Hezbollah warns it will not allow Israel ‘freedom of movement’ in occupied Lebananese territory
Hezbollah has warned that it will not allow Israel “freedom of movement” in what it calls occupied Lebanese territory, according to a senior official speaking to Reuters.
The comments come after an Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting Israeli strikes on what it described as Hezbollah targets.
Israel said stability for both countries could be achieved if Hezbollah stops violating ceasefire agreements.
Maroosha Muzaffar20 June 2026 09:48
Pentagon tells US lawmakers it needs $80bn for Iran war and other bills – report
The US department of defence needs $80bn to cover costs from the Iran war as well as other non-war-related bills, deputy defence secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers in phone calls this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A full US supplemental request, which will include money for the Pentagon as well as non-defence priorities such as farm and disaster relief, could be sent to lawmakers in the coming days, the newspaper added.
The Iran war has cost around $25bn, a Pentagon official told Reuters in April providing the first official estimate of war costs.
However, the full cost of the conflict, which Trump began alongside Israel on 28 February, has remained an open question on Capitol Hill and an initial $200 billion request for additional funding met stiff opposition from lawmakers.
White House budget director Russell Vought told a hearing in April of the House of Representatives Budget Committee that he had no estimate for the cost of the war, as he defended Trump’s request for a $1.5 trillion annual military budget.
The proposed budget reflects Republican priorities ahead of November’s midterm elections, where the party is trying to keep control of Congress but is facing growing voter anxiety over rising living costs, high energy prices and the financial burden of the Iran war.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 09:30
Trump heads to Camp David
President Donald Trump will make a rare trip to Camp David this weekend, returning to the presidential retreat for only the second time since retaking office last year.
Trump will hold policy and political meetings during his visit, a White House official said. His family will travel with him for the weekend, which includes Father’s Day on Sunday.
The trip comes as Trump works to secure a final agreement to end the war with Iran and faces scrutiny over a provisional peace deal that critics say grants Tehran too many concessions.
On Friday, Trump continued to defend the deal with Iran, saying Tehran had come to the negotiating table from a position of weakness.
US president Donald Trump boards Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as he heads to Camp David for the weekend (AFP/Getty)
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 09:10
Vance pulls out of peace talks in Switzerland
Vice president JD Vance will not be joining the senior officials from the US and Iran gathering in Switzerland today to hammer out the final points on peace deal.
The announcement came after Wednesday’s signing of the memorandum of understanding, when preparations for technical talks at the Swiss mountaintop resort of Buergenstock were well advanced.
The broad interim deal requires the United States, Iran and their allies to declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Israel, left out of the talks, says it is not party to the deal.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi in a telephone call with his Pakistani counterpart on Friday, said the United States would be responsible for any violation of its commitments under the deal, including ending the fighting in Lebanon, his ministry said.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 08:50
Trump’s envoy Witkoff and Iranian minister head to Switzerland for talks
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi were both headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios reported, as a ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to revive efforts to turn an interim Iran war pact into a lasting regional deal.
US vice president JD Vance canceled plans on Thursday to travel to Switzerland for the talks, however, amid rising tension in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.
With the ceasefire in place, Witkoff is heading to Switzerland to join Jared Kushner, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who is already there, Axios said. Araqchi plans to travel there on Saturday, it added.
The development may signal that both sides intend to begin technical negotiations aimed at securing a permanent truce. The White House did not respond to questions about Witkoff’s travel.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 08:47
Israeli envoy and UN official clash at hearing on children in conflict
Diplomatic niceties broke down at the United Nations on Friday when Israel’s ambassador and the UN secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict became embroiled in a furious shouting match at a public hearing.
At a meeting in New York to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Israeli envoy, Danny Danon, demanded the resignation of Pramila Patten, who produced a report that blacklisted Israel for such alleged abuses for the first time, accusing her of bias.
“You caved to the secretary-general’s obsession with targeting Israel,” Danon said, referring to UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Another UN official, Vanessa Frazier, Guterres’ representative for children and armed conflict and compiler of a separate report that also blacklists Israel, interjected by shouting a point of order.
She demanded that Danon refrain from “personal attacks” and added that she had “verified evidence.”
Danon said Frazier should be quiet. “We are a member state, and you work for the UN, and you will be quiet now. You will be quiet… you and your shameful report,” he said.
Frazier, Malta’s former UN ambassador, issued her report this week on behalf of Guterres warning that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children as the UN chief voiced alarm at what he called a “staggering” rise in violations against Palestinian children.
Israel itself already features in that report’s so-called list of shame annexes for alleged violations. When Patten’s report was issued last month, Danon called it “a new low” and Israel’s foreign ministry vowed to sever all ties with Guterres, who leaves office after 10 years at the year-end.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 08:41
Pakistan’s interior minister heads to Tehran for meetings on Iran-US talks, Iranian state media says
Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi has departed for Tehran today for meetings with senior Iranian officials, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said Naqvi would discuss the progress of negotiations between Iran and the United States during his visit, without providing further details.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 08:08
Interview: I was trapped in the Gulf when Trump attacked Iran. This deal is too little, too late for sailors like me
Working at sea was a dream for 28-year-old Rex Pereira. But after witnessing the outbreak of the US-Iran war from the deck of his stranded ship in southern Iraq, he tells Maroosha Muzaffar he is a changed man:
James Reynolds20 June 2026 08:00
At least five killed in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon despite ceasefire
At least five people were killed in Israeli air strikes and drone attacks in southern Lebanon today, Lebanese state media reported, just hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group took effect.
A senior Israeli official and two Hezbollah sources confirmed the agreement to Reuters. The US official said the truce was to begin at 4pm yesterday.
State news agency NNA said Israeli warplanes and drones carried out a series of strikes across the Nabatieh area overnight and into Saturday morning, destroying residential buildings and homes, while Israeli artillery shelled Nabatieh and its outskirts before dawn.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to the ceasefire on Friday following an escalation in hostilities in Lebanon, according to a US official.
Arpan Rai20 June 2026 07:57
Watch: Trump jokes about ‘blaming JD’ if Iran deal doesn’t work out
Trump jokes about ‘blaming JD’ if Iran deal doesn’t work out
Rachel Dobkin20 June 2026 07:30
