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Middle East crisis live: Trump says he does not want to extend ceasefire with Iran | US-Israel war on Iran
Trump says he does not want to extend ceasefire with Iran
President Donald Trump told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday that he did not want to extend a ceasefire with Iran, adding the US was in a strong negotiating position and would end up with what he called a great deal.
“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of extending the ceasefire.
Trump also said that the US was in a strong negotiating position with Iran and would end up with a “great deal”.
Key events
Lebanon’s prime minister and French president Emmanuel Macron will discuss on Tuesday how to strengthen the country’s hand in possible direct negotiations with Israel in the United States later this week, as Beirut turns to a trusted European ally.
The US will host ambassador-level talks with Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, although it remains unclear whether the objective is to extend a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah or pave the way for deeper negotiations.
Israeli troops occupy territory deep in the south, aiming to create a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack, while the group says it maintains the “right to resist” Israeli occupation.
“France’s role is not to insert itself between the parties in discussions that are, by nature, bilateral and direct,” a French presidency official said ahead of prime minister Nawaf Salam’s meeting with Macron.
“France is one of the countries capable of playing a very concrete role in strengthening the Lebanese government’s hand and supporting its action in practical terms.“
Well, it looks like there was some miscommunication with our video service and there is in fact no Pete Hegseth press conference today.
We will all have to wait a little while longer to hear his latest pearls of wisdom and unique take on the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is due to give a war briefing at the Pentagon alongside Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, in about five minutes.
Stay with us as we will be covering it live and will attach a feed of the briefing at the top of the blog.
The Pentagon says US forces boarded the sanctioned M/T Tifani tanker overnight “without incident” in the Asia Pacific region.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran – anywhere they operate,” the US Department of Defense wrote in a post on X.
US and Iran signal they will return to Pakistan for ceasefire talks – report
The Associated Press is reporting that two regional officials have said the US and Iran have indicated they will hold a new round of the ceasefire talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital.
Officials told the news agency that “Pakistan-led mediators” received confirmation that the US vice-president JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow morning to lead their teams in the talks.
We have not been able to independently verify this report. Iran, which has sent mixed messages about the talks, has said speculation about them sending a delegation to Pakistan should not be believed.
Iran’s state broadcaster earlier dismissed “rumours” about the departure or arrival (times) of the delegation being spread by unnamed “international outlets and regional sources”.
Yesterday evening, Ghalibaf said in a social media post that his country would not attend negotiations while under threat – and warned they were “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.
Trump claims Iran has ‘violated’ ceasefire agreement ‘numerous times’
In an extremely brief Truth Social post, the US president, Donald Trump, has said that “Iran has violated the ceasefire numerous times”, without specifying what these breaches were.
His comments come amid continuing uncertainty over whether a second round of peace talks between Iran and the US will take place in Pakistan today.
On Sunday, Trump accused Iran of firing on ships passing through the strait of Hormuz in what he claimed was in violation of the ceasefire agreement due to expire tomorrow.
A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, however, said it was Washington’s blockade of the waterway that was a violation of the agreement. Trump said on Friday that the naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal was reached.
At least 26 Iranian ‘shadow fleet’ vessels have slipped through US blockade of strait of Hormuz
At least 26 Iranian “shadow fleet” vessels have bypassed the US naval blockade of the strait of Hormuz, according to Lloyd’s List.
Since the US blockade took effect on 13 April, as many as 26 vessels have continued moving in and out of Iranian ports and have exported Iranian-origin cargo, maritime data shows. Lloyd’s List said 11 tankers laden with Iranian cargo have left the Gulf of Oman or the Middle East Gulf since 13 April.
Iran officially closed the strait – to “hostile” countries – on 4 March in response to US-Israeli airstrikes on the country, and briefly declared it back open on Friday after a 10-day ceasefire deal was agreed between Israel and Lebanon.
But Iranian officials said over the weekend they were effectively closing the vital waterway again after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
Since the blockade began, the US has directed 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port, according to a social media post published by Centcom yesterday.
China’s ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, has expressed his “full support” of Pakistan’s mediation efforts between the US and Iran.
In a post on X, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said talks between the country’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as foreign minister, and Zaidong focused on the “latest regional developments”.
“Amb Zaidong conveyed China’s full support for and appreciation of Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate engagement between US and Iran for sustained peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the ministry said.
During a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that “normal traffic” through the strait of Hormuz “should be maintained” and, according to state media, said China “advocates for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire”.
China is widely seen to have benefited from the US-Israel war on Iran as it has enabled Beijing to boost its diplomatic power and the country’s fossil fuel stockpiles and diversified energy mix insulated it from the worst of the oil shock, as my colleague notes in this analysis piece.
The Chinese yuan has also been used by ships that have paid tolls to Iran for safe transit across the strait of Hormuz, according to reports.
The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 53rd day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. It said in a post on its website:
The Iran internet blackout is now in its 53rd day after 1248 hours of disconnection from global networks.
As authorities work to develop tiered access for select users and businesses, the human impacts and economic harms of this digital censorship measure continue to spiral.
A select number of officials are still able to use the internet and post regularly on social media about the war. There was an earlier internet shutdown in January during nationwide protests, which helped obscure extreme violence against Iran’s population.
Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot has described Israel’s military actions in Lebanon as “totally unacceptable”.
“Israel’s conduct is completely unacceptable. Of course, we must firmly condemn Hezbollah’s initial attacks, which, in seeking to show solidarity with Iran, dragged Lebanon into a war it did not want, as well as Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate response,” Prevot said ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
He also said Belgium is calling for at least a partial suspension of the EU’s Association’s Agreement with Israel, adding that Belgium is “aware that a full suspension is probably out of reach given the positions of the various European countries” ( see post at 09.19 for more details).
Israel started a war on Lebanon on 2 March when Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group and political party, launched rocket fire at Israel after US-Israeli airstrikes killed former Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran.
The IDF responded with a wave of intense strikes across Lebanon, targeting what it claimed was Hezbollah infrastructure, though many civilians were killed (over 2,290, according to the health ministry), homes destroyed and over 1.2 million people displaced across the country.
During the war, Israel also launched a ground invasion several kilometres into Lebanese territory, with a stated goal to push Hezbollah back from the border in order to stop the ability of the group to fire rockets into communities in northern Israel. Israeli officials now say Israel will stay in control of dozens of towns and villages as part of what it describes as a security buffer zone – but from the ground this looks like a prelude to long term occupation.
The US state department will host new talks on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, an American official told the AFP news agency, after a previous meeting saw the start of a 10-day ceasefire that took effect on 16 April.
Hezbollah is of the view that direct peace talks are a form of national humiliation and are about trying to pressure the group into laying down its weapons. The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, who wants to end the Israeli occupation of southern areas of his country and stop future Israeli attacks, is in favour of engaging in the talks.
No Iranian delegation has departed for Pakistan yet – state TV
Iranian state TV is reporting that no Iranian delegation has yet departed for Pakistan to attend peace talks with the US. It is not clear yet if they will attend the talks today despite pressure from mediators to do so.
The country’s state broadcaster wrote in a post on Telegram that “no delegation from Iran has travelled to Islamabad, neither a primary nor a secondary, neither initial nor follow-up.”
Axios, meanwhile, is reporting that the US vice-president JD Vance is due to leave for Islamabad by Tuesday morning for talks with Iran, a day before the ceasefire expires.
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy who often acts like a de facto secretary of state, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, are also expected to travel to the Pakistani capital for the talks.
Iran has been stalling because of possible pressure from the Revolutionary Guards on the negotiators to adopt a firmer line and insist there cannot be diplomacy while the US is blockading the strait of Hormuz, according to the Axios report.
Iran holds a deep mistrust of the US as it has been attacked before during previous negotiations.
You can keep up with the latest developments on the EU and from around the continent in our Europe live blog:
Jakub Krupa
Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares has just confirmed that Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have requested a discussion on suspending the EU’s association treaty with Israel at today’s meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
He said the process was about the EU’s “credibility” on all other issues, as the bloc is expected to stand “for the same principles” everywhere.
He said that if the EU is “not capable to say today to Israel” that it is expected to respect human rights and international law, and not make war a foreign policy tool, “we are going to lose that credibility.”
“We have to say the same thing that we say to Russia concerning Ukraine, and that we say in other scenarios, and since the last time we brought this same position, things have worsened,” he said.
European Union has to say today very clearly to Israel that that change is needed. That’s not the right path, and that while Israel continues in that path of a permanent perpetual war, we will not be able to [run our relations] in the same way.
He said that if suspending the association treaty in full is unacceptable for some members, the bloc should consider suspending at least the trade element of the deal.
Israel is continuing its attacks on Gaza, where the humanitarian situation remains dire despite a ceasefire.
At least four Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli attacks in the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip so far today, Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting.
In its latest update, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 72,560 Palestinian people have been killed and 172,317 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023.
At least 784 Palestinian people have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, according to the ministry, whose figures the UN generally find reliable.
Most of the people killed have been civilians and the true death toll is likely much higher given the number of people still buried under rubble across the territory.
Aid groups say broken infrastructure and inconsistent electricity have turned untreated sewage into a growing public health risk, and there is a view that the US and Israeli war on Iran has resulted in even higher prices for food and other essentials.
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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