Qatar seeks to mediate latest escalation of Middle East conflict<\/p>\n
Qatar, which has been mediating throughout the conflict, has held talks with Iran on Monday. <\/p>\n
Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is Qatar\u2019s prime minister and foreign minister, spoke with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran, the Qatari foreign ministry said. <\/p>\n
The two discussed mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, and the developments in Lebanon, according to the statement, which did not mention the latest fighting between Iran and Israel.<\/p>\n
![\"TOPSHOT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/KOGRS32KTHBZ3QV54LOOTC3DCM.jpg\")
TOPSHOT – A man checks a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho following Iranian and Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI \/ AFP via Getty Images) \/ <\/p>\n
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n
IRGC targets Israeli air bases <\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has targeted two Israeli air bases in Nevatim and Tel Nof, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Republic News Agency reports the IRGC as saying the operation was carried out in response to missiles Israel had fired \u201cagainst several radar sites in three locations\u201d in Iran.<\/p>\n
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n
Houthis join in fight against Israel<\/p>\n
Yemen\u2019s Iran-aligned Houthis \u200bsaid on Monday \u200bthat \u2060they would \u200cban \u200cIsraeli \u200bmaritime \u2060navigation \u200bin \u200bthe Red \u200cSea.<\/p>\n
They also \u200bsaid in \u2060a \u2060statement \u200bthat they \u200chad attacked \u2060Israel. <\/p>\n
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Oil surges following renewed violence <\/p>\n
The price of oil surged after Israel <\/a>said it struck military targets in Iran following missile attacks by the Islamic Republic,<\/a> threatening a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East as talks to end the war falter.<\/p>\n Brent spiked as much as 4.4 per cent to $97.15 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate jumped above $94 before trimming some gains. <\/p>\n \u201cThis weekend\u2019s escalation between Israel and Iran shows us once again how fragile the ceasefire is,\u201d said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. \u201cIncreased hostilities result in a greater geopolitical risk that the strait could be closed longer than expected, while raising the odds that Iran could take additional steps to restrict shipping in the Red Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if a US-Iran peace deal is agreed, multiple hurdles will impede normal resumption of oil flows. Among them, mines in the Strait of Hormuz must be removed, shut-in fields may take months to restart, and damage to energy infrastructure from drone and missile strikes needs to be repaired. <\/p>\n Europe\u2019s natural gas benchmark also jumped on Monday as the risk of a prolonged conflict threatens to choke global liquefied natural gas exports at a time when the region should be refilling inventories.<\/p>\n Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n Iran says transit fee to apply in Strait of Hormuz <\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz will be open \u200cbut under new conditions to be set by Iran <\/a>and Oman, including a transit fee, Iran\u2019s \u200cambassador to Moscow was quoted as saying on Monday.<\/p>\n The US-Israeli war on Iran<\/a> has largely \u200bcut oil flows via the strait, which before the conflict saw one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil pass through. Several tankers have managed to pass through it recently, but oil \u200band liquefied natural gas flows are still severely constrained.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, this strait will be open, \u2060but with new conditions to be determined by the Iranian and \u200cOmani authorities,\u201d \u200cAmbassador \u200bKazem Jalali told the Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview published on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that Iran and \u2060Oman provide certain services related \u200bto this strait. And fees will \u200bbe charged for those services,\u201d he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n Iran has asserted that \u200ca permanent peace deal should allow it \u200bto demand fees for ships passing through the strait, which would \u2060vary depending upon the type \u2060of ship, \u200bits cargo and prevailing conditions.<\/p>\n That position is vehemently opposed by US president Donald Trump. In late May, the US warned Oman not to get involved in any effort with Iran to impose a toll and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Oman\u2019s ambassador had told him there were no plans to impose such tolls.<\/p>\n Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n Trump \u2018not happy\u2019 about Israeli action <\/p>\n Tehran launched about 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel in response to Israel bombing a target in southern Beirut. <\/p>\n Donald Trump told a Fox News reporter he wanted Iran to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. He said Israel\u2019s strikes in Lebanon<\/a> were not co-ordinated with the US and \u201cI\u2019m not happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n A senior US official said Trump had called Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a>, to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack. <\/p>\n The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said that Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait.<\/p>\n Trump \u201cgot Bibi to hold off for the time being,\u201d the official said. The official would not offer any other details of the call, and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Speaking to the Financial Times before Israel hit Iran, Trump insisted he dictated terms to Netanyahu on how the war should be prosecuted. <\/p>\n \u201cHe won\u2019t have any choice,\u201d Trump told the newspaper in a telephone interview, adding that he calls \u201call the shots\u201d, not Netanyahu.<\/p>\n The skirmishes in Lebanon have been an obstacle for Iran-US negotiations. Tehran insists Lebanon be included in a broader ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Trump told NBC News he was not demanding that Lebanon be part of any peace deal with Iran, claiming again that such an agreement, which has so far proved elusive, was near.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019d like \u200bto see it, but I\u2019m not demanding,\u201d Trump said in the interview recorded on Friday. He added: \u201cWe\u2019re very close to a deal, or I\u2019m going \u200cto \u2060blow the hell out of them [Iran].\u201d<\/p>\n Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n Israel strikes Iran despite Trump plea <\/p>\n Israel<\/a> launched airstrikes on central and western Iran<\/a> on Monday in apparent defiance of Donald Trump<\/a> after he urged restraint over a reprisal attack by Tehran in an escalation that threatens to drag the Middle East back into a regional war.<\/p>\n It was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran<\/a> in April. Iran\u2019s attack came in response to earlier strikes on Beirut by Israel.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/OJIJBTTZ6Y6SH4LFIETI3VWHXU.jpg\")
A small boat moves along the shoreline where larger ships are all anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran. Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA\/AP <\/p>\n![\"Lebanese](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3VULN6HBPPZONJ4DPSKXCXYVS4.jpg\")
Lebanese security officers gather at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs on Sunday. Photograph: Hassan Ammar\/AP <\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PB3IF3FOYLNOWX5BYL7H2EB62Q.jpg\")
People wave Iranian and Hizbullah flags during a rally following Iran’s attack on Israel, at Valiasr square in Tehran on Sunday. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh\/EPA <\/p>\n