Live: US strikes Iran again as tensions threaten fragile truce
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US forces employed Elon Musk’s Grok AI to strike over 2,000 targets in 96 hours during the joint US-Israel war on Iran, according to a written declaration from the US Department of Defense’s digital and artificial intelligence chief, Cameron Stanley.
The details of the department’s use of AI were revealed in the submission to the United States District Court, Northern District of Mississippi, where Musk’s xAI is facing a lawsuit from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP), which contends the company is illegally running natural gas turbines. Grok was developed by xAI.
Stanley’s declaration supported the Trump administration’s intervention in the civil case, which is helping Musk’s company fight it.
Stanley said that the government uses the Grok Gov Model, which relies on “derivatives” of xAI’s commercial offerings, and it is deployed within the Maven Smart Systems (MSS) to “support vital national security missions, including targeting, intelligence, readiness, and recruitment”.
In the declaration, Stanley said that “MSS workflows” enabled US forces to deploy 2,000 munitions in just 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.
Read more: US used Musk’s Grok AI to deploy 2,000 munitions during Iran war
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X a video of US President Donald Trump signing the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran at Versailles.
"This agreement paves the way for lasting peace and allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," he said, adding that the agreement will lead to a "decrease in energy prices".
Le Président Trump a signé ce soir à Versailles l’accord entre l’Iran et les États-Unis.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 18, 2026
Cet accord ouvre la voie à une paix durable et permet la réouverture du détroit d’Ormuz.
C’est un pas important dans la bonne direction pour nos compatriotes… pic.twitter.com/b1XgZrBv0m
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding will "enter into force with immediate effect".
As a first step, he indicated that Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington immediately lifts its naval blockade on the waterway.
"Pakistan with the support of co-mediator State of Qatar will host the official ceremony as scheduled on 19 June 2026 in Switzerland, to commemorate this landmark event and commence with the technical level talks," he added.
"May this Memorandum of Understanding serve as an enduring foundation for greater understanding, mutual respect and shared prosperity for the complete region."
I am honoured to announce that the historic ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Memorandum has been signed by honourable Presidents of both the countries and also…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump has signed the memorandum of understanding to end the war on Iran, a White House official speaking to Reuters indicated.
The official noted that the agreemnet was signed digitally on Sunday by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
US President Donald Trump has described his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an "amazing partnership" despite growing differences over the conflict in the Middle East.
"We've had an amazing partnership. He's been an amazing prime minister. But we have a little dispute over Lebanon."
“We've had an amazing partnership. He's been an amazing prime minister. But we have a little dispute over Lebanon.”
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump has described his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “amazing partnership” despite growing differences… pic.twitter.com/VypESKLfAG
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said early on Thursday that talks between Iran and the United States on Friday in Switzerland are not confirmed for now.
"The Friday meeting was confirmed until a few hours ago, but when it was decided that the presidents of the two sides (Iran and the US) would sign the agreement, it was decided to pause consideration of the Friday meeting for now," Baghaei said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children as he voiced alarm at a "staggering" rise in violations against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
The world body's annual report on Children and Armed Conflict recorded 38,558 "grave violations" globally in 2025, affecting 24,174 children, the latter figure a record since CAAC's mandate began in 1996.
The data showed 14,224 children killed or maimed, with a 34 percent rise over 2024 in the number killed to 6,266. It said the United Nations had verified the killing of 2,668 Palestinian children in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank.
The text of the agreement between the US and Iran has been officially signed by the presidents of both sides, Iran's state media reported early on Thursday local time, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday described Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "neutral" during the war with Iran, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"I just want to thank them because they made it a lot better," Trump said following the adoption of a ceasefire agreement.
Speaking at a press conference at the Group of Seven conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, Trump told reporters he was grateful to the leaders for staying out of the conflict.
"I want to thank China, President Xi. I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it," Trump said. "And I want to thank Vladimir Putin; he was very neutral. They could have made it much more difficult for us."
Tehran's foreign ministry on Wednesday said it was considering a plan for the presidents of the US and Iran to sign the deal ending the war, ahead of an expected ceremony in Switzerland.
"So far, our plans for the Geneva meeting have not changed," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.
"Regarding the signing of the memorandum of understanding, one idea is that it be done by the presidents of the two countries, which is currently under review."
If the presidents were to sign the document, he added, "in principle it would be done remotely."
Tehran has previously said the United States and Iran would be represented at the meeting in Switzerland by Vice President JD Vance and parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, respectively.
Iran and the United States will end fighting on all fronts, per MoU details published by Iran's official IRNA news agency on Wednesday, adding both countries to end naval blockades in the region.
Iran's official news agency released details of the deal planned to be signed on Friday, shortly after a US official released a copy of the text.
Details published by IRNA included US commitments to grant Iran access to its frozen funds and end the blockade on its ships and ports while Iran commits to facilitate the return of marine traffic in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman to prewar levels and not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to “bomb the hell” out of Iran if it does not abide by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the US, adding he was concerned the war could spark an “economic catastrophe” dooming his presidency.
"The one president I did not want to be was the late, great, Herbert Hoover,” Trump said, noting that the stock market rose when he said he was considering ending the war and went down “very big” when he mulled continuing the conflict.
"The stock market is more brilliant than anybody there is, including the people on this stage, other than me, of course,” Trump said, flanked by senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Hoover was the Republican president who entered office in 1929, just before the onset of the Great Depression. Historians and economists say his landmark tariff bill exacerbated the years-long economic downturn.
Read more: Trump justifies Iran deal as a way to prevent 'economic catastrophe'
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US will leave its military in the Gulf "for a while", after Washington struck a deal with Tehran to end the nearly four-month war in the region.
While speaking to reporters in Paris, Trump added that if other countries have ballistic missiles, it is "a little bit unfair" for Iran to have none.
When US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran in late February, Turkish officials found themselves sidelined.
Their repeated attempts to prevent the war proved unsuccessful, and the mood in Ankara was that Trump preferred the counsel of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over that of Turkish leaders.
Three months later, however, Trump once again counted Turkey, alongside Pakistan and Qatar, among the countries that had significantly helped secure a memorandum of understanding with Iran. He also adopted an increasingly combative tone towards Israel.
On Sunday, Tehran and Washington reached an agreement that would extend a fragile ceasefire between the two sides for 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran blocked when the US and Israel launched the war.
Turkish officials, speaking to Middle East Eye this week, cautioned that the memorandum of understanding was only a first step toward resolving the US-Iran dispute and would do little more than ease pressure on the Strait of Hormuz.
Read more: Analysis: Turkey emerges unscathed from the Iran war
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that sanctions on Iran would be removed once "they behave."
"As far as sanctions are concerned, at some point, you know, we have sanctions which will never let them rebuild. They would have no money, they would be in poverty, the 91 million people would starve, so something will happen as soon as they behave. When they behave, we're going to let that go. We're going to have to. I put sanctions on a lot of people, and then I let them go," Trump told reporters.
He also suggested that frozen funds could be returned.
"We have taken their money, it's not our money, it's their money, and we froze it. At a certain point in time I guess we're going to have to give it back," Trump said.
"If we didn't give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again."
