Updated at\u00a013.56 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement<\/a> that it has so far redirected 142 commercial ships and \u201cdisabled\u201d nine vessels as part of the US blockade against Iran.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader, said in a statement on X that \u201czero hour has arrived\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA computational error in Beirut exhausted patience, and the order was issued,\u201d he wrote. \u201cZero hour has arrived, and the launchers are preparing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the fire of mischief in Lebanon<\/a> is not extinguished, the two powerful geographic arms \u2013 Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab \u2013 will squeeze your economic lifelines to the point of strategic suffocation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.56 EDT<\/p>\n Iran’s foreign ministry says it hold US responsible for Israel attacks in Lebanon<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said that it holds the US directly responsible for Israel\u2019s ceasefire breaches in Lebanon<\/a>, Reuters is reporting, following the recent Israeli attack on Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.07 EDT<\/p>\n UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres criticized Israel\u2019s strikes on Beirut that threatened US plans for Washington and Tehran to sign a framework peace deal later in the day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strikes took place despite the ceasefire and at a time when the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran<\/a> are expected to reach an agreement that will pave the way to a peaceful resolution of this conflict,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI urge all parties to show maximum restraint at this crucial moment and I strongly hope for a successful outcome of the ongoing efforts by the US and Iran,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Flights in western Iran cancelled, state media says<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s state broadcaster said that flights at airports in the west of the country are cancelled, after Tehran warned it would respond to an Israeli attack on Beirut.<\/p>\n \u201cFlights from airports in the western part of the country have been cancelled until further notice,\u201d state television reported following the warning from Iran\u2019s top security body.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.33 EDT<\/p>\n Gaza\u2019s civil defence service and hospitals said Israeli attacks killed at least six people on Sunday in the latest violence to hit the Palestinian territory despite a months-old ceasefire, AFP reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Israeli military said it has killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike on southern Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ali Mussa Dakdouk was targeted on Friday in an area south of the Litani River, Israel<\/a> Defence Forces said.<\/p>\n It described him as having \u201cserved as a source of knowledge with extensive operational experience\u201d.<\/p>\n The IDF added that in recent years, Dakdouk \u201cplayed a central role in advancing terrorist attacks and combat operations against Israel and IDF soldiers\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader has responded to Israel\u2019s attack in Beirut by writing on X: \u201cWe will teach the attackers a regrettable lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.56 EDT<\/p>\n Donald Trump was forced to call for restraint on Sunday after Israel launched fresh airstrikes on Beirut as mediators sought to conclude negotiations on a preliminary peace deal between Iran and the US that would bring the three-month war in the Middle East to a definitive end.<\/p>\n Trump played down new Israeli strikes but said \u201call sides should stand down\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon \u2026 There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah<\/a>, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace \u2013 Let\u2019s not blow it!\u201d the US president posted to his social media site.<\/p>\n Trump had previously suggested the US could sign an agreement with Iran on Sunday, but as the evening came in the Middle East, there was no sign of a breakthrough<\/a>. Instead, Iranian officials threatened a military response to the Israeli attack on Beirut, which destroyed a building in the Lebanese capital\u2019s southern suburbs, killing three and injuring six.<\/p>\n Trump told the Axios news site that the Israeli strike had \u201cdelayed the signing by a few hours\u201d and, using an expletive, said he had told the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he had no judgment.<\/p>\n Israel said it had targeted senior Hezbollah commanders after the militant Islamist organisation \u2013 which has close links with Tehran \u2013 launched three projectiles into northern Israel.<\/p>\n A strike on Beirut by Israeli forces a week ago triggered a short but intense new round of fighting between Iran<\/a> and Israel, momentarily destabilising negotiations between Tehran and Washington.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran warns ‘imminent’ response coming to Israeli strike on Beirut<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s highest national security body warned on Sunday that a response was \u201cimminent\u201d following an Israeli strike targeting Tehran\u2019s ally Hezbollah in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe response of the fighters of Islam is imminent,\u201d the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on X. \u201cLebanon is our life and violation of the red lines of the Islamic Republic will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.56 EDT<\/p>\n The secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, addressing the recent Israeli military action in Lebanon<\/a>, warned that a response from the \u201cIslamic warriors\u201d is coming, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump reiterated that a peace deal with Iran was still on track to be signed within hours, despite an Israeli strike on Beirut that he said had delayed the plan, adding that he told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he has \u201cno fu*king judgement\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shook it up. It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now,\u201d Trump said in a phone call with Axios.<\/p>\n Trump fumed at Netanyahu over the attack on Beirut, saying, \u201cit is so bad \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Using a string of expletives, Trump told Axios he raged at Netanyahu after Israel<\/a> struck Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs on Sunday, killing three people, in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did Bibi (Netanyahu) have to do a fucking attack?\u201d Trump told Axios. \u201cI was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement. I let him know that.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says he will ask Iran not to respond to Israeli strikes on Beirut, reports say<\/p>\n Donald Trump said he will ask Iran not to respond against Israeli strikes that targeted Hezbollah, Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump also told Fox News that he asked Israeli prime minister Netanyahu \u201cwhat the fu*k are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n Trump added that he believes a deal with Iran<\/a> will be electronically signed in the next 2-3 hours.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.51 EDT<\/p>\n Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the US is already \u201cdoing things\u201d to quickly secure safe passage through the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re already doing things I can\u2019t talk about on this program to ensure that safe passage happens as quickly as possible,\u201d Hegseth said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d \u201cSo we\u2019re all over this, we know exactly what the dynamics are.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth said \u201conce this deal is signed, our expectation is that Iran<\/a> will stop shooting\u201d at commercial shipping vessels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re attuned to what\u2019s happening with Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel<\/a>, which they need to stop doing,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cIran needs to encourage them to stop doing that in very adamant ways\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Iran wants this to hold, they need to pull back Hezbollah, no doubt,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s foreign ministry said in an X post that \u201cIran\u2019s proxy, Hezbollah, is the one that attacked Israel<\/a> again this morning, completely unprovoked\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHezbollah constantly fires at Israeli civilians,\u201d it said, adding that these attacks have continued \u201ceven after the ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was Hezbollah that launched an unprovoked attack on Israel in March, acting under the orders of its Iranian masters,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The statement came in response to comments that were made Sunday by Iran\u2019s top negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Israel\u2019s latest strikes on Beirut show the US is not fulfilling its commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Zionists\u2019 incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so. By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions. The game of bad cop and good cop is outdated,\u201d Ghalibaf wrote. \u201cIf you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s army said in a social media post that \u201cseveral suspected aerial targets\u201d fell a short while ago in the north of the country, near the Lebanese border.<\/p>\n \u201cNo injuries were reported, and the incident is under review,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says Israel’s attack on Beirut ‘should not have happened’<\/p>\n In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump<\/a> has criticised Israel for attacking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier today seeing as Washington and Tehran are \u201cso close\u201d to a peace deal.<\/p>\n Trump said there should be no more attacks on Lebanon<\/a>, something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very unlikely to accept. He also warned Hezbollah, the Iran backed Lebanese militant group, of striking across the border into Israel.<\/p>\n Trump said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis morning\u2019s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.<\/p>\n We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace \u2014 Let\u2019s not blow it!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.55 EDT<\/p>\n Despite Iran\u2019s cautious statements, the US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told ABC News\u2019s \u2018This Week\u2019 programme that Donald Trump<\/a> and his vice-president JD Vance have every \u201cintent\u201d for an agreement with Tehran to be signed today.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll leave the actual details and timing to the White House,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Iranians are incredibly difficult negotiators coupled with the fact that they\u2019re having a very hard time getting guidance from their supreme leader.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m confident, the team is confident,\u201d Waltz added. \u201cI\u2019ll let the final details be announced by them. I don\u2019t want to get ahead of the president or the vice president, but they have every intent of getting this done today.\u201d<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n The proposed deal calls for reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on either side of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran\u2019s nuclear program would take place afterwards.<\/p>\n According to Iranian officials, the agreement would end conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, and ensure the release of $24bn (\u00a318bn) of Iran\u2019s frozen assets, as my colleagues note in this story.<\/a><\/p>\n It would also set a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme, offer the suspension of sanctions on the sale of Iran\u2019s oil and petrochemical products, allow Iran to levy service charges on passage through the strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, which has been in place since 13 April.<\/p>\n![\"Jason](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Jason_Burke.png\")
Jason Burke<\/p>\n