(Updated 7:21 PM GMT+2, June 2, 2026)
Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed 11 people, including a man along with his son and daughter, the state-run news agency said, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and the militant group Hezbollah agreed to dial back fighting.
Even with more than two years left to go before the next presidential election, speculation about who could run is everywhere. Several politicians have publicly flirted with the idea of running for the office in recent months. And polls are capturing a developing picture of who the top possible contenders could be.
But US Vice President JD Vance said Trump — who was notably silent throughout the day — had yet to sign on the dotted line. There was no immediate reaction from Iran.
Delivered by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General expresses his disappointment at the inability of the Eleventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to reach consensus on a substantive outcome and to seize this critical opportunity to make our world safer.
Six countries with citizens among the participants — Italy, France, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain — summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors following the video. Others, including Britain, Germany, Ireland and Portugal, offered condemnation of how the activists were treated.
Several European countries on Wednesday condemned Israel’s assault on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, following the interception of the vessel in international waters and the detention of its participants, describing their treatment as horrific, shocking and appalling.
The condemnations came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published a video showing dozens of activists kneeling with their hands tied inside the port of Ashdod.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned the United States and the Israeli regime against attempting fresh military action against Iran, saying past confrontations had failed to achieve their objectives and any future attempt would yield the same outcome.
Argentina‘s government on Friday reiterated its willingness to resume bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom in regards to a sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina knows as the Malvinas and has long claimed sovereignty over.
(March 14, 2026)
As my big piece on Starmer last month revealed, even after Mandelson was appointed, Starmer never quizzed him about how to deal with Trump. All this exposes a Prime Minister with Olympic levels of detachment. It has been known for a while that he has little interest in politics but those who have worked with him have been genuinely surprised at his lack of interest in the detail of governing.
(…)
The book also reveals that the decision to sack Mandelson was taken by McSweeney, not Starmer. On the day the PM defended Mandelson in the Commons, McSweeney was in a secure basement conference room without his phone when two of Starmer’s closest aides – Paul Ovenden and Stuart Ingham – came to find him. Ingham told him: ‘We just can’t answer these questions.’
McSweeney’s response – ‘It’s unsustainable’ – was the moment the decision was effectively made.
On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin‘ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE. It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let‘s, GET IT DONE! President DONALD J. TRUMP
A phone call took place Thursday afternoon between U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, during which Aoun reiterated his gratitude for Trump’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon, sources told LBCI.
He also stressed the importance of ensuring long-term peace and stability as a step toward a broader peace process in the region.
NNA – Lebanon‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants on Wednesday stated in a letter that, „Based on Cabinet Decision No. 14 dated 9/4/2026, it has instructed Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations to submit an urgent complaint to the Security Council and the Secretary-General, regarding the Israeli airstrikes on April 8, 2026, which targeted several Lebanese areas, particularly the capital, Beirut. The Ministry also requested that the complaint be circulated as an official document to the General Assembly and the Security Council.“
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, the letter suspending the Italy–Israel memorandum, which establishes a framework for defense cooperation regarding the exchange of military equipment and technological research within the armed forces.
The memorandum was initially signed in 2016 and was renewable every five years.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s request to delay testifying in his criminal trial was accepted by judges on Sunday due to „security and political“ reasons related to „the dramatic events that have occurred in the State of Israel and throughout the Middle East in recent times,“ according to a letter sent to judges.
The Prime Minister contacted his Lebanese counterpart by telephone and strongly condemned Israel’s aggression.
According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s House, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke over the phone.
“Not only is it contentious in itself, what remains even more contentious is the fact that no one seems to agree about what everyone agreed about, or didn’t agree about,” Pinfold told Al Jazeera.
“We don’t know what Iran agreed to, we don’t know what both sides think they agreed to,” he added, noting the further complication that various parties which were either attacked or involved in the fighting were not represented.
Iran says they have 10 points. The US says it has 15 points. The problem here is a dilemma that there is no single document that anyone can refer to for what both sides are going to discuss.
(today)
Now, Hezbollah can continue to fire rockets across the border, and it has been doing that. Hezbollah has also been trying to slow Israel’s ground invasion in the south. But as you can see, Israel is the one that has the upper hand. It controls the skies, it can cause death, it can cause destruction, and this is all heaping pressure on the population and on the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah was counting on Iran having the leverage to silence this front, but that has not happened yet, despite statements from Iranian officials.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan had posted on his X account about the arrival of an Iranian delegation in Islamabad tonight. But the post was later deleted.
Hezbollah stopped attacking Israeli targets early on Wednesday, three Lebanese sources close to the group told Reuters. The group‘s last public statement on its military activity was posted at 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Tuesday), saying it had targeted Israeli troops inside Lebanon on Tuesday evening.
Beirut‘s hospitals have been inundated with casualties from the latest wave of Israeli attacks on the city, the Beirut Doctors Syndicate has said.
Elias Challala, who helms the group, issued a plea to “all doctors, each within their specialty, to go to hospitals to provide assistance following the large number of injuries caused by the air strikes, to fulfil their medical and humanitarian duty“.
The president called on the international community to take responsibility, halt repeated attacks, and curb the aggressive policies threatening regional security.
Salam called on Lebanon’s international partners and allies to help stop the attacks by all available means.
The black S.U.V. carrying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 11. The Israeli leader, who had been pressing for months for the United States to agree to a major assault on Iran, was whisked inside with little ceremony, out of view of reporters, primed for one of the most high-stakes moments in his long career.
U.S. and Israeli officials gathered first in the Cabinet Room, adjacent to the Oval Office. Then Mr. Netanyahu headed downstairs for the main event: a highly classified presentation on Iran for President Trump and his team in the White House Situation Room, which was rarely used for in-person meetings with foreign leaders.
“We have today foreign ministers and representatives from more than 40 countries gathered to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, the consequences of its closure, the urgent need to restore freedom of navigation for international shipping, and our firm international determination to see the strait reopened,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said at the start of a virtual meeting.
The meeting was announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as United States President Donald Trump urged countries that depend on the route to take action.
The official drew parallels with two previous rounds of negotiations held in the spring and winter of 2025, characterising them as deceptive.
In both instances, the official stressed, the United States had no genuine intention to engage in meaningful dialogue and subsequently carried out military aggression against Iran. (…)
The official outlined five specific conditions under which Iran would agree to end the war. These include:
– A complete halt to „aggression and assassinations“ by the enemy.
– The establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic.
– Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations.
– The end of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region
– Iran‘s exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is and will remain Iran‘s natural and legal right, and it constitutes a guarantee for the implementation of the other party‘s commitments, and must be recognized.
(March 25, 2026)
Though the full 15-point plan is not yet available, it mainly focuses on Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, including a demand to end uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, reported the NYT, citing sources.