The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks ended without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
US, Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war; hold high-level talks in Switzerland
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has had a telephone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“The two sides … while reviewing the latest regional developments, emphasised the importance of continuing consultations, maintaining diplomatic channels, and strengthening joint cooperation in order to support regional stability, advance the negotiation process, and achieve positive and lasting results,” the news agency reports.
The Israeli military claims it carried out an airstrike targeting suspected Hezbollah fighters who crossed into the so-called “security zone” it has created in southern Lebanon, the second such incident it reported within hours today, AFP reports.
“A short while ago, a vehicle carrying suspects was identified crossing the security zone in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area, posing a threat to IDF soldiers,” the military claims.
“Following the identification, the Israeli Air Force struck the suspects in order to remove the threat,” it adds, vowing that the military “would not allow Hezbollah” to harm its troops.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Rubio linking regional instability to Iran-backed groups, arguing that American policies are the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.
“No one will be fooled,” he writes on X, together with a clip of Rubio condemning Iraq-based armed groups, as well as Hezbollah and Hamas.
“We can’t have a peaceful region so long as American militarism and interventionism persist, and their occupying proxy [Israel] continues, with absolute impunity, to inflict endless wars across the region and perpetrate genocide, terror violence and every atrocities,” Baghaei adds.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington will be “completely aligned” with its allies in the Gulf as it pursues negotiations with Iran aimed at finding a permanent settlement to the Middle East war, AFP reports.
“We’re going to be completely aligned with our partners in the Gulf. That’s why we’re meeting with all of them tomorrow,” he states, adding the US will “engage them on conversations about every decision that’s made with regards to this negotiation”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed confidence that all countries are against Iran imposing fees for transiting the crucial Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.
“I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or fees for the use of the strait,” Rubio says during a tour of the Gulf to reassure close US allies who were hit hard by Iran during the Middle East war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio believes technical talks between the United States and Iran will resume on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland, AFP reports.
“The technical group will be back, I believe, on the 29th or the 30th… I believe they’re going back to Switzerland, if I’m not mistaken,” Rubio says.
Rubio has been asked whether Washington would support Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
“The only reason Israel is in Lebanon is because Hezbollah launches rockets and drones from there. They’ve made that clear,” the US top diplomat has replied, according to Al Jazeera.
He stressed that Washington wants Lebanon’s military and government to be in greater control of Lebanese territory while claiming that Israel does “not have any claims on the territory of Lebanon”.
“The more of that area the Lebanese armed forces is able to secure, the less of it’s in Hezbollah’s control, the less Israel will be in Lebanon.”
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has described a 60-day sanctions waiver for Iran as “a temporary measure” while stressing that Washington expects Tehran to “live up to the commitments” made in the deal, Al Jazeera reports.
“If they don’t live up to those commitments, the president [Trump] has a lot of options at his disposal including — I’m not saying he’s going to do it, I’m saying including — reversing these sanctions,” Rubio has told reporters in Kuwait City.
“They made very straight-up commitments in Switzerland and the president has been very clear they need to keep those commitments,” he says.
“If they do, we’ll keep forward. If not, the president will have options at his disposal for what to do about it. Let’s hope they keep those commitments.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding is a “temporary measure … for 60 days”, adding that Washington expects Tehran to live up to the commitments it made during recent talks in Switzerland.
“If they don’t live up to those commitments, the President has a lot of options at his disposal,“ he tells reporters in Kuwait.
The US secretary of state says the Trump administration will be “completely aligned with [its] partners in the Gulf” as negotiations proceed with Iran, Al Jazeera reports.
“That’s why we’re meeting with all of them tomorrow, that’s why I’m taking these trips now. And it’s the reason why I’m here, apart from thanking them for the incredible support they gave us throughout this process,” Rubio told reporters.
“We want them to know, and we want to reiterate, and begin to talk to them and engage them on conversations about every decision that’s made with regards to this negotiation.
“We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies — our longstanding allies — in the region.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “the whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use an international waterway”, according to Al Jazeera.
“It’s that simple. The president has already said it: That’s not going to happen,” Rubio said, adding that he believes every country in the Gulf will be supportive of that stance.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have held telephone discussions focused on the Iran-US peace process, “especially the first round of high-level talks in Burgenstock”, according to the Foreign Office (FO).
Dar shared that the talks had led to the establishment of a “high-level committee aimed at providing oversight to the mediation process under the Islamabad MoU”.
The three working groups constituted to focus on the nuclear issue, sanctions, and monitoring and dispute resolution would aim to facilitate a final deal between the parties within 60 days, the FO added.
Wang Yi reaffirmed China’s unwavering support for Pakistan’s mediation efforts, and the two leaders reaffirmed the resolve of Pakistan and China to work closely for a negotiated settlement between the parties, the statement said.
The evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf owing to the US-Iran war will take “a few weeks”, the head of the International Maritime Organisation tells AFP.
“It will take us a few weeks before we can actually complete the evacuation” of about 600 ships stuck since the start of the conflict, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez says in an interview.
According to Anadolu, Brent crude has fallen by 4.5 per cent to $73.6 per barrel, the lowest since before the US-Iran war, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has slipped below $70, as supply concerns around the Strait of Hormuz ease.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says that the United States has not demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, a condition reportedly set by Tehran in ceasefire negotiations, AFP reports.
“We have announced that in any case we are not withdrawing and, as of this moment — and this is a diplomatic achievement — there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” Katz said in an interview at a convention of local leaders in Tel Aviv.
When asked if the army would adhere to such a US request if it arrived, Katz responds that he told US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump that “we are there to protect the residents of the north”.
Shipping monitor Kpler says that 31 verified crossings occurred across the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.
“West-to-east movements dominated, while Iranian, Omani and IMO (International Maritime Organisation) routes all remained in use,” Kpler says on X.
“The Strait appears operational under the US-Iran MoU, but dark-route activity and uncertainty beyond the 60-day window keep the recovery cautious,” it adds.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Fahd bin sultan Abdulaziz Al Saud, governor of the kingdom’s Tabuk province, has congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the prince “congratulated the prime minister on Pakistan’s remarkable diplomatic efforts”, to which the premier expressed gratitude and said that Pakistan’s peace efforts “were aimed at ensuring regional peace and stability, with the support of brotherly countries, including Saudi Arabia”.
“While recalling the historic brotherly ties between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister expressed his deepest gratitude to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his affection for Pakistan,” the statement adds.
Italy has criticised comments by Nato chief Mark Rutte on the politically sensitive issue of US forces using bases in Italy during the Iran war, AFP reports.
Responding to President Donald Trump’s criticism of Nato allies for not supporting the US in the Middle East, Rutte tells Fox News that Europe was in fact a “platform of power projection for the United States”.
“Five hundred US planes took off from US bases in Italy to support [Operation] Epic Fury. So this is massive,” Rutte tells the network ahead of an expected meeting with Trump.
He adds that there were between 4,000 and 5,000 sorties by US planes from European bases during the conflict.
Italy’s defence ministry, in a statement, says Rutte’s words gave “a completely misleading message by confusing the type of flights that were authorised”.
It states Italy had allowed only “technical and logistical, non-kinetic” US flights during Epic Fury under existing agreements with the United States.
“On the occasions when a request was put forward that fell outside this scope, as is well known, Italy did not grant authorisation,” the statement adds.
US President Donald Trump says American inspectors will participate in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) missions when it eventually enters Iran for uranium inspections, according to Anadolu.
Trump tells Fox News that there is currently “no rush” to deploy the teams and that teams will arrive on the ground at the “appropriate time.”
The US president noted that the nuclear material is trapped under a “mountain” that collapsed following targeted airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.
A family loads their belongings into a small cart as they prepare to return home following an interim deal between the US and Iran, after living in temporary tents in Beirut, Lebanon on June 24, 2026. — Reuters
At least two people have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in the southern Nabatieh area, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
The attack targeted a vehicle on the Tallat al-Dabsha road near Kfar Remman, NNA says.
