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Middle East crisis live: Iran threatens Israel and US after strikes on Lebanon | US-Israel war on Iran
Iranian lawmaker says Tehran will give a ‘painful’ response to Israel’s attack on southern Beirut
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei said in a post on X on Sunday that Tehran will give a “painful” response to Israel’s attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh southern suburb, after the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.
“We will deliver a decisive and painful response to the Zionist regime’s attack on Dahiyeh,” he wrote, going on to say that “rabid dogs must be disciplined and put back in their place.”
“Look at the sky over the occupied lands tonight,” he added.
Key events
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said regional governments were “not in a position to demand reparations”, responding to reports the US could use Iranian assets to compensate regional allies for war-related damages.
Gharibabadi added in a post on X that Iran’s assets were “neither war spoils for Washington nor a payment fund for its allies”.
A source familiar with the matter had told Reuters on Saturday the US will make Iranian assets available to Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for future damage caused by Iran.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed on Sunday to a fourth increase in its oil output targets in as many months, despite the US war with Iran still preventing several of the group’s members from pumping more, Reuters reported.
The war has cut oil flows via the strait of Hormuz, creating the world’s biggest-ever supply crisis as key OPEC members including Saudi Arabia have been unable to supply customers in full since the end of February. The crisis for OPEC deepened when the United Arab Emirates left the organization after almost 60 years.
On Sunday, the seven members decided to increase targets by 188,000 bpd from July, OPEC said in a statement. This is the same as the June hike, which was adjusted down from monthly increases of 206,000 bpd in May and April to take into account the UAE exit.
Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns on the status of the US-Iran ceasefire while speaking to reporters.
“Of course it’s a ceasefire,” the US defense secretary said. He added that the US is “negotiating actively”.
“Things are happening, shipping is moving through,” he said. “Iran shouldn’t be shooting at it. And when they do, we take care of that as you would expect. But ultimately, we think a deal, a great deal, is likely coming soon.”
Iran’s top negotiator threatens US bases and assets in the region
The US naval blockade of Iran and its green light on Sunday for Israel to escalate attacks in Lebanon make US bases and Israeli assets in the Middle East legitimate targets, Iran’s top negotiator said in a post on X.
The comments from Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, follow Israeli attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, a stronghold of Iran’s ally Hezbollah.
“They are neither committed to a ceasefire nor believe in dialogue, and through the naval blockade and violation of agreements regarding Lebanon they showed that they only understand the language of power,” Ghalibaf wrote, referencing the US and Israel.
Ghalibaf then claimed the latest military action turned US assets and bases in the region “into legitimate targets”.
Trump also said he and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain on the same page during his Meet the Press interview, despite some disagreements arising over Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon.
“We get along very well,” the US president said. “We’ve been great comrades. We did a very, very big number on a certain country that was nothing but trouble for 47 years. I disagree with him on a couple of things.”
Earlier in the week, it was reported that Trump had angrily confronted Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to resume airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Donald Trump also aggressively pushed back against claims that he broke a key campaign promise to keep the US out of new foreign conflicts.
“Well, well, first of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” Trump said during the Meet the Press interview. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”
He continued: “I didn’t promise anything. I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months.”
Trump did in fact campaign on promises that he would end wars rather than start them. During his 2024 election night victory speech, he said: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
Trump also defended his military efforts in Venezuela and Iran during the interview by claiming they will not be as long-lasting as the US engagements in Iraq and Vietnam.
“We’re there for a few months,” Trump said. “And the threat is largely over. Soon, it will be over. But you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, or they will blow you up.”
Donald Trump called for more “surgical” strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and said he is not demanding the conflict be included in a peace deal with Iran, during his Meet the Press interview broadcast on Sunday.
“I’d like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical,” Trump said, according to a transcript of the interview recorded Friday. “I’d like to see Lebanon have a better life,” he added.
Asked whether he was demanding that Lebanon be included in the Iran deal, Trump replied: “No, no.”
“Not at all. I’m not demanding,” he said. “I think they’d like to see it, but I’m not demanding.”
Trump has said previously that he would like to “separate” the discussions on Lebanon from the negotiations on an agreement with Iran. However, Tehran wants to link the conflicts.
Iranian lawmaker says Tehran will give a ‘painful’ response to Israel’s attack on southern Beirut
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei said in a post on X on Sunday that Tehran will give a “painful” response to Israel’s attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh southern suburb, after the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.
“We will deliver a decisive and painful response to the Zionist regime’s attack on Dahiyeh,” he wrote, going on to say that “rabid dogs must be disciplined and put back in their place.”
“Look at the sky over the occupied lands tonight,” he added.
Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that at least 10 people were killed and 36 others injured in Israeli attacks across the territory over the past day.
The health ministry says 961 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the supposed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in October 2025.
It says that 72,971 people, many of whom were women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023, when Israel launched its assault on the territory following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Israeli attack on southern Beirut killed at least two people – report
The Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs (see opening post) earlier has killed at least two people and injured 11 others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News agency, citing a preliminary casualty count. We have not been able to independently verify these figures yet.
IDF orders residents of Lebanon’s fifth-largest city to evacuate ahead of attacks
The Israeli military has ordered residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, nearby “camps” (al-Bass and Zakuk al-Mufdi) and “surrounding neighbourhoods” shown on the map below to immediately evacuate in advance of attacks against the locations.
Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued the social media warning, claiming the attacks are being launched due to Hezbollah violating the ceasefire agreement.
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International law experts say Israel’s warnings are inconsistent and often overly broad and open-ended. Sometimes there is no warning at all before the airstrikes. More than 1 million people have already been displaced by the renewed Israeli war on Lebanon, triggering a major refugee and humanitarian crisis.
US says it destroyed two drones over strait of Hormuz
In a post on X earlier today, the US Central Command (Centcom) said it destroyed two Iranian drones “that threatened international maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz”, hours after announcing it struck four other drones and coastal surveillance radar sites.
“American forces remain postured and ready to continue defending against Iranian aggression,” Centcom said in a short statement. It was the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington and came amid stalled negotiations between the two sides, with neither apparently willing to make any major concessions.
Tehran effectively closed the strait of Hormuz – at least to countries it deemed “hostile” to its interests – soon after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. The US imposed a counter-blockade of ships using Iranian ports on 13 April.
Global energy prices have soared as a result of the effective closure of the strategic waterway, a crucial corridor for oil and natural gas shipments.
Trump says he would not unfreeze Iran’s assets before peace deal is done
Donald Trump had an interview with NBC News’s Meet the Press, which host Kristen Welker said took place on Friday.
In the interview, Trump said he would not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift any sanctions before a peace deal is reached. “Comes after,” he said. “Yeah. If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking. Yeah.“
Trump also said that he was not demanding that Lebanon be a part of a short-term deal with Tehran.
The US president also reportedly said he wants to keep US troops in the Middle East until “completion” and that the US will seize and destroy Iran’s highly enriched uranium, much of which is believed to be stored extremely deeply underground.
He said the US and Iran are close to making a deal, something he often repeats despite major sticking points remaining between the two sides: notably Israel’s continuing war on Lebanon, Tehran’s nuclear programme and the status of the strategic strait of Hormuz.
“We’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them,” Trump told NBC News.
Israel had already struck the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital at least twice since the first agreement between Lebanon and Israel went into effect as part of the 17 April ceasefire, under which Washington sought to constrain Israel from striking Beirut in return for a halt in Hezbollah fire towards northern Israel.
Today’s strikes on Beirut are likely to derail US peace talks with Iran as Tehran has made it clear that Israel’s assault on Lebanon must stop for that conflict to end.
Despite being engaged in diplomacy with Lebanon, Israel is striking southern Lebanon and ordering mass evacuation orders on a near-daily basis.
Hezbollah, which has not been part of the direct negotiations with Israel, has fired rockets and drones into northern Israel and against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon as it rejects pushes for its disarmament and Israeli occupation of some of southern Lebanon.
Donald Trump angrily confronted Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to resume airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs during a heated phone call last Monday, according to a report in Axios. It seems that the US president is, however, somewhat limited in his ability to influence Netanyahu’s military actions despite the US’s far superior military power.
At least 3,526 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on 2 March, according to the country’s health ministry. Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon was triggered in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.
Israel strikes southern suburbs of Beirut despite ceasefire agreement with Lebanon
We are seeing reports of Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Dahiyeh, with at least three explosions heard so far. The Israeli military claimed about an hour ago in a post on X that it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital, without providing evidence.
In a joint statement, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military had struck “terrorist” headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs in apparent retaliation for Hezbollah firing toward northern Israel earlier. This is in apparent defiance of a US request not to attack Lebanon’s capital.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), meanwhile, said the Israeli attacks on the southern suburbs, where there is strong support for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party, targeted two apartments in two buildings. There has not been any official confirmation of any casualties or injuries.
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.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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