DIRECT. War in the Middle East: Iranian military official judges "inevitable" a resumption of the war against the United States

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces the allocation of the sum of 13 billion shekels (more than 4.5 billion dollars) to secure and develop the north, bordering Lebanon, hard hit by Hezbollah bombings.

“The government took important decisions today to strengthen the north. We are investing more than 13 billion shekels, which are added to the seven billion already allocated, for a total of 20 billion shekels intended for northern communities,” declared the Israeli Prime Minister after the government’s approval of the plan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States has “no problem” with the Iranian football team.

“We have no problem with the athletes, as we have already said, nor with their support staff, but we are not going to tolerate that they include in their delegation people who, we know, have nothing to do with sport and who have links with the Guard Corps. Islamic revolution”, he assured during a hearing at the Capitol.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon left five dead, including a child, and 48 injured, announced the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Among those injured in these strikes across the south are “a doctor and five employees of the Tebnine public hospital, which suffered damage in a new episode of the series of attacks carried out by the Israeli enemy against hospitals and centers of health”, indicates the ministry in a press release.

US Central Command says the United States has disabled a vessel violating its blockade of Iranian ports.

Centcom says it “applied blockade measures against the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie as it crossed international waters towards Kharg Island.”

The United States plans to train the Lebanese armed forces to defeat Hezbollah, according to several Israeli media, including the Kan channel and The Times of Israel, relayed by L’Orient-le Jour.

An initiative supported by Israel and advanced during discussions between Lebanon, Israel and Washington.

The Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates was “deliberately targeted” last month by people seeking to cause a major incident, says the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The May 17 drone attack on an electrical installation at the plant could have caused the reactor to shut down, an “extremely serious” scenario, Rafael Grossi told journalists in Abu Dhabi after a visit to the Barakah plant.

Since the start of the conflict, the Emirates have been targeted by more than 2,800 missiles and drones, bearing the brunt of Iranian retaliation among the Gulf monarchies.

Nobitex, its CEO and three of its co-founders, as well as three other Iranian cryptocurrency exchange platforms are targeted by sanctions from the Trump administration, reports CNN.

The US Treasury Department accuses Nobitex of facilitating “payments related to Iran’s terrorist activities, sanctions evasion attempts, and transactions related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including activities associated with ransomware actors affiliated with the IRGC.”

Israel and Lebanon could conclude a peace agreement “as early as tomorrow” if it were not for the obstacle of Hezbollah, declared today the head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, when the two countries began a fourth session of talks in Washington.

“Israel and Lebanon could conclude a peace agreement as early as tomorrow. Israel has no territorial claim to Lebanon. Hezbollah is the only obstacle,” declared Marco Rubio, questioned on this subject during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

He repeated that “without Iran, there would be no Hezbollah”, also stressing that the United States, which plays the role of mediator, insisted on separating Israeli-Lebanese negotiations from those with Iran, which Tehran rejects.

Donald Trump assures that negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war are continuing. “False reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States stopped talking to each other a few days ago are false and erroneous,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Iran’s Fars news agency said today that these discussions had been suspended “for at least several days.”

“Our talks have continued without interruption, including four days ago, three days, two days, one day and today. You never know where they will lead, but as I told Iran: ‘It is time, one way or another, that you reach an agreement. You have been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot continue!'” reacts the American president.

In total, 3,468 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the start of the war on March 2, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health, including 35 since Monday. More than a million people have been displaced, according to the UN.

The death toll is 27 on the Israeli side – 26 soldiers and a civilian contractor.

Israel today continued its strikes on southern Lebanon where Hezbollah is attacking its troops, despite promises of appeasement from the United States which is sponsoring a new session of talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats.

Hezbollah will not accept a “partial ceasefire” with Israel, a senior official of the pro-Iranian group told AFP today, threatening a response from the movement in the event of an Israeli attack on Beirut and its suburbs.

“We will not accept any partial ceasefire agreement,” assured Mahmoud Qomati in a written statement. “The Zionist enemy must know that any aggression against the suburbs can lead to a stronger response” from Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that the United States had validated the principle according to which Israel would strike the southern suburbs of the capital, a stronghold of Hezbollah, if the latter targets its territory.

The United States believes that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “alive” and “increasingly involved” in the direction of the country, the head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, said today, as negotiations to end the war stall.

“I think there are signs that show that he is becoming more and more involved at a certain level, even if all his communications have been in writing and through third parties,” Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will work to put an end to the Iranian “regime of terror”, in a video released by his office.

Speaking during the induction ceremony of the new head of Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence) Roman Gofman, Benjamin Netanyahu castigated Iran as a “regime of terror which is doomed to disappear”.

“And we will help make this happen – this regime will no longer threaten us with nuclear weapons and thousands of deadly missiles,” he added.

A container ship in the Gulf was hit by two projectiles as it left a port in Iraq, the transport company MSC, headquartered in Geneva, said on Tuesday the day after the incident. The MSC and the British maritime safety agency UKMTO, which first reported the incident on Monday, said no crew members were injured.

In Iran, a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards declared that a cruise missile had targeted the MSC Sariska V, flying the Panamanian flag and belonging according to him “to the American-Zionist enemy”.

According to this spokesperson, the container ship was targeted in retaliation for an American attack on the Iranian ship Lion Star in the Arabian Sea.

Representatives from Israel and Lebanon were received today at the State Department for a new session of direct talks, as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire after Donald Trump claimed to have received a commitment from a appeasement on the part of both camps.

This fourth meeting between representatives of the two countries, which do not maintain diplomatic relations, takes place at the State Department and is scheduled to last two days.

It brings together Israeli representatives Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Nada Hamadeh Moawad, as well as Daniel Holler, a senior advisor to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is not participating in this session.

The Lebanese University announced on Tuesday that it was postponing tests in the south and southern suburbs of Beirut the day after the death of two students and their father, targeted by an Israeli strike on their return from an exam session.

The institution, the country’s only public university, “which lost a large number of its students, teachers and employees during the Israeli aggression, affirms that the security of the university community remains the highest priority”, specifies its press release.

The National News Agency (official Ani) indicated that a man from the border village of Qlayaa was killed along with his son and daughter when an Israeli drone targeted their car on a road in southern Lebanon.

“The man, a dentist, and his two children had gone to university in the morning to take exams, and on the way back, the Israeli drone hit their car,” Father Antonios Farah, their parish priest, told AFP. Qlayaa is a Christian border village where some of the inhabitants chose to stay despite the advance of the Israeli army.

Israeli strikes yesterday on the southern Lebanese city of Tire killed four people and injured 127 others, including 39 hospital staff, the Lebanese Health Ministry said today.

The strikes seriously damaged the Jabal Amel hospital, one of the city’s main establishments, the ministry said in a statement. “Four doctors, 27 nurses and eight staff members were injured, four of whom are in intensive care in critical condition,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claims that his country had obtained approval from the United States to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, in the event of an attack by the pro-Iranian group on its soil, according to a press release from his office.

“The Prime Minister and I led, with the Israeli army, a process aimed at establishing an equation according to which the fate of Dahiyeh (the southern suburbs, editor’s note) in Beirut would be linked to that of the localities in the north of Israel. If the “Israeli localities continue to be attacked, we will evacuate and strike the Shiite district of Dahiyeh in Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah,” Israel Katz said.

“The United States has validated this principle and communicated it to the Lebanese government as well as to all parties concerned (…) Either the shooting against the localities stops, or, if it continues, we will strike Dahiyeh in Beirut”, continued the minister.

Oil prices are falling this morning, while Donald Trump assured yesterday that negotiations with Tehran to put an end to the war in the Middle East were continuing “at a rapid pace” and that Israel and Hezbollah had promised him appeasement.

Around 11:30 a.m. in Paris, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in August, lost 1.59% to 93.47 dollars.

Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in July, fell 1.51% to 90.77 dollars.

Since the start of the Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon, the city of Tire has suffered significant damage.

Israeli strikes have since hit Jabal Amel Hospital, the city’s largest hospital, and transformed the surrounding area into a field of ruins.

Lebanese state media announces that an Israeli strike killed a man and his two children who were driving in southern Lebanon the day before.

“A dentist from the village of Qlayaa (…) was killed with his son and daughter” when an Israeli drone “targeted their car” on a road in southern Lebanon, indicates the National Information Agency (Ani, official).

The Christian village of Qlayaa, bordering Israel, is caught in the crossfire of Israel and pro-Iranian Hezbollah but some of its inhabitants have chosen to stay despite the advance of the Israeli army.

Inflation accelerated in May within the euro zone, with price increases reaching 3.2% year-on-year, compared to 3% the previous month, according to data published today by Eurostat.

According to this first estimate from the European Statistics Institute, consumer prices were driven by the surge in energy prices, due to the repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East, but also services and industrial goods.

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The Israeli army is calling on the Lebanese population to evacuate the town of Nabatiyé, ahead of planned attacks against pro-Iranian Hezbollah, despite the current truce.

“Hezbollah having violated the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army is forced to intervene,” says Avichay Adraee, an Arabic-speaking military spokesperson, urging residents of this town in southern Lebanon to leave their homes.

The President of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri will guarantee Hezbollah’s adherence to a “comprehensive ceasefire” with Israel, an advisor told AFP.

“President Berri’s main demand is a global ceasefire. If a global ceasefire agreement is obtained, it guarantees compliance by Hezbollah,” his advisor Ali Hamdan told AFP.

Nabih Berri – leader of the Shiite Amal movement, ally of Hezbollah – plays a key role in advancing negotiations serving as an intermediary between the pro-Iranian formation and the United States.

Last night, an Israeli strike left six people dead in a village in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Civil Defense announced this morning.

Two Lebanese soldiers were injured by an Israeli drone on the road linking the village of Habbouche to that of Deir Zahirani, in the district of Nabatieh, reports the Lebanese army on X.

The Iranian response to the latest American proposals to end the war is still under discussion and has not yet been referred to mediators, reports the Iranian Mehr news agency, citing an unidentified “informed source”.

“The United States’ history of non-compliance with commitments, as well as long-standing distrust, has led Iran to examine the issue with extreme caution,” said the same source.

The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India calls on President Donald Trump to end “the wars” raging in Iran and Lebanon.

“END the wars on all fronts and WITHDRAW from our region, lift the naval blockade, end ALL brutal sanctions against the great people of Iran, and pay for the massive destruction caused by this war, then we will gladly tell the whole world that you have won a GREAT HISTORICAL VICTORY,” the Iranian embassy quips on X.

A resumption of the war against the United States is “inevitable”, judges a senior Iranian military official, at a time when discussions between Tehran and Washington to put a lasting end to hostilities in the Middle East seem to be stalling.

“The United States demands our total surrender and the Iranian nation will never capitulate,” said a deputy of the Khatam al-Anbiya joint command, Mohammad Jafar Assadi.

“Without capitulation, war is inevitable. So we wait and war does not scare us,” adds Assadi, according to comments reported by state television (Irib).

“An agreement is within reach, Iran and the United States must do everything to conclude it,” assures the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot on France 2.

“The situation is unbearable, it only produces losers”, judges Jean-Noël Barrot, who affirms that France “is suffering the full brunt of the consequences of a war that it did not choose”.

The day before, President Donald Trump affirmed that negotiations with Tehran to end the war were continuing “at a rapid pace”, statements however denied by Iran.

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“Nothing can justify” a prolonged occupation by Israel in Lebanon, said Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot this morning on France 2.

Since the entry into the war of Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian movement, the Israeli army has led its deepest military incursion into southern Lebanon since 2000.

“Nothing can justify the continuation of military operations and the prolonged occupation of Israel in the depths of Lebanese territory. This is the reason why we called for a ceasefire,” affirms Jean-Noël Barrot.

The minister also urges both camps to “stop attacking” each other so that the “dialogue which began for the first time in a long time between the Israeli and Lebanese governments can continue.”

“If there is no calm in the north of Israel, there will be no calm for Hezbollah,” said the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on X, after having participated in an emergency meeting of the Security Council convened by France.

“The problem is Hezbollah. Hezbollah is fueling the fire. Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage and Hezbollah continues to fire missiles at Israel,” said Danny Danon.

Hezbollah claims responsibility for a rocket attack on an Israeli tank early this morning in Hadatha, in southern Lebanon, claiming on Telegram to fight against “the advance of Israeli forces”.

Today, “at 1 a.m. (midnight in Paris) Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a Merkava tank (…) with direct rocket fire”, which led to its destruction, writes Hezbollah.

The day before, fighters targeted four tanks and Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah said.

The Israeli army announced early this morning the interception of two projectiles coming from Lebanon.

“Following the sirens which sounded at 1:35 a.m. (12:35 a.m. in Paris) in several areas of northern Israel, the Israeli Air Force intercepted two projectiles which entered Israeli territory from Lebanon,” writes the army on Telegram.

The Israeli army indicates in the same message that a “suspicious air target” was identified shortly after and had fallen on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, without causing any injuries.

A tense telephone call took place yesterday between the American president and the Israeli Prime Minister after new threats made by Israel against Lebanon.

“What the fuck are you doing? You’re completely crazy! You’d be in prison if it wasn’t for me. I’ll save your ass,” Donald Trump reportedly declared according to the American media Axios.

The American president accuses Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering peace negotiations with Iran.

Yesterday, Israel once again threatened to strike the Hezbollah movement in its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, triggering the flight of residents.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited “repeated violations of the ceasefire” by Hezbollah and attacks against his country.

Concerning the situation in Lebanon, the American president indicated yesterday that he had asked the Israeli leader “not to launch a major raid on Beirut”, and that the latter had agreed to “turn his troops around”.

He also assured that Hezbollah had “agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers”. And added: “Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them.” Lebanon, too, announced that Hezbollah had accepted an American proposal for a “mutual cessation of attacks”.

Statements with little effect on the ground with continued clashes into the night.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the evolution of the war in Iran and the Middle East.

Yesterday, Donald Trump assured that negotiations with Tehran to end the war were continuing “at a rapid pace” and that detente was looming in Lebanon, as demanded by the Iranian side.

A little earlier, the Iranian news agency Tasnim had affirmed that Tehran had “suspended” dialogue with Washington because of the “crimes” that Israel “continues to commit” in Lebanon.