English LCCC Newsbulletin For Le

English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 15/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven
Matthew 18/01-05: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 14-15 June/2026
Israel remains tasked with eradicating Hezbollah from all of Lebanon, and its army will not withdraw before that/Elias Bejjani/June 15/2026
Gebran Bassil and Walid Jumblatt are enemies of Lebanon and are Trojan-horse mercenaries working for Hezbollah./Elias Bejjani/June 13, 2026
Dhimmi, shortsighted, and ignorant of the concepts of Wilayat al-Faqih is anyone who equates Israel on one hand, with Iran and Hezbollah on the other./Elias Bejjani/June 12/2026
Video link to an interview with Dr. Salah Machnouk from This Is Beirut Youtube Platform
Total death toll: 3,783 martyrs and 11,699 wounded
Civil Defense: Bodies of three dead recovered and six wounded transported from the site of the attack in the southern suburbs
3 Dead, 15 Wounded: New Toll from Ghobeiri Airstrike; Extensive Damage to Buildings and Shops
Trump: Israeli Attack on Beirut Should Not Have Happened; Peace Agreement Will Include Lebanon
Iranian Military Official: Israeli Airstrike on Beirut Will Not Go Unanswered
Katz Appoints Druze Major General Hisham Ibrahim as New Military Secretary
The Assassination of Hezbollah Commander Ali Musa Daqduq: Who Was He? And What Was His Connection to Washington?
Video - Hezbollah Commander Assassinated in Beirut Airstrike... Israel on High Alert, Iran Vows: Lebanon is Our Soul, and the Response is Imminent!
Lebanon Sentences 3 Exiled Journalists in Absentia Over Anti-Hezbollah Stance
Shebaa Farms: Intersecting Narratives and a Struggle for Identity
Three dead as Israel says strikes Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs
Israel strikes Dahieh anew, killing 3 and wounding 15
IDF preparing to halt ground maneuver in Lebanon
Israel says it’s preparing for ‘potential’ incoming fire in ‘coming hours’
Iran vows retaliation after Israeli strike on Beirut, says US talks pointless
IDF continues push in southern Lebanon, eliminates over ten Hezbollah field commanders
“Israel will not tolerate fire into its territory”: IDF strikes Dahieh again
Three Hezbollah drones hit northern Israel
Israel says top Hezbollah militant accused of killing US soldiers slain
Israel strikes Lebanon's south and east amid broad evacuation warnings
Lebanese Army withdraws from southern village after Israeli troops advance nearby
Israel army issues evacuation order for 29 south Lebanon villages
Iran's top security body warns response 'imminent' after Israel's Dahieh strike
Trump rips Netanyahu over Dahieh attack, says Iran deal in 'a few hours'
Trump slams Israel over Dahieh attack, urges parties to cease fire to achieve 'peace deal'
Iran says 'no point' in US talks after Dahieh strike, casting doubt on deal
Lebanon complains to UN over Israel killing of army troops, herbicide use

on 14-15 June/2026
Deal is reached to end Iran war and Trump orders stop to US naval blockade
Iran and the US Announce Agreement and Immediate Cessation of Military Operations
Trump: Iran deal to be signed within hours... Signing today will be electronic, in person in Europe next week
Trump Criticizes Obama's Iran Deal; Netanyahu Requests Urgent Meeting
Iran and the US Announce Agreement and Immediate Cessation of Military Operations
Trump: Iran deal to be signed within hours... Signing today will be electronic, in person in Europe next week
Trump Criticizes Obama's Iran Deal; Netanyahu Requests Urgent Meeting
Trump: Agreement Includes Iranian Pledge Not to Acquire Nuclear Weapons
Trump insists Middle East peace deal ‘hours’ away, blames Israel for delay
Iran media says Tehran ‘not yet’ taken final decision on US peace deal
Iran says draft US deal includes oil sanctions waiver, nuclear limits and asset release
Iran says limited cyberattack disrupts services at four banks, state media says
Trump discusses Iran and Ukraine in separate calls with Putin and Zelenskyy
Trump turns 80 with cage fight at the White House
Katz appoints Druze general Hisham Ibrahim as new military secretary
Syrian authorities seize 800,000 captagon pills in Homs and Deir Ezzor
Gaza health officials say six killed in Israeli attacks
Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 73,000
Zelenskyy says Ukraine hit oil facility, chemical plant in Russia
UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet vessel in Channel: Ministry

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 14-15 June/2026
The US-Iran agreement’s most alarming clause/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq AlAwsat/June 14/2026
'The next war with Iran will look completely different'/Lilach Shoval/Israel Hayom/ Published on 06-14-2026
I documented the horrors of October 7 but colleagues watered it down, claims UN torture rapporteur/Jane Prinsley/The Jewish Chronicle/June 14/2026
Europe in Wonderland: Belgium Criminalizes Truth...The Conviction of Dries Van Langenhove Outlaws Reality/Drieu Godefridi/Gatestone Institute/June 14, 2026
The ‘great settlement’: Trump’s financial heist, Iran’s strategic heist/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya-English/14 June ,2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 14 June/2026

on 14-15 June/2026
Israel remains tasked with eradicating Hezbollah from all of Lebanon, and its army will not withdraw before that
Elias Bejjani/June 15/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155280/
The era of the criminal, terrorist, and theocratic jihadist Hezbollah is over. It should be noted that despite all the illusory Iranian jubilation following the signing of the Iranian-American agreement, Israel remains tasked with eradicating Hezbollah from all of Lebanon, and its army will not withdraw from Lebanon before that. The bluster of the mullahs is empty and nothing but delusions.
Do not believe any leaks about the terms of the US-Iranian agreement currently circulating in Arab media.
Most of these leaks originate from the Iranian Mehr News Agency, known as a propaganda platform for the Iranian regime, and not a reliable source for revealing details of an agreement of this magnitude. Trump has not yet announced all the actual terms and details of the agreement, and there is still a 60-day period during which sensitive and crucial issues will be addressed, most notably:
- The ballistic missile program.
- Support for armed proxies and militias.
- Support for Hezbollah.
- The negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
- Israel's conditions for withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
Therefore, everything published today about the final and decisive details of the agreement should be treated with extreme caution until the full official statements and documents are released.

Gebran Bassil and Walid Jumblatt are enemies of Lebanon and are Trojan-horse mercenaries working for Hezbollah.
Elias Bejjani/June 13, 2026
Gebran Bassil has been, still is, and will remain tied by the neck and tongue to the humiliating ropes of the Party of Satan (a derogatory reference to Hezbollah). His continued presence as a politician is an insult to free people, the martyrs, and history.
Walid Jumblatt, a man of abandonment and opportunistic transformations—an opportunist, a chameleon, and a submissive figure—is alienated and estranged from the Druze community (Bani Ma‘ruf), their values, pride, patriotism, dignity, and honor.

Dhimmi, shortsighted, and ignorant of the concepts of Wilayat al-Faqih is anyone who equates Israel on one hand, with Iran and Hezbollah on the other.
Elias Bejjani/June 12/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155244/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjmYqJxPX9Y
The State of Israel is liberating Lebanon from the occupation of the Iranian and its jihadist Hezbollah, not out of love for Lebanon or the Lebanese, but because Iran and Hezbollah poses an existential threat to its entity and its people… Its interests transitionally align with the interest of Lebanon… Therefore, no equivalence should be made between a liberator (the State of Israel)—despite all its violence and destructive capacity—and a barbaric, jihadist, terrorist, and criminal occupier that destroyed Lebanon, seized its governance, and holds absolute control over its rulers, while hijacking the Shiite community, stripping it of its Lebanese identity, taking it hostage, displacing it, destroying its areas, and killing its youth in the futile wars of the Mullahs. Wisdom, reason, logic, and foresight dictate that all free people of Lebanon and friendly countries should not miss the golden opportunity that Israel offers, but should welcome it and support it by all available means, while at the same time freeing themselves from the complexes, illusions, hallucinations, and daydreams of the Nasserists, the nationalists, the rotten left, and the merchants of the lie of resistance.
Introduction: Defining Friend and Foe (00:00)
Greetings from Canada, Friday, June 12, 2026. Today’s commentary is titled: "Who is the Enemy, Who is the Friend, Who is the Occupier, and Who is the Liberator?"
We must look at this without emotions, illusions, or the outdated ideologies of Pan-Arabism or Political Islam (both Sunni and Shia). Free Lebanese seeking liberation must identify who occupies our country today and who is actually trying to free it.
01:07 | The Danger of Political Islam and the "Wilayat al-Faqih" Project
The true enemy is Political Islam. This includes the Iranian regime’s project—not the Iranian people, but the "Wilayat al-Faqih" system that seeks to export its revolution and impose a dictatorship through proxies like Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the PMF. Simultaneously, Sunni Political Islam, represented by Erdogan’s ambitions in Lebanon and Syria, poses a similar threat. The reality is that Iran and Hezbollah are the ones currently occupying Lebanon.
02:51 | Hezbollah’s Practices and Tunnel Infrastructure
Hezbollah acts as Iran’s "assassination machine." It has turned Lebanon into a honeycomb of tunnels, acting like a "mole" that destroys the land from beneath. From Beirut to the mountains and the South, they have dug tunnels under homes, schools, hospitals, and even historic sites like the Beaufort Castle (Qala'at al-Shaqif). This proves this occupier has no respect for Lebanese heritage or the safety of its citizens.
04:15 | The Shia Community as a Hostage to Iran’s Futile Wars
The Iranian occupier has taken the Shia community hostage, using its youth as "sacrifices" on the altar of the Iranian regime's futile regional wars. These fighters are victims of a project that does not serve Lebanon.
04:39 | Israeli Peace Messages and the Legacy of the Cairo Agreement
The Israeli Prime Minister has recently messaged the Lebanese people, stating they want peace and cooperation, similar to the era before the 1969 Cairo Agreement. That agreement brought chaos by allowing foreign armed groups (Palestinian, then Syrian, then Iranian) to control Lebanon. Now, even Turkey is attempting to exert influence through certain local politicians.
05:28 | Historic Intersection of Interests to Liberate Lebanon
Today, a unique opportunity exists. Israel is not dismantling Hezbollah out of "charity" for Lebanon, but because Hezbollah and Iran pose an existential threat to Israel. However, Israeli interests now perfectly align with the interests of free Lebanese. While Israel uses force, it has shown in the past (such as the 2000 withdrawal) that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. Only those stuck in the past or fueled by the hatred of Political Islam claim otherwise. We must recognize Israel as a liberator from Iranian hegemony.
08:03 | Criticism of "Dhimmi" Politicians, Media, and Clergy
Many "subservient" (Dhimmi) journalists and politicians—products of Syrian and Iranian influence—claim there are "two occupations": Iranian and Israeli. This is false. Israel is acting in self-defense and has stated it wants peace once the Hezbollah threat is removed. Many religious leaders are also criticized here for prioritizing their personal interests over the long-term vision of a free Lebanon.
09:44 | The Error of Demanding Israeli Withdrawal Before Disarmament
It is foolish for Lebanese leaders to demand an Israeli withdrawal while Hezbollah is still armed. If Israel leaves now, who will stop Hezbollah? The current political class is largely compromised or controlled by Hezbollah through fear and manufactured legal files. The President’s recent interviews suggest he is still mentally shackled by the "resistance" culture.
11:20 | Refuting Historical Distortions in President Aoun's Interview
The claim that Hezbollah was merely a "result" of Israeli occupation is a fabrication. Many of Hezbollah's own founders have admitted the group was created as an Iranian military arm to project power to the Mediterranean. Claiming Israel is the "aggressor" ignores the fact that Hezbollah initiated the current conflict to support Gaza and Iran.
13:55 | The Role of Arab States and the "Islamic" vs. "National" Cause
Waiting for the Arab League or other Arab nations to save Lebanon is unrealistic. Most of these countries have already made their own peace deals with Israel (officially or unofficially) to serve their own interests. For Political Islam, the "Palestinian Cause" is a religious issue, not a national one. Lebanon must prioritize its own national interest, which lies in peace and normalization.
14:50 | A Historic Opportunity Through the Abraham Accords
Free Lebanese should view the US-led Abraham Accords and Israel as the path to stability. Our "friends" are those who want peace. Our "enemies" are the Iranian occupiers and those (like certain regional players) who want to keep Lebanon as a "battlefield" for their proxy wars. We have gained nothing from decades of "resistance" slogans except destruction.
18:08 | The Real Distinction: Occupier vs. Liberator and Lebanon’s Future
In summary, we cannot equate Israel with Iran. There is only one occupation (Iran) and one force currently dismantling it (Israel). Israel’s military actions are a reaction to attacks launched from Lebanese soil. A responsible Lebanese official should stop calling for Israeli withdrawal until the existential threat of Hezbollah is completely dismantled. Lebanon’s future depends on being free from both Sunni and Shia Political Islam and joining the regional trend of peace and stability.
Long live Lebanon, freed by its true friends.

رابط فيديو مقابلة بالإنكليزية مع د. صالح المشنوق من موقع "هذه بيروت"/أجرت المقابلة كلوديا كرولنك
Video link to an interview with Dr. Salah Machnouk from This Is Beirut Youtube Platform
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4BmhYk5IJs
Saleh Machnouk: The Only Obstacle To Peace Between Lebanon and Israel is Iran
an exclusive interview with This is Beirut, Dr. Saleh Machnouk discusses Lebanon’s path toward sovereignty, Hezbollah’s disarmament, the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the prospects for peace with Israel. He argues that the country’s current political moment presents a rare opportunity to redefine Lebanon’s future free from external influence and armed non-state actors.The interview was conducted by Claudia Groeling is a reporter at This is Beirut covering Hezbollah, Lebanese politics, and U.S. policy in the Middle East, with previous experience at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Total death toll: 3,783 martyrs and 11,699 wounded
National/June 14, 2026
The Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health issued a statement announcing that the cumulative total of victims from March 2 to June 14 is as follows: 3,783 dead and 11,699 wounded.

Civil Defense: Bodies of three dead recovered and six wounded transported from the site of the attack in the southern suburbs
Agencies/June 14, 2026
The following statement was issued by the Media and Public Relations Department of the Lebanese Civil Defense Directorate: "Since the airstrike that targeted the Ghobeiri area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanese Civil Defense personnel have been carrying out search and rescue operations and clearing debris at the site of the attack. The bodies of three dead have been recovered from under the rubble, and six wounded have been transported to a hospital for treatment. The Directorate confirms its continued full readiness to continue response operations and take the necessary measures."

3 Dead, 15 Wounded: New Toll from Ghobeiri Airstrike; Extensive Damage to Buildings and Shops
Agencies/June 14, 2026
A correspondent for the National News Agency reported that search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site targeted by an enemy airstrike in the Ghobeiri area of Beirut's southern suburbs. The initial updated toll is 3 dead and 15 wounded, in addition to extensive damage to nearby buildings and shops.

Trump: Israeli Attack on Beirut Should Not Have Happened; Peace Agreement Will Include Lebanon
National News Agency/June 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump called for an end to any new attacks inside Lebanon. In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said, "The attack this morning on the southern suburbs of Beirut should not have happened," emphasizing that "there should be no new Israeli attacks anywhere inside Lebanon." He stressed that "there should be no attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel." Trump added, "We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region," noting that "the peace agreement will include Lebanon, and all parties must de-escalate."

Iranian Military Official: Israeli Airstrike on Beirut Will Not Go Unanswered
National News Agency/June 14, 2026
A senior Iranian military official warned on Sunday that the recent Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs "will not go unanswered," according to AFP. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters – the central operations room of the armed forces – told the Defense Press website that "without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered," referring to a new airstrike on the suburbs on Sunday that killed three people.

Katz Appoints Druze Major General Hisham Ibrahim as New Military Secretary
Israel Today Editorial Team/June 14, 2026
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz appointed Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim as his new military secretary, one of the highest-ranking positions in the Israeli defense establishment. Ibrahim, one of the highest-ranking Druze officers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), assumes his post immediately, succeeding Major General Guy Marquisino, who was appointed military secretary to Prime Minister Netanyahu last week. Ibrahim most recently headed the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, the Defense Ministry body that, under the supervision of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), oversees much of civilian life in the region. The appointment followed a personal interview between Katz and Ibrahim, based on a recommendation from IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Katz congratulated Ibrahim and expressed his confidence in his success in his new role during what he described as a "critical and challenging security period" for the State of Israel. As military secretary, Ibrahim will join Katz’s inner circle of advisors and will be responsible for ongoing coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the IDF, a highly influential position. The military secretary accompanies the minister to almost all security briefings and serves as the central liaison with the military. Ibrahim’s military career has included a series of senior command positions: he served as chief of the Armored Corps, commanded the 460th and 205th Brigades, and was deputy commander of the 91st Division on the northern border. In 2022, he became one of the highest-ranking Druze officers to command the entire Armored Corps, a position of central importance to Israel’s armored units. The appointment of a Druze general to one of the defense minister’s most trusted posts carries significant symbolic weight. Israel’s Druze community, concentrated primarily in the Carmel region and the Golan Heights, has historically been one of the most loyal segments of the population and has for decades supplied the IDF’s combat units with a substantial number of officers. Druze soldiers and officers have served in virtually all of Israel’s wars, and their representation in leadership positions in Israel is often seen as an expression of the “blood pact” between Druze and Jews. This change in the leadership of the military secretariats comes as part of a broader reshuffling: just weeks ago, Roman Gofman was appointed the new head of the Mossad, prompting Marcine, Katz’s former military secretary, to move to Netanyahu’s office. With Ibrahim’s appointment, the resulting vacancy in the defense minister’s office has been filled at a time when Israel is active on multiple fronts simultaneously, and coordination between the political and military leadership is more important than ever.

The Assassination of Hezbollah Commander Ali Musa Daqduq: Who Was He? And What Was His Connection to Washington?
Al-Markazia/June 14, 2026
The Israeli army announced that it carried out an attack last weekend (Friday) in southern Lebanon, killing Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hezbollah commander. Daqduq held a series of positions within the organization and was a key knowledge center with extensive operational experience. Over the past few years, he worked on implementing plans and fighting against the Israeli army and the State of Israel. Among his various positions were:
- Commander of the security detail for Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah
- Commander in the Radwan Force
- Commander in the operations department of the Nasr Unit
- Head of Hezbollah's infantry unit
- Commander of the "Golan File," an operational branch responsible for Hezbollah's deployment in Syria and the establishment of military infrastructure near the borders of the State of Israel. The Israeli army revealed the existence of this unit in 2019.
It claimed that Daqduq led most of the combat readiness measures against Israeli forces in recent years. In 2007, he was imprisoned by the Americans after leading the kidnapping and execution of five American soldiers.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Ali Musa Daqduq, a Hezbollah commander, was wounded in an airstrike last Saturday and died from his injuries. Accounts and websites affiliated with Hezbollah circulated news in recent hours of Daqduq's death. He was one of the party's most prominent figures, having operated in multiple regional arenas over the past two decades. However, no official statement has been issued clarifying the circumstances, location, or time of his death.
These reports coincided with the publication of a rare photograph showing Daqduq with the late military commander Ibrahim Aqil, highlighting his prominent position within the party's military structure. Daqduq was a figure of considerable interest to both the United States and Israel. Born in Lebanon in 1969, he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and rose through the ranks in various military and security positions before being assigned missions outside Lebanon, particularly in Iraq during the years of the American military presence. His name became widely known after he was accused by the United States of involvement in planning the 2007 Karbala attack, which targeted American forces and resulted in the deaths of several soldiers. The American account states that a group of attackers disguised in American military uniforms stormed a security compound in Karbala before capturing and later killing several soldiers. In March 2007, US forces arrested Daqduq in Basra, along with Qais al-Khazali and his brother Laith al-Khazali. Washington accused him of playing a key role in coordinating between Hezbollah and Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups. He remained in detention for several years before being transferred to Iraqi authorities, who released him in 2012 after court rulings deemed the available evidence insufficient for conviction.
In subsequent years, Daqduq's name became linked to various regional issues, including Hezbollah's activities in Syria, where Israeli reports indicated he held leadership roles in the "Golan Heights file" and coordinated pro-Iranian groups. Israeli reports also indicated that Tel Aviv attempted to target him in Damascus in late 2024.
According to Israeli media, Daqduq was considered one of the most prominent field commanders, having amassed extensive military and security experience in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, making him a constant target for Israeli and American intelligence agencies. To date, Hezbollah has not issued any official confirmation regarding his death or the circumstances surrounding it, and questions continue to arise about the fate of one of the most prominent figures in the confrontation between the party and the United States over the past two decades.

Video - Hezbollah Commander Assassinated in Beirut Airstrike... Israel on High Alert, Iran Vows: Lebanon is Our Soul, and the Response is Imminent!
Al-Markazia/June 14, 2026
Israeli Channel 12 revealed that the commander of Hezbollah's liaison unit was killed in the airstrike that targeted Beirut. Reports also indicated the deaths of Hezbollah commander Ali al-Hajj, his wife Salam Shqeir, and his sister Salma al-Hajj in the airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut. The airstrike, which involved two missiles, targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, and reports indicated that search and rescue operations were ongoing at the targeted site. A statement issued by the Ministry of Public Health's Emergency Operations Center announced that the Israeli enemy's airstrike on Ghobeiri in Beirut's southern suburbs resulted in three martyrs, including two women, and 16 wounded, including four women. The following statement was issued by the Media and Public Relations Department of the Lebanese Civil Defense Directorate: "Since the airstrike that targeted the Ghobeiri area in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanese Civil Defense personnel have been conducting search and rescue operations and clearing debris at the site of the attack. The bodies of three martyrs have been recovered from under the rubble, and six injured individuals have been transported to a hospital for treatment." Following the airstrike, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that it had struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut's southern suburbs. A joint statement from the Prime Minister and Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that, on their instructions, "the IDF launched strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah organization, in response to the group's firing toward Israeli territory." For her part, Israeli army spokesperson Ella Wawiya posted a video on her X-rated account showing what she described as the moment the southern suburbs of Beirut were targeted. She wrote: "In a precise strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut: The IDF attacks a Hezbollah command post. The IDF just attacked a Hezbollah command post in Beirut. The targeted post was used by Hezbollah operatives to advance plans against Israeli citizens and IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon. The strike came after Hezbollah launched aerial targets toward Israeli territory earlier today (Sunday). Hezbollah continues to advance terrorist plots against Israeli citizens and IDF forces. The IDF will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel and its forces, in accordance with the directives of the political leadership."
https://x.com/CaptainElla1/status/2066113097278845249/video/1
Iran Vows Retaliation: In response, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued a statement saying: "We have repeatedly warned, and emphasized on more than one occasion, that the southern suburbs of Beirut represent a red line that cannot be crossed."
The statement continued: "We have clearly informed the Zionist enemy, through multiple channels, that any targeting of this area or any infringement upon the sovereignty of the resistance and its symbols is playing with fire that will consume its fragile entity." The statement added: "But it seems that this brutal enemy has turned a blind eye to our warnings, mistakenly believing that its policy of aggression and recklessness will go unpunished. The enemy's continued treacherous aggression proves once again that it understands only the language of force, and that our threats are not mere slogans, but a firm commitment."
He added: "Therefore, we declare to the enemy and its supporters that the time of isolation is over, and the time of reckoning is near. Let the enemy be on guard, and prepare its shelters, for it is about to face our earth-shattering response that will shake the foundations of its usurping entity, and it will be a lesson it will never forget, and this will begin before the dawn of tomorrow." The statement concluded: "Our patience has run out, and the battlefield will have its say tonight." The Fars News Agency reported that Tehran was conveying a message to Washington through Qatari mediation before Israel bombed Beirut. Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Iran threatened to halt negotiations with the United States following the attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut. In this context, Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, wrote on his X account: "We must not miscalculate; even if we want an agreement or understanding, the way to achieve it is by disciplining the Israeli entity. If the savage Israeli entity is not restrained, any agreement will harm us immediately after its signing." He included the hashtag "#Dahieh" in his post, which came after the Israeli attack on the southern suburbs. For his part, Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Sunday that "Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut demonstrates once again America's unwillingness or inability to fulfill its commitments." Ghalibaf stressed, via his X account, that "if you cannot fulfill your commitments, it is impossible to talk about continuing the negotiation process," considering that "the continuation of the negotiation process is contingent upon Washington fulfilling its commitments." He added in a post on the X platform that "continuing on the current path will be impossible if the commitments are not fulfilled." Meanwhile, the deputy commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters announced that "the crimes committed by the Israeli army in the southern suburbs of Beirut will not go unanswered." The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council stated on Sunday evening that "Lebanon is our soul, and we will not accept the violation of our red lines," emphasizing that "the response is imminent." He said, "The unity of the battlefields has created a chain of defenses for the region."
This coincided with the Iranian Foreign Ministry's announcement that Iran "will not sign the agreement with America today." Israeli Alert: In response, the Israeli army announced its readiness for the possibility of Israeli territory being targeted by rocket fire in the coming hours, stating, "We are preparing for a range of scenarios, both defensive and offensive." An Israeli website indicated that the alert level had been raised in anticipation of a possible Iranian missile attack. The army added, "Following the Israeli airstrike in Beirut, the Israeli Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, is conducting ongoing field assessments of the situation with the participation of all relevant commanders." Israeli media reported that Israel is preparing for a possible Iranian missile barrage and has raised the alert level across its various formations. The Israeli Home Front Command also indicated that it has raised its alert level to the highest degree, without any changes to its instructions so far. Axios quoted American and Israeli officials confirming that Israel had notified the US Central Command in advance of the Beirut strike. The Israeli Finance Minister stated, "We have established a formula in which we will not allow Hezbollah to fire on our towns, and if they do, we will attack again."

Lebanon Sentences 3 Exiled Journalists in Absentia Over Anti-Hezbollah Stance
This is Beirut/June 14, 2026
Over the course of the week, 3 Lebanese journalists were sentenced in absentia by a Lebanese military court for speaking with Israeli media or publishing commentary against Hezbollah.
Maria Maalouf is living in exile in the United States as a critic of Hezbollah, and appeared on Israeli television speaking out against Hezbollah and Iran.
Ahmed Yassine and Joumana Gebara faced a long trial beginning in 2024. Yassine is accused of encouraging Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah in Baalbek and is living in exile in Paris as a professor.
Gebara is said to have praised Arabic Spokesperson for the Israeli Army Avichay Adraee for Israel's strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and called for normalization.

Shebaa Farms: Intersecting Narratives and a Struggle for Identity
Al-Markazia/June 14, 2026
The Lebanese, Syrian, and Israeli files are intertwined in a highly complex regional landscape, where political considerations intersect with field realities, and historical narratives intertwine with the calculations of the present moment. In this context, the statements of Imad Al-Atrash, the Lebanese affairs editor at Sky News Arabia, during his appearance on the "Al-Dhahira" program, shed light on a number of sensitive issues, from the Shebaa Farms to the Washington negotiations, passing through the balances of power in southern Lebanon and the relationship with Syria.
Shebaa Farms: Between Geography and Politics
Al-Atrash dwelt at length on the issue of the Shebaa Farms, noting that field accounts and local testimonies from the towns of Shebaa and Kfarshouba confirm, according to what he reported, that the area is Lebanese in identity. He explained that Israel did not impose its control over the area all at once, but rather gradually since 1967, within the context of subsequent developments that included the Cairo Agreement between Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which contributed to changing the security realities in the south. He pointed out that Israel later justified its failure to withdraw completely in accordance with Resolution 425 by claiming that the area was subject to Syrian control, thus leaving the conflict open to multiple interpretations. Al-Atrash also revisited subsequent events, including Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon on May 25, and the accompanying internal political debate surrounding the status of the Shebaa Farms, which, according to him, impacted the dynamics of the "resistance" in the region. In this context, he also noted Hezbollah's use of the area in its military operations, including targeting the Ruwaysat al-Alam site, considering it occupied Lebanese territory.
Southern Lebanon: Rapid Escalation on the Ground
On the ground, Al-Atrash offered an analysis of the situation in southern Lebanon, noting the geographical overlap between border villages that sometimes rely on the Syrian route for access. He pointed to intermittent clashes between the Syrian and Lebanese armies at various times, in addition to the complexities in the Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah maintains a heavy military presence and is considered – according to Al-Atrash – a “potential threat” from Damascus’s perspective. He also mentioned a meeting held last March under Saudi auspices, aimed at launching a process for demarcating the land and sea borders between Syria and Lebanon. However, this process subsequently encountered political and security obstacles. Meanwhile, the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon emerged, with Al-Atrash citing estimates exceeding 1.4 million refugees. He also noted some progress on the issue of detainees held by both countries, while emphasizing that the priorities of both sides currently lean more towards addressing humanitarian and security issues than border security.
Southern Lebanon and the Landscape of International Negotiations
On the current ground, Al-Atrash pointed to an Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon, accompanied by shelling and evacuations affecting more than 29 villages, with operations concentrated in the strategically important Rihan region for Hezbollah. He suggested that this escalation coincides with a sensitive negotiating phase in Washington, where a new round of talks is expected to begin with Lebanese-Israeli participation and under American auspices. Al-Atrash also addressed the repercussions of any potential agreement between the United States and Iran on the Lebanese scene, noting that Israel will not link its withdrawal from Lebanon to any settlement with Iran, and that it is instead proposing the option of a "peace agreement" or regional economic projects. He then reviewed the Lebanese positions, including adherence to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative based on the principle of land for peace. He also referred to what was mentioned in the fourth round of negotiations in Washington regarding "pilot zones," based on a gradual Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese army, disarmament, and reconstruction. However, according to current assessments, Israel is stipulating the disarmament of Hezbollah, particularly south of the Litani River, as a precondition for any withdrawal.

Three dead as Israel says strikes Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs
AFP/14 June ,2026
Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, killing three people, in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel, while its military also carried out broader strikes on southern Lebanon. The latest escalation came amid expectations that a deal between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war could be imminent, but Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said there was “no point” in continuing peace talks with Washington after the strike. Tehran insists a ceasefire in Lebanon must be part of any deal.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2 when the Iran-backed group fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes days earlier. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike hit an apartment in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh. An AFP correspondent saw smoke and dust rising near a heavily damaged apartment as debris covered the street and people searched for survivors, with panic in the area after the strike along a busy road filled with shops. Lebanon’s civil defence agency reported three dead and six wounded. Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned that Israel would strike south Beirut if the Iran-backed Hezbollah group targets northern Israeli communities, a position they say has the backing of Washington. The Israeli military earlier Sunday said three suspected Hezbollah drones struck northern Israel in separate incidents, causing no casualties.Hezbollah on Sunday claimed several attacks on Israeli troops who have invaded south Lebanon, but none on north Israel.
‘Test’
Israel’s military had struck Beirut’s southern suburbs last week after saying it had intercepted rockets launched by Hezbollah into Israeli territory. Iran launched missiles towards Israel in response to that attack, triggering Israeli retaliatory strikes before both sides halted fire.
Iran had repeatedly warned it would strike Israel if the Lebanese capital was targeted. Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that the military “carried out strikes in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in response to Hezbollah’s firing toward Israeli territory.”Israel’s military said it “conducted a precise strike on a Hezbollah command centre” in the area. Two far-right Israeli ministers earlier Sunday had called for strikes. “The shooting at northern communities is a test of the Dahiyeh Doctrine that the prime minister declared. I call on him to implement it decisively and firmly, and to bring down buildings in Dahiyeh,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X. “For every drone -- a missile; for every violation -- fire; for every UAV -- Dahiyeh must tremble,” wrote National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on X. A senior Iranian military official meanwhile warned that Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go “unanswered” by Tehran. “Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told Defa Press news agency. Lebanon’s NNA also reported Israeli strikes on more than 20 locations in the country’s south, including the city of Nabatieh. The strikes came both before and after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for almost 30 south Lebanon locations ahead of raids there. Israel’s military activity in recent days has been focused on the region around Nabatieh.
Direct talks
A military source told AFP on Sunday that a small Lebanese army force which had been present in Kfar Tibnit, near Nabatieh, evacuated its position there a day earlier after an Israeli incursion into the village. Requesting anonymity, the source emphasised that the Lebanese army was however still present at the Nabatieh barracks. An AFP correspondent saw around a dozen vehicles, including some military trucks and heavy machinery as well as civilian vehicles, heading out of Nabatieh on Sunday. In April, Israel and Lebanon began landmark direct talks in Washington seeking to halt the hostilities, with a fifth round scheduled later this month. Hezbollah rejects the direct talks and has dismissed a conditional ceasefire announced this month that would require it to cease attacks but makes no mention of Israel doing so or withdrawing troops from Lebanon. Lebanon says Israel’s campaign of airstrikes and ground invasion since March 2 have killed more than 3,700 people.

Israel strikes Dahieh anew, killing 3 and wounding 15
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the military had carried out a strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahieh, while Lebanese state media said a strike hit the Ghobeiry neighborhood, killing three people, wounding 15 others and causing extensive damage to buildings and shops. The Israeli military has "just carried out strikes in the Dahieh district of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, in response to Hezbollah's firing toward Israeli territory", Netanyahu's office said in a statement. The military said it had "precisely struck" a Hezbollah infrastructure site in Dahieh. The attack apparently comes in response to Hezbollah's launching of three explosive drones at north Israel earlier in the day. Israel had attacked Dahiyeh in the past in response to Hezbollah rockets but this is the first time it responds to drones in this manner during this war. The strikes threaten to hamper negotiations over a U.S.-Iran deal, which in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel's government. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Iranian officials threatened retaliation after Sunday's strike. "The Zionist aggression on Dahieh has once again shown that America either does not have the will or the ability to fulfill its obligations ... If you do not have the will and ability to fulfill your obligations, it is not possible to talk about continuing on the path," said Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

IDF preparing to halt ground maneuver in Lebanon
Israel National News/Jun 14/2026
IDF preparing for possibility political echelon will order halt to ground advances in southern Lebanon due to pressure not to jeopardize US-Iran deal.
In the shadow of the emerging agreement between the US and Iran, the IDF is preparing for the possibility that the political echelon may order a halt to ground advances in southern Lebanon, Kan News reported.
The assessment is that, in any case, Israel is preparing to scale back strikes deeper into Lebanon so as not to jeopardize the US-Iran deal. Israeli security officials emphasized that the IDF will not withdraw from the security zone as part of the Iran agreement, and the issue will be addressed with the Lebanese government in upcoming talks in the US, scheduled to be held in about a week and a half. In recent days, soldiers from the IDF’s 36th Division have continued moving northward in southern Lebanon.Local media reported that IDF forces have reached the outskirts of Nabatiyeh, the largest city in the area, and are positioned on Mount Ali Taher, approximately two kilometers north of the Beaufort Ridge.

Israel says it’s preparing for ‘potential’ incoming fire in ‘coming hours’
Al Arabiya English/14 June ,2026
The Israeli military said it was bracing for a possible retaliatory attack “in the coming hours,” after carrying out a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier on Sunday. “Following the [Israeli military’s] strike in Beirut ... the [Israeli military] is preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the state of Israel in the coming hours,” the military said, without specifying from where the attack was expected. A senior Iranian military official earlier warned that Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go “unanswered” by Tehran. “Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told the state-affiliated Defa Press news agency following the attack.

Iran vows retaliation after Israeli strike on Beirut, says US talks pointless
Al Arabiya English/14 June ,2026
Iran said on Sunday there was “no point” in peace talks with the United States, accusing it of failing to uphold its commitments and casting doubt on a deal that Donald Trump had insisted would be signed imminently. The latest hurdle came hours after Israel – which launched the war alongside the US in February – said its military had carried out strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran’s highest national security body warned that a response was “imminent” following the latest Israeli strikes. “The response of the fighters of Islam is imminent,” the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on X. “Lebanon is our life and violation of the red lines of the Islamic Republic will not be tolerated.”The US president had previously said a deal to end the war in the Middle East would be signed as early as Sunday and that the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would reopen immediately, though Iran had offered a less concrete timeline. “The Zionists’ aggression against Dahieh once again showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so,” Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X, referring to the suburbs. “If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfil your commitments, then there is no point in talking about continuing down this path.”Trump – who over weeks of negotiations repeatedly declared a deal with Iran was all but concluded – had said on Saturday that the accord was “scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.”But Iran has insisted that any agreement to end the Middle East war also include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, and Israel’s last strikes on the Lebanese capital a week ago drew a retaliatory Iranian missile barrage. Senior Iranian commander Mohammad Jafar Asadi said the latest Israeli strikes “will not go unanswered.”“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told the state-affiliated Defa Press news agency following the Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs. A US official said Friday that the deal on the table included Lebanon, which was drawn into the wider war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2.
A statement from the foreign ministry of Pakistan, which has been a key mediator between the warring parties, had also said that the deal’s signing was planned for Sunday. But Iran’s state-affiliated Fars news agency, citing “a well-informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team,” reported Sunday that Tehran had “not yet taken or announced its final decision.”
Qataris in Tehran
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had said the day before that the deal would not be signed Sunday, but added: “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”A delegation from fellow mediator Qatar arrived in Tehran on Sunday “to help facilitate the finalization of the agreement,” a diplomat with knowledge of the situation told AFP. The warring parties have released conflicting information about the contents of the deal, as each seeks to show it emerged from the war with the upper hand. Tehran has insisted it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, but the US has repeatedly said this would be unacceptable. Since imposing its blockade on the strait – which has thrown global markets into turmoil – Iran has demanded vessels obtain permission from its armed forces before transiting the waterway, and has established a new body to oversee it and collect tolls. The US has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said on Friday that the deal on the table called for the lifting of the US naval blockade.
‘Nuclear dust’
Another key sticking point in the talks has been the fate of Iran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uranium – believed to have been buried by US strikes last year. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, but the US, Israel and other Western governments suspect it of seeking a bomb. Araghchi on Friday said the only way to deal with Iran’s enriched uranium “is to dilute it inside Iran.”Trump, who has justified the war as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, previously said the US would remove and destroy the uranium. On Saturday, he said: “When all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust... and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran or the United States.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump had promised him any agreement would include the removal of the enriched nuclear material.
Lebanon front
On Sunday, Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings for 29 villages in southern Lebanon. Netanyahu’s office later said the military had carried out strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs against Hezbollah targets “in response to Hezbollah’s firing towards Israeli territory.”
The military said it had struck a Hezbollah infrastructure site, while Lebanese state media said a strike hit the Ghobeiry neighborhood. Lebanon’s civil defense agency said the strike killed at least three people and wounded six others. Israel’s military had reported that three drones, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah, struck northern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties.With AFP

IDF continues push in southern Lebanon, eliminates over ten Hezbollah field commanders
Israel Today Staff/Jun 14, 2026
The IDF has eliminated over ten Hezbollah field commanders in Lebanon, uncovered a massive tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge, and struck more than 50 targets. The Israeli military has killed more than ten Hezbollah field commanders responsible for directing operations against IDF troops in southern Lebanon over the past several days — a relentless campaign against the terror group’s mid-level command structure that underscores how little the ceasefire holds in practice. Replacements eliminated within hours. In March, the IDF killed Hassan Salameh, commander of Hezbollah’s Nasr Unit, one of three regional divisions in southern Lebanon. Since then, two of his successors, Mahdi Bazi and Ashraf Salloum, were killed one after another. In a separate incident, the IDF killed the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the Beaufort Castle area, Nasser Shakir, and his replacement, Ahmad Sablini — who had previously served as deputy commander in that sector — within a 12-hour span. The military also reported eliminating additional sector commanders: Ali Abbas (Bint Jbeil), Kamil Younes (Tyre), Fouad Moussa (Hajir), Hussein Salami (Jibshit), Ali Haik (Khiam), and Muslim Harb (Qana). The Israeli Air Force also struck and destroyed five Hezbollah launchers used to fire on IDF troops in southern Lebanon, along with a command center. Tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge – over 50 targets struck. On Thursday, a drone operated by Egoz commandos identified Hezbollah operatives inside one of the routes of the massive underground tunnel network uncovered beneath the Beaufort Ridge. The gunmen fled and opened fire on the drone. Shortly afterward, they were identified along with additional operatives attempting to escape the tunnel — the Air Force struck and killed them. Soldiers located mortar shells, fragmentation grenades, Kornet anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft machine guns and Kalashnikov rifles at the site. In a separate strike, an IDF drone identified seven Hezbollah terrorists operating from an underground route used to store ammunition, mortars and food supplies for attacks on Israeli soldiers. All seven were eliminated; soldiers subsequently found Kalashnikov rifles, military equipment and launch positions in the vicinity. On Friday, the 769th “Hiram” Brigade of the IDF’s 91st “Galilee” Division completed an operation in the Dibbin area of the Marjayoun District north of Metula — a zone the military said served as a Hezbollah stronghold for preparing attacks on Israel. More than 50 targets were struck.
Despite the scale of these operations, Hezbollah’s drone threat remains a key challenge. A senior officer said new munitions with improved interception rates have been introduced, and successful drone attacks on troops have recently declined. The drones found in the tunnel system were fiber-optic cable-guided FPV models with ranges of roughly 15 to 20 kilometers.

“Israel will not tolerate fire into its territory”: IDF strikes Dahieh again
Israel Today Staff/June 14, 2026
The IDF has again struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahieh district after fire from Lebanon toward northern Israel. Netanyahu and Katz declared: “Israel will not tolerate fire into its territory”. In the middle of decisive negotiating rounds between the US and Iran, the IDF has once again struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahieh district – in response to fire from Lebanon toward northern Israel. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz made clear in a joint statement: patience has run out.
A clear message from Jerusalem
In a joint statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz said the IDF had just struck Hezbollah terror targets in the Dahieh district of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s fire toward Israeli territory. The statement ended with an unambiguous line: “Israel will not tolerate fire into its territory.”The renewed strike on Dahieh underscores how fragile the situation remains despite ongoing diplomacy. Israel had largely refrained from striking Beirut during the conflict at Washington’s request, out of concern that doing so could jeopardize US efforts to secure a ceasefire and a future nuclear deal with Iran – an agreement Tehran has explicitly conditioned on a truce in Lebanon. Diplomacy on the home stretch – despite ongoing fire. The strike comes as President Trump and Pakistani mediators work to finalize a peace agreement with Iran, reportedly including discussions on demining the Strait of Hormuz to fully reopen the waterway to shipping.
For Israel, the message remains unchanged: diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran does not alter the immediate security situation on the northern border. As long as fire continues from Lebanon into Israeli territory, the IDF will respond – Dahieh included, regardless of timing or diplomatic sensitivities.

Three Hezbollah drones hit northern Israel
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
The Israeli military said three drones, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon, struck northern Israel in separate incidents on Sunday, causing no casualties. "Two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported," the military said in an initial statement. Later in a separate statement, the military said another "hostile aircraft" infiltrated the northern Israeli territory. In the wake of the strikes, two far-right Israeli ministers called for retaliatory strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh. "The shooting at northern communities is a test of the Dahiyeh Doctrine that the prime minister declared. I call on him to implement it decisively and firmly, and to bring down buildings in Dahiyeh," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X. "For every drone -- a missile; for every violation -- fire; for every UAV -- Dahiyeh must tremble," wrote National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on X. Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have previously warned that Israel would strike Dahiyeh should the Iran-backed Hezbollah group target northern Israeli communities, a position they say has the backing of Washington. The military meanwhile issued sweeping evacuation warnings for residents of 29 villages in southern Lebanon ahead of strikes there, despite a ceasefire intended to halt the war with Hezbollah.

Israel says top Hezbollah militant accused of killing US soldiers slain
Agence France Presse
The Israeli military said Sunday that its forces had killed a senior Hezbollah militant accused of involvement in the kidnapping and killing of five American soldiers in Iraq in 2007. Ali Moussa Daqdouq was killed on Friday in a "precise strike" south of the Litani River in Lebanon, the Israeli military said. "Over the past several years, Daqdouq led much of Hezbollah's operational planning against IDF (Israeli) soldiers along the Lebanon border," the military said. "In 2007, he was imprisoned by U.S. forces after orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of five American soldiers" in Iraq, the military added. He was held by American troops until he was handed over to Iraqi officials in December 2011. In 2012, Daqdouq was released by Iraq due to lack of evidence after being accused of plotting to kill the U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Following his release, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him. His elimination constitutes another significant blow to Hezbollah's senior chain of command by eliminating one of the most prominent operatives responsible for terrorist activity against Israeli civilians, IDF (Israeli) soldiers, and American service members," Israel's army said. According to the Israeli military, Daqdouq held several senior positions within Hezbollah in recent years, including as commander of former Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's security unit and head of the group's infantry unit.

Israel strikes Lebanon's south and east amid broad evacuation warnings
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
Lebanon reported Israeli strikes in the country's south on Saturday, as the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for the city of Nabatieh and more than 20 other locations ahead of raids.
The latest strikes came as the U.S. and Iran indicated they were close to reaching a deal on ending the Middle East war that could also include Lebanon, drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of its patron Tehran. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli airstrikes had hit several areas, particularly around the southern city of Nabatieh. An AFP photojournalist in the Nabatieh area heard blasts around Kfar Remman, which has been repeatedly targeted, and saw a plume of smoke rising from Kfar Tebnit, which was not included in the evacuation warnings. The Lebanese Army later said one of its soldiers had been severely wounded after being hit by an Israeli drone on the road between Kfar Remman and Nabatieh. That had followed an initial attempt to target him as he was moving near a hospital close to the city. NNA also said an Israeli strike killed a local official in Rihan, the southern region of Jezzine.An AFP correspondent in Nabatieh said the city was almost deserted, reporting artillery shelling there and in nearby areas overnight and on Saturday.
Evacuation warnings -
The Israeli military had issued two warnings to residents of 24 locations -- both in and around Nabatieh, and nearer to the coast -- to "evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani River", around 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the southern border with Israel. Last month Israel declared all areas south of the river "combat zones", and has since been heavily striking the area. Hezbollah, which has kept up attacks on invading Israeli troops, said its fighters launched drone attacks on Israeli military vehicles in the south.
It said it had thwarted an overnight "infiltration" attempt by Israeli forces in the Kfar Tebrnit area near Nabaiteh after ambushing them and engaging in a "firefight with medium weapons". The group also reported clashes with Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Majdal Zoun, closer to the border with Israel. Israel's military also said it "intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".It later announced that "over the past 24 hours, more than 70 Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites were struck".Fresh strikes hit two areas in Lebanon's eastern Baalbek area later Saturday, NNA reported.
'Fateful test' -
Iran insists that Lebanon must be part of any agreement to end the wider Middle East war, and a senior U.S. official said Friday that a draft peace deal "includes Lebanon". Neither Israel nor Hezbollah have respected a ceasefire meant to take effect in April, and a conditional truce deal announced this month after Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Washington also failed to halt the fighting. Hezbollah rejected both the direct talks and the conditional agreement, which requires it to cease attacks but makes no mention of Israel doing so or withdrawing troops from Lebanon. Lebanon says Israel's massive campaign of airstrikes and ground invasion have so far killed 3,756 people. Lebanon's leaders, meanwhile, have accused Tehran of treating their country as a "bargaining chip". Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said on Saturday Lebanon should make do with any U.S.-Iran deal that included the country. "We want the Lebanese state to negotiate for itself, and nobody is suggesting forfeiting this role," Fayyad said. "However, the state must abandon the policy of being crushed in the face of the Israelis and submission to the Americans." The prime minister of Pakistan, which has mediated between Tehran and Washington, insisted Saturday that a deal was closer "than ever before". President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that Lebanon faced "a fateful test. "Either its people unite around a sovereign state that monopolizes weapons, upholds the law and protects citizens irrespective of their affiliation or position, or it remains hostage to the logic of militias," he said. Further Israel-Lebanon talks are scheduled for later this month.

Lebanese Army withdraws from southern village after Israeli troops advance nearby
Associated Press/June 14, 2026
The Lebanese Army on Saturday withdrew its troops from a base in a southern Lebanese village after Israeli troops advanced in an area nearby, a military official said. Israel's military appears to be trying to make as many gains as possible in case a U.S.-Iran agreement is reached to end the war in the region, which is likely to include Lebanon. The departure from the army barracks in Kfar Tebnit came as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for about 20 locations, including the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported airstrikes on Saturday on different villages near Nabatiyeh, including one that killed two people in Deir al-Zahrani. It added that Nabatiyeh was subjected to artillery shelling on Saturday. A senior Lebanese military official told The Associated Press that the Lebanese Army moved its forces from the Kfar Tebnit barracks following an incursion by Israeli forces into the area. The official, who did not elaborate, spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Israeli troops were likely trying to capture the strategic Ali Taher hill on the edge of Kfar Tebnit that overlooks large parts of Nabatiyeh and some of the roads that link the city with nearby villages. Israeli troops held the Ali Taher hill for 18 years until they withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000.Hezbollah said in statements that its fighters carried out several attacks on Saturday including a morning one that targeted Israeli troops on the edge of Kfar Tibnit with two drones. Hezbollah has been using fiber-optic drones since the start of the latest war inflicting casualties among Israeli troops. In late May, Israeli troops captured a nearby strategic mountain topped with the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle in the deepest incursion into the country since 2000. The Lebanese Army said that later Saturday an Israeli drone targeted a soldier who was traveling near a hospital in Nabatiyeh, but missed. Later, however, another drone struck the soldier as he traveled on the road linking Nabatiyeh with the nearby village of Kfar Rumman, seriously wounding him. The push on the edge of Kfar Tibnit came a day after Pakistan's prime minister said that the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators are working with both sides to finalize a deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war "on all fronts, including Lebanon."Senior Hezbollah official Hussein Haj Hassan told Al-Jazeera TV that they have been informed by Iranian officials that Lebanon will be part of a future ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran. Iran is Hezbollah's main backer, supplying the group with different types of weapons over the past four decades as well as billions of dollars. Attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have continued despite a ceasefire that went into effect on April 17 and was renewed several times but remains a ceasefire in name only. Israel continues to occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon while battling Hezbollah fighters, causing civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. Hezbollah, which is not part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, has launched frequent rocket and drone attacks. The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on Iran. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Also, 30 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

Israel army issues evacuation order for 29 south Lebanon villages
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
The Israeli military on Sunday issued evacuation warnings for residents of 29 villages in southern Lebanon ahead of planned strikes, despite a ceasefire intended to halt the war with Hezbollah. The military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued two successive warnings -- first for 13 villages, then for 16 more, with the second targeting communities north of the Zahrani river. The threatened towns lie in the Nabatieh, Sidon and Jezzine districts and some of them are being mentioned for the first time ever in an evacuation warning.

Iran's top security body warns response 'imminent' after Israel's Dahieh strike
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
Iran's highest national security body warned on Sunday that a response was "imminent" following an Israeli strike targeting Tehran's ally Hezbollah in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"The response of the fighters of Islam is imminent," the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on X. "Lebanon is our life and violation of the red lines of the Islamic Republic will not be tolerated."

Trump rips Netanyahu over Dahieh attack, says Iran deal in 'a few hours'
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a peace deal with Iran was still on track to be signed within hours, despite an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs that he said had delayed the plan. "It shook it up. It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now," Trump said in a phone call to the Axios news outlet. Trump fumed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the attack on Beirut, saying, "it is so bad -- I couldn't believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal."Using a string of expletives, Trump told Axios he raged at Netanyahu after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday, killing three people, in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel. "Why did Bibi (Netanyahu) have to do a fucking attack?" Trump told Axios. "I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement. I let him know that." Tehran insists that any agreement to halt the war must include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been pursuing a campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Trump slams Israel over Dahieh attack, urges parties to cease fire to achieve 'peace deal'
Associated Press/June 14, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized Israel for launching a new attack on Beirut's southern suburbs and urged all parties to show restraint in order to achieve a "peace deal."
"This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network. "We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel," Trump urged. "This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!" the U.S. president added.
The proposed deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel's government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Trump, who had said the deal could be signed Sunday, has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him.
Netanyahu's office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. “Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. The military later said it was preparing for potential incoming fire in the coming hours. A five-story apartment building with shops on the ground floor was struck in Dahieh's Ghobeiri neighborhood. Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, sparking war in the Middle East. Israeli troops have since pushed their invasion of Lebanon deeper than at any point in over a quarter century. Iran wants a ceasefire deal to include the fighting in Lebanon.
Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a lead negotiator for Tehran, warned the U.S. on X after Israel's strikes that “if you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible." "Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” said Gen. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s Joint Command Headquarters, the official Mizan news agency reported. Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalize the agreement, according to two regional officials. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. and Iran were finally approaching a deal that could halt hostilities that have killed thousands of people and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has thrown world markets into disarray. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday the deal would be signed Sunday, while Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said it could happen in the coming days. Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after the signing. The deal is expected to be signed electronically, without an in-person ceremony, though it’s unclear when or how the signing will take place.

Iran says 'no point' in US talks after Dahieh strike, casting doubt on deal
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
Iran said on Sunday there was "no point" in peace talks with the United States, accusing it of failing to uphold its commitments and casting doubt on a deal that Donald Trump had insisted would be signed imminently. The latest hurdle came hours after Israel -- which launched the war alongside the U.S. in February -- said its military had carried out strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut's southern suburbs. The U.S. president had previously said a deal to end the war in the Middle East would be signed as early as Sunday and that the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would reopen immediately, though Iran had offered a less concrete timeline. "The Zionists' aggression against Dahieh once again showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so," Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X, referring to the suburbs. "If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfil your commitments, then there is no point in talking about continuing down this path."Trump -- who over weeks of negotiations repeatedly declared a deal with Iran was all but concluded -- had said on Saturday that the accord was "scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL". But Iran has insisted that any agreement to end the Middle East war also include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, and Israel's last strikes on the Lebanese capital a week ago drew a retaliatory Iranian missile barrage. Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi said the latest Israeli strikes "will not go unanswered". A U.S. official said Friday that the deal on the table included Lebanon, which was drawn into the wider war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2. A statement from the foreign ministry of Pakistan, which has been a key mediator between the warring parties, had also said that the deal's signing was planned for Sunday.
But Iran's Fars news agency, citing "a well-informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team", reported Sunday that Tehran had "not yet taken or announced its final decision".
Qataris in Tehran -
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had said the day before that the deal would not be signed Sunday, but added: "The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out."A delegation from fellow mediator Qatar arrived in Tehran on Sunday "to help facilitate the finalisation of the agreement", a diplomat with knowledge of the situation told AFP. The warring parties have released conflicting information about the contents of the deal, as each seeks to show it emerged from the war with the upper hand. Tehran has insisted it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. has repeatedly said this would be unacceptable. Since imposing its blockade on the strait -- which has thrown global markets into turmoil -- Iran has demanded vessels obtain permission from its armed forces before transiting the waterway, and has established a new body to oversee it and collect tolls. The U.S. has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said on Friday that the deal on the table called for the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade.
'Nuclear dust' -
Another key sticking point in the talks has been the fate of Iran's nuclear programme, particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uranium -- believed to have been buried by U.S. strikes last year. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, but the U.S., Israel and other Western governments suspect it of seeking a bomb. Araghchi on Friday said the only way to deal with Iran's enriched uranium "is to dilute it inside Iran". Trump, who has justified the war as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, previously said the U.S. would remove and destroy the uranium. On Saturday, he said: "When all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust... and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran or the United States."Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump had promised him any agreement would include the removal of the enriched nuclear material.
Lebanon front -
On Sunday, Israel's military issued evacuation warnings for 29 villages in southern Lebanon. Netanyahu's office later said the military had carried out strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs against Hezbollah targets "in response to Hezbollah's firing towards Israeli territory".
The military said it had struck a Hezbollah infrastructure site, while Lebanese state media said a strike hit the Ghobeiri neighborhood. Lebanon's civil defense agency said the strike killed at least three people and wounded six others. Israel's military had reported that three drones, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah, struck northern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties.

Lebanon complains to UN over Israel killing of army troops, herbicide use
Agence France Presse/June 14, 2026
Lebanon's foreign ministry said it had lodged a complaint with the United Nations over Israel's alleged spraying of herbicide glyphosate in Lebanese territory near the border earlier this year. In a statement circulated on Sunday, the ministry said it had sent a letter to the UN Security Council and the UN secretary-general this week to complain about the incident, which occurred in February, a month before the latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2. The ministry said "laboratory tests and chemical analyses carried out on soil samples" in the south Lebanon border villages of Aita al-Shaab, Ras Naqura and Dhayra "confirmed the use of glyphosate at high levels of concentration".It said the levels "greatly exceed" those usually found in agricultural areas after regular use by farmers. The statement said the complaint was based on a report from Lebanon's government-linked National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS). At the time, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Israel had notified it of its plans to spray a "non-toxic chemical substance" near the border and had warned peacekeepers to take shelter. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun had denounced the spraying as a "flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime against the environment and health". The ministry statement also said Lebanon had complained to the Security Council about ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including "the targeting of a Lebanese army vehicle" earlier this month that killed two on-duty officers and a soldier. Noting ongoing direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending the hostilities, the statement said "Israel's targeting of Lebanese army personnel directly undermines these diplomatic efforts". In April, Israel and Lebanon began landmark direct talks in Washington seeking to halt the hostilities, with another round scheduled later this month between the two countries which have no formal diplomatic relations. Military delegations from the two countries also held security talks at the Pentagon last month.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 14-15 June/2026
Deal is reached to end Iran war and Trump orders stop to US naval blockade
ISLAMABAD (AP)/June 14, 2026
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began. Details of the deal were not immediately available. Key mediator Pakistan said the signing will be Friday in Switzerland. Key issues like Iran's nuclear program are expected to be addressed later. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed a deal had been reached and said he had authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, imposed in retaliation for Iran's grip on the crucial waterway.
"Congratulations to all!" Trump wrote on social media, adding: "I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade."The U.S. previously said it would ease its blockade of Iranian ports as the strait reopens, and would agree to relax sanctions to allow Iran to sell more of its oil and strengthen its battered economy. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not start implementing it until it was signed on Friday. He said the deal followed over 14 hours of talks in Tehran with a representative from Qatar, another mediator. Iranian state TV showed a banner asserting: "US was forced to sign an agreement to end the war." Pakistan first announced the deal after a day in which Israel, sidelined from the negotiations, attacked Beirut's southern suburbs while pursuing the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The attacks posed a threat to completing the negotiations.
"Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon," Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, adding that mediators this week will facilitate meetings to "lay the foundation for the technical talks."
The deal came under criticism even in the final hours
Broader negotiations on outstanding issues like Iran's nuclear program would continue over the next 60 days, two senior Pakistani officials said earlier Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. If the sides fail to reach a resolution within that time, the timeline could be extended.
The deal likely returns the region to a status that existed before the war, but with thousands of people dead and Iran wielding a new source of negotiating pressure with its ability to influence shipping in the strait. The waterway is crucial to significant shipments of oil, natural gas and related products like fertilizer, and its effective closure rocked the global economy.
Of the stated targets by the U.S. and Israel when they launched the war on Feb. 28 with strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran still has a missile program, support for armed proxies in the region like Hezbollah and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium for its nuclear program. Khamenei's son is now supreme leader, though he has not been seen in the public since the war began. His approval was needed for Iran to sign off on the deal. Iran wanted a ceasefire deal to include the fighting in Lebanon, where Israel has pushed its invasion deeper than at any point in over a quarter-century as it targets Hezbollah. Tehran also has sought the release of billions of dollars in frozen funds.
The emerging deal had been sharply criticized by Israel's government and by critics in Trump's own Republican Party. Some said it did not improve on the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew the U.S. from during his first term and still describes as "bad."
There was also apparent friction inside Iran in the hours before the announcement, as the government earlier Sunday warned that any division at home over the deal weakens its negotiating position. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged national unity and called it a "disgrace" when someone stands before parliament and calls anyone who negotiates a traitor.
The central question of Iran's nuclear program remains
After the war began, Iran attacked Israel and several Arab Gulf nations with missiles and drones. A ceasefire was reached on April 7. Ten days later, the U.S. military imposed its blockade. A historic face-to-face meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf ended without success.
Throughout negotiations, Trump alternatively threatened to destroy Iranian infrastructure, even its civilization, and praised the relationship with Iran as "more professional" as his administration sought an exit from the war with midterm U.S. elections coming later this year. Iran's government, with its own tensions around hard-liners as it scrambled to replace several top officials killed in the war, repeatedly expressed wariness of negotiations after rounds of talks last year and early this year ended with U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Tehran has emphasized that it wanted a deal to focus on ending the war, with discussions put off until later on its nuclear program — the issue at the center of it all.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and has not publicly committed to giving up the enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under three nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last year. At times, the U.S. had sought the removal of the enriched uranium from Iran as part of a deal. Russia has offered to take it. At other times, Trump said he wanted the uranium destroyed.
Frankel reported from Jerusalem, Sewell from Beirut and Weissert from Washington. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, contributed.

Iran and the US Announce Agreement and Immediate Cessation of Military Operations
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced an agreement between Iran and the United States, ending months of intensive negotiations and regional mediation led by Pakistan and Qatar with the support of several other countries. The Iranian announcement coincided with the arrival of US Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House, according to Al Arabiya's correspondent, and with the first official indications of the agreement's completion. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed on his X account that a peace agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran had been reached after intensive talks between the two sides. He added that both sides announced an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, noting that mediators would oversee preliminary meetings in the coming days before the official implementation phase. Sharif explained that the official signing ceremony would be held in Switzerland on June 19, preceded by technical meetings to finalize the implementation mechanisms. He also thanked the United States and Iran for their commitment to a diplomatic solution, praising Qatar's role in the success of the mediation, along with the contributions of Saudi Arabia and Turkey in bridging the gap between the parties. The announcement comes days after unprecedented military tensions in the region, including US strikes inside Iran, mutual threats, and an escalation on the Lebanese scene that nearly derailed the negotiations. US President Donald Trump had previously confirmed that the agreement includes an Iranian pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons, with the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on Tehran as part of its implementation. Trump also stressed that the agreement represents a diplomatic solution that achieves stability and prevents the region from sliding into a wider confrontation. Despite the announcement of the agreement, its full text and details of its implementation mechanisms, including arrangements for the nuclear file, the lifting of sanctions, and guarantees for halting military operations, have not yet been published. However, the simultaneous announcement from Tehran and Islamabad, along with the accelerated US moves, indicate that the agreement has entered its final stage, amid international anticipation of its results and its repercussions on regional security and the future of US-Iranian relations.

Trump: Iran deal to be signed within hours... Signing today will be electronic, in person in Europe next week
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump revealed that he had informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his strong displeasure with the Israeli attack in Beirut, considering it to have caused confusion and delayed reaching an agreement with Iran. However, he confirmed that the signing would take place within the next few hours. In an interview with Axios, Trump said he had sent a clear message to Netanyahu that he was "absolutely not happy" with the military operation in the southern suburbs of Beirut, adding: "Why did Netanyahu carry out this attack? Hezbollah fired and hit an area in the middle of nowhere, no one was hurt, and then he had to carry out this damn attack, and on top of that, in Beirut. It made me very angry."
The US president also criticized Netanyahu's handling of the crisis, saying: "Netanyahu has no good judgment in his decision-making," emphasizing that he had conveyed this position directly to the Israeli prime minister. Regarding the anticipated agreement with Iran, Trump expressed his belief that it serves Israel's interests because it will prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, impose strict inspection mechanisms on suspected Iranian sites within a 24-hour notice period, and eliminate Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. He indicated that the agreement was scheduled to be signed this morning, but the Israeli attack on Beirut delayed the process, adding, "I believe the signing will take place within the next few hours, but the Israeli attack has shaken things up and disrupted them." In another statement to Fox News, Trump clarified that the signing of the agreement today would be electronic, followed by an in-person signing in Europe a week later, adding, "I will order the lifting of sanctions immediately upon signing the agreement with Tehran."
In the same context, an official familiar with the talks revealed to Reuters that the negotiations between the United States and Iran are progressing positively and rapidly, noting that mediators are optimistic about the "imminent conclusion" of the US-Iranian agreement. Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath sources also reported that a Qatari delegation is currently en route to Islamabad. The US president and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday that they expected the agreement to be signed today. Tehran has not yet issued any official statement regarding the timing of the signing. Meanwhile, a Qatari delegation reportedly arrived in Tehran this morning to finalize the memorandum of understanding, according to Reuters. Pakistan has played a significant role in bridging the gap between the two sides over the past few months. Qatar has also recently joined the mediation efforts to reduce the differences between the US and Iran.

Trump Criticizes Obama's Iran Deal; Netanyahu Requests Urgent Meeting
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the nuclear agreement concluded by the administration of former President Barack Obama with Iran, arguing that it gave Tehran an opportunity to develop its nuclear program instead of limiting it. This comes as media reports revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested an urgent meeting with him.Trump said that Obama's agreement with Iran "allowed them to develop their nuclear program," referring to the 2015 understanding between Tehran and world powers, from which the United States withdrew during his first term. Indicating his confidence in the possibility of containing regional tensions, President Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz "will be open very soon," following repeated Iranian threats to navigation in the vital waterway through which a large portion of the world's oil trade passes. Trump's statements come amid international concerns about the repercussions of any disruption to shipping on energy markets and the global economy. Meanwhile, CNN reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested an urgent meeting with Trump, a move reflecting the sensitivity of the current situation and the rapidly evolving developments surrounding the US-Iranian negotiations. The network did not disclose further details regarding the timing of the meeting or the issues to be discussed, but the request comes after a period of heightened tension between the two sides following the Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs. Israeli Channel 12 reported a phone call between Trump and Netanyahu. According to the channel, Trump briefed Netanyahu on the progress of the negotiations with Iran, indicating that an agreement could be signed within hours if the talks continued at the current pace. Trump had previously expressed his displeasure with the Israeli attack, considering it to have disrupted and delayed reaching an agreement with Iran. However, during the call with Netanyahu, Trump reiterated that any future agreement would ensure that Iran would "never" possess a nuclear weapon. Indicating the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations, Channel 12 reported that a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet was postponed following the phone call between Trump and Netanyahu. The channel also revealed that the Israeli Defense Minister held talks with his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, coinciding with the acceleration of political efforts related to negotiations with Iran. According to the channel, Washington is seeking to finalize an agreement with Tehran that would prevent any Iranian response to the Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, in an attempt to contain regional escalation and maintain the nuclear understandings. There was no immediate comment from the White House or the Israeli government regarding this information. The US President had confirmed that an agreement with Iran was still imminent, indicating that it could be signed electronically within hours, followed by an in-person signing in Europe next week. He also stressed that the agreement is in Israel's interest because it prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and includes strict inspection mechanisms for sensitive Iranian sites, in addition to addressing the issue of enriched uranium. In contrast, Iranian sources confirmed that the agreement has not yet been finalized and that some issues are still under negotiation, especially after the repercussions of the Israeli strike in Lebanon. Recent developments reflect the magnitude of the challenges facing the negotiating process. Washington is attempting to move forward with a new agreement with Tehran, while Israel continues to express its concerns that any understanding it deems insufficient to guarantee its security. With diplomatic contacts and intensive political activity ongoing, all eyes remain on whether the coming hours will witness the signing of the anticipated agreement or further complications arising from the regional escalation.

Iran and the US Announce Agreement and Immediate Cessation of Military Operations
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net / June 14, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced an agreement between Iran and the United States, ending months of intensive negotiations and regional mediation led by Pakistan and Qatar with the support of several other countries. The Iranian announcement coincided with the arrival of US Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House, according to Al Arabiya's correspondent, and with the first official indications of the agreement's completion. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed on his X account that a peace agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran had been reached after intensive talks between the two sides. He added that both sides announced an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, noting that mediators would oversee preliminary meetings in the coming days before the official implementation phase. Sharif explained that the official signing ceremony would be held in Switzerland on June 19, preceded by technical meetings to finalize the implementation mechanisms. He also thanked the United States and Iran for their commitment to a diplomatic solution, praising Qatar's role in the success of the mediation, along with the contributions of Saudi Arabia and Turkey in bridging the gap between the parties. The announcement comes days after unprecedented military tensions in the region, including US strikes inside Iran, mutual threats, and an escalation on the Lebanese scene that nearly derailed the negotiations. US President Donald Trump had previously confirmed that the agreement includes an Iranian pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons, with the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on Tehran as part of its implementation. Trump also stressed that the agreement represents a diplomatic solution that achieves stability and prevents the region from sliding into a wider confrontation. Despite the announcement of the agreement, its full text and details of its implementation mechanisms, including arrangements for the nuclear file, the lifting of sanctions, and guarantees for halting military operations, have not yet been published. However, the simultaneous announcement from Tehran and Islamabad, along with the accelerated US moves, indicate that the agreement has entered its final stage, amid international anticipation of its results and its repercussions on regional security and the future of US-Iranian relations.

Trump: Iran deal to be signed within hours... Signing today will be electronic, in person in Europe next week
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump revealed that he had informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his strong displeasure with the Israeli attack in Beirut, considering it to have caused confusion and delayed reaching an agreement with Iran. However, he confirmed that the signing would take place within the next few hours. In an interview with Axios, Trump said he had sent a clear message to Netanyahu that he was "absolutely not happy" with the military operation in the southern suburbs of Beirut, adding: "Why did Netanyahu carry out this attack? Hezbollah fired and hit an area in the middle of nowhere, no one was hurt, and then he had to carry out this damn attack, and on top of that, in Beirut. It made me very angry."The US president also criticized Netanyahu's handling of the crisis, saying: "Netanyahu has no good judgment in his decision-making," emphasizing that he had conveyed this position directly to the Israeli prime minister. Regarding the anticipated agreement with Iran, Trump expressed his belief that it serves Israel's interests because it will prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, impose strict inspection mechanisms on suspected Iranian sites within a 24-hour notice period, and eliminate Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. He indicated that the agreement was scheduled to be signed this morning, but the Israeli attack on Beirut delayed the process, adding, "I believe the signing will take place within the next few hours, but the Israeli attack has shaken things up and disrupted them." In another statement to Fox News, Trump clarified that the signing of the agreement today would be electronic, followed by an in-person signing in Europe a week later, adding, "I will order the lifting of sanctions immediately upon signing the agreement with Tehran."In the same context, an official familiar with the talks revealed to Reuters that the negotiations between the United States and Iran are progressing positively and rapidly, noting that mediators are optimistic about the "imminent conclusion" of the US-Iranian agreement. Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath sources also reported that a Qatari delegation is currently en route to Islamabad. The US president and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday that they expected the agreement to be signed today. Tehran has not yet issued any official statement regarding the timing of the signing. Meanwhile, a Qatari delegation reportedly arrived in Tehran this morning to finalize the memorandum of understanding, according to Reuters. Pakistan has played a significant role in bridging the gap between the two sides over the past few months. Qatar has also recently joined the mediation efforts to reduce the differences between the US and Iran.

Trump Criticizes Obama's Iran Deal; Netanyahu Requests Urgent Meeting
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the nuclear agreement concluded by the administration of former President Barack Obama with Iran, arguing that it gave Tehran an opportunity to develop its nuclear program instead of limiting it. This comes as media reports revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested an urgent meeting with him.Trump said that Obama's agreement with Iran "allowed them to develop their nuclear program," referring to the 2015 understanding between Tehran and world powers, from which the United States withdrew during his first term. Indicating his confidence in the possibility of containing regional tensions, President Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz "will be open very soon," following repeated Iranian threats to navigation in the vital waterway through which a large portion of the world's oil trade passes. Trump's statements come amid international concerns about the repercussions of any disruption to shipping on energy markets and the global economy. Meanwhile, CNN reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested an urgent meeting with Trump, a move reflecting the sensitivity of the current situation and the rapidly evolving developments surrounding the US-Iranian negotiations. The network did not disclose further details regarding the timing of the meeting or the issues to be discussed, but the request comes after a period of heightened tension between the two sides following the Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs. Israeli Channel 12 reported a phone call between Trump and Netanyahu. According to the channel, Trump briefed Netanyahu on the progress of the negotiations with Iran, indicating that an agreement could be signed within hours if the talks continued at the current pace. Trump had previously expressed his displeasure with the Israeli attack, considering it to have disrupted and delayed reaching an agreement with Iran. However, during the call with Netanyahu, Trump reiterated that any future agreement would ensure that Iran would "never" possess a nuclear weapon. Indicating the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations, Channel 12 reported that a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet was postponed following the phone call between Trump and Netanyahu. The channel also revealed that the Israeli Defense Minister held talks with his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, coinciding with the acceleration of political efforts related to negotiations with Iran. According to the channel, Washington is seeking to finalize an agreement with Tehran that would prevent any Iranian response to the Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, in an attempt to contain regional escalation and maintain the nuclear understandings. There was no immediate comment from the White House or the Israeli government regarding this information. The US President had confirmed that an agreement with Iran was still imminent, indicating that it could be signed electronically within hours, followed by an in-person signing in Europe next week. He also stressed that the agreement is in Israel's interest because it prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and includes strict inspection mechanisms for sensitive Iranian sites, in addition to addressing the issue of enriched uranium. In contrast, Iranian sources confirmed that the agreement has not yet been finalized and that some issues are still under negotiation, especially after the repercussions of the Israeli strike in Lebanon. Recent developments reflect the magnitude of the challenges facing the negotiating process. Washington is attempting to move forward with a new agreement with Tehran, while Israel continues to express its concerns that any understanding it deems insufficient to guarantee its security. With diplomatic contacts and intensive political activity ongoing, all eyes remain on whether the coming hours will witness the signing of the anticipated agreement or further complications arising from the regional escalation.

Trump: Agreement Includes Iranian Pledge Not to Acquire Nuclear Weapons
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 14, 2026
The United States and Iran are nearing a long-awaited agreement, after US President Donald Trump announced he is preparing to issue a statement confirming Washington's approval of the anticipated deal with Tehran. He noted that some final details are still pending official Iranian confirmation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump intends to issue a statement soon confirming US approval of the agreement, while Iran has yet to confirm its final acceptance of the proposed understanding. The US president said, "I will speak soon about the agreement with Iran," explaining that the signing may take place electronically, either by him personally or through his Vice President, J.D. Vance. He also stressed that he is "not interested in regime change in Iran," indicating that the agreement focuses on the nuclear issue and related security matters. Trump revealed that the agreement will include an Iranian pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons, emphasizing that this clause represents the core of the understanding being negotiated between the two sides. He also clarified that Iran would not receive the funds in cash under the agreement, emphasizing that the naval blockade on Iran was more effective than the airstrikes. He further indicated that lifting the sanctions imposed on Iran might be part of the agreement, a move that would pave the way for Tehran's gradual return to global markets and alleviate the economic pressures it has faced for years.Trump had previously affirmed that the agreement would guarantee that Iran would not possess nuclear weapons, in addition to imposing strict monitoring and inspection mechanisms on Iranian nuclear facilities. These developments come after months of indirect negotiations involving several regional and international parties, including Pakistan and Qatar, which played a role in bridging the gap between Washington and Tehran. However, the negotiating process encountered obstacles in recent hours, particularly after the Israeli strike targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, which Trump considered to have disrupted the atmosphere and delayed reaching a final agreement. Despite American optimism, Tehran remains cautious about discussing the agreement. Iranian sources had previously confirmed that the understanding was not yet finalized and that some issues were still under discussion. As the White House prepares to issue its statement, attention is turning to the official Iranian position and whether Tehran will announce its final approval, which would open the door to an agreement that could represent a major shift in relations between the two countries and ease regional tensions.

Trump insists Middle East peace deal ‘hours’ away, blames Israel for delay
Al Arabiya English/14 June ,2026
US President Donald Trump insisted on Sunday that a deal to end the Middle East war was just “hours” away, angrily blaming Israel for delaying its signing with an airstrike on Beirut that drew threats of retaliation from Iran. Trump has pledged that the agreement will be signed Sunday – his 80th birthday – while Tehran has declined to offer a clear timeline, though both sides have signaled that diplomatic channels remained open.Tehran has long demanded that any agreement to halt the war must include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been pursuing a campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah. But after days of momentum building towards a deal, Israel’s strike on Sunday in Beirut’s southern suburbs – a Hezbollah stronghold – prompted Iran’s chief negotiator to question the point of continuing peace talks. The attack “showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. “If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfil your commitments, then there is no point in talking about continuing down this path,” he added.Trump – who over weeks of negotiations has repeatedly declared an accord with Iran was all but concluded – told the US news outlet Axios that the strike “delayed the signing.”
“It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now,” Trump said in a phone call, while fuming at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Why did Bibi have to do a f**king attack?” he told Axios. “I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement.”
Iran response ‘imminent’
In an earlier social media post, Trump decried the strike, saying the Iran deal would “bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down.”Iran’s state-affiliated Fars news agency quoted “a source close to Iran’s negotiating team” as saying just before the Israeli strike that even if Tehran’s position was incorporated into the deal, “no agreement will be signed within the timeframe announced by Trump.”The last time Israel hit the Beirut suburbs, it sparked one of the strongest jolts yet to a ceasefire that has largely held since April, with Iran firing off a retaliatory missile barrage and Israel responding with strikes. Following Sunday’s attack, Iran’s highest security body, the Supreme National Security Council, announced that the “response of the fighters of Islam is imminent.”
“Lebanon is our life and violation of the red lines of the Islamic Republic will not be tolerated,” its secretary said on X. Israel’s military said it was “preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the state of Israel in the coming hours.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the Israeli attack, pointing to its inopportune timing and urging “all parties to show maximum restraint at this crucial moment.”US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said earlier he did not expect the Israeli attack to “disrupt” the progress toward a deal.
“From all I know, we are on track,” he said. “It is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when.”
Sticking points
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had said that the Supreme National Security Council supported negotiations despite criticism from hardliners, pointedly adding that the body was in charge of “decisions regarding war and negotiations.”A delegation from mediator Qatar was in Tehran on Sunday “to help facilitate the finalization of the agreement,” a diplomat with knowledge of the situation told AFP. The warring parties have released conflicting information about the contents of the deal, as each seeks to show it emerged from the war with the upper hand. Tehran has insisted it will maintain control over the vital Strait of Hormuz – which it has blockaded since early in the war – but the US has repeatedly said this would be unacceptable, and has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the deal on the table called for lifting the US blockade, while stressing the strait would not return to its pre-war status quo. Another key sticking point in the talks has been the fate of Iran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uranium – believed to have been buried by US strikes last year. Araghchi on Friday said the only way to deal with Iran’s enriched uranium “is to dilute it inside Iran.” Trump has justified the war as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons – an ambition it has long denied – and had previously said the US would remove and destroy the uranium. On Saturday, he said: “When all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust... and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran or the United States.”With AFP

Iran media says Tehran ‘not yet’ taken final decision on US peace deal
AFP/June 14, 2026
TEHRAN: Iran’s Fars news agency said on Sunday that Tehran has not made a final decision on signing the agreement under discussion with the United States to end the Middle East war.“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet taken or announced its final decision concerning the memorandum of understanding proposed during negotiations,” reported Fars, which is close to Iranian conservative circles, citing “a well-informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team.” The prospective agreement has faced opposition from hard-line Iranian figures, who argue that it does not serve Iran’s interests and would deprive Tehran of leverage over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says draft US deal includes oil sanctions waiver, nuclear limits and asset release
Reuters/14 June ,2026
A senior Iranian official told Reuters a final draft of the memorandum of understanding with the US covered a range of issues from Tehran’s nuclear work to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and US waivers on oil sanctions, with a final deal to be discussed in the 60 days following agreement by the two sides. The Iranian official said the draft memorandum included the following:
Strait of Hoemuz
Iran immediately reopens the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels, while the US lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports
Financial
The US agrees not to impose any new sanctions on Iran until a final deal is reached
The US will waive oil sanctions on Iran for a specified period, allowing Tehran to sell oil and receive revenue
The US agrees to release $25 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, including via direct cash transfers, cooperation among regional countries, and financial credit lines.
Nuclear
Tehran agrees that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons
Tehran agrees to maintain the nuclear status quo until a final deal is reached, including by not enriching uranium and not expanding nuclear facilities
The US agrees Tehran will dilute its highly enriched uranium stockpile inside Iran, with a mechanism for doing so to be discussed within 60 days.

Iran says limited cyberattack disrupts services at four banks, state media says
AFP/June 14, 2026
DUBAI: A cyberattack disrupted services at four major Iranian banks, though no customer data was compromised, the country’s banking coordination council ‌said on Sunday, ‌according to ‌state ⁠media. The council said ⁠the attack targeted a shared communications infrastructure used by Bank Melli, ⁠Bank Tejarat, Bank ‌Saderat and ‌the Export Development ‌Bank of ‌Iran, prompting technical teams to implement protective measures and temporarily ‌affecting some banking services. It said no unauthorized ⁠access ⁠to customer information had occurred and no data had been deleted, adding that recovery efforts were underway to restore normal operations. (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Trump discusses Iran and Ukraine in separate calls with Putin and Zelenskyy
AFP/14 June ,2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed war, peace and diplomacy with US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday, the Ukrainian presidency said, in what it called a “substantive” conversation on Trump’s 80th birthday. The call comes as US-led talks to end the conflict in Ukraine -- grinding through its fifth year -- have been sidelined by the Iran war and as Russian advances on the battlefield were showing signs of losing steam. “It was a quite substantive conversation about everything -- from birthday wishes to diplomacy and war/peace,” Zelenskyy’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists, adding that the call had lasted “30-35 minutes.”Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Sunday, Trump’s 80th birthday, and discussed the wars in Ukraine and Iran and an upcoming visit of Washington’s envoys to Russia, the Kremlin said. “The conversation focused on the situation surrounding the memorandum of understanding being drafted between the United States and Iran. Donald Trump said an agreement is close,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. Ushakov also said that “it has been agreed that US presidential special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are currently closely involved in Iranian affairs, will return to Russia soon.”Trump has pushed both sides to end the conflict after boasting he could end the war within a day of taking office. He also repeatedly leaned on Ukraine to make compromises to Russia, which invaded in February 2022. Trump will take part in a G7 working session with Zelenskyy in France on Tuesday, but no bilateral meeting between the two is scheduled, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump has faced criticism for berating Zelenskyy in their tense White House meeting last year while inviting Putin to a summit in Alaska in August 2025.

Trump turns 80 with cage fight at the White House
AFP/Published: 14 June ,2026
Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday in typically forceful style on Sunday, as the oldest US president ever to take office holds a bloody cage match on the White House lawn. The unprecedented “UFC Freedom 250” event will see 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship stars beat each other to a pulp in a giant arena called The Claw. Costing $60 million, it’s linked to this year’s festivities for the 250th anniversary of US independence -- but it also happens to fall on the day that Trump enters his ninth decade. The billionaire president -- who has deep ties with a sport whose young male fans reflect his own political base -- defended the UFC event as a unique spectacle. “This is going to be an event you’re really gonna like,” Trump said as he hosted some of the muscle-bound, bare-knuckle fighters in the Oval Office in May.The White House says the UFC is bearing the entire cost. UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari denied blending sport with politics. “The way we look at this is we have an unbelievable, incredibly unique opportunity to celebrate this country and our athletes,” Borsari told a news conference this week.
‘Great fighting machine’
In a dramatic touch, some of the top fighters taking part in Sunday’s event are reportedly set to emerge from the Oval Office itself before marching out to the historic South Lawn. The fights themselves will take place in the Octagon, an eight-sided wire mesh cage, surrounded by seats for more than 4,000 spectators. UFC combatant Michael Chandler, who is fighting on Sunday, said it was the “biggest fight event in combat sports history.”French fighter Ciryl Gane also said he was focusing on the sporting element. “We’re not in politics in any way but we have the opportunity to be exposed to the eyes of the world -- we have to take it,” he told AFP earlier this month. There will be a nod to the 250th celebrations with historical “vignettes” between bouts, Axios reported, and there will also be military bands, a US military flyover and parachute display and a 10-minute fireworks finale.
‘Big flashy show’
Another battle has already been won. A US judge on Friday rejected a bid by two local residents to halt the fight on the grounds that the event was corrupt. Trump’s birthday fight has already taken over much of dowtown Washington. The fighters are being weighed in outside the Lincoln Memorial, and there’s space for some 125,000 people to watch the event on giant screens on the National Mall. The macho spectacle has also distracted from questions about Trump’s health as he turns 80. Trump loves to compare his virility to Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, who was forced to drop his bid for a second term after a disastrous debate with the Republican. But from bruised hands to a vein condition in his legs and apparent sleepiness in meetings, Trump has also had a number of issues, even though his doctor says he’s in excellent health.Trump admitted that he was “not happy about that birthday that I’m having,” in a video posted by one of his officials this week. "It’s not a number I like, but I’m here nevertheless.”In fact the former reality TV star will be front and center throughout the gore and glitz, as he always is. “He’s treating the presidency the way he treats his previous career, a big flashy show,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media, told AFP. For his last birthday, Trump oversaw an unprecedented military parade in Washington, marking the 250th anniversary of the US army.

Katz appoints Druze general Hisham Ibrahim as new military secretary
Israel Today Staff/Jun 14, 2026
Defense Minister Israel Katz has appointed Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim as his new military secretary – one of the most senior posts in Israel’s defense establishment. Ibrahim, one of the highest-ranking Druze officers in the IDF, takes up the role with immediate effect, succeeding Maj. Gen. Guy Markizeno, who was appointed military secretary to Prime Minister Netanyahu last week.
From head of the Civil Administration to the minister’s inner circle
Ibrahim most recently headed the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria – the Defense Ministry body that, under the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), regulates much of civilian life in the area. The appointment followed a personal interview between Katz and Ibrahim and was made on the recommendation of IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Katz congratulated Ibrahim and expressed confidence that he would succeed in his new role during what he called a “challenging and significant security period” for the State of Israel. As military secretary, Ibrahim will join Katz’s closest circle of advisers and be responsible for ongoing coordination between the Defense Ministry and the IDF leadership – a position of considerable influence, as the military secretary accompanies the minister to nearly all security briefings and serves as the central interface with the army.
A career in the armored corps – and a symbolic rise
Ibrahim’s military career has included a series of senior command posts: he served as Chief Armor Officer, commanded the 460th and 205th Brigades, and served as deputy commander of the 91st Division on the northern border. In 2022, he became one of the highest-ranking Druze officers to lead the entire Armored Corps – a post of central importance to Israel’s armored units. The appointment of a Druze general to one of the closest positions of trust to the defense minister also carries symbolic weight. Israel’s Druze community – concentrated mainly in the Carmel region and the Golan Heights – has traditionally been one of the most loyal population groups toward the state and has for decades supplied a disproportionate number of officers to IDF combat units. Druze soldiers and officers have served in virtually every Israeli war, and their representation in leadership positions is often seen in Israel as an expression of the “blood covenant” between Druze and Jews. The change at the top of the military secretariats is part of a broader rotation: just weeks ago, Roman Gofman was appointed the new Mossad chief, prompting Markizeno – until then Katz’s military secretary – to move to Netanyahu’s office. With Ibrahim’s appointment, the resulting gap in the defense minister’s office is now filled, at a time when Israel is active on multiple fronts simultaneously and coordination between political and military leadership matters more than ever

Syrian authorities seize 800,000 captagon pills in Homs and Deir Ezzor
Arab News/June 14, 2026
LONDON: Syrian authorities seized 800,000 captagon pills and 60 kg of cannabis in the provinces of Homs and Deir Ezzor, the Interior Ministry said. The Syrian Drug Enforcement Administration, in coordination with Iraq’s General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs and Psychotropic Substances, arrested several suspects who formed a cross-border criminal gang. The drugs were intended for smuggling and distribution in the region, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. Authorities in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq have conducted multiple coordinated operations to combat drug gangs since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024. In April, they arrested eight people, including one woman, in the countryside of Damascus and Homs, and seized 1.73 million captagon pills.Under the former president Assad, Syria became a hub for the production and distribution of illegal drugs such as captagon, while the government largely ignored the concerns of neighboring countries about the negative effects that this was having on the region.

Gaza health officials say six killed in Israeli attacks
AFP/June 14, 2026
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense service and hospitals said Israeli attacks killed at least six people on Sunday, in the latest violence to hit the Palestinian territory despite a months-old ceasefire. Israel and Hamas trade near-daily accusations of ceasefire violations and the Gaza Strip remains gripped by bloodshed as progress on permanently ending the war remains stalled.An Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed four people and wounded several others, said the civil defense agency, a rescue service that operates under Hamas authority.Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital said it received four bodies from the strike and treated five injured people. Two other people were killed by Israeli gunfire in separate incidents in the southern Khan Yunis area, the civil defense said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents. At least 986 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period. Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 73,000
AP/June 14, 2026
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 73,000. The updated toll on Sunday came as Israel has continued to strike despite a fragile ceasefire deal reached in October. Confirmation came from Zaher Al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, and Hamza Salem from the ministry’s public relations department. The total number of deaths since the beginning of the war is now 73,001.On Sunday, the ministry said, there were five deaths: two in the southern city of Khan Younis and one in central Gaza, in addition to two who died of earlier wounds. Over 173,200 people have been wounded since the start of the war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. That attack killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage. An Israeli strike on Saturday evening killed two Palestinians in Khan Younis. The casualties were taken to Nasser hospital, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or militants. It says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It says it is carrying out strikes against militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.The US-brokered ceasefire deal reached in October ended full-scale military operations and led to the return of all the remaining hostages. But other elements of the deal have stalled as Hamas has refused to disarm and Israeli troops have advanced, rather than withdrawn, since the deal was reached. Both sides accuse the other of violating the agreement but say it is still in effect. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine hit oil facility, chemical plant in Russia
Reuters/14 June ,2026
Ukraine hit an oil facility overnight in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, and the Azot chemical plant in the Tula region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday. Zelenskyy said the Azot plant was critical for Russia's explosives production, and that strikes on Russian military logistics had also been conducted in occupied parts of Ukraine.“Ukraine is carrying out its plan of long-range sanctions against Russia and the assigned tasks regarding mid-range strikes in response to Russia’s refusal to end this war,” Zelenskyy said, using the term he frequently uses to describe Ukrainian strikes on Russia. drone attack had hit the region. He said that while most of the drones had been downed, some had gotten through and hit fuel storage facilities, causing a large fire. He warned of a repeat drone attack later in the morning. Ukraine, which throughout the war has gradually developed domestically produced drones and missiles capable of hitting targets deep inside Russia, has intensified attacks on Russian oil refineries and military-industrial facilities this year.

UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet vessel in Channel: Ministry
AFP/14 June ,2026
British forces on Sunday intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel, the defense ministry said, in a six-hour operation hailed by Kyiv. Navy commandos boarded the ship under cover of darkness by fast-roping from a helicopter in the dark, according to footage released by the ministry. The interception in the early hours was supported by Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters and a maritime patrol aircraft, a statement said. The frigate HMS Sutherland and the minehunter HMS Ledbury were also involved. “In the first UK-led operation of its kind, the vessel Smyrtos was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and specially trained law enforcement officers from the National Crime Agency, despite Russia’s best efforts to evade sanctions and continue fueling its barbaric war with Ukraine,” the ministry statement said.The vessel will now be moved to an anchorage off the south coast of England and monitored, it added. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga welcomed the operation. “Russia’s shadow fleet is a tool of war. Every such vessel stopped means less money for Russia’s war machine,” he posted on social media. “Cutting off these revenues helps reduce Russia’s ability to finance missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities.”“Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war,” said newly appointed UK Defense Minister Dan Jarvis.He said the operation was carried out in “close coordination with the French.”
‘Hybrid war’
The UK has sanctioned hundreds of vessels suspected of being part of the shadow fleet used by Russia to bypass Western embargoes since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ships -- usually ageing tankers with dubious ownership -- are banned from accessing UK ports and services. Jarvis said disrupting the shadow fleet was “directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond.”Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation delivered “yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide.”In March, the government announced that British forces would be able to board and seize shadow fleet vessels passing through its waters. The announcement followed the easing of restrictions by Washington on Russian oil to soften prices sent soaring by the US-Israel war against Iran. France, Belgium, Finland and other European countries have also recently seized sanction-busting vessels believed to belong to the so-called shadow fleet. London has said such ships are suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea on several occasions. The government has said it will propose new legislation aimed at preventing “Russia and other hostile states” from sabotaging vital subsea internet cables.There have been a series of incidents in the Baltic Sea since 2023, when undersea cables and power lines have been damaged. Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its “hybrid war” in the strategic region -- now bordered entirely by NATO members barring Russia.Former defense minister John Healey, who resigned this week accusing Starmer of failing to provide sufficient funding to defend Britain, said in April armed forces had tracked and deterred three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long “covert operation” in UK waters in the North Atlantic near vital undersea cables and pipelines. The row about funding that also triggered the resignation Healey’s deputy Al Carns and two aides comes as Starmer’s beleaguered center-left government, elected in July 2024 following 14 years of Conservative rule, is under pressure to raise spending and prioritize NATO, as the threat from Russia grows.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged NATO allies to spend more and become less reliant on Washington for security.

on 14-15 June/2026
The US-Iran agreement’s most alarming clause
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq AlAwsat/June 14/2026
In the promised “memorandum of understanding” or “framework agreement” between Iran and the US, there are many important commitments, all of which could serve as seeds for forthcoming geopolitical changes. However, it will not address every issue, such as the nuclear program. One of these provisions, according to leaked information, is a mutual regional nonaggression agreement. It divides the region into two camps and forces the countries of each camp not to attack those of the other. Based on this, we can conclude that it amounts to an unprecedented regional peace plan in the history of the Middle East.
This hypothetical clause is significant, although I have not yet been able to verify it and it may appear in a different form. Its importance lies in the fact that it overturns many of the foundations on which both conflict and peace in the region have been built.
It stipulates that Iran and its allies will refrain from attacking the US and its allies, while the US and its allies will likewise refrain from attacking Iran and its allies. This is an ambiguous provision that requires analysis. First: who exactly are the allies?
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Houthi movement are considered Iran’s allies (while Iraq’s status and that of the Iran-backed Iraqi militias remains unclear). Palestinian Hamas is outside the equation.Israel, the Gulf states and Jordan are considered US allies.
The first conclusion is that if Iran signs such an agreement — whether in the framework agreement or in a final accord — it would effectively be signing a deal that ends its 40-year war against Israel. This is not the only surprise or shock.
The second conclusion is that this hypothetical clause would make Hezbollah a recognized and protected actor, undermining the unprecedented efforts being exerted by the Lebanese state. The same applies to the Houthis, which Yemen’s legitimate government and other Yemeni forces seek to remove from Sanaa and eliminate.
This suggests that the negotiators focused on preventing a return to the broad conflict that erupted after the US-Israeli-Iranian fighting began in February. The war began as a three-sided conflict before expanding into a wider regional confrontation. It started with a US-Israeli attack, followed by an Iranian counterattack and Iranian strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Jordan. In response, Saudi and Emirati forces launched counterattacks against Iran. Iraqi-Iranian attacks targeted Gulf states, clashes erupted between Hezbollah and Israel, and the Houthis later joined in with drone attacks against Israel and maritime shipping.The goal of the American negotiators may simply be appeasement and buying time, based on the belief that Iran will eventually change. In that case, the proposed agreement would pave the way for a broader peace that resolves numerous conflicts, rather than merely reopening the Strait of Hormuz
The negotiators focused on ending these broader confrontations. But did the Americans and Iranians really intend to extend such a broad and loosely defined commitment?
I recall a statement by US President Donald Trump that was largely lost amid his constant remarks. He said that this agreement would lead to peace across the entire Middle East. Few took the statement seriously because even resolving the limited dispute with Iran had not yet been achieved — not even reopening the Strait of Hormuz. So how could one speak of establishing peace across such a vast area?
The intentions of the negotiators, whether they seek a temporary peace or a grand regional project, remain unclear based on what has been leaked. We know there will be 60 days of detailed negotiations, which may be extended because the memorandum of understanding adds complexity to the issue and increases the number of parties bound by the hypothetical agreement to about 13, including both governments and organizations.
From an arbitration and enforcement perspective, dozens of questions and scenarios will also have to be addressed.
For example, could Iran be prevented from supplying weapons to Hezbollah? And if Israel attacks Hezbollah to prevent it from growing stronger, would that constitute a violation of the agreement?If the Houthis launch an offensive and seize Yemeni territory beyond their control, would that not make them aggressors and threaten the rest of Yemen as well as neighboring Saudi Arabia? What if the Houthis attacked a commercial vessel that belongs to none of the 13 parties? For example, a ship flying the Panamanian flag? How would such a situation be handled? More troubling is that this still-unconfirmed clause, under the banner of ending conflict, could legitimize militias. Hezbollah is, after all, an armed force operating outside the authority of the Lebanese state and is designated as a terrorist organization by Lebanese, Arab and Western authorities.
In that case, the agreement would amount to implicit American recognition of Hezbollah as a legitimate regional actor, making future efforts to classify it differently or disarm it far more difficult. It would also reinforce the phenomenon of a “state within a state” in Lebanon and similarly in Yemen, while potentially threatening Iraq if it were included in the agreement.
I also have serious doubts about Washington’s ability to restrain Israel, which is unlikely to halt its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon or against Iranian influence in the region, citing preemptive self-defense. No American guarantor would likely succeed in deterring Israel.
The leaked agreement carries echoes of the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which are perhaps the closest structural comparison. Their purpose was to prevent confrontation between the Western and Soviet blocs. In effect, the West implicitly recognized Eastern Europe as lying within the Soviet sphere of influence. Here, there appears to be a comparable recognition of Iran’s allied groups, both geographically and politically.
The goal of the American negotiators may simply be appeasement and buying time, based on the belief that Iran will eventually change. In that case, the proposed agreement would pave the way for a broader peace that resolves numerous conflicts, rather than merely reopening the Strait of Hormuz. I am not convinced that such change will come quickly. Iran’s political system is deeply entrenched and it will take time before we see meaningful transformation.

'The next war with Iran will look completely different'
Lilach Shoval/Israel Hayom/ Published on 06-14-2026
https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/06/14/the-next-war-with-iran-will-look-completely-different/
Lt. Col. R., head of the Israeli Air Force's air superiority branch, tells Israel Hayom in a special interview about the surprises the IDF is preparing for the Iranians. "We have made a major leap forward," he says, while acknowledging that there is still work to be done: "We have achieved results, but we are not finished." "The next war with Iran will look completely different. We want to operate better, stronger. We are better prepared for future combat. There were elements that worked well in the last few rounds rounds, and we will continue with them, but there are also new elements. If the Iranian enemy thinks it will meet us as we were 60 days ago, it is mistaken. We are investigating, learning and constantly seeking to improve." With those words, and with considerable optimism about the future, Lt. Col. R., head of the Israeli Air Force's air superiority branch, opens his special interview with Israel Hayom marking one year since Operation Rising Lion. The interview begins with the latest developments and the day of fighting, or more precisely, the 17 hours of exchanges between Israel and Iran at the beginning of last week.
"That day demonstrated the Israeli Air Force's 24/7 readiness in both defense and offense. The ability to launch an operation in Iran very quickly, within just a few hours, is the result of deep preparation. From our perspective, the Iranian theater has become a first-circle front, and we are doing hard work both at headquarters and in the field. Headquarters is engaged in intelligence efforts, targets and flight plans, while the field is maintaining the levels of alert that have to be trained for, drilled and prepared for. That is what allowed us to be strong on defense, to go on the offensive within a short time, and to successfully strike air defense systems at significant and painful points, leaving the regime not knowing where it came from."Lt. Col. R. says the IDF completed Operation Roaring Lion with full freedom of action throughout Iran. "That does not mean our freedom of action has been preserved since then," he admits. "The enemy (Iran) has renewed itself and managed to build up a certain degree of air defense. It has started to feel somewhat protected again. At the beginning of the week, we took away important systems from it, but we could also have done more." Would it have been better to carry out a pre-emptive strike this week?"All options were on the table. The firing did not come as a surprise, because the enemy had threatened that if we struck in Beirut, it would fire. There were various considerations here, some diplomatic, some tactical, and some related to the fact that we have confidence in our air defense systems."
"The enemy is very smart"
Exactly one year has passed since Operation Rising Lion, which lasted 12 days. "Since then, we have made a major leap forward and have managed to fly sorties to Iran at a high tempo," he says with pride. "That is also what enables us to mount such a response to Iran within a matter of hours. A little less than a year ago, I would have said that was imaginary, and now it has been set in motion quickly."In addition to being responsible for air superiority, Lt. Col. R. is also a combat navigator who personally flew to Iran during Operation Roaring Lion. "Operationally, Roaring Lion was a tremendous success," he says. "Next time, if there is one, I want to do better and be stronger. Israel is in the west and Iran is in the east, and that will not change, but in the next war there will be different things, new surprises that we will bring to the battlefield."
According to him, "The Iranian enemy is very smart, but we left it with far less flexibility. It wants to rearrange the deployment of its defense systems, but it no longer has hundreds of them. It has far fewer. It does not have the quantity of missiles it had before the past few months."
Lt. Col. R. acknowledges that the Iranians were able to repeatedly bring out the launchers that the air force had shut down during Operation Roaring Lion, but he argues that in the next campaign as well, it will not be so easy for them to launch with them. "Their industries are supplying missiles at a much slower pace. The Iranians are continuing to build up their power, though less than in the past, but we have to return and degrade it. There are also diplomatic solutions, and that is not my field." Unlike the claims heard after the most recent campaigns against Iran, according to which the nuclear program had been set back and Israel had managed to deal a severe blow to the enemy's missile array, Lt. Col. R. sounds less optimistic. "We have achieved results, but until we destroy the last launcher, we have not finished the job, and we will live under this threat. The enemy sanctifies death, and it will do everything to kill. Its economy does not exist, its services do not function, and its citizens live in chaos and doom. But it will continue holding on to the last launcher."
Is that a realistic goal?
"My target bank is full, but the first achievement is to reduce the threat to the home front, to make it so that he does not launch. How long will that take? It does not depend only on me. In Roaring Lion, the enemy hid and let its people suffer in order to survive until that last launcher. I do not have an answer to the question of how long it will take. I have an explanation of how to do it."
Family support
Asked about cooperation with the US, Lt. Col. R. is certain that the relationship has only grown stronger in recent months. "The Americans have been our natural partners for many years, and this is an alliance," he says. "There is coordination and synchronization between us. The interest here is shared: that the Iranian entity stop threatening the world. Each side uses its own advantages."Although in recent months, since Operation Roaring Lion, he has supposedly not been in combat, Lt. Col. R., who is married and a father of four, barely sees his family and is hardly ever at home."The families of career service members, who have been fighting for 1,000 days, are part of the mission and the service. We have no right to exist without them," he says. "We are doing this so our children can grow up in a better place. There will probably still be an army when my children are grown, but I hope there will be fewer enemies and that they will be much less powerful."
Do you think we will continue living through rounds of fighting against Iran?
"The wars of the past ended in decisive victory, but the enemy close to Israel (Lebanon and Gaza) is a guerrilla enemy that is hard to defeat decisively. The enemy in the third circle (Iran) is farther away, and the distance creates a challenge for decisive victory, because you do not control the theater all the time. It may be that in this circle, rounds are the method, and the air force will have to get there every so often to clean out the stables. As long as they threaten us, we will continue attacking them."

I documented the horrors of October 7 but colleagues watered it down, claims UN torture rapporteur
Jane Prinsley/The Jewish Chronicle/June 14/2026
Dr Alice Edwards also criticised UN leadership for enabling a creeping politicisation of the global body
hejc.com/news/world/i-documented-the-horrors-of-october-7-but-colleagues-watered-it-down-claims-un-torture-rapporteur-vk9f8mqh
United Nations special rapporteurs were “bullied” into not signing a letter documenting allegations arising from the October 7 attacks, the global body’s special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has claimed.
Dr Alice Edwards said some colleagues sought to water down a January 2024 letter detailing allegations received by her office, with a “concerted effort” to prevent aspects of the massacre being formally recorded by the UN.
In a conversation at UCL in London on Tuesday with barrister Adam Wagner KC, Edwards said only one other rapporteur ultimately signed the letter.
“That letter is a set of allegations of what happened on October 7; it was only signed by the Special Rapporteur on summary extrajudicial killings and me,” she said.
“Some other special rapporteurs and working groups had wanted to sign on, but they also had been bullied by others not to sign on, and there was this concerted effort for this letter not to put on record some allegations that had been received.”
Edwards, whose term ends in July, said the final version was significantly weaker than her original draft.
“There was a campaign to prevent that letter from going out. There were weeks of being bullied and deterred from writing it and telling me that everything in it was false,” she went on.
“All the comments of these individuals had been taken into account so the letter shrank considerably.”
The letter was eventually sent to the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine in Geneva and "transmitted" to Hamas.
Edwards, an Australian lawyer, scholar and negotiator, was appointed to the unpaid role investigating torture allegations worldwide in 2022.
She is the seventh person in the position, the first woman to undertake the role, and one of 87 active mandate-holders supposed to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective.
As part of her work, she has one staffer and is able to undertake a single official visit to a country to investigate torture allegations a year. She supplemented this with other self-funded visits and, in December 2024, she undertook a self-funded trip to southern Israel to document October 7.“When something of that scale occurs and it is occurring in real time... it is important to be present and to investigate,” she said.
She described October 7 as “an atrocious event” and “one of the single largest abductions of individuals in modern history in one go”.
While her decision to investigate the attacks attracted criticism from anti-Israel activists, Edwards' mandate applied to all victims, including Palestinians alleging mistreatment in Israeli detention.
“When you’re the special rapporteur on torture, every victim counts. It is not that these victims are more important than those victims.”
Edwards also visited the kibbutzim that had been attacked, met hostage families, including Mandy Damari, and reviewed footage filmed by the perpetrators during the massacre.
“I understand I’m the only Special Rapporteur who has ever requested to go to the Israeli mission to see the video and the documented evidence,” she revealed.
According to Wagner, who represented hostage families with British links, Edwards was “without a doubt” the UN official who engaged most seriously with their concerns.
“She was the only UN official who they feel ever reached out for them or did anything for them,” he said.
The experience informed Edwards’ landmark report, Hostage Taking as Torture, which examines hostage-taking across conflicts from Colombia and Iraq to Ukraine, Iran and Nigeria.
“What is common among these scenarios? It is the mistreatment of the individuals that is being used as leverage,” she explained.
"It is not only that they have an individual, it is the threat that they are being tortured.
“That initial fear is very grave and then of course through the torment of that, being separated from families, being held in isolation, no proof of life of the individual for months and months on end and, in the case of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, being held in Unrwa schools, in tunnels, in mosques.”During the conversation, Edwards also said she was concerned about a growing politicisation within the UN.
“The politicisation and the attempted politicisation and instrumentalisation of the special rapporteurs... going forward there are so many of us now.
“In the past we were this agile group forty years ago or thirty years ago of people that were supposed to be able to react actively and quickly to various issues that are going on in the world. Now we are being pushed to coordinate amongst one another.”
And she is similarly troubled by the emergence of some rapporteur mandates seemingly created by “a handful of governments” as a “counter to the stronger human rights angle”.
“Authoritarian and totalitarian governments don’t like the special rapporteurs, so they have created their own special rapporteurs and they fund them,” she explained, citing the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures – effectively a rapporteur against sanctions.
“Sanctions are one of the only tools we have as a human rights world to really put force on countries to do better and to stop torturing or persecuting their own populations,” she said.
She warned that chronic underfunding made the system vulnerable.“When the system is so poorly resourced, one can be enticed to taking resources from places where one shouldn't take them,” she said. “And I think perceptions of bias are bad enough because we’re in a world where human rights are under threat,” she added.
Adam Wagner shared some of Edwards concerns.
“It appears these positions have been set up under the auspices of the Human Rights Council but they are working against some of the principles,” he said. “That is an extraordinary system to set up.”But it is not only the rapporteur system that Edwards spoke candidly of – but the UN itself.“The Secretary-General’s office and others are just no longer participating in peace negotiations, they are no longer front and centre,” she said.Edwards worked under UN Secretary-General António Guterres during his time at UNHCR. Yet she believes the organisation has become increasingly sidelined as conflicts proliferate. “At the moment of the Black Sea Grain Deal, he declared this was his greatest achievement in office. I couldn’t believe it. That is the greatest achievement in office?
“The amount of wars in the world are exponential. We have over 120 different armed conflicts going on at present and the whole raison d'être of the UN is to prevent and stop wars and they are just absent. They get invited last minute.”
“Now the UN is being organised outside the UN. We need the next UN Secretary-General to be honest about this sidelining.”Edwards said the future of the UN is vital – but if its future cannot be guaranteed, then an alternative must be drawn up.“We all want the UN to be a robust but also honest and objective body and if it can’t do the job, then maybe we do need to start thinking about what replaces it. “That is a very worrying scenario,” she concluded.
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Europe in Wonderland: Belgium Criminalizes Truth...The Conviction of Dries Van Langenhove Outlaws Reality
Drieu Godefridi/Gatestone Institute/June 14, 2026
In a ruling that should send chills down the spine of anyone who still believes in the Enlightenment values of reason, evidence, and open debate, a Belgian court has convicted nationalist activist Dries Van Langenhove for the crime of stating uncomfortable facts.
This is not merely another skirmish in Europe's war on free speech. It is something far more sinister: the explicit criminalization of observable, verifiable reality itself. Van Langenhove warned of "the great replacement," and linked mass migration to housing shortages, strained welfare systems, rising criminality, and cultural erosion. He criticized multiculturalism as incompatible with cohesive societies and mocked certain progressive dogmas on gender.None of these points was fabricated. The court itself acknowledged that many of his statements rested on scientific evidence and official statistics.
This turns justice on its head.
Since when does presenting verifiable facts about crime rates, IQ distributions, or fertility differentials constitute "criminal intent"? Where is the evidence of incitement to violence? There is none. The "proof" is the speech itself — and the judges' subjective interpretation of its potential emotional effect on special protected groups.In liberal democracies worthy of the name, truth has always been a defense against charges of defamation or incitement. In 21st-century Belgium, truth is now aggravating evidence. European elites have made him a repeated target precisely because he articulates what growing numbers of citizens observe daily: mass migration from culturally distant regions correlates with parallel societies, higher welfare dependency, and spikes in certain crimes. Across Europe — from hate speech laws in the UK and Germany to "disinformation" monitors in the EU — authorities are not merely restricting expression. They are punishing the acknowledgment of reality when it contradicts the multicultural narrative. Facts about integration failures, no-go zones, grooming gangs, or group differences in outcomes are treated as heretical, regardless of their empirical basis.While facts concerning Arabs, Africans, or Muslims are thus censored or forbidden, in Belgium, as soon as it concerns Jews, then absolutely everything is permitted. When courts declare that even accurate statistics can be criminal if they foster "intolerance," they do not protect minorities — they infantilize them and infantilize the public. They signal that native Europeans have no right to discuss the transformation of their own societies. Van Langenhove will appeal his conviction, as he has before. The real verdict, however, is already in: Western Europe's governing class has chosen repression over reality. They would rather punish the messenger than confront the inconvenient data on the real costs of migration. On May 26, 2026, the Correctional Court of Leuven fined Van Langenhove €4,000 for a February 2024 lecture at KU Leuven University. The offense? Presenting data on mass migration, group differences in intelligence and achievement, crime statistics, and the failures of multiculturalism — in a manner the court deemed to create an "us versus them" atmosphere. This is not merely another skirmish in Europe's war on free speech. It is something far more sinister: the explicit criminalization of observable, verifiable reality itself.
What Van Langenhove Actually Said
Van Langenhove's lecture, hosted by the Nationalistische Studentenvereniging ("Nationalist Student Association"), was billed as a discussion on regenerative agriculture but quickly became a wide-ranging critique of open-border policies and their consequences. He cited statistics on educational outcomes, crime rates linked to non-Western immigration, declining quality of life in multicultural areas, and differences among groups.
Van Langenhove said, for instance:
"If I say it is normal that there are more Asians and whites — Asian men and white men — who become engineers than African Americans, because African Americans simply do worse at school for a number of reasons... then we are apparently not allowed to say that whites are simply better bridge builders than Africans. Yet go to Africa once and look at the bridges there. Most of the bridges still standing were built during the colonial period or even long before by white engineers. And when bridges need repairing nowadays, it is not the Africans repairing them — it is Asians; the Chinese have taken over everything.... People are not equal, animals are not equal, plants are not equal, there is nothing in nature that is equal."Van Langenhove warned of "the great replacement," and linked mass migration to housing shortages, strained welfare systems, rising criminality, and cultural erosion. He criticized multiculturalism as incompatible with cohesive societies and mocked certain progressive dogmas on gender. None of these points was fabricated. The court itself acknowledged that many of his statements rested on scientific evidence and official statistics.
The Court's Damning Admission: Facts Are Irrelevant
Here is the most revealing passage from the judgment, as quoted by Van Langenhove and reported across multiple outlets:
"Even if all of the statements made by Van Langenhove are based on scientific evidence and statistics, it makes no difference to the criminal intent. Van Langenhove is not charged with spreading false information. He is charged with presenting facts in a way that incites hatred against persons on the grounds of one or more of the protected criteria in the Anti-Racism Law."The judge does not dispute the accuracy of the data. He concedes the statements are factually supported. Yet this veracity is declared "irrelevant." What matters, according to the court, is the intention inferred from creating an "atmosphere of hostility" or an "us versus them" narrative.
This turns justice on its head.
Since when does presenting verifiable facts about crime rates, IQ distributions, or fertility differentials constitute "criminal intent"? Where is the evidence of incitement to violence? There is none. The "proof" is the speech itself — and the judges' subjective interpretation of its potential emotional effect on special protected groups.In liberal democracies worthy of the name, truth has always been a defense against charges of defamation or incitement. In 21st-century Belgium, truth is now aggravating evidence.
A Symbol of Broader Repression
This case is Van Langenhove's second conviction. It follows earlier proceedings against him and his Schild & Vrienden ("Shield & Friends") movement for private chats and memes. European elites have made him a repeated target precisely because he articulates what growing numbers of citizens observe daily: mass migration from culturally distant regions correlates with parallel societies, higher welfare dependency, and spikes in certain crimes. The deeper meaning is clear. Across Europe — from hate speech laws in the UK and Germany to "disinformation" monitors in the EU — authorities are not merely restricting expression. They are punishing the acknowledgment of reality when it contradicts the multicultural narrative. Facts about integration failures, no-go zones, grooming gangs, or group differences in outcomes are treated as heretical, regardless of their empirical basis. This Wonderlandian Inquisition is enabled by what philosopher Curtis Yarvin has termed "the Cathedral": the decentralized yet ideologically unified complex of media, academia, NGOs, and judicial bureaucracies that enforces progressive orthodoxy. Judges, feeling shielded by this moral and institutional consensus, act with impunity. They believe themselves not mere arbiters of law, but guardians of the faith — a faith in which biological realities, cultural incompatibilities, and demographic arithmetic must be denied lest they undermine the sacred project of diversity.
Double Standards
While facts concerning Arabs, Africans, or Muslims are thus censored or forbidden, in Belgium, as soon as it concerns Jews, then absolutely everything is permitted. In August 2024, in a column published in the magazine Humo, the Flemish Belgian novelist and columnist Herman Brusselmans wrote about Gaza: "I become so furious that I want to ram a sharp knife through the throat of every Jew I meet," while also calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "short, fat, bald Jew." This incitement to murder, this open admission of pogromist appetite — which would be condemned in any civilized country — was deemed by the Belgian judge handling Brusselmans' case to be nothing more than an expression of freedom of speech, and that this hatred of Jews does not constitute a call to murder.
The Death of Freedom — and Sanity
Europe is rapidly becoming a continent where certain truths are unsayable, and therefore, presumably unthinkable. When courts declare that even accurate statistics can be criminal if they foster "intolerance," they do not protect minorities — they infantilize them and infantilize the public. They signal that native Europeans have no right to discuss the transformation of their own societies. Van Langenhove will appeal his conviction, as he has before. The real verdict, however, is already in: Western Europe's governing class has chosen repression over reality. They would rather punish the messenger than confront the inconvenient data on the real costs of migration. If this trend of "painting the roses red" continues, the choice for Europeans will not be between "hate speech" and silence, but between submission to a "managed decline" and a long-overdue reclamation of the right to name reality — before it is too late. *Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of PAN Medias Group. He is the author of The Green Reich (2020).
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22595/belgium-criminalizes-truth
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The ‘great settlement’: Trump’s financial heist, Iran’s strategic heist
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya-English/14 June ,2026
Donald Trump delayed when decisive action was required. He retreated from pressure points that gave Washington leverage. He weakened American bargaining power before securing American objectives. He personalized one of the most consequential confrontations in the Middle East and transformed it into a succession of contradictory declarations, shifting positions, and improvised negotiations.
The result is that what began as an effort to constrain Iran risks ending as a strategic opening for the ruling Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That outcome was not inevitable. Donald Trump helped create the conditions for it.
Trump moved from threatening to destroy Iran to celebrating a “Great Settlement” without demonstrating what strategic objective was achieved in between. Iran did not abandon its regional doctrine. Iran did not abandon its missile program. Iran did not abandon its network of proxies. Iran did not abandon the instruments through which it projects influence across the Middle East. Yet the instruments that brought Tehran to the negotiating table are steadily being transformed into bargaining chips.
Frozen Iranian assets have become negotiable. Economic pressure has become negotiable. Maritime restrictions have become negotiable. Sanctions relief have become negotiable. The very tools that gave Washington leverage are being converted into concessions before Washington has secured the strategic objectives that justified the confrontation in the first place.
This is not a tactical adjustment. It is a strategic shift.
The principal beneficiary of that shift is not difficult to identify. It is not the Iranian people. It is not those who hoped external pressure would weaken the structures of repression inside Iran. The principal beneficiary is the ruling IRGC.
That is the institution that dominates Iran’s security apparatus, large sectors of its economy, its regional networks, and much of its strategic decision-making. That is the institution that stands to benefit from fresh resources, reduced pressure, additional time, and a political environment increasingly prepared to accommodate rather than challenge its regional role.
Trump spent years attacking Barack Obama for separating the nuclear issue from Iran’s regional conduct. He argued that Iran’s missiles, militias, proxies, and regional ambitions could not be treated as secondary matters. He insisted that any serious agreement had to address the full architecture of Iranian power.
Yet the direction of the current negotiations points toward exactly the outcome Trump once condemned. The nuclear file remains under discussion. The missile issue is fading. The drone issue is fading. The question of regional conduct is being pushed aside. The issue of proxies is being postponed. The very files that define the strategic reach of the IRGC are being transformed into future problems rather than present conditions. This is not diplomacy. It is postponement.
The ruling IRGC understands perfectly what is happening. It understands that strategic influence matters more than diplomatic headlines. It understands that long-term leverage matters more than short-term declarations of success. It understands that preserving its regional doctrine is more important than winning public-relations battles.
Iran entered these negotiations knowing precisely what it wanted.
It wants access to frozen assets. It wants relief from economic pressure. It wants guarantees against a return to war. It wants limits on Israeli military freedom of action. It wants arrangements concerning the future of the Strait of Hormuz that preserve an Iranian role. It wants assurances that Washington will not interfere with the regional doctrine that has defined the Islamic Republic’s projection of power for decades. Above all, it wants to ensure that the doctrine built by the IRGC survives intact.
The doctrine built by the IRGC is not a secondary matter that can be postponed to a future round of negotiations. It lies at the heart of the confrontation itself because it is through that doctrine, its proxies, and its regional networks that Tehran projects influence across Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and beyond. Iran did not build its regional position through the nuclear file alone. It built it through Hezbollah in Lebanon, through allied militias in Iraq, through the Houthis in Yemen, and through networks of influence that allowed Tehran to project power far beyond its borders. Excluding those instruments from the core of negotiations does not solve the problem. It preserves it.
This is where Trump’s reversal becomes most consequential.
For years he argued that the mistake of the Obama administration was to separate the nuclear issue from Iran’s regional conduct. Today he risks repeating that mistake on a larger scale and at a higher cost. Obama reached an agreement after negotiations. Trump risks arriving at a similar destination after confrontation, military escalation, and enormous expenditure of political and strategic capital.
The irony is impossible to ignore.
Trump approaches the process as a dealmaker. He wants an announcement. He wants an agreement. He wants a headline. He wants to declare success and move on. The ruling IRGC approaches the process as a strategic actor. It is not negotiating for a headline. It is negotiating for time, resources, legitimacy, leverage, and freedom of movement.
Trump calls this a “Great Settlement.” The ruling IRGC sees something very different. It sees relief from pressure. It sees access to resources. It sees the possibility of preserving its regional doctrine. It sees the possibility of emerging from confrontation with greater room for maneuver than it possessed before. It sees the possibility of transforming American urgency into Iranian leverage.
This is where the title of success becomes dangerously misleading.
While Trump and those around him focus on the financial, political, and transactional dimensions of an agreement, the ruling IRGC is focused on something else entirely: strategic advantage. Trump may view the process through the lens of a financial heist — a deal, an achievement, an announcement, and a victory to market politically. The ruling IRGC views it through the lens of a strategic heist — preserving influence, securing resources, protecting its regional doctrine, and converting pressure into opportunity.
While Trump approaches the process with the instincts of a dealmaker focused on reaching an agreement and declaring success, the ruling IRGC approaches it as a strategic actor focused on securing resources, preserving influence, and shaping the balance of power that will emerge long after the negotiations are over. One side is focused on declaring victory; the other is focused on shaping the strategic environment that will remain after the declarations are forgotten. The real danger is not the collapse of Trump’s “Great Settlement” but its success under the current terms. If these understandings end with reduced economic pressure, released assets, deferred regional questions, postponed proxy issues, and guarantees that limit future military options, the outcome will be unmistakable. Donald Trump will have weakened the instruments of American leverage before securing the strategic transformation he promised.
Avoiding war is an achievement. But that is not the central question. The central question is whether Trump is ending a confrontation while preserving the very structures that made the confrontation inevitable. The central question is whether he is trading strategic leverage for political headlines. The central question is whether he is calling success what is, in reality, a postponement of the underlying conflict.
History is usually less interested in declarations than in outcomes.
Donald Trump may call this a “Great Settlement.” The ruling IRGC may remember it as one of the most successful strategic heists in its history.

Selected Face Book & X tweets on 14 June/2026
متذبذب
@motazabzab87
As a Lebanese citizen, I want peace between Lebanon and Israel. Two beautiful countries whose people have endured far too much suffering because of conflict, extremism, and violence. The future should be built on peace, security and prosperity for everyone.

Khalil Helou
Regarding the visit of a delegation from Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party "La France Insoumise" to Beirut. Thank you for your visit, ladies and gentlemen, if it is to support the restoration of the state's sovereignty over the entire Lebanese territory and to disarm illegal militias, particularly Hezbollah—but so far, I haven't heard a single word from you on that score. Moreover, your Lebanese comrades from the caviar left, the salon left, the big-cylinder-motorcycle left, and the 4x4 4-liter-and-up left are already doing plenty to poison our daily lives. No need for any more of that. France—at least the one we know, rooted in Lebanon for over a millennium, the France of the culture of freedom, of the culture of rights and obligations, of the rule of law, and of the sovereign and regal state—that is the France that shapes our vision.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
https://x.com/hahussain/status/2065828625186754572/video/1
America must sanction the Muslim Brotherhood in all its iterations.
Qatar pretends to be our ally, but funds Al-Jazeera and its enormous following. Al-Jazeera's job is to delegitimize Western concepts of government -- liberty, democracy, equality -- and offer Islam as a better form of government, which is the Brotherhood's founding motto: Islam is the solution.

Barak Ravid
Israel attacks Hezbollah targets in Beirut in retaliation to attacks on northern Israel, Netanyahu says. Why it matters: Iran threatened to retaliate for any Israeli attack on Beirut

Israel Force
Israel win the war....
Devil is dead
Current Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem has been eliminated in a targeted strike by the Israeli Airforce in Beirut's Dahieh. Official confirmation awaited.

Lindsey Graham
While I hope and pray that a diplomatic solution to end the Iranian conflict and deny Iran the ability to produce a nuclear weapon and stop their reign of terror on the region may be at hand, we still must understand who we are dealing with. Since the latest ceasefire, Hezbollah has been unrelenting in their attacks against Israel to the point there are areas in northern Israel that have been evacuated because of the constant attacks. What would America do in a similar situation? Hezbollah is financed and controlled by Iran, with a lot of American blood on its hands. It is clear to me that no matter what deal we sign with Iran, Hezbollah’s stated ambitions of destroying Israel and making Lebanon a caliphate have not fundamentally changed. May God protect the United States and may God protect the State of Israel.

Shehbaz Sharif
Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland.
We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in this mediation effort, the great leadership of State of Qatar, for their support in reaching this agreement. I would also especially thank the visionary leadership of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Republic of Türkiye for their immense contributions in this regard. With the agreement now in place, mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week. These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
America is trading Lebanon for Iran’s nukes and Hormuz. There will never be peace, neither in Iran nor in Lebanon and Israel.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Druze Walid Jumblatt understood that the era of the direct Iranian rule of Lebanon is coming with America trading Lebanon for Iran's nukes and Hormuz.Jumblatt, therefore, not only bashes Israel, but brags that he instructed one of the Druze militia commanders in the 1980s to attack the U.S. marines in Lebanon and the attack killed four American marines.
Why would Jumblatt, after all these years, take responsibility for ordering the killing of American marines? Because he is certain that America is forcing Israel out of Lebanon and ceding it to Iran, and he is brandishing his credentials as a killer of Americans before the new Iranian rulers of Lebanon.