US envoy arrives in Qatar amid unclear talks on Iran situation

During a visit with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country’s forces would remain in the area as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah remains a “threat.”

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Netanyahu said, “We insist that we will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat ends. And as long as Hezbollah is armed and present here, the threat to us remains – we will remain here.”

The Israeli Prime Minister also said, “Since we have achieved – thanks to your actions here – recognition of Israel by Lebanon and recognition of Lebanon by Israel, we say to both Iran and Hezbollah: get out of here, you have nothing to do with living here.”

During his visit, Netanyahu was joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz and other senior military officials.

Israeli troops entered Lebanon on 2 March after Hezbollah fired on northern Israel in response to the US and Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February. Israeli troops are operating in a self-declared “security zone” extending 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanese territory along the border.

Netanyahu’s comments come after Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement last week under US sponsorship to pave the way for peace and disarm Hezbollah.

According to the agreement, Israeli forces would withdraw from two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to take control of the areas.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai said that Iran has no plans to meet the American side in the next few days.

“There are no meetings scheduled at any level with the American side in the coming days,” he said.

However, Iran is sending a delegation to Qatar for the meeting on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow in Doha there will be discussions with the Qatari side about implementing parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iran’s blocked assets,” Baghai told reporters.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have already visited Qatar’s capital Doha. However, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said he would not hold direct talks with Iranian diplomats while in Doha.

Instead, he said, mediators are currently acting as mediators for the talks, which will not involve any high-level officials.

Israeli police arrested a 20-year-old American citizen on suspicion of spying for Iranian intelligence. According to Israeli news outlets citing police sources, the man, who lived in the Jerusalem area, photographed and filmed “sensitive locations” in Israel.

He reportedly received hundreds of dollars per assignment. The man is expected to be charged with contacting a foreign agent and endangering Israel’s national security.

Police said they were detained on June 9 with the assistance of Israel’s domestic intelligence service, the Shin Bet, based on information received from international security agencies.

According to Israeli media, police have requested that the court keep the youth in custody until the legal proceedings against him conclude.

A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have traveled to the Qatari capital Doha and will meet mediators in the peace process between the US and Iran, with the fighting in Lebanon also on the agenda.

However, the spokesperson denied earlier reports that US representatives would also meet with Iranian negotiators.

Foreign Ministry official Majid al Ansari said, “According to my knowledge, there is no direct meeting scheduled between the two sides in the coming days.”

After the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, the UAE became one of Iran’s major targets. During the war, thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks were carried out on local offices and data centers operated by global companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia.

“Data centers have long become critical infrastructure and need to be better protected, just like oil refineries or desalination plants,” Sebastian Sans, a senior researcher at the German think tank CARPO, told DW.

Read our full story on how Iran is affected by Abu Dhabi’s high-tech efforts here.

Two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been shot dead at home in “a terroristic and cowardly act”, Iranian state media has reported.

Two other IRGC members were wounded in the same shooting in the western city of Paweh, near the border with Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the report said.

The attackers have not been identified yet. In the past, Tehran often blamed Kurdish separatist groups for violence in the region, linking them to the US and Israel.

In a separate incident on Monday in the south-eastern city of Sarawan in Sistan-Baluche province, a vehicle carrying a family was “attacked by gunfire”, state television reported, killing the father instantly and the mother a short time later.

The broadcaster attributed that attack to “Zionist-American mercenaries”, a term frequently used by Iranian officials for separatist and terrorist groups.

Sistan-Baluchistan of Iran shares its border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. The area has long been the center of conflict between security forces, rebels and drug traffickers.

The German Foreign Ministry has warned that the Iranian war situation remains “fragile” and urged more dialogue between Washington and Tehran.

“The agreement between the US and Iran to stop mutual attacks and continue dialogue is an important step and opens an opportunity for diplomacy,” German diplomats said on the X.

It added, “Now, it is a matter of achieving a permanent solution for safe, free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and in particular, to an Iranian nuclear program that will no longer pose a threat.”

The statement came after German Foreign Minister Johann Waddefull spoke with his US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington.

US President Donald Trump said that American and Iranian delegations will hold talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar on Tuesday.

On Monday, Trump posted on his Truth social platform that Iran had “requested” a meeting that would “take place tomorrow in Doha.”

He later said that the meeting “maybe be important, maybe not.”

However, Tehran has rejected reports that talks with the US were imminent.

Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying that a meeting would take place “as soon as the conditions are in place and the date and place are agreed upon”.

“No technical working group meetings are scheduled this week,” the Iranian official said. However, he also confirmed that consultations would be held through mediators.

You join our coverage of the conflict in the Middle East as the path to lasting peace once again looks unclear.

While US President Donald Trump says talks between the US and Iranian delegations will take place in Qatar’s capital Doha, there has been no confirmation from Tehran.

Hostilities recently flared up when the US accused Iran of attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but Washington says both sides have agreed to refrain from military action for now.

Differences remain over the interpretation of a memorandum of understanding recently signed by Washington and Tehran.

Iran wants to control the Strait of Hormuz, while the US says the waterway should remain completely open under international maritime law.

Follow us as we bring you important updates on the Iran war and peace process throughout the day.