Iran…Trump…Conflict/War…Midday June 1, 2026…Iran backs Away from Deal talks…The Israel Problem

Israel threatened to escalate attacks on Hezbollah, an armed Lebanese group backed by Iran.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. military said it had intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait, adding that no American personnel were harmed. The episode followed days of low-level skirmishes between Iran and the United States, despite a declared cease-fire in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began in late February.

While President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States has obliterated Iran’s military capabilities, U.S. intelligence assessments suggest that Iran still has significant stockpiles of missiles and overall military power.

Talks to lift Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipments, and end the war have advanced in fits and bursts. Last week, officials familiar with the negotiations said that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had agreed on a document that had been sent to the two countries’ leaders for approval.

But Mr. Trump has pushed to toughen the terms of the deal, sending a revised document to Iran, according to three officialswho spoke anonymously because they could not discuss the matter publicly.

Iran has also demanded that a truce include an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. “The cease-fire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a cease-fire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said on social media.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he had ordered the Israeli military to attack the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as part of a widening campaign against Hezbollah. Thousands fled the area, known as Dahiya, after the threat, clogging the roads with traffic.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Energy markets: Global markets convulsed after the Tasnim report, with oil prices rising sharply and government bond yields rising too. Stocks were mixed, sliding in Europe but barely budging in the United States. Read more ›

• Trump comments: Mr. Trump said on social media early Monday that criticism from Republicans and Democrats had made negotiations on a deal with Iran more difficult.

• Lebanon castle: The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had captured a strategic, Crusader-era castle in southern Lebanon as part of the most sweeping Israeli invasion in decades. Read more ›

• Strait of Hormuz: American forces have helped coordinate the passage of around 70 commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in the last three weeks, according to U.S. officials. Read more ›

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The Guardian…

Iran says no peace talks with US until Israeli operations cease

Iran says there will be no peace talks with the US until its demands on the cessation of Israeli operations in Lebanon and Gaza are met, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim reported that Iran’s negotiating team is pulling out of message exchanges through mediators with the US over Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.

Tasnim further reported that Iran and what it called its “resistance front”, or proxies, will look to completely block the strait of Hormuz. It said it will also look to “activate” other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandem strait, which sits off the coast of Yemen, across the Arabian peninsula from the strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis, an Islamist armed group that controls large parts of Yemen, are allies of Iran – they have previously targeted shipping in the Red Sea and likely the “resistance” referred to by Iran in the statement.

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Trump says he was not told by Iran about suspension of talks

Donald Trump has told NBC News that he had not been informed of Tehran’s decision to suspend talks with Washington ahead of time but that, “I think it’s fine if they’re done talking.”

“It’s an appropriate thing to say, because they’re better negotiators than they are fighters,” he said in a brief phone call. “But they haven’t informed us of that.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go and start dropping bombs all over there,” the US president added. On Friday, he said he would soon decide on a proposed deal to extend the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since early April. “We’ll keep the blockade,” he said.

He added: “If they don’t want to talk, that’s okay with me. I think it’s fine. I don’t particularly want to talk either. We talk too much.”

Earlier, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had said there would be no peace talks with the US until its demands on the cessation of Israeli operations in Lebanon and Gaza are met.

Tehran’s negotiating team was pulling out of message exchanges through mediators with Washington over Israel’s ongoing offensive in Lebanon, Tasnim reported.

Tasnim further reported that Iran and its proxies will look to completely block the strait of Hormuz. It said it will also look to “activate” other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandem strait, which sits off the coast of Yemen.

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said “unequivocal violation of the ceasefire on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts” and the US and Israel would be held responsible.

Thousands of Beirut residents fled their homes on Monday after Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli military to bomb the city’s southern suburbs. The Israeli prime minister had vowed on Sunday to push even further into the country, where the IDF is already occupying large swathes of the south.

Iran’s military central command warned residents of northern Israel to leave in the event that Israel carried out such attacks on Beirut or its southern suburbs.