War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force has warned Israel to leave southern Lebanon or face a repeat of its unconditional withdrawal from the country in 2000, Al Jazeera reports.

Esmail Qaani said in a post on social media that if Israel persisted in its “aggression and occupation”, it would be kicked out in “humiliation and defeat”, according to state-run Press TV.

“If you do not withdraw from southern Lebanon on your own feet, the epic of the year 2000 will be repeated once again, the same year you fled this land in disgrace,” Qaani said. “The choice is yours.”

AirAsia X CEO Bo Lingam says the Malaysian budget carrier has cut fares by 5 percent since June 15, and will continue adjusting its pricing week by week as jet fuel costs fall, Al Jazeera reports.

Lingam said the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding had brought welcome relief to the aviation industry, with fuel prices retreating sharply from their March highs.

“The industry has been really affected by the rise in fuel prices. Hopefully, everything in the Middle East stays as it is today,” he told reporters.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has issued a tender to sell spot naphtha cargoes for July loading from its ports, marking its first such offer since the onset of the US-Iran conflict, according to trade sources and a document reviewed by Reuters.

The state-owned oil firm is offering either 55,000 metric tons (495,000 barrels) or 80,000 tons of the petrochemical feedstock, with loading scheduled for July 5-6 at any Kuwaiti port, the document showed.

The tender closes on June 22 with same-day validity.

The refiner’s last such naphtha tender was for February shipments in January, two of the sources said.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that his government will reduce the prices of subsidised diesel from next month onwards, citing progress made in negotiations to end the war on Iran, AFP reports.

“I announced the targeted subsidised diesel, not to increase but to decrease the price of diesel even though the situation is uncertain,” Anwar said on Sunday, according to Malaysia’s Star Newspaper.

With the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, an interim deal has been agreed. In what will be a two-step peace process the first phase freezes the war by extending the ceasefire for another 60 days. It commits Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and the US to end its blockade. That process is already underway. But the hard part lies ahead as the second phase has to address the nuclear file and other thorny issues. If reaching a preliminary agreement proved so difficult, negotiating a comprehensive settlement will be tougher, especially with Israel’s malign presence looming in the background.

After four months of war, both sides wanted an exit ramp from the fighting. President Donald Trump seemed to want it more. Domestic political and economic pressure mounted on him, especially the fear that higher oil prices and inflation would hit American consumers and damage the US economy. This, as mid-term Congressional elections loomed with an unpopular war and the Republican party increasingly divided.

Moreover, continuing the conflict did not seem to bring Trump closer to any of his ever-changing objectives. If regime change was a core objective, the war failed to achieve that. More bombs would not have secured that outcome or his other stated aims. Around 40 times in 90 days Trump claimed “a deal is imminent”. This reflected his desperation for one as well as the constant effort to calm markets and drive down oil prices. The economic consequences of the Strait of Hormuz’s prolonged closure had begun to weigh heavily on Washington.

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Oil prices fell on optimism over US-Iran peace talks, with mediators flagging a “roadmap” to a final agreement, AFP reports.

Both main oil contracts fell in early trade, while most stock markets advanced.

“Following the positive response last week to reports of a US-Iran ceasefire, markets are likely to open with a cautious tone to start the new week as it remains clear that the situation in the Middle East remains fragile,” said National Australia Bank’s Skye Masters.

Two vessels operated by South Korea passed through the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on a ceasefire agreement last week, media reports said, according to Reuters.

Iran’s foreign minister has posted an image juxtaposing schoolgirls killed in a US-Israeli strike on Iran with imagery from the World Cup.

“From the football pitch to the negotiating table to the battlefield, every step we take as Iranians is part of a larger struggle: defending the honor and dignity of our dear people,” Araghchi wrote.

His post came as mediators hailed progress in the US-Iran talks in Switzerland and as Iran drew in their World Cup match against Belgium.

The United States expects talks with Iran to continue through the night in Switzerland, a US diplomat told reporters in Burgenstock, where the local time currently is 2:10am.

The United States expects talks with Iran to continue through the night, a US diplomat has told reporters in Burgenstock, where the local time currently is 2:20am.

A US diplomat at the Swiss venue told reporters the Iranian delegation was involved in “robust discussions on all elements of the nuclear deal”, and gave clarifications on Iran’s messaging “on the Strait of Hormuz and building deconfliction mechanisms to ensure the Strait will remain fully open”, reports AFP.

CNN reported from the official’s conversation with the media that US Vice President JD Vance and the US delegation had been “engaged in constant meetings and negotiations”. CNN also quoted him as saying that the discussion also included “enforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon”.

“The official said there have been robust discussions on ‘all elements of the nuclear deal’ as they work toward building a starting point for technical talks,” CNN reported.

Brent crude futures have risen more than $1 ​a barrel after a bumpy start to talks between US and ​Iranian officials in their first ⁠meeting under an ​interim peace deal, reports Reuters.

Brent crude ​futures climbed $1.09, or 1.35 per cent, to $81.66 a barrel by 2206 GMT, ​after touching a high ​of $82.30 at the start of ‌trading.

US President Donald Trump has called the New York Times “corrupt” and “failing” over an article that contains analysts views on whether what the US and Israel regard as main threats emanating from Iran have ended.

Referring to the article titled ‘What Changed After Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much’, Trump also reiterated in a Truth Social post his claims of militarily defeating Iran.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has denied that his country sought to intervene militarily in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah are at war, after US President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested Damascus could get involved, AFP reports.

“We are looking for economic channels between Lebanon and Syria, not military ones,” Sharaa has said in an interview broadcast on television channel Al Mashhad.

Trump has told Fox News he is “disappointed Israel can’t put Hezbollah away”, adding in reference to the fight against the group: “I’m close to giving it over to Syria.”

Sharaa says in his interview that “we proposed with the United States that the war must stop,” adding that “there must be various solutions, including economic, political and social, and the re-establishment of relations and the vital economic lifeline between Syria and Lebanon.

“And alongside this, some security measures that respond firstly to Syrian and Lebanese concerns, and also Israeli concerns,” he adds.

Syria offers “many tools for having a positive impact within Lebanon, but this also depends primarily on Lebanon’s agreement”, Sharaa says. “Syria is greatly concerned with Lebanon’s domestic situation because Lebanon’s security and stability are part of Syria’s security and stability.”

Responding to a question about whether he would sit at the table with Hezbollah, Sharaa responds, “If this serves Lebanon’s interests and safeguards Syria’s interests, why not?”

Iran’s finance minister says the memorandum of understanding will lift oil sanctions, allowing the country to sell crude without restrictions and boosting foreign exchange earnings to help address the budget deficit and bring down the currency’s exchange rate, Al Jazeera reports.

Seyed Ali Madanizadeh has made the remarks to state news agency IRNA while adding that the accord would also facilitate non-oil exports and trade.

“With this agreement, oil sanctions have been lifted, and we can sell our oil without any restrictions and return the foreign exchange to the country,” Madanizadeh says, adding that the increased revenues would resolve a significant portion of concerns over the budget deficit.

Regarding previously blocked Iranian funds, the minister says they belong to the central bank and that their release will enable the bank to supply foreign currency to economic actors, which will have a “significant impact”.

The minister adds that government revenues had declined, citing two wars, a siege, and political pressure in January. He says the resulting price increases that Iranians have experienced are the consequence of those costs.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says his country has “no intention of withdrawing” from Beaufort castle, which he claims is an integral part of the security zone in Lebanon and “essential for the defense of the Galilee settlements and IDF (Israeli) forces”.

“As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have clarified, Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon,” he adds in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump has escalated his ongoing feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, writing on Truth Social that she “wouldn’t even think of becoming involved with the Islamic Republic of Iran and their very serious nuclear threat.

“For decades, we defend them but, when tested, they are not there to defend us, and the rest of the world. Not good!” he adds.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that technical issues remaining in the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran may not be easy to resolve quickly and warns that Israel could sabotage the process, Anadolu reports.

“These are important issues. It may not be easy to immediately resolve their technical details. We may see deadlocks from time to time. We need to be prepared for that. Secondly, of course, there is always an Israel waiting in the corner, ready to sabotage the process as soon as it finds the opportunity,” Fidan tells Anadolu in Cairo.

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Israel’s former prime minister Naftali Bennett says Israeli forces in Lebanon are being held back from acting against Hezbollah despite the deaths of five soldiers, Al Jazeera reports.

“The political echelon instructed them to hold their fire, and forced them to wait for approval from senior levels who aren’t in the field, in order to neutralise threats from Hezbollah terrorists who are planning to strike them,” he says, claiming that the military is being barred from deploying covering fire to protect wounded soldiers and rescue forces even after troops are hit.

Israel has announced the lifting of all restrictions imposed on northern border areas as part of the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, after fighting wound down following a flare-up, AFP reports.

“Starting at 6:00 am on Monday, June 22, 2026, all restrictions will be lifted in the Confrontation Line area,” the Israeli military says, adding that the border communities “will move to a full activity level, with no restrictions, instead of a partial activity level”.