Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire over past 48 hours
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
"The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire ... has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region," the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country's airspace.
Explosion damages tanker off Oman, marine monitor reports
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO)said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel's port side, close to the waterline 60 nautical miles off Oman's capital Muscat.
UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea.
Iran judiciary suspends presidential body after order to restore internet
Iran's foreign ministry says US violated the ceasefire
The United States has violated the ceasefire with strikes in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's foreign ministry has said in a statement.
The US military carried out strikes late on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.
Iranian media reported early on Tuesday that sounds of explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas in the province.
"The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours... Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions", the statement said.
Sheep theft ruins Eid festivities for Palestinian shepherd
Palestinian shepherd Sameeha Rasheed was planning for the sacred ritual of sacrificing her family's sheep for the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the holiest occasions in Islam, but West Bank Jewish settlers stole them in a pre-dawn raid, she told Reuters.
Instead of celebrating, Rasheed has been left with nothing and has also been deprived of the income she would have received from selling the sheep not used by her family.
The settlers stole around 45 sheep from her home in Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets near Hebron, she said. Before the theft, they stole the family's guard dogs, so no one was alerted when the men broke in before dawn on May 21 and herded the animals away.
Photo: Mussa Qawasma, Reuters
"This is our livelihood, my husband and I live from the income from these sheep. I don't have anything to get treatment for my husband or spend on myself," said Rasheed, whose husband has cancer.
Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's two main festivals, marks the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage, when Muslims slaughter animals to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command, often distributing meat to the poor.
Ireland to ban goods from Israeli settlements in West Bank by July
Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee has said.
Ireland's government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024.
But the legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other.
Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed last week that the bill would be limited to goods and said widening the scope to services was neither "implementable" nor "viable”.
Iran seeks release of $24 billion in potential US deal, Tasnim reports
Around $24 billion of Iranian funds frozen overseas must be released under a memorandum of understanding being negotiated with the United States, a source close to Tehran's negotiation team has said, according to a report by Iran's Tasnim news agency.
The agency said Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf, had travelled to Qatar to reach agreement on a mechanism to implement this demand.
Israeli military issues evacuation warning for Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh
The Israeli military has warned residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!" the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.
Israel has continued to strike the country despite agreeing to a ceasefire and peace talks with Lebanon.
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed a man for alleged espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
"Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was executed on charges of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported, adding that his sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The Tuesday hanging is the latest in a string of executions by the Islamic republic for security-related cases since the start of the war with Israel and the US.
Iran carries out the second-highest number of executions in the world after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.
.
The agency identified the individual as Gholamreza Khani Shekarab.
Canada demands Israel probe 'appalling' treatment of flotilla members
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday that the treatment of activists detained by Israel had been "appalling" and described the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic," Carney's office said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister reiterated that the appalling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable, and he called for an independent investigation," the statement said.
Carney, it said, also reaffirmed Canada's opposition to illegal Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence in the West Bank, and violence against Palestinian civilians.
Iran's Guards reserve right to retaliate for any US ceasefire violations
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has said it reserves the "legitimate and definite" right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US, hours after Washington said it carried out strikes on Iranian boats and missile sites.
The IRCG said its air defence units shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace, state media reported.
Israeli strike on village in eastern Lebanon kills 12
An Israeli air strike on a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, the country's state-run National News Agency has said.
The strike late Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley area came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had authorised more intensive strikes targeting the Hezbollah militant group across Lebanon.
Rescue workers say that a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.
The intensified attacks come three days before Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are set to meet in Washington for direct talks.
Iran's supreme leader says regional powers will no longer be a shield for US bases
Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has said in a post on his Telegram channel.
Khamenei, whose father and predecessor Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war, has not been seen in public since.
Hebzollah says targeted three barracks, military post in Israel on Monday
Hezbollah said it staged several attacks Monday on three barracks and a military post in northern Israel "in response to the violation of the ceasefire".
The Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for at least four drone attacks on the Shomera barracks, as well as attacks on two barracks in towns in northern Israel, and another on a military post in Misgav Am, carried out around midday at short intervals.
What are the key sticking points in negotiations?
The United States and Iran have downplayed prospects for a rapid deal to end the Middle East war, despite signs of progress in talks.
Key sticking points remain over Iran’s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, with both sides signalling that major issues are still unresolved.
The New York Times, citing two unnamed American officials, said a key element of the proposed agreement was an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The question of how Iran would do so would be discussed in a "later round of negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme", the paper said.
But Iran's Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Iran made no commitments regarding its nuclear programme.
Click on the link below for the full story.
Iran national football team to stay in Mexico during World Cup
Iran's national football team will sleep in Mexico and travel to the US on the days of its three World Cup matches after Washington declined to host the squad for the tournament, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said.
Sheinbaum said FIFA approached her government after US authorities said they did not want Iran staying in the country throughout the June 11-July 19 competition, even though Iran is scheduled to play three Group G matches there.
"We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico," Sheinbaum told her daily press conference.
Iran is due to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
- US military says it carried out 'self-defence' strikes in Iran, including on missile launch sites
- Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite US strikes
- Iran's supreme leader says regional powers will no longer be a shield for US bases
- Israeli strike on village in eastern Lebanon kills 12
Rubio says Hormuz strait will reopen 'one way or the other'
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio insisted on Tuesday that the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would reopen "one way or the other", after fresh US strikes on Iran cast doubt on an accord to end the Mideast war.
"The straits have to be open. They're going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open," Rubio told reporters in the Indian city of Jaipur, where he was making an official visit.
"What's happening there is unlawful, it's illegal, it's unsustainable for the world, it's unacceptable," he said.
Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite US strikes
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that a deal with Iran was still possible despite new American strikes that cast doubt on their fragile ceasefire.
"There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we'll see if we can make progress. I think it's a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it'll take a few days," Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.
"The president's expressed his desire to make it. He's either going to make a good deal or no deal," he said.
Dollar wobbles as markets cling to hopes for Middle East peace deal
The dollar nursed losses on Tuesday on rising investor optimism of a deal being struck to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz and end the three-month-long Iran war, although fresh US attacks on Iranian targets weighed on sentiment. Despite low odds of an imminent deal, hopes of peace have pushed oil below $100 a barrel, eased pressure on emerging-market currencies, and boosted risk sentiment.
The euro held onto its gains to trade at $1.16365 on Tuesday, while the Japanese yen fetched 158.95 per US dollar. US markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was at 99.031.
"Markets are right to price some optimism because even a path toward reopening Hormuz lowers the extreme tail risk around oil, inflation and global growth," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore.
Yesterday's key developments:
-
Vessels carrying Middle East oil, liquid natural gaz exit Hormuz Strait, head for Pakistan, China
- Israel military issues new evacuation warning to 10 Lebanon villages
- Iran says charging fees for "navigational services" through Strait of Hormuz
- Mexico accepts to host Iran during the World Cup
- Israel's Netanyahu orders escalation of Lebanon offensive to "crush" Hezbollah
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
