s diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli-imposed war and tensions against Iran, aiming to restore regional peace,” the outlet added.

Iranian envoy to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghaddam, stressed that a behavioural shift by Washington was key to the continuation of US-Iran talks, IRNA reported.

Moghaddam in an exclusive interview on Sunday in Islamabad stated that Iran had presented a comprehensive plan aimed at ending US-Israeli aggression, and clarified its position openly.

However, he underlined that progress in talks relies on US sincerity and willingness to resolve issues through genuine diplomatic efforts.

Moghaddam also confirmed that Tehran had shared its latest proposal with Pakistan, who had then conveyed it to Washington.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence unit on Sunday claimed that recent developments relating to the conflict show narrowing space for US decision-making.

In a post on X, the agency pointed towards Iran’s setting a blockade deadline for the Pentagon; an apparent shift in tone from China, Russia, and Europe with Washington, and US acceptance of Iran’s negotiating terms, adding:

“There is only one way to read this: Trump must choose between ‘an impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran’.

A Hezbollah lawmaker has said that the group would be able to “thwart” the objectives of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, AFP reports.

Speaking at an event to honour killed Hezbollah fighters, Hassan Fadlallah said “these negotiations with all their results do not concern us, and we will not implement them”.

“We have a free people and a steadfast resistance capable of thwarting all the objectives of these negotiations, which increase the sharp division in the country between the factions of our people and within the state itself,” Fadlallah said.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps has said that the room for “decision-making” has been narrowed for the US in the war with Iran, ISNA reports.

In a statement, the IRGC cited its account of the existing situation, saying, “Iran sets Pentagon a blockade deadline; China, Russia, Europe shift tone against Washington; Trump’s passive letter to the Congress; acceptance of Iran’s negotiating terms”.

“There is only one way to read this: Trump must choose between ‘an impossible military’ operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

“The room for US decision-making has narrowed,” the statement added.

The Israeli military says it killed two Hezbollah fighters it claimed posed “an imminent threat” to its troops in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

Hezbollah soldiers “were identified inside structures in the area who posed a threat” and “eliminated in a subsequent strike”.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claim.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call with his Italian counterpart, has slammed “some” European nations for their approach towards Iran’s nuclear programme, Press TV reports.

As per the report, Araghchi “slammed some European countries for repeating their incorrect cliches regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, calling their approach unconstructive and irresponsible”.

Israel has given final approval for a plan to purchase two new combat squadrons of F-35 and F-15Ia aircraft from Lockheed Martin and Boeing in a deal worth tens of billions of shekels, the country’s defence ministry has said, Reuters reports.

Iranian authorities are planning to turn a bomb site at a university in central Iran into a museum about the impact of US-Israeli strikes, an official says, AFP reports.

“The current damaged site will be preserved as a war museum at the university to remain a document of the country’s scientific oppression in history,” said Zafarollah Kalantari, head of Isfahan University of Technology.

He added that other land had been allocated for the “construction of a new building and provision of advanced equipment” for the university, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The Israeli military has issued an urgent warning to residents of 11 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, ordering them to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 metres away to open areas, according to Reuters.

The military said it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it described as a violation of their ceasefire agreement, warning that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk.

Israel has continued to carry out strikes across southern Lebanon, and its troops are occupying a strip of the country’s south.