Trump seeks $88 bn in extra funding, mostly for Iran war
US President Donald Trump asked Congress on Wednesday for nearly $88 billion in extra spending, most of it to cover the cost of the Iran war, at a moment of growing unease in both parties over the conflict and its political price.
The White House request for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding includes tens of billions of dollars for the Pentagon, as well as money for US farmers, Ebola response efforts in central Africa and domestic infrastructure projects.
Trump says ‘unacceptable’ for any Iran deal to include shipping fees
US President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran that included fees in the Strait of Hormuz would be “unacceptable”.
Hezbollah accuses Israel of new truce breach after deadly strike
Hezbollah accused Israel of a new ceasefire “violation” after an Israeli drone killed two people in southern Lebanon a day after two people died in Israeli gunfire.
“For the second time in less than 48 hours, the Israeli enemy army deliberately targeted Lebanese citizens who were inspecting their homes” near the town of Kfar Rumman, the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
Hezbollah said it “reiterates that the enemy’s actions constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire to which it has adhered thus far, and that it is monitoring and documenting these violations”.
Trump tells Rutte he was ‘let down’ by NATO countries on Iran
US President Donald Trump told NATO chief Mark Rutte he was “let down” by members of the transatlantic alliance who did not back his war against Iran.
“We were let down. We didn’t need help on this at all. We demolished (Iran) literally in the first week but it would have been nice if they would have said, ‘We’d like to help,'” Trump during a meeting with Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House.
Global natural gas demand to begin returning in third quarter, GECF Secretary General says
Natural gas demand will start returning during the third quarter as the U.S. and Israel war with Iran comes to an end, Gas Exporting Countries Forum Secretary General Philip Mshelbila said at the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York.
The GECF official said that China will continue growing its LNG demand even though it has other options, including domestic energy production.
Iran FM spokesperson says ‘contradictory US statements on MOU to end war will not help in reducing Iranian’s mistrust’
Oil markets start to signal near-term oversupply as tankers exit Strait of Hormuz
Prices of Brent crude oil for second-month delivery traded higher than prices for prompt delivery for the first time since the Iran war started inlate February, signaling increased near-term supply.
Brent, the global benchmark, traded 12 cents higher for contracts delivering in September versus those with August delivery, implying the market is pricing in ample prompt supply but fewer barrels in the coming months.
Around 20 million barrels of oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York, describing the shipments as a return to normal flows.
Three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude were exiting the strait on Wednesday, shipping data showed, as the interim deal between Iran and the US helps unlock supplies stuck in the Gulf.
Trump says Iran is making big concessions
US President Donald Trump said that Iran is making very big concessions.
“We’re winning by a lot. Iran is making very big concessions. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
Israel army says suspected Hezbollah militants struck in Lebanon ‘security zone’
The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike targeting suspected Hezbollah militants who crossed into the so-called “security zone” it has created in southern Lebanon, the second such incident it reported within hours.
“A short while ago, a vehicle carrying suspects was identified crossing the security zone in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area, posing a threat to IDF soldiers,” the military said.
“Following the identification, the Israeli Air Force struck the suspects in order to remove the threat,” it added, vowing that the military “would not allow Hezbollah” militants to harm its troops.
Rubio says US-Iran technical talks due on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believed technical talks between the United States and Iran would resume on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland.
“The technical group will be back, I believe, on the 29 or the 30 … I believe they’re going back to Switzerland, if I’m not mistaken,” Rubio said.
Rubio says US will be ‘completely aligned’ with Gulf allies in Iran talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington would be “completely aligned” with its allies in the Gulf as it pursues negotiations with Iran aimed at finding a permanent settlement to the Middle East war.
“We’re going to be completely aligned with our partners in the Gulf. That’s why we’re meeting with all of them tomorrow,” he said, adding the US would “engage them on conversations about every decision that’s made with regards to this negotiation”.
Rubio says ‘no country’ supports imposing fees on Hormuz Strait
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believed all countries were against Iran imposing fees for transiting the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
“I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or fees for the use of the strait,” Rubio said during a tour of the Gulf to reassure close US allies who were hit hard by Iran during the Middle East war.
US airline stocks rise as oil retreats to pre-Iran war levels
US airline stocks rose 3 percent to 7 percent after crude prices fell to their lowest since before the Iran war, raising hopes that pressure on carriers’ earnings could ease, though the benefits are unlikely to passed on to passengers immediately.
Rubio says US won’t do anything that would undermine Gulf security
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will not do anything that would undermine the security of US allies in the Gulf region when it comes to dealings with Iran.
Israel PM Netanyahu completes testimony in corruption trials
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded his testimony in his graft trials, a justice ministry spokeswoman told AFP, as he grapples with a US-Iran deal widely interpreted as detrimental to the country’s interests.
Netanyahu has testified in 98 hearings since December 2024, many of them shortened or delayed upon the request of his lawyer Amit Hadad due to his security meetings, government duties or health issues.
Netanyahu is facing charges in two cases in which he allegedly negotiated favourable media coverage from Israeli news outlets, and a third involving accusations that he accepted more than $260,000 in luxury gifts from billionaires in exchange for political favours.
Israeli forces kill man in West Bank raid, Palestinian health ministry says
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a house raid in a town in the northern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry, a paramedic and a local resident said.
The health ministry said that the Palestinian body in charge of coordinating with Israeli authorities had notified it of the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Zayed, who was “shot dead by the occupation (Israeli) forces in Yamun”.
UN maritime head tells AFP will take ‘few weeks’ to evacuate all Gulf sailors
The evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf owing to the US-Iran war will take “a few weeks”, the head of the International Maritime Organization told AFP.
“It will take us a few weeks before we can actually complete the evacuation” of about 600 ships stuck since the start of the conflict, IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said in an interview.
Israeli defence minister says ‘no US demand’ to withdraw from Lebanon
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the United States has not demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, a condition reportedly set by Tehran in ceasefire negotiations.
“We have announced that in any case we are not withdrawing and, as of this moment – and this is a diplomatic achievement – there is no American demand for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” Katz said in an interview at a convention of local leaders in Tel Aviv.
When asked if the army would adhere to such a US request if it arrived, Katz said he told US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump that “we are there to protect the residents of the north”.
