Live: US and Iran agree to halt strikes ahead of Doha talks
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An Iranian military spokesperson said Tehran intends to maintain and strengthen the readiness of its armed forces as the agreement with the United States is implemented.
According to remarks carried by Fars News Agency, the spokesperson said Iran would “maintain the level of readiness of the armed forces more than ever before” and added: “We will increase our defence capabilities during the agreement period.”
The official also warned that any violation of the memorandum of understanding would trigger a strong response.
“If the enemy violates the agreement or memorandum of understanding, we will quickly and forcefully return the military situation in the region to the conditions before the agreement,” the spokesperson said.
US Vice President JD Vance has defended the agreement reached with Iran, describing it as a “great peace deal” and a “win-win for the American people” as lawmakers from both parties demand more information about its terms.
In a video posted on X, Vance said the agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately and “ensures that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon”.
Vance said Iran would have a pathway to greater economic integration if it complied with its commitments.
“If the Iranians make the long-term commitment never to rebuild [their nuclear programme], then they are going to be welcomed into the global economy,” he said.
“If they violate those commitments, they are never going to have the resources to do so.”
The President has been clear from day one: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 15, 2026
Once again, President Trump's efforts to establish peace have paid off for the American people, despite countless attempts to thwart it by people who hate America and President Trump. pic.twitter.com/w9SWDRCOsZ
Israeli science minister Gila Gamliel said Israel does not consider itself bound by the agreement reached between the United States and Iran and will continue military operations.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 7, Gamliel, who is a member of Israel’s political-security cabinet, said: “We are not a party to the agreement, and from our perspective, we will continue until we achieve the goal of disarming Hezbollah.”
Gamliel also signalled that Israel intends to maintain its military presence in parts of southern Lebanon.
“Realistically, we are deeply entrenched inside Lebanon, and we do not intend to withdraw from the areas we have controlled up to the Litani River and Beaufort Castle,” she said, adding that residents would not be allowed to return to those areas until Hezbollah was disarmed.
US Vice President JD Vance said vessels using the Strait of Hormuz will not be charged transit fees during the 60-day period of negotiations envisaged under the agreement between Washington and Tehran.
In an interview with NBC News, Vance said: “What the deal says is that for the 60 days that we’re negotiating the final deal, there will be toll-free access in and out of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Vance dismissed reports that Iran intended to impose shipping fees, suggesting they reflected domestic political messaging rather than the terms of the agreement.
“The truth is that the tolls will not be charged, the Strait of Hormuz will be open,” he said, adding that the United States was already seeing “a substantial increase in toll-free traffic” through the strategic waterway.
At least three Iranian oil tankers and two cargo vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz following the US announcement that it would remove its naval blockade as part of the agreement reached with Tehran, according to Iranian state-affiliated media.
Press TV reported that the vessels passed through the strategic waterway after the deal was announced, while the semi-official Fars News Agency said a very large crude carrier was among the ships heading towards Iranian ports.
The Strait of Hormuz handles a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, and markets have closely monitored signs that traffic is beginning to recover following the US-Iran accord.
Oil prices fell sharply after the agreement was announced, reflecting expectations that shipping flows through the waterway will normalise.
Hezbollah said its fighters fired rockets and artillery shells at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon after troops attempted to advance towards the Kfar Tebnit crossing southeast of Nabatieh.
In a statement, the group said the attack forced Israeli soldiers to retreat and that clashes in the area were continuing.
The statement came shortly after the Israeli military reported that its forces had come under attack from rockets, an anti-tank missile and mortar fire in southern Lebanon.
US Democratic senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Adam Schiff have joined a growing number of lawmakers questioning the memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran.
In a post on X, Whitehouse criticised the lack of publicly available details about the agreement, writing: “If they’re spinning the Iran deal without showing any text, pretty good sign it’s worse than Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal.”
Schiff also criticised the agreement, arguing that it delivered few tangible gains for the United States beyond reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing a commitment to future negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Trump’s war of choice has been an enormous strategic loss for our country and only emboldens Iran,” Schiff wrote.
After spending about a billion tax dollars a day on his illegal war with Iran, Trump is now agreeing to a $300 BILLION Iran reconstruction fund?
— Senator Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) June 15, 2026
The more we learn about this “deal,” the worse it becomes. https://t.co/zgCd6M29SO
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for Congress to receive an immediate briefing on the agreement reached between the United States and Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
“Congress must be immediately briefed on the terms of this agreement,” Shaheen said, adding that lawmakers would review any future nuclear accord as required under US law.
While describing the shift towards diplomacy as “long overdue”, Shaheen argued that the conflict had failed to achieve its central objectives.
She criticised President Donald Trump for what she described as “ever-shifting statements” and said he had entered the conflict without a clear strategy for ending it.
“There’s no question that America’s position is weaker now than at the beginning of the conflict,” she said, citing the deaths of 14 US service members and the economic impact of the war, including higher inflation.
Iran will begin its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against New Zealand just hours after Tehran and Washington announced an agreement to end more than 100 days of conflict.
The Group G match is scheduled to be played in Los Angeles, one of the host cities for the tournament being staged by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The conflict has already affected Iran’s preparations for the tournament.
Iranian media reported that the team was forced to relocate its training base from Tucson to Tijuana during the fighting, meaning players must now cross an international border to reach each of their group-stage matches in the United States.
The fixture comes as attention remains focused on the newly announced agreement between Iran and the United States and its wider regional implications.
A Middle East Eye investigation can reveal details of properties advertised in occupied Palestinian territory, including illegal Israeli settlements, at the Great Israeli Real Estate Event on Sunday.
This comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday he had discussed the event with the Metropolitan Police, and that he had been "informed that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation".
MEE revealed details last week of companies set to participate in the event which had extensive links to illegal Israeli settlements.
On Sunday MEE saw numerous photos from the event, which was held at the Edgware United Synagogue.
The company Jerusalem Real Estate (JRE) advertised projects in French Hill and Ramat Eshkol, illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, in a brochure at the event.
Read more: Exclusive: Illegal settlements promoted in London at Great Israeli Real Estate Event
A senior Israeli official has questioned whether Israel would have launched its operation against Iran had it known the political outcome in advance, as criticism grows inside Israel over the agreement now taking shape.
"If we had known that these would be the final results of the operation in terms of political habit, it is highly doubtful that we would have embarked on this event," the official was quoted as saying on Israeli channel i24News.
The terms of the deal reached between Iran and the US underline how Israel’s war has left Netanyahu facing pressure not only from Iran, but from inside his own political and security establishment.
Iranian media says three oil tankers and two ships carrying essential Iranian goods have “passed” through the US naval blockade.
The report comes as Washington and Tehran say they have agreed terms to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after months of disruption to shipping and energy markets.
Iran brought psychiatric professionals into its advisory team during indirect talks with the United States to help navigate President Donald Trump’s behaviour, Drop Site News reports.
The outlet said Iran’s negotiators used the advisers to assess Trump’s mental state and shape messages passed to him through regional mediators as talks sought to end the war.
“We added two senior psychologists to the negotiations’ advisory circle so that we can shape messages intended for President Trump from the perspective of managing what we regard as psychopathic behavior pattern,” an Iranian official told Drop Site.
The official said the psychologists joined the process after the first round of bilateral talks in Islamabad in April, as both sides exchanged terms for a possible memorandum of understanding.
“[Trump’s] reactions have improved noticeably since we began incorporating the recommendations of these advisers into our messages and written communications,” the official said.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has condemned the opening of an embassy by the self-declared state of “Somaliland” in occupied Jerusalem, calling the move illegal.
The OIC’s General Secretariat said the step amounted to a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and relevant UN resolutions.
It stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and said any measures aimed at changing the city’s political, legal or demographic status are null and void under international law.
The OIC also reaffirmed its full solidarity with Somalia and its support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It called on the international community to take a firm stance against the move and work to counter it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just given a news conference, trying to present the US-Israeli war on Iran as a success, as he fights for political survival after Washington reached a deal with Tehran.
Facing anger inside Israel, including from members of his own government, Netanyahu insisted that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remained his “life’s mission”.
Netanyahu said Iran had posed an “immediate danger” and said Israel had removed the threat “together with our American friends”.
Netanyahu repeated claims about Israel’s assault on Iran, even as the US deal with Tehran has left him exposed at home and under pressure from hardliners who say the war ended without delivering regime change.
Netanyahu signalled that Israel would continue its wars and military occupation across the region despite the US-Iran agreement.
He said Israel would keep fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu also said Israel would continue to occupy Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
