War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Lebanese group Hezbollah claims it attacked an Israeli military position in the town of Hula, which lies less than a kilometre from the border with Israel, according to Al Jazeera.

The group says it attacked the site with two drones at 12:50am local time (2:50am PKT), but did not mention the outcome.

It follows a series of other recent drone strikes Hezbollah has claimed across the region.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Hezbollah must not be allowed “to exploit” the situation to attack northern Israel, in an apparent reference to the US-Iran talks, according to Al Jazeera.

“For every shot fired towards our territory, 10 buildings will fall in Dahiyeh,” he said, referring to the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Israeli army has claimed no casualties were reported as it accused Hezbollah of firing a rocket at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

It added that sirens were activated following the interception attempts.

Yair Lapid has delivered a scathing critique of the Israeli prime minister, saying the emerging US-Iran deal has failed to secure any of Israel’s war objectives, Al Jazeera reports.

“The [Iranian] regime survives, the missile programme remains intact, and Iran can rebuild its nuclear programme,” the Israeli opposition leader said in a social media post.

Lapid described the US-Iran deal as the result of a “complete failure” by Netanyahu, whom he accused of turning Israel into “a client state”.

“No press conference, no media spin, and no AI-generated video will be able to hide this failure,” he added.

Hezbollah claims it has launched 22 attacks on Israeli forces over the last 24 hours, adding that it used drones and rocket barrages in its attacks on sites and Israeli troop deployments in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The group also claimed it intercepted Israeli drones using surface-to-air missiles several times.

Al Jazeera correspondents in southern Lebanon are reporting Israeli drone strikes on the towns of al-Majadel and al-Kawthariyah al-Saida.

Hezbollah claims it fired an air-to-air missile to intercept an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over the Iqlim al-Tuffah area.

The group further claims it fired missiles at a concentration of Israeli military vehicles in Jdeidet Mays al-Jabal and targeted an Israeli command centre near Yahmor al-Shaqif, with what it described as a “diving drone”.

The Israeli military has not immediately commented.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that the country’s 12-day war against Israel last year “proved that, beyond any taste or perspective, whenever our dear Iran is at stake, we are one nation, one clenched fist, and one beating heart”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has discussed efforts to end the Iran conflict during a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Reuters reports citing 10 Downing Street.

Starmer has welcomed progress made so far and reiterated that Britain stands ready to support the implementation of any peace agreement and work with international partners to ensure its success.

The two leaders have also agreed on the need to restore freedom of navigation to ease global economic impact.

US Central Command (Centcom) says American forces have redirected 141 commercial vessels and disabled nine others as part of a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

US President Donald Trump says that a deal with Iran will be signed tomorrow, according to a post on Truth Social.

“The deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is open to all,” he writes. “Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous administrations have had.”

Trump adds that no money will exchange hands and that “At the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the nuclear dust … and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States,” referring to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

“We look forward to working with Iran and the entire Middle East, long into the future. Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly. If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!” he adds

A senior US official has called an emerging agreement on Iran a strong deal and says that the United States will participate in the de-mining of the Strait of Hormuz once the accord is sealed, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump will meet with Middle Eastern leaders during the G7 summit in France next week, Reuters reports citing senior US administration officials.

They says Trump will meet separately with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, France and India.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says Iran currently has no plans for its negotiating team to travel to Geneva or Islamabad in the next day or two to sign an agreement, Al Jazeera reports.

He does, however, note that the possibility of the memorandum of understanding being signed in the coming days is high, Iran’s IRNA news agency reports.

“We must wait for the exact time of the signing,” he adds.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,756 people from March 2 to June 13, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s health ministry.

It adds that 11,632 others have been wounded in the attacks.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received a phone call from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who has paid tribute to the premier and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for playing an instrumental role in steering the diplomatic efforts, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“The prime minister expressed his deep appreciation for Qatar’s strong and steadfast support for Pakistan’s peace efforts throughout the Gulf crisis and stated that a peace deal was ready for signatures by the relevant parties very shortly,” the PMO says.

Al-Thani has assured PM Shehbaz that Qatar is proud to extend its support to Pakistan and hopes that this agreement will bring lasting peace to the region.

Both leaders have agreed to remain in close contact in the coming days.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, have welcomed the final stage of negotiations between the US and Iran, according to a Foreign Office (FO) statement.

“They welcomed the US–Iran negotiations in their final stage, with the electronic signing ceremony scheduled for tomorrow, and expressed the hope that this important development will contribute to lasting peace and stability in the region,” the FO says.

During the phone call, the Saudi foreign minister appreciated Pakistan’s “consistent and sustained efforts in support of mediation and dialogue throughout the process”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department says in a statement.

According to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, the two officials have discussed the evolving security situation in the strategic waterway.

Rubio stresses that all commercial vessels must immediately comply with orders issued by US forces as they work to maintain peace and stability in the region.

He also underscores that violations of what he describes as US enforcement measures, including the illicit transport of Iranian oil, will not be tolerated.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Galibaf has stressed that “enforceable commitments” must accompany any possible understanding between Tehran and Washington, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.

The exact timing of the signing of the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, Reuters reports citing state media.

Baghaei adds that the possibility of signing the memorandum in the coming days cannot be ruled out, but added that caution is needed regarding any comment on the signing date due to the hesitation of the other side.