Trump says Iran is making big concessions

US ​President ​Donald Trump said ​that ‌Iran ⁠is ‌making very ⁠big concessions.

“We’re winning ​by a ‌lot. Iran is ‌making ​very big concessions. We’ll see what ​happens,” ​Trump ​told reporters.

Israel army says suspected Hezbollah militants struck in Lebanon ‘security zone’

The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike targeting suspected Hezbollah militants who crossed into the so-called “security zone” it has created in southern Lebanon, the second such incident it reported within hours.

“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 said.

“Following the identification, the Israeli Air Force struck the suspects in order to remove the threat,” it added, vowing that the military “would not allow Hezbollah” militants to harm its troops.

Rubio says US-Iran technical talks due on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believed technical talks between the United States and Iran would resume on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland.

“The technical group will be back, I believe, on the 29 or the 30 … I believe they’re going back to Switzerland, if I’m not mistaken,” Rubio said.

Rubio says US will be ‘completely aligned’ with Gulf allies in Iran talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington would 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.

“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 said, adding the US would “engage them on conversations about every decision that’s made with regards to this negotiation”.

Rubio says ‘no country’ supports imposing fees on Hormuz Strait

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believed all countries were against Iran imposing fees for transiting the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

“I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or fees for the use of the strait,” Rubio said during a tour of the Gulf to reassure close US allies who were hit hard by Iran during the Middle East war.

US airline stocks rise as oil retreats to pre-Iran war levels

US airline stocks rose 3 percent to 7 percent after crude prices fell to their lowest since before the Iran war, raising hopes that pressure on carriers’ earnings could ease, though ​the benefits ‌are unlikely to passed on to passengers immediately.

Rubio says US won’t do anything that would undermine Gulf security

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ​⁠said ‌the United States ⁠will not do anything ​that would ‌undermine the security ‌of US ​allies in the Gulf region when ​it ​comes ​to dealings ​with Iran.

Israel PM Netanyahu completes testimony in corruption trials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded his testimony in his graft trials, a justice ministry spokeswoman told AFP, as he grapples with a US-Iran deal widely interpreted as detrimental to the country’s interests.

Netanyahu has testified in 98 hearings since December 2024, many of them shortened or delayed upon the request of his lawyer Amit Hadad due to his security meetings, government duties or health issues.

Netanyahu is facing charges in two cases in which he allegedly negotiated favourable media coverage from Israeli news outlets, and a third involving accusations that he accepted more than $260,000 in luxury gifts from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

Israeli forces kill man in West Bank raid, Palestinian health ministry says

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a house raid in a town in the northern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry, a paramedic and a local resident said.

The health ministry said that the Palestinian body in charge of coordinating with Israeli authorities had notified it of the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Zayed, who was “shot dead by the occupation (Israeli) forces in Yamun”.

UN maritime head tells AFP will take ‘few weeks’ to evacuate all Gulf sailors

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 Organization told 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 said in an interview.

Israeli defence minister says ‘no US demand’ to withdraw from Lebanon

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the United States has not demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, a condition reportedly set by Tehran in ceasefire negotiations.

“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 said he told US Defense 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”.

Italy slams NATO chief’s comments on Iran war flights

Italy criticised comments by NATO chief Mark Rutte on the politically sensitive issue of US forces using bases in Italy during the Iran war.

Responding to President Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO allies for not supporting the US, Rutte told 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 told the network ahead of an expected meeting with Trump.

Italy’s defence ministry in a statement said Rutte’s words gave “a completely misleading message by confusing the type of flights that were authorised”.

US Embassy in Kuwait resumes operations after Iranian attacks

The US Embassy in ​Kuwait has ‌resumed operations ⁠that were suspended following ‌attacks in March by Iran, ⁠a State Department spokesperson said.

The embassy ​will immediately resume ‌emergency services for American citizens while other services ‌will be phased in, ​the spokesperson said.

The State Department shut down embassy operations in ​Kuwait and Saudi Arabia ​in March ​after Iranian drones fired at ​the missions following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Lebanon says Israeli strike on vehicle in south kills two

An Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed two people, Lebanese state media reported, a day after Israeli gunfire killed two people which militant group Hezbollah called a “violation” of a truce between the two sides.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that “two people were killed” when an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle near the town of Kfar Rumman.

The Israeli military had said earlier that it targeted “two armed Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Ali al-Taher Ridge” near the city of Nabatieh “who posed a threat”, vowing that it will “continue to operate to remove immediate threats”.

Does Senate rebuke show Trump’s grip on GOP is slipping?

The ​US Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing President Donald Trump to halt US military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress.

While likely to remain largely symbolic, the vote was a setback for Trump, who until recently had enjoyed near-unanimous support from Republican members of Congress.

• Oman announces temporary maritime corridor through Strait of Hormuz
• Rubio kicks off Middle East trip as allies seek answers on Iran
• UN nuclear agency boss signals that inspectors will visit Iran’s nuclear sites
• Iran says deal to end Mideast war ‘declaration of US defeat’
• No withdrawal from southern Lebanon, even if the US demands it, says Israel’s defence minister

• Rubio says US-Iran technical talks due on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland

UN maritime body to begin evacuating sailors as Hormuz toll dispute continues

An evacuation plan to enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz is underway after Iran and the US reached a ceasefire deal, the United Nations’ shipping ⁠agency said on Tuesday.

Rubio kicks off Gulf ‘charm offensive’ amid allies’ fears over US-Iran deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged he faces a delicate mission this week pitching Washington’s Iran peace deal to Gulf Arab leaders who fear excessive concessions will strengthen Tehran and reshape the region’s security balance and oil flows.

FRANCE 24’s Rochelle Ferguson-Bouyahi takes a closer look at what she says is likely to be a “charm offensive” from the US’s top diplomat.

Brent crude under $75 for first time since start of war

The price of Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, extended losses to trade under $75 a barrel for the first time since the start of the Middle East war.

Brent slid 3.1 percent to $74.73, extending its fall since the United States and Iran last week struck a deal to end the conflict that began on February 28.