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

Israel unlikely to agree to full withdrawal from Lebanon

Published: June 25, 2026 | 23:49 GMT | by Web Desk


Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute think tank in the US, says the Trump administration would need to exert “a lot of pressure” on Israel if it wants the country to withdraw from Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.


That is something Trump “has never done” over the course of his time in the White House, Bandow noted.


“If he’s not willing to apply that kind of pressure, I doubt Israel will [withdraw],” he said, adding that the prospect of a withdrawal from Lebanon is “complicated” by the fact that Netanyahu is heading into elections later this year.


“My hope is that they reduce hostilities and reduce the fighting. I don’t think that Israel is going to withdraw all the way, however.”



UN says ceasefire ‘largely holding’ in southern Lebanon; Israeli military still active

Published: June 25, 2026 | 23:09 GMT | by Web Desk


The UN has said a ceasefire in southern Lebanon has “continued to largely hold”, but peacekeepers are still observing Israeli military “airspace violations”, as well as ground and water operations, Al Jazeera reported.


UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “peacekeepers have not detected any trajectories or air strikes since the two trajectories that were observed on Tuesday,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York today.


However, he said, peacekeepers observed three Israeli tanks “firing several heavy machinegun bursts and launching six 40mm grenades in the northeast direction”, near Biyyada on Wednesday.


Peacekeepers also observed Israeli military “airspace violations, mostly by drones”, Israeli military “patrol boats in Lebanese territorial waters” near UNIFIL’s headquarters, and Israeli ground operations, including “armoured movements, engineering works, and logistical movements”, Dujarric said.



Israeli blockade contributing to spread of insects, rodents in Gaza, rights group says

Published: June 25, 2026 | 22:29 GMT | by Web Desk


The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights says that Israeli forces are continuing their genocidal war in Gaza by preventing measures needed to control the spread of insects and rodents, Al Jazeera reported.


“The occupation forces are driving humanitarian conditions toward catastrophic levels,” the Palestinian human rights group said in a statement.


In particular, Al Mezan added, Israeli forces are causing public health problems by preventing the “entry of medicines and insecticides” and “systematically destroying infrastructure.”


“As a result, insects and rodents have spread widely, and diseases and serious public health hazards have proliferated throughout displacement camps and residential areas amid the absence of clean water, sanitation supplies, and essential services,” Al Mezan said.



Oil prices climb after ship hit by projectile near Oman

Published: June 25, 2026 | 22:11 GMT | by Web Desk


Oil prices rose more than 2% after a cargo vessel was hit by an unknown projectile near Oman, putting an evacuation effort for ships from the key Strait of Hormuz on hold, and reawakening concerns about the worldwide flow of oil.


Brent futures rose $1.52, or 2.1%, to settle at $75.26 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.58, or 2.3%, to settle at $71.92, Al Jazeera reported.



Hezbollah says Israel killed 3 civilians in Lebanon

Published: June 25, 2026 | 21:20 GMT | by Web Desk


Hezbollah on Thursday accused Israel of a "flagrant" ceasefire breach, saying it launched a drone and killed three civilians in southern Lebanon.


The group said the strike was a "direct attack" on "civilians," while Israel had earlier said it had killed fighters from Hezbollah ranks.


Hezbollah said it was the third "flagrant violation" by Israel "of the ceasefire to which it has committed itself so far".


Lebanon's state-run National News Agency earlier said "three people were killed and one person was wounded when an enemy drone targeted a... vehicle on the road between Zawtar and Mayfadoun."



Vance says the US and Iran to use direct IRGC channel in Doha to de-escalate conflict

Published: June 25, 2026 | 20:45 GMT | by Web Desk


The US Vice President says Washington and Tehran have agreed to set up a direct channel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to reduce the risk of further conflict, Al Jazeera reported.


In an interview with the British right-wing news site UnHerd, JD Vance said the arrangement would involve Iranian and US military officials meeting in Doha to work through disputes.


“They were like, ‘OK, fine, we’ll send somebody from the IRGC to go hang out in Doha with somebody from [US Central Command]’ and that’s how we’re going to settle a lot of these disputes,” Vance described discussions with Iranian officials.


Vance also said that the United Arab Emirates had opened channels with Iran that had not existed before, including with the IRGC.


He said the UAE is “having conversations with the Iranians that have never happened before, including with the IRGC, about various types of economic incentives”.



PM denies claim Italy aided in US-Israeli war on Iran

Published: June 25, 2026 | 20:07 GMT | by Web Desk


Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, has rebuked a claim made yesterday by NATO chief Mark Rutte that Italy had aided US attacks against Iran.


Meloni said that Italy never participated in the Iran conflict, but only provided “technical and logistical” support to the US Army.


Yesterday, Rutte told Fox News that 500 US planes had taken off from US bases in Italy to “support” the US’s “Operation Epic Fury”, Washington’s name for its joint war with Israel on Iran.



Israel says no timeframe for troop withdrawal from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria

Published: June 25, 2026 | 17:31 GMT | by AFP


Israel said Thursday that it had set no timetable for withdrawing its forces from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria, as Israeli and Lebanese officials engaged in US-brokered talks in Washington.


"We oppose the withdrawal of IDF forces from the security zone in Lebanon, despite all the pressures that exist and those still to come."


Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the same function that troops would remain in south Lebanon "as long as necessary".



Hormuz traffic sees sharp uptick but not back to normal

Published: June 25, 2026 | 14:40 GMT | by AFP


Strait of Hormuz traffic has increased sharply, but remains at roughly half its peacetime level, officials said on Thursday as stranded sailors made their way out of the waterway.


Seventy confirmed crossings were recorded on Wednesday, according to an X post by analytics firm Kpler.


This marked the highest number of vessels in a day since Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.


At least 56 commodity vessels -- including tankers carrying oil, gas, and dry bulk such as fertilisers -- crossed on Wednesday, Kpler's tracking platform showed.



Rubio praises progress in Israel-Lebanon talks

Published: June 25, 2026 | 13:03 GMT | by AFP


Israel and Lebanon are making good progress in their talks in Washington and are close to making a "commitment of intent", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.


"I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of intent between the two countries," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Bahrain.


"It'll be a process, it'll take some time, it'll take a lot of work, but I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly."



Iran deal won't undermine Gulf security, Rubio tells GCC

Published: June 25, 2026 | 09:53 GMT | by Web Desk


US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that no part of the US-Iran deal undermines the security and stability of US allies in the Gulf, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assures the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).


“We are open for peace but a peace that is enduring, that is real and that in no way undermines our security, our prosperity or the security or prosperity of our allies in the Gulf region,” Rubio says in his speech at the GCC-US joint ministerial meeting in Manama, Bahrain.



Rubio says Iran can't charge toll or fee for Hormuz use

Published: June 25, 2026 | 08:19 GMT | by Web Desk


US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Iran will not be allowed to charge a toll or fee for using the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Iran will never have any nuclear weapons.


Rubio is in Bahrain after promising Gulf allies that Washington would protect their interests as it seeks to hammer out a final settlement to end the war with Iran, AFP reports.

He said does not want a deal with a price, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.


“We want a deal that’s good. We want a deal that’s real. We want a deal that’s verifiable. And we want a deal that’s adhered to.”



US Senate sides with Trump in fresh vote on Iran war powers

Published: June 25, 2026 | 08:03 GMT | by AFP


The US Senate rejected a resolution on Wednesday to rein in President Donald Trump's handling of the Iran war -- an apparent U-turn following pressure from the Republican leader.


The move came just one day after the Senate voted 50-48 to pass a resolution calling for an end to the Iran war, delivering a rebuke to the White House as it seeks to negotiate a lasting deal with Tehran.


The legislation is seen as largely symbolic and has little chance of curbing executive authority because Trump has the presidential power of veto.


Trump slammed the Tuesday vote as "poorly timed and meaningless," saying that it made his job more difficult.


The president lashed out on Wednesday at Republican lawmakers during a closed-door lunch on Capitol Hill, US media reported.


Hours later, Republican Senators Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy -- who had called for a check on the president's war on Iran -- changed their stance in the late Wednesday vote to align with Trump, CNN reported.


The Wednesday resolution, which was defeated 50-47, did not nullify or change the outcome of Tuesday's vote.



Five South Korean ships cross Strait of Hormuz as passage restrictions ease further

Published: June 25, 2026 | 02:16 GMT | by Web Desk 


South Korea has said that five more South Korean-run vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the latest sign that restrictions on passage are easing, Al Jazeera reported.


The ministry said 13 South Korean ships remain in the strait.



Iran accuses NATO of complicity in US and Israel’s ‘unlawful war’

Published: June 25, 2026 | 01:47 GMT | by Web Desk


The spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused NATO of “complicity in an unlawful war of aggression” after the alliance’s chief said European allies had helped support the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran, Al Jazeera reported. 


Esmaeil Baghaei said that Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks were “a clear and damning admission of NATO’s active complicity” in the war.


Baghaei said that NATO and the individual member states that took part “must be held accountable for all the consequences”. Italy and Romania are among those that should explain “why they chose to collude”.


Speaking to Fox News earlier, Rutte said Italy had allowed 500 US aircraft to take off from US bases on its soil to “support” Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran, while the Romanian capital, Bucharest, had to cut flights because “they had to use the airports for tanker facilities”.



Trump says Washington ‘doing great’ in negotiations with Iran

Published: June 25, 2026 | 00:00 GMT | by AFP


US President Donald Trump said that Washington was "doing great" in negotiations with Iran, adding that he wouldn’t accept any fees being imposed on vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz.


“It would be unacceptable,” he told reporters at the White House.


Trump noted that there are other international straits and said he “wouldn’t allow it there either,” adding that it would be a “game-changer.”


Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised Gulf allies that Washington would protect their interests in talks with Iran.


During a visit to Kuwait City, Rubio said Washington would be on the same page as Gulf states as it wrangles with Iran over a permanent settlement to the conflict.


"We're going to be completely aligned with our partners in the Gulf," he said, adding that the United States would "engage them on conversations about every decision that's made with regards to this negotiation."


Earlier, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the agreement, reached with the help of Pakistani mediation, was "the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation."


For earlier developments, read our June 24 live blog here.