Iran says it targeted US bases in Gulf

A seven-month-old baby boy was laid to rest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The infant was shot dead while his parents were driving Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida area, south of the northern West Bank city of Hebron, according to the ministry.

His parents were injured in the same incident.

The Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces fired a shot at the vehicle and that “uninvolved civilians” had been injured, saying that soldiers had “perceived a vehicle accelerating towards them before the shot was fired.”

It said that the incident is under review.

The British consulate in Jerusalem said it was “shocked and saddened” by the killing.

“Civilians must be protected. Call for immediate and transparent investigation and accountability,” the UK mission said in a post on X.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal departed for Pakistan on Saturday to meet with Pakistani counterpart Asim Munir, the Lebanese military said.

The AFP news agency cited an unnamed source as saying that the visit is linked with Pakistan’s mediation efforts in the war between the United States and Iran.

Iran has insisted that Israel cease its ground invasion and bombing campaign in Lebanon as part of any ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington.

On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for Iran to stop using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotations.

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has rejected a conditional truce between Lebanon and Israel announced earlier this week and has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Iran accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of allowing its reports to be politicized in the conflict between Tehran and Washington.

“If the agency wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must refrain from turning a technical report into a tool of political pressure,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on the platform X.

“One cannot bomb safeguarded facilities, destroy the access and safety necessary for inspections, and then use the consequences of that very attack as a grievance against Iran,” he argued.

The deputy minister’s comments come in response to an IAEA report that expressed concern over its lack of access to Iran’s nuclear sites.

“While the agency acknowledged that the military attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation, it is critical for the agency to conduct verification activities in Iran without delay,” the IAEA said in a statement, as cited by the AFP news agency.

The United States and Israel struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025 and also in the current war with Tehran they launched on February 28.

Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear enrichment program serves purely civilian purposes.

Pope Leo XIV has commended Spain’s government during his state visit to the country for its “commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples.” 

The American-born pontiff was speaking at a reception at Madrid’s royal palace as he began his six-day tour of the country. 

“I express my gratitude to your country for its faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism, which is reflected in an active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples,” he said. 

The pope and members of the Donald Trump administration have clashed repeatedly amid the conflict in Iran.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also drew rebukes from the US for refusing the US access to joint military bases for strikes against Iran.

His government is also among the most staunch European critics of the war in Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks on Israel, and permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel earlier this year. 

You can read our full story on day one of the pope’s state visit to Spain here.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry has condemned “in the strongest terms” repeated Iranian attacks on its territory, “the latest of which occurred at dawn today.” 

It said that the “brazen” assault disregarded international calls for an end to such attacks “and shows utter indifference to the direct threat they pose to the lives of civilians and residents, as well as to the security and stability of the region.” 

Kuwait referred to the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2817 reached earlier in the year calling for a halt to Iranian attacks on Gulf states. 

Similarly to Bahrain, for which Kuwait expressed solidarity in a separate statement, Kuwait called the strikes a “dangerous escalation” at a time when the international communitiy “is exerting tireless efforts to halt combat operations and spare the region additional escalation.” 

The ministry made no mention of damage or casualties in its statement.

Israel’s military has commented on a rare strike not against Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, but rather against a Lebanese Army vehicle on Saturday. 

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) said it had “identified a vehicle moving suspiciously toward IDF soldiers near the area of Tebnit in Lebanon.” 

It said that the vehicle was traveling through an active combat zone that had been evacuated. It also said its forces had a “concrete indication” of possible Hezbollah fire in the area. 

“An initial inquiry indicates that two officers and a soldier in the Lebanese Army were inside the vehicle,” the IDF wrote. 

“The IDF is reviewing the incident, and lessons will be learned accordingly. The IDF operates against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, not against the Lebanese Army,” it said. 

Lebanon’s military has not engaged Israel during the fighting this year and the Lebanese government has tried to stop Hezbollah from attacking Israel. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Saturday’s attack and called it a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of international laws and norms.”

Iran’s embassy in Turkey has criticized US officials for withholding visas for several members of the Iranian World Cup squad’s accompanying staff — after the US ambassador in Ankara had hailed the move to grant visas to the core of the squad.

The Iranian embassy accused Ambassador Tom Barrack of trying to “whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations” and the US’s obligations as co-host of the competition.

“Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the embassy asked online, responding to a prior post from Barrack. 

The embassy accused the US government of escalating its “deliberate and discriminatory treatment of Iran’s national football team to its highest level.”

It called on FIFA to “hold the US accountable for violations of its rules.” 

According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, a total of 12 visa applications were denied. Those not given US visas included Executive Director Mehdi Kharati, the secretary general of the soccer ​federation, Hedayat Mombini, ‌and Media Director Mohsen Motamedkia, Tasnim reported.

The Iranian squad is traveling to its base of operations in Mexico — relocated from the US in response to the conflict — this weekend. But all three of Iran’s group stage matches will take place on the US Pacific Coast, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

World Cup 2026: Will international fans come to America?

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Global airline chiefs are gathering in Brazil for an annual three-day summit. 

This year’s International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit is sure to be overshadowed by the sharp pressure on aviation fuel costs amid the conflict in Iran and the Gulf. 

It also comes as many airlines continue to restrict their services to the region and alter their flight paths amid security concerns.

The IATA, which represents more than 370 airlines and around 85% of global air traffic, had forecast record net profits of $41 billion (roughly €35.5 billion) for 2026 prior to the conflict. That figure will almost certainly be revised downwards. 

A Deloitte survey of 21 global airline CEOs said that “what was supposed to be a record year” had suddenly turned “into a fight for margin” for the industry. 

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned attacks by Iran against its territory and neighboring Kuwait, saying the countries intercepted seven missiles in total. 

“The ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Kindgom of Bahrain and the sisterly state of Kuwait,” Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, said in a statement.

“This blatant aggression constiutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of both countries,” it said. 

Bahrain also said that the attacks breached this year’s UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf states and efforts to close or obstruct shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The minstry said that security was not built through missiles and drones and that stability was not preserved by laying mines, a reference to Iran mining large segments of the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

The Lebanese army says that “several Lebanese soldiers, including an officer” were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle. 

The strike took place on the Khardali-Nabatieh road in south Lebanon, the army said early on Saturday. The statement did not specify exactly when the alleged attack took place.

Khardali and Nabatieh are both near the de facto border and near the Beaufort Castle fortress seized from Hezbollah forces by Israeli troops last weekend.

Lebanon’s army has typcially avoided involvement in confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel and has not engaged Israel in the current conflict.

A 7-month-old baby was killed and his parents were wounded by Israeli gunfire south of the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. 

The ministry reported that the infant died at the scene and his parents were in moderate condition. 

According to the baby’s grandmother, the family was driving near a checkpoint when they saw Israeli military vehicles and stopped the car before coming under fire. 

Israel’s military claimed that soldiers had perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them and one soldier fired shots in its direction. 

According to the military, a preliminary review found that the incident affected “uninvolved civilians.” The event was under investigation and the findings would be submitted to the relevant authorities, the IDF said. 

The Tel Rumeida area of Hebron is a known flash point in the occupied West Bank, home to Israeli settlers living with heavy military protection among the Palestinian population.

In case you missed this news when it broke late on Friday, Iran’s football squad has been granted visas to enter the United States for the World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday.

The US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, and a Trump administration official quoted by the State Department confirmed the news. 

“Proud of our outstanding team at the US Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran’s national football teams on their road to the FIFA World Cup in the United States,” Barrack said. “Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world.” 

The team is set to fly to Spain during the course of the day, before moving on to a base camp in Mexico, provisionally arriving on Sunday. 

Iran will be based in co-host nation Mexico throughout the tournament — a late change made amid the conflict with the US — but the team’s three group stage games will all take place in the US. 

Iran will face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 16, then Belgium, also in LA, and Egypt in Seattle.

Iranian foreign minister has fired back at Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, after Aoun and his prime minister both accused Tehran of treating Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” amid the conflict in the region. 

“Based on Mr. Aoun’s comments, one would think it’s Iran that has occupied [a fifth] of Lebanon, displaced [a quarter] of Lebanese and bombing his country on daily basis,” Foreign Minster Abbas Araghchi wrote online. 

“Had Lebanon been bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago. Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President.” he said.

Aoun had been unusually vocal in his criticism of Iran in an interview with CNN on Friday.

“It’s not your country. It’s our country. It’s not your job to interfere in our country,” Aoun had said. “Our people are being killed, our houses are being destroyed. They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States. It’s unacceptable.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made similar comments in a press conference. 

Lebanon’s government has an uneasy relationship with the influential Iran-backed Hezbollah political party and militia. Hezbollah fired on Israel in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, despite appeals for calm from the country’s government. Israel’s renewed military incursion followed thereafter.

The nominal ceasefire between the US and Iran has faced considerably fewer violations — besides the continued naval standoff in the Persian Gulf — than the one between Hezbollah and Israel.

The latest proposal to extend it on Thursday was supported by Lebanon’s governmment but not Hezbollah. 

Israel-Lebanon ceasefire tested as airstrikes continue

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The UN’s food agency, the World Food Program, said on Friday the conflict in the Middle East is pushing millions of people into hunger due to high oil prices and a short supply of fertilizer.

A new WFP report analyzed three countries and found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet basic food needs due to the crisis.

“The closure of Hormuz is translating into increased hunger,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service.

“In many cases, the poorest families around the world, far from the center of the crisis, are being hit the hardest.”

The impact of the war has a long tail for the global food supply. In some regions, farmers are entering planting seasons amid a fertilizer shortage, which leads to lower crop yields and higher food prices down the line.

“One of the biggest concerns is that the full impact of this crisis has yet to be felt,” Bauer added.

“Even if the conflict were to end today, irreversible damage has been done and the impact on prices, livelihoods and humanitarian operations will continue to be felt for a long time.”

The US has intercepted “multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones” launched toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Gulf countries, the US Central Command said.

In a statement on X, the US CENTCOM said Iran fired the ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain hours after the US shot down four Iranian drones which “posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.”

“Initial assessments indicate six of the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its intended target.” the US Central Command said.

“There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false.”