Middle East crisis live: Iran says Israeli attack on Beirut show lack of US willing after Trump says peace deal will be signed today

Key events

Iran military official reportedly says Beirut attack will not go 'unanswered'

A senior Iranian military official has warned that Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go “unanswered” by Tehran, according to local media (see post at 11.45 for more details on the attack).

“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told Defa Press news agency.

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as people clear the rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on 14 June, 2026. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

The IDF notified the US Central Command (Centcom) about its strike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh district shortly before the attack took place, according to Axios’ global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid.

Iran says that any Israeli attack on Beirut is a violation of the ceasefire with the US and could therefore derail ongoing peace talks.

Analysts say Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to sabotage the talks for his own political purposes. He clearly seems reluctant to stop the attacks on Lebanon, which the military says are only targeting Hezbollah fighters and sites, even though the strikes regularly kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure.

According to a statement on the Iranian foreign minister’s official Telegram account, Abbas Araghchi highlighted the fact that many observers now argue that his country has emerged more powerful from the war than the before (principally because it has shown its ability to impact the global economy through control of the strategic strait of Hormuz and attack US-allied Gulf countries, which are incredibly vulnerable despite the fact they are meant to be safeguarded under an American security blanket).

“This change in perspective is not simply due to the country’s defense capabilities; rather, it is rooted in the steadfastness, solidarity, and resistance of the Iranian nation, which were the main support of the country in difficult days,” Araghchi wrote.

The Iranian foreign minister also spoke of Iran’s importance in relation to regional security going forward. He wrote in his post: “The experience of the recent war showed that regional security cannot be based on eliminating or ignoring Iran.”

“The countries of the region have gradually come to the realisation that sustainable security, economic development, and regional stability are only possible through cooperation, understanding, and consideration of the common interests of all countries in the region, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iran's top negotiator says Israeli attack on Beirut suburbs shows US lacks will or ability to fulfill commitments

Iran’s top ⁠negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, ⁠said ⁠on Sunday ​that Israel’s attack ⁠on Beirut’s southern suburbs showed the ⁠United ​States ‌either lacked ‌the will to ‌fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so, Reuters reports.

In ‌a post on X, ​he said continuing on the ⁠current path would be ​impossible if ​commitments ​could not ​be ‌fulfilled.

The deputy commander of ⁠Iran’s top ⁠joint ​military command, Khatam ⁠al-Anbiya central headquarters, said on ⁠Sunday that ​Israeli “crimes” ‌in ‌the southern suburbs ‌of Lebanon’s capital will not go unanswered, according to ‌state media.

The comments follow ⁠Israeli strikes on Beirut’s ​southern suburbs ​that ​Israel ​claimed targeted Iran’s Lebanese ​ally ​Hezbollah.

Summary of the day so far

Here are summary of today’s development’s so far as we wait for any concrete details on a potential peace deal between the US and Iran:

• The Israeli military has launched strikes on Beirut it claimed were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Smoke has been seen rising over the capital.

• Lebanon civil defence says three people were killed in the strikes.

• The attacks follow the IDF telling people in 29 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of strikes.

• The attack on Beirut were launched despite ongoing efforts to secure a peace deal between the US and Iran. On Saturday night Trump said the two countries would sign the deal on Sunday

• However sources told Iranian media that Tehran had ‘not yet’ made a final decision on signing the deal.

• This follows Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, advising caution on Saturday. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”

• Qatari mediators have traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalise the agreement according to sources, suggesting there is more detail to be resolved.

• No concrete details have emerged on the deal, but it is reported that Iran has agreed not to produce or acquire a nuclear weapon under a draft memorandum of understanding between Iran’s leaders and the US, according to a senior Iranian official speaking to the Reuters news agency.

• Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.

• Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.

Some images from today’s Israeli strikes on Beirut. The strikes are second strikes on the capital in a week.

People at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs on 14 June, 2026. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli airstrike that struck an apartment in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli statement regarding strikes on Beirut, but the group said it launched missiles and drones towards Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Explosions heard in Beirut as Israel targets southern suburbs of Lebanese city

Israel says it has struck Beirut’s south suburbs, with explosions heard in the city. The Israeli military claimed the attacks on the Lebanese capital were in response to Hezbollah firing into Israeli territory.

The military were reportedly targeting Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the group’s stronghold known as Dahiyeh, according to a joint statement by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel Katz.

The Israeli military has “just carried out strikes in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in response to Hezbollah’s firing toward Israeli territory”, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. The military said it had “precisely struck” a Hezbollah infrastructure site in Dahiyeh.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike hit Ghobeiry, while an AFP correspondent reported hearing explosions from the southern suburbs.

Following earlier reporting that sirens had sounded in areas of southern Israel, the Israeli military has since said that they sirens were a result of false identification.

Reuters is reporting some of the supposed terms of the draft agreement between the US and Iran. The Guardian is been unable to verify these claims.

Senior Iranian officials have reportedly told Reuters that the under the draft memorandum with the US, Tehran must agree that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran must also dilute highly enriched uranium stockpile with the mechanism to be discussed in the next 60 days. There must be no uranium enrichment or expansion of facilities.

Under the draft memorandum the US will waive oil sanctions on Iran for a specified period, allowing Tehran to sell and receive revenues. The US must not impose new sanctions on Iran until a final deal is reached.

The US must also agree to release $25bn of Iran’s frozen assets including via direct cash transfers.

Iran will also be required to immediatley reopen the strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels while the US will lift the naval blockade.

Donald Trump has said the deal would be signed today but Iranian media has said sources tell them that a final decision on signing an agreement has ‘not yet’ been taken by Tehran.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that sirens have sounded in several areas of southern Israel.

Earlier it has said that Hezbollah launched three projectiles towards northern Israeli communities in what it described as a blatant ceasefire violation.

The IDF told people to leave their homes in 29 villages in southern Lebanon, ahead of Israeli stirkes.

Iran media says Tehran 'not yet' taken final decision on US peace deal

Iran’s Fars news agency said on Sunday that Tehran has not made a final decision on signing the agreement under discussion with the United States to end the Middle East war, AFP reports.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet taken or announced its final decision concerning the memorandum of understanding proposed during negotiations,” reported Fars, which is close to Iranian conservative circles, citing “a well-informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team”.

The prospective agreement has faced opposition from hardline Iranian figures, who argue that it does not serve Iran’s interests and would deprive Tehran of leverage over the strategic strait of Hormuz.

An Indian national died from medical complications aboard the vessel MT Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port in Oman, the Indian embassy in Muscat said late Saturday.

“Necessary arrangements are being made for the early repatriation of the mortal remains to India,” the embassy said in a post on social media.

India has more than 300,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets, according to government data. More than 18,000 Indian seafarers are employed in the Middle East, an official in the country’s shipping ministry said last week.

The death comes days after three Indian seafarers were killed in a US strike on a tanker off Oman, triggering criticism from the public and opposition parties.

Israel army issues evacuation order for 29 south Lebanon villages

The IDF has told people in 29 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of strikes, AFP reports.

The evacuation warnings come ahead of planned strikes, despite a ceasefire intended to halt the war with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, issued two successive warnings – first for 13 villages, then for 16 more, with the second targeting communities north of the Zahrani river.

Earlier, Israeli military said two drones, suspected to have been launched by militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, struck northern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties.

“Two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported,” the military said.

In the wake of the strikes, two far-right Israeli ministers called for retaliatory strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.

Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran in effort to finalise deal to end war with US, source and Iranian media says

Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of effort to finalise an agreement to end US-Iran war, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

US and Pakistan leaders forecast a Sunday signing of a framework agreement to end the more than three-month-long war, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing as hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.

Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that an adviser to Qatar’s foreign minister had been dispatched to the Islamic republic, while another Iranian news agency Tasnim said the purpose of the visit was to “go over the latest developments regarding the diplomatic process”.

Donald Trump says a peace deal with Iran is scheduled to be signed today, which would see the strait of Hormuz opened. However, the US president warned if no deal was reached the US has “the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Iran “no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement”.

Recent days have seen the most intense clashes between Iran and the US since a ceasefire came into effect in April. The US president has claimed about 40 times that a deal was on the point of completion, only to revert to threatening Iran with new attacks.

Officials from the US and Iran are trying to frame any deal as a victory. Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said on state television on Friday that the draft agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.

“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he told viewers.

Trump says Iran deal will be signed today but Tehran casts doubt on timing

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.

Peace talks between the US and Iran grind on with Donald Trump on Saturday saying the US is set to sign a new agreement with Iran today, and claiming the deal would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while reopening the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said: “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL. Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had … Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly. If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”

In other key developments:

• Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.

• But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, counselled caution. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”

• Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.

• Meanwhile, Trump discussed the efforts to end the Iran conflict in a call with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Downing Street said on Saturday.