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Middle East crisis live: Trump says Lebanon is ‘separate skirmish’ to Iran as Israel launches massive strikes on country | Iran

Published

4 months ago

April 8, 2026

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Lebanon not included in ceasefire deal, says Trump

Lebanon is not part of the two-week ceasefire deal, US president Donald Trump has told the media.

Speaking on the phone with PBS News Hour’s Liz Landers, Trump is reported to have said the Israel-Lebanon conflict is a “separate skirmish”, adding:

Yeah, they [Lebanon] were not included in the deal.

He added:

Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s alright.

Key events

The US embassy in Baghdad warned citizens on Wednesday of further attacks after it said Iran-backed armed groups hit a diplomatic support centre at the airport.

“Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran conducted multiple drone attacks in the vicinity of the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and Baghdad International Airport on April 8,” the embassy said in a statement on X.

“They may intend to conduct additional terrorist attacks against US citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq,” it added, advising citizens against travelling in Iraq by plane.

A US official said Wednesday that a 10-point ceasefire plan published by Iran is not the same set of conditions that were agreed to by the White House for pausing the war.

“The document being reported by media outlets is not the working framework,” the senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Erdogan warns of ‘sabotage’ threat to ceasefire

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday of the threat from “possible provocations and sabotage” to the ceasefire accord agreed by Iran and the United States.

In a message on X welcoming the last-minute accord, Erdogan said:

We hope that the ceasefire will be fully implemented on the ground without giving any opportunity for possible provocations and sabotage.

During a telephone conversation with US counterpart Donald Trump, Erdogan urged “a lasting peace agreement” with Iran, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.

“This two-week window of opportunity, which has opened after 40 days of considerable tension and suffering for the whole world, must be used to reach a lasting peace deal,” Erdogan told Trump, the statement added.

He also called for “this process not to be compromised under any circumstances” and said Turkey would offer its full support to ensure as much.

British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday there was still a lot of work to do to reopen the strait of Hormuz, speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

“We now … have a ceasefire, but there’s a lot of work to do, as you will appreciate, a lot of work to make sure that that ceasefire becomes permanent and brings about the peace that we all want to see,” he told UK and Saudi personnel during the visit.

“But also a lot of work to do in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, which has an impact everywhere across the world.”

Lebanon not included in ceasefire deal, says Trump

Lebanon is not part of the two-week ceasefire deal, US president Donald Trump has told the media.

Speaking on the phone with PBS News Hour’s Liz Landers, Trump is reported to have said the Israel-Lebanon conflict is a “separate skirmish”, adding:

Yeah, they [Lebanon] were not included in the deal.

He added:

Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s alright.

Justin McCurry

Dozens of demonstrations have been held across Japan calling for an immediate end to the war in Iran, with protesters waving light sticks and holding banners lining packed into an area in front of the Diet building in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.

Against a musical backdrop, they chanted antiwar slogans and called on the country’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, to abide by the postwar constitution, which forbids Japan from using force as a means of settling international disputes. Many also demanded her resignation.

Fears that Takaichi, a conservative, could use her party’s huge majority in the lower house of parliament to push for constitutional reform have strengthened since the start of the war.

Last month, she turned down a request by Donald Trump to send Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces to the strait of Hormuz, telling him that any military involvement could violate the war-renouncing article 9 of Japan’s postwar constitution.

Trump has since criticised Japan – which is dependent on Middle East oil – and Washington’s other north-east Asian ally South Korea for not joining the conflict.

It was not immediately clear how many people had joined the protest in Tokyo, but organisers said they were hoping to exceed the 24,000 who turned out for a similar demonstration in March.

“It is always ordinary civilians who suffer in wars, so I decided to come here to make my voice heard,” said Setsuko Sasaki, who was attending her first demonstration. “I knew I would regret it if I did nothing.”

Her colleague Haruka Komori said she opposed any Japanese involvement in the US-Israeli war on Iran and voiced skepticism that the ceasefire announced on Wednesday would hold.

“The war has stirred something among Japanese people who oppose war and want to protect the constitution,” she said. “We should never get involved.”

Demonstrators in Tokyo call for an immediate end to the war in Iran, and urge the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, to protect the country’s “pacifist” constitution. Photograph: Justin McCurry/The Guardian

US president Donald Trump said in-person talks with Iran will happen “very soon”, the New York Post reported today.

In an interview with the Post, Trump said vice-president JD Vance might not attend the talks due to security concerns.

Iranian navy threatens ships in strait of Hormuz without permission

The Iranian navy threatened ships attempting to pass through the strait of Hormuz without Tehran’s permission with destruction, adding that transit through the waterway remained shut, according to several shipping sources.

“Any vessel trying to travel into the sea … will be targeted and destroyed…” the message said.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the military had carried out a surprise attack on Wednesday targeting hundreds of Hezbollah members across Lebanon.

“The IDF carried out a surprise strike on hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists at command centres across Lebanon. This is the largest concentrated blow Hezbollah has suffered since Operation Beepers,” Katz said in a video statement, referring to a major 2024 operation against Hezbollah involving pager bombs.

Analysis: US haste could offer opportunity to Iran

Dan Sabbagh

Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, and Gen Dan Caine, the head of the US armed forces, were eager to declare victory in their press conference, arguing that Iran’s navy, air force and air defences were wiped out and its ballistic missile programme “functionally destroyed”.

To that Hegseth added that the US and Israel had “finished completely destroying Iran’s industrial base” with a final package of 800 airstrikes overnight, though Tehran retains the ability to scare oil tankers from using the strait of Hormuz.

Caine offered some statistics. The general said 450 ballistic missile storage sites were targeted, 800 drone warehouses and 90% of the country’s weapons factories, including every facility that produces Shahed one-way attack drones.

Nevertheless, Hegseth had to acknowledge that Iran retains its 440kg of highly enriched uranium, buried deep underground, though he claimed it was possible to “take it out,” in what would be a high risk operation should the peace talks break down.

Though the phrase was not used, the tone was clearly ‘mission accomplished’, though in reality it was difficult to see how the US-Israeli bombing could have gone much further without deliberately hitting civilian targets and prompting accusations of war crimes.

Nor will it have been as surgical as Hegseth and Caine implied, though Iran’s internet blackout has prevented a full picture emerging.

The haste by the US to declare an end may now give Iran’s regime an opportunity – to finally obtain sanctions relief in return for abandoning nuclear enrichment on terms similar to those nearly agreed in Geneva before the war broke out.

However, it has taken five weeks of bombing to get to this point.

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UK News

Driver killed in Bedford train crash named

Published

1 month ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.

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Spain v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026

Published

1 month ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.

Oyarzabal profile

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.

Al-Aqidi profile

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.

Lamine Yamal profile

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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