Trump trying to get Israel to stop shooting at Hamas and Hezbollah …
Update…
U.S. Army helicopter was downed by Iran near Strait of Hormuz, Trump says
Two crew members were rescued by a *sea drone in a first-of-its-kind operation. President Donald Trump said the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
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“For weeks, the parameters of a preliminary agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran have been clear to its negotiators. The hang-up? How to devise a deal so each side can claim a win,” the New York Times reports.
“Washington and Tehran — both neither fully victorious nor completely defeated in the war — badly want a deal. But they also need something they can present as favorable to the hawks and hard-liners back home.”
“Added to this fundamental dispute are the peculiarities of the two countries’ leaders. One of them is in hiding and slow to sign off on any proposal; the other is so unpredictable, his own envoys struggle to negotiate on his behalf.”
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ISW….Iran Update Special Report, June 8, 2026
- The Iranian regime is attempting to use force and the threat of force to establish a strategic reality in which any Israeli or US attack on an Iranian proxy or partner would result in a large-scale conflict that would seek to impose significant economic and political costs on Israel and the United States. The recent exchange of fire comes as the Iranian regime appears to be placing renewed emphasis on the importance of the Axis of Resistance, and particularly Lebanese Hezbollah, as a central pillar of Iranian deterrence.
- The Iranian regime likely seeks to pressure the United States to limit Israel’s operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon by threatening to conduct large-scale attacks against Israel. Hezbollah likely seeks to benefit from Iranian deterrence because Iran’s threat to respond to any Israeli attack against Hezbollah injects uncertainty into Israel’s decision-making process for military operations against Hezbollah.
- The recent Iranian strikes on Israel and Iran’s renewed emphasis on the Axis of Resistance reflect how the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) likely continues to dominate regime decision-making. The regime’s renewed emphasis on Hezbollah and the broader Axis of Resistance, coupled with its lower threshold for direct military conflict, likely reflects Vahidi’s efforts to preserve and reinforce what he likely views as one of Iran’s most valuable forms of deterrence.
- The IDF responded to the Iranian strikes on northern Israel by attacking Iranian air defense and ballistic missile sites in central and western Iran. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) accounts on X and anti-regime media reported strikes against other Iranian military facilities, including drone storage and production facilities in Tehran and Esfahan provinces, respectively.
- The Houthis announced on June 8 that they will target Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, but have not yet acted on this threat at the time of this writing. Any Houthi attack on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea would likely seek to impose costs on Israel while remaining below the threshold that would trigger a US response. Houthi attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea would complement Iran’s broader effort to pressure international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and increase costs on regional and global commerce.
- The Houthis launched at least two ballistic missiles targeting central Israel on June 8, which is consistent with the group’s “limited” involvement in the current war. The Houthis claimed that they launched a ballistic missile salvo at Tel Aviv and other unspecified areas of central Israel on June 8. The IDF stated that it intercepted one missile while a second missile landed near the Yemeni–Saudi border, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry…..
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Israel and Iran said they have halted attacks on each other on Monday following a fresh wave of attacks from Iran on Israel in response to Israeli attacks on southern Beirut, as well as Israeli strikes on central and western Iran. The aggression, which began Sunday, marked the most direct confrontation between Iran and Israel since an April ceasefire.
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Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, acknowledged the halt in fighting with Iran in a televised speech, but vowed to respond “with force” to future attacks.
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The pause in strikes came after US president Donald Trump told Iran and Israel to stop “shooting”. Axios reported that on Monday Netanyahu called off what was set to be the biggest attack on Iran since April after a conversation with Trump. Trump told Axios that he had warned Netanyahu: “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” Trump said.
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Within hours of this declared halt in hostilities, however, the IDF said its air defences intercepted a suspicious aerial target heading toward the area of Eilat in southern Israel. It had been coming from Yemen, the IDF said – where Houthi forces, close allies of Iran, are located.
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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told CNN that that he will not meet with Netanyahu before an agreement is reached to end the war. “We say to the Israeli government that a military solution will never provide security for northern Israel,” Aoun said.
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Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator said: “We are not going to either just fight or just negotiate; rather, we are going to fight at our own time and negotiate at our own time. Our goal is the end of the war and stable security and we have no trust towards the opposing party.”
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Lebanon’s defence minister has said that Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 airstrikes on Lebanon and hundreds of controlled explosions since the US announced a ceasefire for the country in mid April.
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The Israeli defense ministry’s coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT) said that it will reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing back into Gaza to “gradually” allow in aid from Tuesday. It closed all crossings into Gaza and halted aid on Sunday as a response to Iran’s attacks. This move was criticised by humanitarian charities.
* US Navy Corsair sea drone….