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Middle East crisis live: Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire; US House rebukes Trump over Iran war | US-Israel war on Iran
Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire
Israel and Lebanon have reportedly agreed to renew their shaky ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.
In a joint statement released after a fourth round of US-mediated talks at the state department in Washington DC, Israel and Lebanon said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River.
It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas, the Associated Press is reporting.
The statement – released by the state department – said:
These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement. All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”
The last reference is to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and insists Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a framework agreement with the US to end the war on Iran.
Hezbollah isn’t part of the Israel-Lebanon talks and firmly opposes the negotiations, saying it won’t abide by any agreements that may result from them.
Key events
Iran says ‘no tangible progress’ in talks with US
Iran’s foreign minister has said “no tangible progress” has been made in negotiations to end the war on Iran.
Abbas Araghchi’s comments come as the US and Iran have exchanged fresh missile and drone strikes, further jeopardising efforts to secure a new agreemen to end the war.
“Communications with the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen television.
He continued:
Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war. Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut.”
In contrast, Donald Trump again voiced optimism on securing a deal, telling reporters at the White House: “It could happen … over the weekend.”
“I hear the negotiation itself is going very well actually,” he said, quoted by AFP.
Whether the renewed Israel-Lebanon ceasefire holds and for how long will be in sharp focus over coming days.
The two sides agreed last month to a truce but hostilities have continued, with Israeli strikes killing more than 800 people in Lebanon since its announcement, and a dramatic intensification in fighting and bombardments over recent days.
Israel has attacked three hospitals in southern Lebanon in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and launching rockets towards northern Israel.
Earlier this week Donald Trump announced Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to scale back fighting in a mutual de-escalation, seemingly averting an Israeli strike on Beirut. But attacks from both sides were reported later and statements from both cast doubt on the agreement’s durability.
At the weekend Israeli troops raised their flag over the ancient Beaufort Castle, marking their deepest incursion into southern Lebanon in about 25 years, and Hezbollah responded with even deeper rocket attacks into northern Israel.
The joint statement on the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire also says the two sides agreed to reconvene for more talks on “political and security tracks” in the week starting 22 June – about two-and-a-half weeks away – with a “view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement”.
Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire
Israel and Lebanon have reportedly agreed to renew their shaky ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.
In a joint statement released after a fourth round of US-mediated talks at the state department in Washington DC, Israel and Lebanon said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River.
It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas, the Associated Press is reporting.
The statement – released by the state department – said:
These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement. All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”
The last reference is to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and insists Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a framework agreement with the US to end the war on Iran.
Hezbollah isn’t part of the Israel-Lebanon talks and firmly opposes the negotiations, saying it won’t abide by any agreements that may result from them.
The US is saying Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a fresh ceasefire.
The news is according to a joint statement with the US released by the State Department on Wednesday after talks in Washington DC.
Robert Mackey
The three top Democrats in the US House of Representatives have called for the Senate’s Republican leadership to pass the war powers resolution adopted by the House, which directs the president “to remove United States armed forces from hostilities with Iran”.
After the House voted 215 to 208 to approve the resolution, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement:
More than three months ago, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth plunged America into a reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East without clear objectives, an exit strategy, public support or the authorization required by the United States Congress.
Republicans have since spent billions in taxpayer dollars and carelessly put our brave men and women in uniform into harm’s way while causing gas prices at home to skyrocket out of control … It is now time for Senate Republicans to do the right thing.”
Today so far
Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Iran peace negotiations could be reached within days “ and that Iran is “pretty close” to signing an agreement with the US. “It could happen over the weekend,” he said.
Trump also said that he wanted to separate Lebanon from the Iran peace talks because “it’s a very different kind of thing”. This came within hours after the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war.
The US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday on a war powers resolution curbing Trump’s authority on the war in Iran. The vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Iran had targeted a US military ship approaching Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman – a claim that US Central Command disputed within minutes in a post on X. “Iran is lying,” the post reads. “US military assets at sea continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and unimpeded.”
One person was killed and several people were injured in an Iranian drone attack that targeted Kuwait’s airport, according to authorities and state media. Kuwaiti authorities have denied Iranian claims that the US used Kuwaiti territory and airpace launch strikes and have summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires over the matter. The Kuwait defence ministry said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched by Iran on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon on Wednesday, after earlier announcing the interception of a “hostile aircraft” that had also crossed into Israel. “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the area of Misgav Am, the Israeli Air Force intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the military said, referring to a community on the northern border.
Lebanon’s health ministry said two paramedics were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on the country’s south, with at least 130 emergency and health workers now killed since the Israel-Hezbollah war began in March. A ministry statement said that “the Israeli enemy directly targeted an ambulance belonging to the Risala Scouts Association”, which is affiliated with Hezbollah ally the Amal movement, adding that “this resulted in the martyrdom of two paramedics and left a third with highly critical injuries.
The Lebanese armed forces said a soldier was killed “as a result of being targeted by an Israeli raid” while he was travelling between the towns of Nabatieh and Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon. The state-run National News Agency reported at least six people in southern Lebanon were killed by Israeli drone strikes, while Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.
House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran
Robert Tait
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.
The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats.
Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.
The Senate voted last month to advance a resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats.
More here:
Israel, Netanayahu have been ‘a great partner’, Trump says
Donald Trump continued his remarks on Wednesday by calling Israel and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “a great partner”.
“Israel, hey look, they’ve been a great partner. Bibi Netanyahu’s been, for me, a great partner. For other people, not so good. For me, he’s been very good,” Trump said.
Trump continued:
“We were very effective, what we’ve done. They needed us. They couldn’t have done it without us, couldn’t even come close. They needed us and they got us to help them with a real problem because Iran was a real problem, a big problem, a worldwide problem. They wouldn’t have stopped with Israel. They would have blown up the Middle East.”
Trump says he wants to separate Lebanon, Iran peace talks
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he wanted to separate Lebanon from the Iran peace talks because “it’s a very different kind of thing”.
Iran has long insisted that any deal to end the wider Middle East war – which its ally Hezbollah joined on 2 March – must also halt the fighting in Lebanon.
”We’re trying to separate it. It’s a very different kind of a thing. We actually spoke to Hezbollah for the first time ever. We didn’t know they spoke,” Trump said. “They agreed yesterday that they’re not going to shoot, Israel isn’t going to shoot. We’re just going to see. But I’d like to separate it. I’d like to have a separate thing. Because it is separate.”
On Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war.
Trump says Iran peace negotiations could be reached ‘over the weekend’
Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Iran is “pretty close” to signing a peace agreement with the US and that “it could happen over the weekend”.
“Anything can happen when you’re dealing with Iran … That’s a very volatile part of the world, probably the most volatile part of the world. The people are volatile. The leadership, you see what’s going on,” he said.
But he went on to say that negotiations were going well and that Tehran and Washington could reach an agreement within days. He maintained that the heart of the negotiations come down to Iran agreeing to never own, develop or buy a nuclear weapon.
Trump said that given the strength of the US military, “we could go another two, three weeks and just wipe everybody out”.
“I’d rather not do that,” he said. “It’s very easy to do. They’re ready to do it, they want to do it but if we can get something down in writing that can accomplish the same thing without killing everybody, I’d like to do that. Most of my people would like to do that. Some people wouldn’t, but most people would.”
Iran claims to have hit US military ship, but US says ‘Iran is lying’
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Iran has targeted a US military ship approaching Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman.
Within minutes, US Central Command (Centcom) disputed that claim on X.
“Iran is lying,” the post reads. “US military assets at sea continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and unimpeded.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war, as Israel pressed its campaign against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Iran has repeatedly insisted that any deal to end the wider Middle East war – which its ally Hezbollah joined on 2 March – must also halt the fighting in Lebanon.
“The fate of the war between Iran and the Zionists [Israel] and Americans is inseparable from the fate of the battle in Lebanon, and these two fronts have been intertwined since day one,” Iranian news agencies quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV, reports AFP.
“Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war,” he continued, adding Iran’s “armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut”.
He also insisted that for the war in Lebanon to end, Israeli forces must get out of the country.
“The end of the war in Lebanon also means the end of the occupation. That is, the end of the war must be accompanied by the withdrawal of the Zionist regime’s forces from the areas they have occupied,” he told the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese broadcaster.
His comments came as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats were to hold a second day of direct talks in Washington.
They are part of a fourth round of talks since the fighting in Lebanon erupted when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
Hezbollah is sharply opposed to the direct negotiations.
A meeting between Hamas and Gaza truce mediators in Egypt has been postponed until Sunday, a source close to the movement said, as it demanded Israel halt ongoing attacks in the Palestinian territory.
The meeting had originally been planned for Wednesday in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, and was set to include a Hamas delegation headed by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, along with Palestinian factions such as Islamic Jihad and mediators from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.
“Hamas and the Palestinian factions are expected to begin consultative meetings in Cairo next Saturday” ahead of meetings between the Palestinian movements and the mediators on Sunday, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.
The source said Hamas had “requested to postpone the talks”, calling them meaningless amid “Israeli intransigence”.
Hamas spokesperson Taher al-Nunu said the movement was in “intense consultations” with the mediators to ensure “real results on the ground”.
“The mediators must compel the occupation to halt the assassinations, bombardment and starvation”, and “expedite the entry of the national committee for the administration of Gaza”, he said, referring to the 15-member board created under the truce deal, which has not yet been allowed to enter the territory it is charged with running.
A transition to the second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months.
Iran foreign minister: Contact with Washington has not been cut off
Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said in an interview with the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen on Wednesday that Tehran’s contacts with Washington have not been cut off, Reuters reports.
However, no progress has been made in negotiations, Araqchi said.
Earlier, Araqchi had posted on X that Iran’s armed forces are conducting self-defense strikes on sites the US is permitted to use to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire.
Araqchi added that any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response from Iran.
Here are some images coming out of Lebanon today:
Sirens have sounded in northern Israel over a possible hostile aircraft infiltration in the area of Zar’it, which is located near the Lebanese border, the IDF said.
More details to come.
Here is some video from the earlier Iranian strikes that hit Kuwait international airport today, killing one person and wounding several others:
