This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations, and economic fallout.
Catch up: Yesterday’s top developments
- Iran says will respond to any US violation of memorandum of understanding
- Qatar says no direct US-Iran talks to take place in Doha
- US envoys Witkoff, Kushner meeting mediators in Doha: Qatari spokesman
- Iran says will respond to any US violation of memorandum of understanding
Pakistan, Qatar mediation yields 'positive progress' in US-Iran negotiations
Published: July 1, 2026 | 21:43 GMT | by Web Desk
Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari announced that Qatari and Pakistani mediators concluded separate meetings with United States and Iranian negotiators in Doha today.
In a statement on his X, the spokesman stated that the meetings resulted in "positive progress" on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding while building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit.
He further stated that the parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period. The next round of meetings will be scheduled at the “earliest possible time” following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader.
Iran says talks in Qatar on implementing MoU with US have concluded
Published: July 1, 2026 | 19:04 GMT | by AFP
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced on Wednesday the conclusion of talks in Doha on implementing the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington on ending the Middle East war, state media reported.
The participants agreed that "a communication channel would be established by tomorrow" to report and record violations of the memorandum, the IRNA state news agency quoted Gharibabadi as saying.
Death toll from Israeli attacks across Lebanon rises
Published: July 1, 2026 | 17:15 GMT | by Web Desk
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that at least 4,297 people have been killed and 12,196 others wounded in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, AL Jazeera reported.
Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut have persisted despite a ceasefire in place since April 16.
Israeli drone strike kills 2, wounds 4 in Gaza City
Published: July 1, 2026 | 15:20 GMT | by Web Desk
An Israeli drone strike has killed two people and wounded four others in Gaza City, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reports, AL Jazeera reported.
The drone targeted a group of people in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood near the Dar al-Arqam School, according to AL Jazeera.
At least one of the wounded was in critical condition, Wafa said.
Trump says Iran talks were 'very good'
Published: July 1, 2026 | 12:56 GMT | by AFP
President Donald Trump hailed the progress on Wednesday of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, saying there had been "very good meetings" in Doha.
"As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well. They've had very good meetings, and we'll see," Trump told reporters as he prepared to board his new Qatar-gifted Air Force One plane for a trip to North Dakota.
"We hit them very hard... but we're getting along very well," he said of the talks, which are aimed at quelling tensions following exchanges of fire between the two sides.
Israeli forces detain 5 Palestinians during West Bank incursion
Published: July 1, 2026 | 11:45 GMT | by Web Desk
Israeli soldiers detained five Palestinians, including a woman, during early morning raids in the Ramallah governorate of the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reported.
The official Wafa news agency said troops stormed the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, and detained Mohammad Abdul Karim Surour, 55, Shukri Mahmoud Al-Khawaja, 58, Yousef Ali Surour, 46, and Mousa Abdul Karim Surour, 58, after searching their homes, according to AL Jazeera.
Eurozone inflation slows in June as energy prices cool
Published: July 1, 2026 | 10:27 GMT | by Web Desk
Eurozone inflation slowed in June after spiking as the Iran war sent energy prices sky-high, new data showed Wednesday, boosting chances the European Central Bank will keep interest rates on hold.
Consumer prices in the 21-nation single currency area rose 2.8% compared with the same month a year earlier, down from 3.2% in May, said EU statistics agency Eurostat.
Cooling fuel prices following the US-Iran deal on ending the war were mostly to thank for the headline figure dropping back down towards the ECB's inflation target of two percent.
Energy prices rose 8.7% across the single-currency area in June, down from 10.8% in May.
Inflation in food and services also slowed -- respectively down 0.3 points to 1.6% and 0.3 point to 3.2%, with inflation in industrial goods holding steady at 0.9%.
EU agency urges airlines to exercise caution when flying throughout Mideast
Published: July 1, 2026 | 09:43 GMT | by Web Desk
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has advised airlines to avoid flying over Iraq and Lebanon due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera.
The EU agency warned airlines should still avoid airspace over Iran.
It also urged commercial carriers to exercise caution when operating across the Middle East.
EASA has extended its conflict-zone advisory for the region until July 8, after previously setting its expiry date for July 1.
Israel defense minister says troops to stay 'indefinitely' in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza
Published: July 1, 2026 | 09:19 GMT | by AFP
Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that Israeli forces would remain in so-called security zones established in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, without any timeline for withdrawal.
"The IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza indefinitely in order to protect our residents and communities from jihadist elements," Israel Katz said.
10 stranded vessels have exited Hormuz, says Thailand
Published: July 1, 2026 | 07:19 GMT | by Web Desk
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 10 of the 11 Thai-flagged ships and vessels chartered by Thai operators that had been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since late February have now safely transited the waterway, according to Al Jazeera.
The ministry added that the remaining vessel, Hatthaya Naree, is still in the area awaiting cargo loading and is expected to leave shortly once loading is complete.
Vance says US will be in a ‘great position’ even if talks with Iran fail
Published: July 1, 2026 | 04:46 GMT | by Web Desk
The US vice president JD Vance said that the Trump administration was in a “great position” regardless of how the talks pan out, Al Jazeera reported.
The US “obviously” wanted the talks to succeed, Vance said, but added that his country was “still in a much stronger position” than Iran even if they fail. He insisted that Tehran’s nuclear program and military had been “destroyed” and warned that Trump had made clear that any Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would prompt a US military response.
Vance again said Iran would be “permanently transformed” if negotiations aimed at securing a lasting settlement are successful.
Vance says Iran’s denial of Doha talks ‘Persian negotiating tactic’
Published: July 1, 2026 | 04:46 GMT | by Web Desk
US Vice President JD Vance says Iran’s public denials of ongoing talks amount to a deliberate “Persian negotiating tactic,” claiming that technical talks between Washington and Tehran are under way, Al Jazeera reported.
“There were scheduled talks, really technical talks, building on the negotiation that we’ve already had. Those are definitely happening tomorrow,” Vance said during an interview on The Michael Knowles Show published on Tuesday.
He said he found Tehran’s public statements “fascinating and frustrating,” noting that Iranian officials deny peace talks while acknowledging technical discussions.
“They’ll say, ‘No, no, there aren’t peace talks ongoing, but there are technical talks between the United States and Iran about the peace deal’,” he added. “It’s a Persian negotiating tactic and a Persian rhetorical device that I don’t understand.”
UN chief urges nations to fund $100M UNRWA gap
Published: July 01, 2026 | 04:46 GMT | by Web Desk
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged countries to cover a $100 million funding gap for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, saying the body is nearing a breaking point after deep cost-cutting and austerity measures.
“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states,” Guterres told an ad hoc meeting of the General Assembly. He noted that the agency had taken decisive steps to implement reforms following Israel’s accusations, including that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
“UNRWA is a stabilizing force in an age of instability,” he said, rejecting what he called continued efforts to undermine the agency through “disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative actions, operational restrictions, diplomatic roadblocks and more”.
UNRWA operates in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to 2.6 million Palestinians.
Israel has repeatedly accused the agency of showing leniency towards or cooperating with Palestinian armed groups, though it has not presented publicly verifiable evidence to support those claims.
UNRWA has strongly rejected the allegations.
US, Iran appoint envoys to Lebanon deconfliction cell: Ghalibaf
Published: July 01, 2026 | 04:30 GMT | by Web Desk
Iran’s top negotiator and parliament speaker said that Tehran and Washington have appointed representatives for the establishment of a “deconfliction cell,” adding that Beirut was expected to do the same, Al Jazeera reported.
He said that “Iran and Oman have already reached agreement on all legal and service-related matters” on the administration of maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz.
On negotiations, the parliament speaker said that talks with the US would not progress until five clauses of the Islamabad MoU were implemented, including a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, securing Iranian oil exports and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
He also argued that the Iran-US MoU seeks to preserve Lebanon’s independence, while the separate US-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel seeks to guarantee Israeli security.
Hormuz Iran’s ‘greatest instrument of power’: Ghalibaf
Published: July 01, 2026 | 04:14 GMT | by Web Desk
Iran’s top negotiator and Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that Tehran would continue to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the MoU only provided a temporary 60-day exemption from fees for maritime services in the waterway, Al Jazeera reported.
“These are our territorial waters,” Ghalibaf said, according to the Press TV website.
“We will not allow the United States to create controversy or sophistry by claiming that Iran has militarized the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran “will never, under any circumstances, retreat from this position,” he said, describing the waterway as “a divine gift that God granted us during this war” and Tehran’s “greatest instrument of power.”
Pakistan, Saudi interior ministers expected to discuss enhancing internal security cooperation
Published: July 01, 2026 | 03:45 GMT | by Web Desk
Pakistan's Minister for Interior, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Riyadh on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, underscoring continued efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Upon landing at King Khalid International Airport on Tuesday evening, Naqvi was received by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif in a high-level welcome.
The reception highlights the longstanding and close relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, particularly their cooperation in security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement.
During the visit, both sides are expected to discuss a range of shared priorities, including boosting cooperation on internal security, tackling narcotics trafficking, and enhancing coordination between their respective interior ministries.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed strong strategic relations for many years, maintaining regular high-level engagement to expand collaboration in political, economic, security, and defense fields.
Naqvi's visit is regarded as part of ongoing efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation and further reinforce the enduring partnership between the two brotherly nations.
US lawmaker says to vote for amendment to block $3.3B in military funding for Israel
Published: July 01, 2026 | 04:09 GMT | by Web Desk
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has announced that she will vote yes on an amendment to block $3.3 billion in military funding for Israel.
In a post on X on Wednesday, she wrote, "This week, the House will vote on an amendment that would block $3.3 billion in military funding for the Israeli apartheid regime. I will vote yes."
Tlaib wrote, "We should not spend another cent arming a military that is committing genocide in Palestine, ethnically cleansing Lebanon, and committing war crimes in Iran."
"A majority of Americans and a supermajority of Democrats support ending military aid to Israel. It's time their representatives listened," she added.
For earlier developments, read our June 30 live blog here