Trump calls reports of halt in US-Iran talks false

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

• Peace talks continuing at ‘rapid pace’: Trump
• Time to say no to Trump, says Israeli minister
• Iran Guards threaten 'new fronts' over Israel's Lebanon offensive: state TV
• EU calls on Israel to 'stop military escalation' in Lebanon: Spokesman
• UN to meet on Lebanon after Israel takes Beaufort castle

Trump calls reports of halt in US-Iran talks false 

Published: June 2, 2026 | 18:03 GMT | by Web Desk

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday termed the news reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the US stopped speaking a few days ago as “false and erroneous.”

Writing on his Truth Social, he stated that the conversations between “us have been going on continuously.”

“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” he said.

“Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, “It's time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You've been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!” President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the statement added.

Middle East war hammering aid supply chains: UN

Published: June 2, 2026 | 17:01 GMT | by AFP

Even if the Middle East war stopped immediately, disrupted global humanitarian supply lines would not recover before 2027, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Nearly 100 days on from the February 28 US-Israeli attacks on Iran that triggered the conflict, the fall-out extends far beyond the Middle East region, said Jean-Cedric Meeus, chief of global transport and logistics for the UN children's agency UNICEF.

"The disruption to the global humanitarian supply chain is impacting children across all the globe, with continued congestion in global supply chain routes and higher costs," he told a press conference in Geneva, speaking from Mogadishu in Somalia.

Weeks of indirect US-Iran talks, threats and airstrikes have failed to end the war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas.

Kuwait praises Pakistan's Iran-US mediation efforts
Published: June 2, 2026 | 14:38 GMT | by Web Desk

Kuwait's foreign minister praised Pakistan's diplomatic push to ease tensions between the United States and Iran during a phone call with Pakistan's foreign minister Tuesday.

According to the Foreign Office, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah commended Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for Pakistan's role in facilitating negotiations between the two powers and strengthening regional security.

Dar told his Kuwaiti counterpart that Pakistan intends to keep pursuing diplomacy and dialogue to bring stability to the region. He said Pakistan will remain active in mediation efforts.

Both officials said they believe ongoing diplomatic talks will succeed in establishing lasting peace in the Middle East.

Kuwait and Pakistan also discussed strengthening their bilateral relationship, with both nations committing to maintain regular contact on regional matters.

Netanyahu says Israel will help make Iran ‘regime' disappear
Published: June 2, 2026 | 14:19 GMT | by AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would help to make Iran's "regime" disappear, as talks to reach a peace agreement between the US and Iran continue.

"This regime which is destined to disappear from the world, and we will help bring about this outcome, this regime will no longer threaten us with nuclear bombs and thousands of lethal ballistic missiles," Netanyahu said at an event marking the appointment of Major General Roman Gofman as the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency.

Ship off Iraq hit by projectiles: company
Published: June 2, 2026 | 13:48 GMT | by AFP

Two projectiles hit a container vessel in the Gulf as it was leaving port in Iraq, a Swiss-based company said Tuesday, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the ship.

Both the company MSC, based in Geneva, and the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported no injuries to crew members in Monday's incident.

In Iran, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards said Monday they had targeted the Panama-flagged MSC Sariska V with a cruise missile.

The spokesman said the container ship was targeted in retaliation for a US attack on the Iranian vessel Lion Star in the Sea of Oman.

The UKMTO said the vessel was 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr when the initial explosion occurred on Monday.

MSC said that the first projectile hit the vessel as it was leaving port with the pilot still on board, and the second impacted the crew area soon afterwards.

In a statement, MSC said it "is a neutral commercial carrier with no affiliation to the United States or Israel".

It said all crew members were safe and unharmed.

New round of Israel-Lebanon talks begin in Washington
Published: June 2, 2026 | 13:18 GMT | by AFP

The ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon began a new round of direct talks in Washington on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he had received commitments to de-escalation from both sides.

The fourth meeting between representatives of the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, is taking place at the State Department and is scheduled to last two days.'

Lebanon says Israeli strikes near hospital killed 4, wounded 127

Published: June 2, 2026 | 13:06 GMT | by AFP

Lebanon's health ministry said Tuesday that Israeli strikes a day earlier near a hospital in the southern city of Tyre killed four people and wounded 127 others, including 39 staff from the facility.

The ministry statement said the wounded staff at the Jabal Amel hospital were "four doctors, 27 nurses, and eight (administrative) employees -- four of whom are in critical condition and receiving treatment in intensive care".

The attack "also caused severe and extensive damage across the hospital's various floors, departments, and parking lot"," it added.

Lebanon university postpones exams after Israeli strike kills students

Published: June 2, 2026 | 12:02 GMT | by AFP

Lebanon's public university said it was postponing some examinations after two students and their father were killed while returning to south Lebanon after sitting exams a day earlier.

The state-run National News Agency said a dentist from the border village of Qlayaa "was killed with his son and daughter when an enemy drone targeted his car on the Nabatieh-Khardali road" on Monday.

Israel says US backs striking Beirut suburbs if Hezbollah attacks north

Published: June 2, 2026 | 11:59 GMT | by AFP

Israel's defense minister said Tuesday Washington had given its backing to potential Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern Dahiyeh suburb, a Hezbollah bastion, if the Iran-backed group attacked northern Israeli communities.

"The Prime Minister and I led a coordinated move together with the IDF to establish a new equation... If Israeli towns continue to be attacked, we will evacuate and strike the Shiite Dahiyeh quarter in Beirut, Hezbollah's stronghold," Israel Katz said at a conference, a defense ministry statement said.

"The United States endorsed this principle and conveyed it to the Lebanese government and all relevant actors... either the fire on Israeli communities stops, or -- if fire continues -- we will strike in Dahiyeh. This equation will be upheld."

Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire after Trump announcement

Published: June 2, 2026 | 08:42 GMT | by AFP

Israel conducted strikes on southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah fired into northern Israel on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to halt attacks that neither side has publicly accepted.

According to Lebanon's authorities, Hezbollah would no longer fire into Israel under the agreement, while the Israeli military would cease striking south Beirut.

'Nothing can justify' prolonged Israeli occupation in Lebanon: France FM

Published: June 2, 2026 | 07:06 GMT | by AFP

France's foreign minister said Tuesday that nothing could justify Israeli troops remaining deep inside Lebanon, following the deepest incursion into Lebanese territory in two decades.

"Nothing can justify the continuation of military operations and Israel's prolonged occupation deep inside Lebanese territory," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France TV.

Israel, Hezbollah clash ahead of US-hosted talks

Published: June 2, 2026 | 06:26 GMT | by AFP

Israel and Hezbollah clashed overnight despite US President Donald Trump's announcement that both sides had agreed to halt fighting ahead of US-hosted talks between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday.

The overnight clashes came after Lebanon said Iran-backed Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks" after Trump said he persuaded the warring sides to de-escalate.

Under the arrangement, Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from launching attacks against Israel, according to a statement from the Lebanese embassy in Washington.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to cast doubt on any truce, and a report by US news outlet Axios on Monday said Trump called him "fucking crazy" and accused him of putting Iran peace talks at risk.

Asian stocks swing on mixed signals over Middle East

Published: June 2, 2026 | 04:00 GMT | by AFP

Equities fluctuated Tuesday as investors assessed the likelihood of a Middle East peace agreement as US-Iran talks stuttered, while Donald Trump and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu gave mixed signals over ending Israel's attacks in Lebanon.

While Wall Street ended with more tech-led records, traders took a breather in Asia following a recent strong run-up, with attention also turning to the release of US jobs data at the end of the week.

Vital to keep a UN force in Lebanon after current peacekeepers depart: Guterres

Published: June 2, 2026 | 02:30 GMT | by AFP

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday that peacekeepers will be needed in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires at year-end -- an option likely to face opposition from the United States and Israel.

In a report to the Security Council seen by AFP on Monday, Guterres proposes three options ranging from nearly 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel to monitor the ceasefire and support the Lebanese armed forces.

"Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary... towards the overarching objective of a long-term solution to the conflict," the report says.

Israel military says intercepted projectiles from Lebanon

Published: June 2, 2026 | 01:40 GMT | by AFP

The Israeli military said early Tuesday that air defenses intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel, hours after US President Donald Trump said fighting would end.

"Following the sirens that sounded at 01:35 (2235 GMT) in several areas in northern Israel, the IAF intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory," the military said on Telegram.

It also said it identified a "suspicious aerial target" that later fell in Israeli territory near the Lebanese border, adding that no injuries were reported

Iran warns to ‘halt dialogue’ with US if Israel continues ‘crimes’ in Lebanon

Published: June 2, 2026 | 00:25 GMT | by Web Desk

Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf has threatened to halt the dialogue process with the US if Israel does not stop its aggression against Lebanon, in a post on X.

“If the crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon continue, we will not only halt the dialogue process but also stand firmly against them,” he said.

“Long live the brotherhood of the Iranian and Lebanese peoples!” he added.

Trump urges Israel, Hezbollah to stop fighting 'for eternity'

Published: June 1, 2026 | 23:33 GMT | by AFP

President Donald Trump said Monday he hoped Israel and Hezbollah would stop fighting forever, doubling down on claims of a ceasefire despite Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu reserving the right to strike the Lebanese group.

Trump said on his Truth Social network that Hezbollah had "agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let's see how long that lasts -- Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!"

Read our June 1 live blog for earlier developments here