Israel currently occupies swathes of southern Lebanon and Katz said that troops won\u2019t withdraw from the land.<\/p>\n
Despite launching the war on Iran alongside the US in late February, Israel was freezed out of the Pakistan-mediated negotiations over the peace deal \u2013 and many Israeli politicians and members of the public want the IDF to continue its war on Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah\u2019s capabilities further.<\/p>\n
At least 3,711 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on 2 March, according to the country\u2019s health ministry. Israel\u2019s renewed war on Lebanon was triggered in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.<\/p>\n
As well as killing many civilians, the Israeli assault on the country has led to the widespread demolition of homes in southern Lebanon and triggered a refugee crisis in which hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee in response to sweeping evacuation orders often given at little or no notice.<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n Egypt also welcomed the framework peace deal, saying it could be a \u201cturning point\u201d for stability in the region. Cairo\u2019s foreign ministry said:<\/p>\n double quotation markEgypt hopes that this agreement will constitute a major turning point toward strengthening mutual trust, laying new foundations for cooperation, creating a supportive environment for peace and advancing diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing remaining regional issues.<\/p>\n Although Egypt, a close US ally, was not directly involved in the \u200bwar, it has been heavily affected, particularly in the energy sector, as it \u200cdepends \u2060on imported fuel. Costs have soared with the disruption of oil and gas production and trade across the region.<\/p>\n Egypt sought to position itself as a mediator between the US and Iran as it tried to contain the spiralling economic and security fallout from the conflict.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.04 EDT<\/p>\n Speaking at the start of a press conference in Downing Street where he was announcing a ban on social media use for under-16s, the UK\u2019s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he welcomed the US-Iran deal.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is a hugely significant moment. We have long called for de-escalation, and it is vital that all parties seize this opportunity to secure stability in the region and risk of freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz, which in turn will ease the economic pressures felt by people here in the United Kingdom and around the world. <\/p>\n We will now work closely with our partners to support this agreement and to ensure it turns into a durable lasting peace.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An \u201cIsraeli source\u201d has told CNN<\/a> that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has privately blamed Jared Kushner, Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, for creating a wedge between himself and the president.<\/p>\n According to this source, Netanyahu believes the American negotiators were influenced by \u201cQatar, which, fearing Iran, pushed positions that widened gaps between Jerusalem and Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran yesterday to finalise terms of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding and have been a key diplomatic channel alongside Pakistan.<\/p>\n Qatar has close contacts with leaders in Tehran and shares access to the world\u2019s biggest field of natural gas deposits with Iran.<\/p>\n Like other Gulf countries, it is incredibly vulnerable to attacks from Iran and was targeted by missiles and drones at the beginning of the war as Tehran started striking US-allies in the region in retaliation for being attacked by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>IDF will remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza ‘indefinitely’, Israel’s defence minister says<\/p>\n Israeli newspaper Hareetz has quoted<\/a> the country\u2019s defence minister, Israel Katz, as having said that \u201cthe IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza \u2013 indefinitely \u2013 to defend the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel currently occupies swathes of southern Lebanon and Katz said that troops won\u2019t withdraw from the land.<\/p>\n Despite launching the war on Iran alongside the US in late February, Israel was freezed out of the Pakistan-mediated negotiations over the peace deal \u2013 and many Israeli politicians and members of the public want the IDF to continue its war on Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah\u2019s capabilities further.<\/p>\n At least 3,711 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on 2 March, according to the country\u2019s health ministry. Israel\u2019s renewed war on Lebanon was triggered in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.<\/p>\n As well as killing many civilians, the Israeli assault on the country has led to the widespread demolition of homes in southern Lebanon and triggered a refugee crisis in which hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee in response to sweeping evacuation orders often given at little or no notice.<\/p>\n A man inspects the damage in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on 15 June 2026. Photograph: ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n German foreign \u2060minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday \u2060that \u2060the strait \u200bof Hormuz must be \u2060made navigable again without any restrictions after \u2060US and Iranian officials \u200bsaid \u200cthey had \u200creached an agreement \u200cto end their war and reopen the vital shipping route.<\/p>\n \u201cIt must be made \u200cclear that the strait of Hormuz \u200bis once again open to shipping, without any restrictions \u2060whatsoever and without any \u200bpossibility of \u200blevying customs \u200bduties or \u200bsimilar charges,\u201d \u200cWadephul said \u200bbefore \u200bmeeting with European counterparts in Luxembourg.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.48 EDT<\/p>\n Israeli far-right minister criticises US-Iran deal and urges stronger campaign in Lebanon<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, on Monday denounced the deal between the US and Iran to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon, insisting his country was not bound by it.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump\u2019s agreement does not bind us… we are not party to this agreement. It does not safeguard our security,\u201d Ben Gvir said on his Telegram channel, in what was the first reaction from an Israeli official to the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must not settle for anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from a single inch of territory that our soldiers have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel is not partners to the US-Iran agreement. Photograph: Atef Safadi\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.29 EDT<\/p>\n The announced \u2060deal between the United States and \u2060Iran marks \u2060a \u201cpotential \u200bbreakthrough\u201d in the war and the \u2060EU will now weigh how it \u2060can be involved \u200bin \u200cthe next phase, \u200cEU foreign policy \u200cchief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom economic leverage to nuclear expertise and longstanding \u200crelationships with Gulf partners, the EU \u200bstands ready to contribute to a sustainable resolution,\u201d Kallas said \u2060in a post on X, \u200bbefore \u200ba meeting \u200bof foreign affairs \u200bministers \u200cfrom the \u200b27 \u200bEU member states in Brussels.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The agreement between the United \u2060States and Iran should allow for the \u201cimmediate reopening\u201d \u2060of the \u2060Strait \u200bof Hormuz, EU Commission President Ursula von \u2060der Leyen said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe priority now is \u2060its swift and full implementation \u200bby all parties,\u201d \u200cvon der \u200cLeyen said about the \u200cannounced deal.<\/p>\n \u201cFreedom of navigation must be restored toll-free. This is essential for regional stability and the global economy. It opens \u200cthe door to broader negotiations on peace and \u200bsecurity in the Middle East,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen also said that peace \u2060in the Middle East was impossible \u201cwhile \u200bLebanon \u200bis in flames.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cOnce \u200bagain Europe calls on \u200ball \u200cparties to \u200brespect \u200bLebanon\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity and implement a genuine ceasefire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n European Union chief Antonio Costa welcomed Monday a deal between the US and Iran to end the Middle East war, adding that the bloc was ready to contribute to a strategy for \u201clasting peace\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to an end to this costly war and to the full restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>,\u201d Costa, the European Council President, wrote on X.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>What do we know is in the US-Iran peace deal?<\/p>\n The United States and Iran said they reached a deal to end the Middle East war on all fronts including Lebanon, and reopen the vital strait of Hormuz, but offered little indication on the thorny question of Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme, reports Agence France-Presse.<\/p>\n Washington and Islamabad said the agreement was to be signed on Friday in Switzerland. But the content of the deal, which follows weeks of fraught negotiations and periodic threats from Trump of fresh hostilities unless Iran reached a deal, remained unclear.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Mehr news agency reported the US would release $12bn in frozen assets to Iran before the start of negotiations.<\/p>\n This image from an Airbus Defence and Space\u2019s Pl\u00e9iades Neo satellite shows a truck in the upper lefthand corner that analysts believe was carrying highly enriched uranium to a tunnel in the compound of the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, in Isfahan, Iran, 9 June 2025. Photograph: Airbus Defence and Space\u00a9\/AP<\/p>\n It quoted a 14-point \u201cmemorandum of understanding\u201d between the two nations, which it said stipulated \u201cthe release of 24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets during the 60?day negotiation period\u201d that begins after the MoU is signed.<\/p>\n The Trump administration didn\u2019t immediately comment on the details of the agreement, which may prove contentious as the US presses its effort to end Tehran\u2019s nuclear ambitions and deal with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2013 believed to have been buried by US strikes last year.<\/p>\n In an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, Trump said Washington was still negotiating whether Iran would suspend its enrichment for 20 years.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.30 EDT<\/p>\n French president Emmanuel Macron said the deal between the US and Iran will be discussed at the G7 summit, which begins Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains and brings together leaders of the world\u2019s major advanced economies, including president Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n People stand outside the Palais Lumiere ahead of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 12 June 2026. Photograph: Denis Balibouse\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cThe aim will be to assess the implications of this agreement, support for Lebanon, the long-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, and, of course, reaching a deal on Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic (missile) programs,\u201d Macron said in a video posted on X.<\/p>\n Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will join discussions in Evian on Tuesday. The G7 includes the US, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.31 EDT<\/p>\n Global oil prices have tumbled amid fresh hopes that a US-Iran peace deal may end the greatest energy supply crisis in the history of the market, write the Guardian\u2019s Jillian Ambrose and Jonathan Barrett.<\/p>\n The price of Brent crude dropped below $84 a barrel as the new trading week began in financial centres across Asia-Pacific, amid optimism that the strait of Hormuz could reopen shortly and bring a return of Gulf oil exports to the market.<\/p>\n A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, 15 June 2026. Photograph: Reuters<\/p>\n Read the full story below:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n How much sticking power will the \u201cgreat deal\u201d \u2013 as Trump has described it \u2013 have given that so many details are yet to be addressed?<\/p>\n Speaking to Australian Associated Press, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an expert on Middle Eastern politics who spent more than two years in an Iranian prison, said the pause in fighting would probably be temporary because of unaddressed sticking points.<\/p>\n The agreement failed to deal with Tehran\u2019s ambitions to build nuclear weapons, its use of proxies in the region, its missile program and human rights abuses, she said.<\/p>\n double quotation markEvery single reason cited for this war by the Trump administration … has not been addressed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n All those sticking points remain, and we can expect that the Islamic Republic will continue in its intransigence and resist coming to any kind of arrangement or agreement on those points.<\/p>\n This is just kicking the can down the road to the next conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.24 EDT<\/p>\n World leaders react to the peace deal<\/p>\n News of the deal has sparked comment from leaders around the globe, including in France, Qatar, the UK, Turkey, Japan and Australia.<\/p>\n Qatar\u2019s foreign ministry expressed its \u201cfull support for all efforts and initiatives aimed at enhancing regional security and stability\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed \u201cthe need to avoid rhetoric, provocations, and actions that could escalate tensions in the period leading up to the signing of the agreement, and to remain vigilant against possible sabotage.\u201d<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron called for \u201cthe urgent and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>,\u201d adding that France and the UK were \u201cready to support\u201d.<\/p>\n A man sits in front of a poster with portrait of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, at the Vanak Square in Tehran on 10 June 2026. Photograph: Atta Kenare\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n British prime minister Keir Starmer said \u201ctoll-free freedom of navigation must now be restored in the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d adding that the UK was ready \u201cto offer support on mine clearance.\u201d \u201cIt remains the UK\u2019s firm and longstanding position that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong called for \u201ccontinued restraint and constructive engagement\u201d. \u201cIran must address longstanding concerns about its nuclear program and the threat it poses to international security,\u201d they said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.09 EDT<\/p>\n Crude prices plunge, stocks surge on US-Iran peace deal<\/p>\n News of the US-Iran peace deal has been greeted by global markets with a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n The strait of Hormuz \u2013 a vital maritime chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world\u2019s crude oil supply transits \u2013 was effectively closed by Tehran soon after US-Israel strikes on Iran kicked off the conflict on 28 February, roiling global markets for months.<\/p>\n Writing on Truth Social on his 80th birthday, President Trump said:<\/p>\n \u201c I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. \u201cShips of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!\u201d<\/p>\n Pedestrians walk past an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on 15 June 2026. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Crude prices tanked as much as 5% Monday, with West Texas Intermediate approaching $80 a barrel for the first time since the start of March. Brent was down more than 4% at about $83.60<\/p>\n Asian equities surged, led by Tokyo and Seoul, which piled on more than 5% apiece.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.04 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s been an eventful day, with the most substantial development we have seen so far in reaching a peace deal.<\/p>\n The tentative agreement comes more than three months after the US and Israel launched strikes Iran. But a lot of questions remain.<\/p>\n This helpful explainer addresses what we know, and don\u2019t, so far.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Opening summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, with the US and Iran agreeing to a tentative deal to end the war.<\/p>\n There are still many details to be ironed out after an MoU is expected to be signed in Geneva on Friday.<\/p>\n Here is what we know so far.<\/p>\n The US and Iran have reached a tentative peace deal to end the war, although many critical questions and details, including the reopening of the strait of Hormuz, and the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, remain unanswered.<\/p>\n The agreement was first announced by Pakistan\u2019s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who has been acting as a mediator. Minutes later, Donald Trump confirmed the deal, writing: \u201cThe Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!\u201d<\/p>\n Trump subsequently said the \u201cGreat Deal\u201d would bring peace and security to the region and claimed the strait of Hormuz would be reopened. \u201cThe Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace,\u201d he said in a post on Truth Social. \u201cWith the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!\u201d<\/p>\n In televised comments, Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the agreement with the United States puts an \u201cimmediate end\u201d to the countries\u2019 war. He said the end of the war had been declared on all fronts, including Lebanon.<\/p>\n However, how the strait of Hormuz will be managed seems uncertain, with Iran\u2019s state media Mehr saying that an MoU expected to be signed in Geneva on Friday stipulates that it will be carried out under \u201cIranian arrangements\u201d.<\/p>\n In a call to the New York Times, Trump claimed that under the deal the strait would be \u201cpermanently toll free\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5500.jpg\")
A man inspects the damage in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on 15 June 2026. Photograph: ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peter_Walker.png\")
Peter Walker<\/p>\n