US-Iran war news highlights: Deal with Iran that includes fees in Hormuz ‘unacceptable’, says Trump

The biggest casualty of the U.S.-Iran deal may not be Israel's Iran strategy, but the political brand Benjamin Netanyahu spent decades constructing as the Israeli leader who could uniquely bend Washington to his will on Iran, analysts, former U.S. officials and diplomats say.

Netanyahu built his political identity on an audacious assertion: that he alone could keep the U.S. and Israel in strategic lockstep on Iran. Cultivating Republican support, he cast himself as the only Israeli leader capable of influencing successive U.S. presidents and insisted that only sustained military pressure could contain Tehran.

At the height of his power, he was described by diplomats as the "American whisperer" — the Israeli leader who could pick up the phone and ensure Washington’s strategic calculus aligned with that of Israel. No other Israeli prime minister, they note, addressed Congress as often or built such enduring political capital across the American political system.

But analysts say Washington and Tehran's interim pact to end the war that the U.S. and Israel launched in February shows how that narrative has been reversed. Rather than shaping Washington’s Iran policy, Netanyahu is now forced to accept it, as U.S. President Donald Trump pursues a settlement that increasingly treats Israeli objections as constraints.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received a telephone call from his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, according to his office.

A statement released by Islamabad said the two men “discussed the successful diplomatic efforts that led to the historic signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran”.

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the first round of technical-level talks held in Burgenstock and stated that positive momentum must continue so that negotiations could be successful,” the statement said.

At least two people have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in the southern Nabatieh area, Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting.

The attack targeted a vehicle on the Tallat al-Dabsha road near Kfar Remman, NNA said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at $74.80 per barrel at 12:34 GMT or 6 PM IST today, according to Bloomberg.

This marks the first time the benchmark has fallen below $75 per barrel since February 27, the day before the US-Israeli war on Iran started, according to Reuters.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has insisted that a large portion of unfrozen Iranian assets would go towards purchasing US food and medicine, despite claims from Iranian officials that they have made no such commitment.

“Any money that the Iranians get is going to be used, first, for the benefit of the Iranian people,” Bessent told CNBC.

He said the US Treasury will directly oversee how the funds – likely distributed through Qatar – are allocated. “A very large percentage of it will go to buy US foodstuffs and medicine,” said the US treasury secretary. “So we will be recycling the money back into US products.”

The US Secretary of State has arrived in Kuwait after his meetings in the nearby United Arab Emirates.

An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle near Kfar Reman in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Lebanese state news agency said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait has resumed operations that were suspended following attacks by Iran, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday.

It’s being reported that Wednesday’s discussions will include a military-to-military component, because one of the issues being discussed is the matter of security in areas currently occupied by the Israeli military in southern Lebanon.

There is a proposal, perhaps, to allow Lebanese forces to replace those Israeli forces, so long as they have been vetted by the United States as having no links to Hezbollah.

The United States will soon find itself “on a collision course” with Israel over its agreement with Iran, an Israeli minister has said.

Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar criticised Washington’s handling of negotiations with Tehran.

“The conduct of the US at this moment regarding the Iranian issue is not good. They do not internalise who they are dealing with,” Zohar was quoted as saying by Israeli news site Ynet.

“The US will find itself on a collision course with Israel in the near future, and our response to the US will not be automatic. Our security interest will dictate the military move.”

Zohar also expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. “A US agreement, in my opinion, will not solve the nuclear weapons issue, and the war phase will return faster than people think.”

Qatar's PM in Oman to prepare for talks between Gulf countries and Iran on Hormuz, AFP reported, citing a diplomat.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran has told the United States that no tolls were being sought from ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

"If this is false information, negotiations would end immediately!" Trump wrote in a social media post.

Ships have begun crossing the Strait of Hormuz through a newly launched evacuation scheme backed by the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Reuters reports an IMO spokesperson as saying.

The spokesperson did not offer details on how many vessels had crossed as part of the plan, but Reuters cited ship-tracking data as saying at least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship had passed over the last 12 hours.

Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, has met Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, at Al Baraka Palace on the outskirts of Muscat, Oman’s state media reported.

It said the meeting addressed the course of the US-Iran negotiations with Pakistani-Qatari mediation as well as the latest developments in diplomatic efforts to end the state of war and reach a final settlement of the crisis in all its aspects.

Haitham bin Tariq is reported to have “stressed the need to push forward these efforts to achieve security and stability in the region”.

The European Union’s diplomatic service has proposed a three-year military and civilian mission to advise and train Lebanese forces, according to a document reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

EU diplomats are discussing a possible mission to help support the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces. Any such mission would require approval from the EU’s 27 member countries.

In a document dated June 17 and circulated to EU member countries, the European External Action Service said a potential mission would "have an initial mandate duration of three years" and "would support the Lebanese authorities in reinforcing territorial control and border security through strengthening the capacities of the LAF and the ISF."

"To this end, the Mission would focus on strengthening land border regiments; Mobile Force and Regional Gendarmerie Units; enhancing Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities; and reinforcing maritime security capacities, including border and port security governance," it added.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has said Israel will not pull its forces out of southern Lebanon “even if there is an American demand”.

“200,000 residents will not return,” said Katz, referring to the Lebanese forcibly displaced by Israel’s invasion and attacks, in comments carried by The Times of Israel.

“What happened in the past in security zones, where there was also a civilian population [present], was roadside bombs and attacks against the soldiers, and therefore we will not allow that,” added Katz. “We are not withdrawing.”

Lebanon and Israel are discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to pull out of some of the territory invaded in the war with Hezbollah and hand it to Lebanese army control during talks in Washington, officials on both sides said. The proposed pilot project is being discussed in the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks, which are proceeding even after they appeared to be eclipsed by Iran's move to make Lebanon central to its talks with the United States.

Israeli forces have seized a swathe of southern Lebanon during the war that was ignited when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in a show of support for Tehran, days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. A ceasefire has largely held since Sunday, the longest lull in the fighting yet. But Israeli forces are still deployed deep inside southern Lebanon, citing the need to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, even if the U.S. demanded it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will remain in Lebanon as long as necessary.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the US-Iran deal with the leader of the United Arab Emirates and renewed Washington’s commitment to its security on his first leg of a tour of the Gulf.

Rubio met UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed on Wednesday, said his spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

“They discussed President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” Pigott said.

Rubio “reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of the Emirates”, he added.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says UN inspectors’ access to attacked nuclear sites and materials will “solely be examined and resolved within the framework of a final agreement” with the US.

He said UN inspections are dependent on “the other party’s practical action in terminating all sanctions”.

In a post, Gharibabadi also said that during the Switzerland negotiations, no Iranian officials met with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “despite his request”.

Earlier, Grossi said inspections of Iranian nuclear sites are “going to happen”.

“Whether this happens today, after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential. This is going to happen.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi has announced that US-Iran talks are due to resume next week.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Andrabi said the US and Iran have agreed to establish a direct line of communication to avoid incidents or miscommunication, particularly regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Andrabi also said the parties agreed to establish a high-level political oversight committee for mediation, to which chief negotiators will regularly report; a roadmap to reach a final agreement within 60 days; and a deconfliction cell involving the Lebanese government and the mediators.

China’s Foreign Ministry has expressed optimism about the US-Iran interim agreement, adding that Beijing supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security, territory and national dignity”.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the US-Iran MoU had delivered a “positive signal” and should be jointly safeguarded and implemented.

He added that China “always upholds a just position, supports all efforts conducive to peace, supports the Iranian side in defending sovereignty, security, and territory, and national dignity, and supports Iran in improving its relations with Gulf states and regional countries”.

Gold prices on Wednesday dropped ₹1,853 to ₹1,44,676 per 10 grams in futures trade amid a fall in spot demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts for August delivery traded lower by ₹1,853, or 1.26 per cent, at ₹1,44,676 per 10 grams, with a business turnover of 1,585 lots.

Analysts attributed the fall in yellow metal prices to weak global cues.

Globally, gold futures declined by 0.64 per cent to USD 4,090.94 per ounce in New York.

Plans underway for separate regional reconciliation talks between Iran and Gulf States to be held in Riyadh, AFP reported, quoting a diplomat.

Iran called the deal it struck with the United States a "declaration of defeat" on Wednesday, as Washington's top diplomat kicked off a tour of Gulf countries hit hardest by Tehran during the West Asia war.

The war that began with a massive US-Israeli campaign of strikes against Iran on February 28 ended with the Islamic Republic striking an agreement its leaders have sought to portray as a victory.

The conflict sowed chaos in the region, with Tehran retaliating against its foes by blockading a key waterway for energy shipments and launching thousands of drones and missiles at its Gulf neighbours.

The US and Iran signed the agreement last week and launched a process aimed at reaching a permanent settlement -- with the Islamic republic's leadership transformed but the system of rule firmly in place.

"The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation," Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday of the deal, which was finalised through Pakistan's mediation.

"That is why, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America's defeat," he said, adding that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the countries of the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is learnt to have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the burial ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agency PTI reported, quoting diplomatic sources.

The funeral ceremonies will be held from July 5 to 9.

There is no confirmation from New Delhi on the invitation to PM Modi.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran for three decades, was killed on February 28, the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran.

The Indian prime minister has been invited by President Pezeshkian to the burial ceremonies, the diplomatic sources said.

The funeral is slated to be held in Tehran and Qom on July 5, 6, and 7. The final ceremony will take place in the city of Mashhad on July 9.