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June 30, 2026e-Paper
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June 30, 2026e-Paper
Updated – June 30, 2026 07:52 am IST
US President Donald Trump speaks after signing a presidential memo on pollution control in vehicles at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 29, 2026. | Photo Credit: AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has requested a meeting that will be held in Qatar on Tuesday (June 30, 2026), despite Tehran denying that any technical talks on the deal aimed at ending the West Asia war were planned.
Iran on Monday (June 29, 2026) said a delegation of experts would travel to Doha this week for discussions on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the United States earlier this month. “Over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said.
“If the American side adheres to the agreement, we will also fulfil our commitments,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X, adding that mutual understanding is a two-way street. Earlier, he said that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar as negotiations with the United States were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.
The United States and Iran early on Monday (June 29, 2026) agreed to stop attacking each other, American media reported, citing senior U.S. officials, and plan to meet on Tuesday (June 30) in Qatar to resolve their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
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Stocks of crude oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 5.5 million barrels to 325.7 million barrels, the lowest level since May 1983, according to data from the Department of Energy.
The drawdowns are a part of a U.S. agreement to release 172 million barrels from the facility to plug a gap in global inventories after the Iran war and help push down fuel prices.
U.S. crude stocks have rapidly declined in recent weeks due to strong export and refining demand for American oil.
Since the war began at the end of February, overall U.S. inventories, including commercial and SPR stocks, have fallen by 111.4 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels as of June 19, the lowest since 1984.
Reuters
“If the American side adheres to the agreement, we will also fulfil our commitments,” Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X.
“Our approach to unreasonable saber-rattling and baseless threats is to rely on rationality and human dignity in decision-making, and to defend decisively and fearlessly when it comes time to act,” he wrote.
Lebanese state media on Monday (June 29, 2026) said an Israeli strike hit the country’s south, despite a framework accord signed by the two countries last week aimed at securing a peace deal.
“Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike targeting the area between the southern Lebanese towns of Qantara and Deir Seryan,” the state-run National News Agency said.
AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (June 29, 2026) told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S.-Iran meeting in Qatar this week will be “perhaps important, perhaps not.”
Reuters
The UAE has said its nationals can travel to Lebanon, effective on Monday (June 29, 2026), lifting a weeks-long ban in place because of the Middle East war and concerns about Iran’s influence.
The foreign ministry announced “it will allow UAE citizens to travel to the sisterly Lebanese Republic, starting from Monday, June 29, 2026,” the official WAM news agency reported.
The ministry asked citizens to register with its consular services platform before travelling to Lebanon.
The United Arab Emirates banned travel for Emirati nationals to Lebanon in April as well as to Iraq and Iran, citing regional developments including the war.
AFP
No talks between Iran and the United States are scheduled in the coming days, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement on Monday (June 20, 2026), adding that an Iranian technical delegation will visit Qatar this week, but has no relation to U.S. officials visiting the country.
Tehran has not started negotiations for a final deal as these require the implementation of certain points of the MoU, which is Iran’s priority currently, Mr. Baghaei added.
Reuters
Qatar advised on Monday the temporary suspension of sailing and fishing boats until further notice, but said commercial shipping and vessels subject to international conventions were exempt.
The transport ministry said the precautionary measure includes jet skis and all other maritime vessels. A spokesperson said commercial shipping was exempted.
The ministry did not give a reason for the measure, but it comes a day after Qatar said one of its nationals was killed after sustaining injuries from shrapnel due to “military operations in the region” after his vessel went missing.
– Reuters
The removal of mines from the Strait of Hormuz is to be carried out solely by Iran according to the Islamabad MoU between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X on Monday (June 29), in response to French President Macron’s comments on the subject.
Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France and Oman are working together to de-escalate tensions in West Asia and will cooperate with their partners on clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is sensitive and complex; we strongly advise France not to complicate it further with its provocations, Gharibabadi added.
– Reuters
The Lebanese army said its chief and a senior U.S. military commander discussed on Monday (June 29) implementing a U.S.-Lebanon-Israel agreement signed last week that aims to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Rodolphe Haykal received Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander responsible for U.S. troops in the West Asia, with the discussions addressing “the latest developments in Lebanon and the region”, a Lebanese army statement said.
Haykal and Cooper also discussed “the importance of successfully implementing the security annex of the framework agreement”, as well as ways of strengthening future cooperation, the statement added.
– AFP
Iraq’s government has given pro-Iran armed groups in the country until September 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the U.S.-led anti-jihadist coalition’s mission, its spokesman said on Monday (June 29).
The announcement comes ahead of a visit to the United States by new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, with Washington exerting pressure on Baghdad to ensure the factions turn in their weapons.
“All the armed groups have been informed of a specific date that marks the end of this issue (of disarmament)… which is September 30, which also marks the end of the international coalition’s presence,” government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi said in a weekly press conference.
– AFP
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the U.S. Central Command chief on Monday (June 29) that he was committed to extending the State’s control through its military up to the border with Israel, where Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah maintains a strong presence.
He reaffirmed to Admiral Brad Cooper “the Lebanese State’s determination to extend its authority, through its armed forces, to the southern border”, the presidency said in a statement, adding that the pair discussed preparations for implementing a framework agreement between Lebanon, Israel and the U.S..
– AFP
President Donald Trump said Monday (June 28) on social media that Iran had requested a meeting with U.S. counterparts, though Iranian officials said no such meeting was scheduled.
The U.S. President has tried to preserve an increasingly fragile interim deal as hostilities have mounted in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, which could cause oil prices to rise and undermine Mr. Trump’s claims to voters that inflation in America was easing.
Trump claims Iran requested a meeting amid rising tensions, but Iranian officials deny any talks are scheduled.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied reports that Iranian and American technical teams will meet in the coming days to discuss the implementation of the deal to end the West Asia war.
Both sides have traded fire in the Gulf in recent days, testing their fragile ceasefire.
“No technical meetings of the working groups are planned for this week,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, quoted by state TV, referring to the Iranian week ending on Friday.
Citing U.S. officials, American news site Axios reported on Sunday that Tehran and Washington would hold a meeting in Qatar on Tuesday (June 30, 2026) to resolve their dispute over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
CNN reported similar comments from a Trump administration official, though the White House has not issued an official statement.
– AFP
Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah, today slammed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel, warning it could lead to attempts to divide Lebanese and said it would not be implemented.
In comments to Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper, Mr. Berri described Iran-U.S. negotiations as the only realistic opportunity to secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and that any attempt to separate Lebanon from the U.S.-Iran track would prolong Israeli occupation.
– Reuters
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar as negotiations with the United States were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend.
Mr. Pezeshkian is the highest-ranking official within Iran to reference the release of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations with Pakistan. So far, U.S. officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released.
“Based on the plans made, $6 billion out of the total $12 billion of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out,” Mr. Pezeshkian was cited by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying. The remarks appeared aimed at selling the Iranian public on the interim deal.
– AP
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said that he held the first meeting of Iran-Oman Joint Committee on Strait of Hormuz.
“During the trip to Muscat, the first meeting of the Hormuz Joint Committee was held with Abdulaziz Al-Hinai, Oman’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. While reviewing current issues related to the Strait, we exchanged views on the future management of the Strait within the framework of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and the sovereign rights of the coastal states,” he posted on X
The number of Iranian cyberattacks against Israel has shot up since the launch of the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran this year, a senior Israeli security official was quoted as saying on Monday (June 29, 2026).
Yossi Karadi, Director General of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, told German newspaper Die Welt that in June 2025 during Israeli military operations against Iran, Israel’s authorities registered around 1,600 hostile cyber incidents.
During the same month in 2026, the number had jumped to some 4,800 incidents, he told the paper.
– Reuters
Iran’s top diplomat warned on Sunday (June 29, 2026) that any attempt by shipping to bypass its preferred route through the Strait of Hormuz would “increase tensions” in West Asia, as U.S. and Iranian forces again traded attacks.
The exchanges underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement aimed at ending the war launched by the United States and Israel in February, which disrupted shipping through the strait and rattled global energy markets.
Indian shares opened steady on Monday (June 29, 2026) after posting their longest weekly winning streak of 2026, as investors weigh support from renewed U.S.-Iran diplomacy against lingering geopolitical risks.
The benchmark Nifty 50 held its ground at 24,061.75, while the BSE Sensex edged 0.06% lower to 77,055.21, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Nine of the 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. The broader small-caps and mid-caps were flat.
Other Asian markets fell 0.4%, while Brent crude prices rose 0.6% on cautious sentiment following recent tensions in West Asia.
– Reuters
Gold prices eased on Monday (June 29, 2026) as recent U.S.-Iran strikes in the Gulf pushed oil prices higher, while expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes further weighed on the non-yielding metal.
Spot gold was down 0.7% at $4,061.35 per ounce, as of 0242 GMT. U.S. gold futures for August delivery lost 0.5% to $4,076.40. The metal was headed for a fourth consecutive monthly loss of 10.4%.
Oil prices rose after Iran launched missiles and drones at U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early on Sunday, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out the Iranian leadership if they did not stick to the agreement to end their war.
– Reuters
Israel renewed its strikes on Lebanon on Sunday (June 28, 2026), Lebanese state media reported, two days after an agreement was signed by the two countries, which a Hezbollah lawmaker warned would lead to “internal conflict”.
Israel launched strikes in southern Lebanon despite a newly signed framework agreement aimed at ending hostilities between the countries.
The Israeli military has destroyed underground infrastructure used by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in a village in southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement by the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister on Sunday (June 29, 2026).
Israel targets and destroys Hezbollah's underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon, informed the U.S. ahead of the operation.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” President Donald Trump told Iranians on February 28, after the U.S. and Israel launched an all-out war on their country. He asked the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), armed forces and police to “lay down” weapons. “You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death,” warned Mr. Trump.
The war the U.S. and Israel launched has come to a fragile pause with a preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran, but it has already diminished America’s presence in the region.
The United States and Iran have agreed to stop attacking each other, American media reported citing senior U.S. officials, and plan to meet on Tuesday (June 30, 2026) in Qatar to resolve their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
“We decided to stop all the kinetic activity,” a senior U.S. official told media outlet Axios on Sunday, using a military term for strikes.
A second American official told Axios both sides will stand down “for now” and that “vessels can move freely” as talks are set to continue.
– AFP
U.S. says Iran talks to continue, ‘both sides’ pausing strikes
U.S. and Iran agree to cease hostilities and hold talks in Doha on June 20 to resolve disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. and Iran agree to cease hostilities and hold talks in Doha on June 20 to resolve disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
Published – June 29, 2026 07:46 am IST
Israel-US strikes on Iran / war / USA / Iran / Israel / Live news
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