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Middle East crisis live: US House rebukes Trump over Iran war; Tehran claims it struck American military ship in Gulf of Oman | US-Israel war on Iran
House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran
Robert Tait
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.
The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats.
Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.
The Senate voted last month to advance a resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats.
More here:
Key events
Israel and Lebanon agree to renew ceasefire
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their shaky ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.
In a joint statement released after a fourth round of US-mediated talks at the state department in Washington DC , the two sides said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River”.
It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas, the Associated Press is reporting.
The statement said:
These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement. All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”
The latter is a reference to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and is insisting that Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a framework agreement with the US to end the conflict with Iran.
Hezbollah isn’t part of the Israel-Lebanon talks and firmly opposes the negotiations, saying it won’t abide by any agreements that may result from them.
The US is saying Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a fresh ceasefire.
The news is according to a joint statement with the US released by the State Department on Wednesday after talks in Washington DC.
Robert Mackey
The three top Democrats in the US House of Representatives have called for the Senate’s Republican leadership to pass the war powers resolution adopted by the House, which directs the president “to remove United States armed forces from hostilities with Iran”.
After the House voted 215 to 208 to approve the resolution, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement:
More than three months ago, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth plunged America into a reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East without clear objectives, an exit strategy, public support or the authorization required by the United States Congress.
Republicans have since spent billions in taxpayer dollars and carelessly put our brave men and women in uniform into harm’s way while causing gas prices at home to skyrocket out of control … It is now time for Senate Republicans to do the right thing.”
Today so far
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Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Iran peace negotiations could be reached within days “ and that Iran is “pretty close” to signing an agreement with the US. “It could happen over the weekend,” he said.
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Trump also said that he wanted to separate Lebanon from the Iran peace talks because “it’s a very different kind of thing”. This came within hours after the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war.
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The US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday on a war powers resolution curbing Trump’s authority on the war in Iran. The vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.
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Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Iran had targeted a US military ship approaching Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman – a claim that US Central Command disputed within minutes in a post on X. “Iran is lying,” the post reads. “US military assets at sea continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and unimpeded.”
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One person was killed and several people were injured in an Iranian drone attack that targeted Kuwait’s airport, according to authorities and state media. Kuwaiti authorities have denied Iranian claims that the US used Kuwaiti territory and airpace launch strikes and have summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires over the matter. The Kuwait defence ministry said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched by Iran on Wednesday.
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The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon on Wednesday, after earlier announcing the interception of a “hostile aircraft” that had also crossed into Israel. “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the area of Misgav Am, the Israeli Air Force intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the military said, referring to a community on the northern border.
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Lebanon’s health ministry said two paramedics were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on the country’s south, with at least 130 emergency and health workers now killed since the Israel-Hezbollah war began in March. A ministry statement said that “the Israeli enemy directly targeted an ambulance belonging to the Risala Scouts Association”, which is affiliated with Hezbollah ally the Amal movement, adding that “this resulted in the martyrdom of two paramedics and left a third with highly critical injuries.
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The Lebanese armed forces said a soldier was killed “as a result of being targeted by an Israeli raid” while he was travelling between the towns of Nabatieh and Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon. The state-run National News Agency reported at least six people in southern Lebanon were killed by Israeli drone strikes, while Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.
House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran
Robert Tait
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.
The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats.
Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.
The Senate voted last month to advance a resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats.
More here:
Israel, Netanayahu have been ‘a great partner’, Trump says
Donald Trump continued his remarks on Wednesday by calling Israel and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, “a great partner”.
“Israel, hey look, they’ve been a great partner. Bibi Netanyahu’s been, for me, a great partner. For other people, not so good. For me, he’s been very good,” Trump said.
Trump continued:
“We were very effective, what we’ve done. They needed us. They couldn’t have done it without us, couldn’t even come close. They needed us and they got us to help them with a real problem because Iran was a real problem, a big problem, a worldwide problem. They wouldn’t have stopped with Israel. They would have blown up the Middle East.”
Trump says he wants to separate Lebanon, Iran peace talks
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he wanted to separate Lebanon from the Iran peace talks because “it’s a very different kind of thing”.
Iran has long insisted that any deal to end the wider Middle East war – which its ally Hezbollah joined on 2 March – must also halt the fighting in Lebanon.
”We’re trying to separate it. It’s a very different kind of a thing. We actually spoke to Hezbollah for the first time ever. We didn’t know they spoke,” Trump said. “They agreed yesterday that they’re not going to shoot, Israel isn’t going to shoot. We’re just going to see. But I’d like to separate it. I’d like to have a separate thing. Because it is separate.”
On Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war.
Trump says Iran peace negotiations could be reached ‘over the weekend’
Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Iran is “pretty close” to signing a peace agreement with the US and that “it could happen over the weekend”.
“Anything can happen when you’re dealing with Iran … That’s a very volatile part of the world, probably the most volatile part of the world. The people are volatile. The leadership, you see what’s going on,” he said.
But he went on to say that negotiations were going well and that Tehran and Washington could reach an agreement within days. He maintained that the heart of the negotiations come down to Iran agreeing to never own, develop or buy a nuclear weapon.
Trump said that given the strength of the US military, “we could go another two, three weeks and just wipe everybody out”.
“I’d rather not do that,” he said. “It’s very easy to do. They’re ready to do it, they want to do it but if we can get something down in writing that can accomplish the same thing without killing everybody, I’d like to do that. Most of my people would like to do that. Some people wouldn’t, but most people would.”
Iran claims to have hit US military ship, but US says ‘Iran is lying’
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Iran has targeted a US military ship approaching Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman.
Within minutes, US Central Command (Centcom) disputed that claim on X.
“Iran is lying,” the post reads. “US military assets at sea continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and unimpeded.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war, as Israel pressed its campaign against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Iran has repeatedly insisted that any deal to end the wider Middle East war – which its ally Hezbollah joined on 2 March – must also halt the fighting in Lebanon.
“The fate of the war between Iran and the Zionists [Israel] and Americans is inseparable from the fate of the battle in Lebanon, and these two fronts have been intertwined since day one,” Iranian news agencies quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV, reports AFP.
“Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war,” he continued, adding Iran’s “armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut”.
He also insisted that for the war in Lebanon to end, Israeli forces must get out of the country.
“The end of the war in Lebanon also means the end of the occupation. That is, the end of the war must be accompanied by the withdrawal of the Zionist regime’s forces from the areas they have occupied,” he told the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese broadcaster.
His comments came as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats were to hold a second day of direct talks in Washington.
They are part of a fourth round of talks since the fighting in Lebanon erupted when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
Hezbollah is sharply opposed to the direct negotiations.
A meeting between Hamas and Gaza truce mediators in Egypt has been postponed until Sunday, a source close to the movement said, as it demanded Israel halt ongoing attacks in the Palestinian territory.
The meeting had originally been planned for Wednesday in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, and was set to include a Hamas delegation headed by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, along with Palestinian factions such as Islamic Jihad and mediators from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.
“Hamas and the Palestinian factions are expected to begin consultative meetings in Cairo next Saturday” ahead of meetings between the Palestinian movements and the mediators on Sunday, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.
The source said Hamas had “requested to postpone the talks”, calling them meaningless amid “Israeli intransigence”.
Hamas spokesperson Taher al-Nunu said the movement was in “intense consultations” with the mediators to ensure “real results on the ground”.
“The mediators must compel the occupation to halt the assassinations, bombardment and starvation”, and “expedite the entry of the national committee for the administration of Gaza”, he said, referring to the 15-member board created under the truce deal, which has not yet been allowed to enter the territory it is charged with running.
A transition to the second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months.
Iran foreign minister: Contact with Washington has not been cut off
Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said in an interview with the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen on Wednesday that Tehran’s contacts with Washington have not been cut off, Reuters reports.
However, no progress has been made in negotiations, Araqchi said.
Earlier, Araqchi had posted on X that Iran’s armed forces are conducting self-defense strikes on sites the US is permitted to use to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire.
Araqchi added that any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response from Iran.
Here are some images coming out of Lebanon today:
Sirens have sounded in northern Israel over a possible hostile aircraft infiltration in the area of Zar’it, which is located near the Lebanese border, the IDF said.
More details to come.
Here is some video from the earlier Iranian strikes that hit Kuwait international airport today, killing one person and wounding several others:
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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