US says it lifted blockade on Iranian ports US Vice President JD Vance has announced that Washington has lifted its blockade on Iranian ports as the Strait of Hormuz reopens to commercial shipping. "Centcom has allowed north of a dozen ships to go through our naval blockade. And so we're also honouring our end of the early part of the agreement," he said.
The vice president said the United States had leverage to dictate the outcome of the next round of negotiations. But he claimed incorrectly that Iran got no new benefit from the lifting of oil sanctions.
Iranian negotiators delay Switzerland talks trip after Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon The Iranian negotiation delegation has delayed its departure for talks in Switzerland due to Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, according to a report by Al Mayadeen network. The team was scheduled to hold initial talks with US officials on Friday to discuss implementing a newly signed ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar are also slated to take part in the meeting.
Israeli artillery shelling kill Palestinian in central Gaza Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian near the Wadi Gaza bridge in central Gaza, Wafa news agency reported. The agency said that two Palestinians were wounded after Israeli artillery shelling struck al-Bi’a Street north of Khan Younis.
Washington DC [US], June 19 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday reaffirmed Washington's commitment to peace in West Asia following the signing of a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, stating that Washington DC expects 'complete ceasefire' between Hezbollah and Israel.
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza since ceasefire passes 1,000 The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza has reached more than 1,000 since a US-brokered ceasefire last October, the enclave's health ministry said on Thursday, with at least four people reported killed in the latest strikes. Medics said an Israeli strike hit a vehicle on the main Omar al-Mokhtar road in Gaza City, killing three, as violence continues despite a new truce push by mediators. The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas fighters.
'We have lost': Trump's Iran pact seen as a strategic defeat in Washington Submitted by Sean Mathews on Thu, 06/18/2026 - 20:56 Iran is reaping strategic and financial gains as a result of the agreement to end the war, pro- and anti-war voices agree US President Donald Trump, centre left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, centre right, during the signing of a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, inside Château de Versailles, in Versailles, southwest of Paris, on 17 June 2026 (X account of President Emmanuel Macron/AFP) Off Imperial Germany famously signed a treaty under humiliating terms to end WWI at Versailles, codifying a surrender despite the fact that the war was overwhelmingly fought beyond its borders. Likewise, Iran never got close to US shores during the war, and did not need to. Its missile and drone attacks depleted the US’s stockpile of air defence interceptors to dangerous levels, while its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz drained Washington’s strategic oil reserve to a forty-year low and starved the global economy of fossil fuels.
Iran's Supreme Leader sought to distance himself from the Iran-US memorandum of understanding, saying he approved it despite having “another view in principle,” as the two arch-rivals began implementing the document’s Strait of Hormuz commitments Thursday.
The US-Iran war ended with Hormuz reopened, but with no decisive political gain, exposing the limits of American power against a resilient Iran The war between the United States and Iran, which began on the last day of winter, will undoubtedly enter the history of international politics. Not because it transformed the balance of power, but because it did almost the opposite.
Trump’s agreement reads like a list of concessions to Iran. Will it damage him politically?
Israeli army reservist 'flees' India after war crimes allegation filed An Israeli army reservist on holiday in India, who was accused of war crimes by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), appears to have fled the country, a lawyer associated with the case told Middle East Eye on Thursday. According to the lawyer who filed the case and asked for anonymity over security concerns, Eitan Gilboa, a member of Israel's 271st Combat Engineering Battalion, is likely to have left India, where he was vacationing, a few days after the complaint was filed. The latest development comes just two weeks after the Brussels-based HRF filed a complaint with Indian authorities seeking the arrest of Gilboa for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israeli army reservist 'flees' India after war crimes allegation filed Submitted by Azad Essa on Thu, 06/18/2026 - 14:23 Eitan Gilboa likely left India days after Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint calling for his arrest Eitan Gilboa, left, with a fellow Israeli soldier (Hind Rajab Foundation) Off An Israeli army reservist on holiday in India, who was accused of war crimes by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), appears to have fled the country, a lawyer associated with the case told Middle East Eye on Thursday. According to the lawyer who filed the case and asked for anonymity over security concerns, Eitan Gilboa, a member of Israel's 271st Combat Engineering Battalion, is likely to have left India, where he was vacationing, a few days after the complaint was filed. The latest development comes just two weeks after the Brussels-based HRF filed a complaint with Indian authorities seeking the arrest of Gilboa for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The vice president said that the United States was the only powerful ally Israel had left and noted that two-thirds of the weapons that protected Israel were paid for by U. S. tax dollars.
Iran emerged from the recent conflict militarily weakened, its regional proxies battered and its deterrence challenged, yet many analysts now warn that Tehran may be turning battlefield losses into political leverage.
Musicians and production team understood to be facing same punishment after livestream of patriotic song The Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of a production team, including musicians, have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert livestreamed on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in 2024. According to court documents, the criminal court of Qom province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” on cyberspace platforms. Continue reading...
Iran's Strait Authority to facilitate ships' passage through Hormuz Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on Thursday that the country's Persian Gulf Strait Authority will take measures to issue fast authorisations to ships wanting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Tehran and Washington. Measures on mine clearance will be carried out under the Islamabad MoU, though ships are advised to stick to the path and timing allocated by the authority, the statement published by state media added. Meanwhile, the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz has been reduced to moderate, said the US-led Combined Maritime Forces' Joint Maritime Information Centre.
BBC analysts assess the claims by both Washington and Tehran to have won a victory with the deal to end their war.
BBC analysts assess the claims by both Washington and Tehran to have won a victory with the deal to end their war.
Drivers feel some relief but prices still a dollar more per gallon overall since before US-Israel attack on Iran Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The average price of US gasoline fell to just under $4 a gallon on Thursday for the first time since March , following the announcement of a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The development has provided some relief to drivers who have seen soaring costs amid Washington’s war with Iran . But filling up still remains more expensive than it was before the conflict began.
Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill three Hezbollah said its fighters were fighting the Israeli military on Thursday as Lebanese state media reported that Israeli strikes in the south killed three people. Hezbollah's statement came a day after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Hezbollah said on Thursday it was fighting "a force of the Israeli enemy army that attempted to advance from the town of Arnoun towards the outskirts of Kfar Tibnit", near the key town of Nabatieh.
