US Iran News LIVE: US no longer has safe haven in Middle East, says Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

The leaders of Iran and Qatar spoke over the phone today about de-escalation efforts in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. According to the readout of the conversation, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, where they “reviewed the latest developments in the region and the efforts being made to reduce escalation, preserve regional security, and strengthen peace and stability.”

Ahead of a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his country was “fortifying” its “security zone” on Lebanese territory.

“Under my direction and that of the minister of defence, together with the [army] chief of staff, we are deepening our operation in Lebanon,” he said.

Israel and Hezbollah fighters clashed near the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces were reportedly attempting to push farther north into Lebanese territory.

The Litani River has served as a boundary line, with large parts south of the river remaining under Israeli military control.

Despite the ceasefire being in place for more than a month, hostilities and military operations have continued.

The fighting comes three days before Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are scheduled to hold talks in Washington.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks with Iran on extending the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz will take “several more days.”

Rubio said negotiations are ongoing because there is “a lot of talking back and forth” over the wording of the initial agreement draft.

Rubio made the remarks while speaking to reporters before departing from India on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump is expected to gather his Cabinet on Wednesday for a meeting at Camp David, CNN, citing a White House official reported. The rare offsite meeting is expected to be attended by all Cabinet members, according to the official.

The Iranian Military on Tuesday said that any resumption of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran would meet a “heavier” and “stronger” retaliation.

“If the region enters another round of war, Iran’s response will extend beyond regional borders and will be much heavier and stronger,” Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said in remarks carried by the semi-official news agency Fars.

According to NetBlocks, live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran 88 days after the information blackout.

Access to Iran’s frozen funds is the last serious sticking point in talks with the United States and is being resolved through Qatari mediation, IRGC-linked Fars News has reported.

The dispute concerned how Tehran would gain access to the blocked assets before talks could begin, the report said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s vist to New York has been cancelled, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. The cancellation means Araghchi will not attend the high-level session of the United Nations Security Council. According to Tasnim news agency, the visit was cancelled due to US visa-related issues during travel preparations.

Confirming the development, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said it was making negotiations more difficult.

“It is correct that we have reached conclusions on a large portion of the discussion topics, but to say that this means the signing of an imminent agreement is something no one can claim. The frequent changes in the positions of American officials complicate every negotiation,” Baqaei said.

Iran will restore ‘full internet access’ within the next 24 hours, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. The official said the gradual reopening would begin within minutes following an order by President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian media reports also cited sources as saying some international services and messaging apps would be restored gradually in later phases.

Israel’s military has said it carried out attacks on more than 100 targets in Lebanon overnight, including in the Bekaa Valley and various parts of southern Lebanon. According to the military, it targeted weapons depots, observation posts, and command centres used by Hezbollah, it said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Tuesday urged Muslim countries to deepen cooperation and shape a new regional and global order beyond American dominance.

"The [global] Muslim Ummah (Nation) and the nations of the region possess many shared capacities and common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world," Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a message on Tuesday.

"The hands of time will not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for US bases," Khamenei stated.

He added that the United States "will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region" and was "growing more distant from its former status day by day."

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had failed to influence a better agreement between the US and Iran. Lapid said details of the emerging deal are “disturbing.” “The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,” Lapid told reporters in Jerusalem.

Hezbollah launched an explosive drone at IDF troops inside Israel, the military said on Tuesday. According to the military, the drone detonated in a military zone inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border, and there are no reports of injuries.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that its forces shot down a MQ-9 Reaper drone after identifying “hostile aircraft” entering Iranian airspace. In a statement, the IRGC said it “also fired upon an RQ-4 drone and an intruding F-35 fighter jet.”

US Iran War News LIVE: Senior Iranian diplomat has told ISNA news agency that if the United States fulfills its commitments in potential MOU, “the nuclear issue and highly enriched uranium reserves will be discussed in 60-day negotiations in exchange for the lifting of sanction and unfreezing of assets.”

US Iran War News LIVE: The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements to normalize relations with Israel. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain signed in 2020 during Trump's first term, breaking a longstanding taboo to become the first Arab states to recognize Israel in a quarter century. Morocco and Sudan followed suit. Read here for more

US Iran War News LIVE: Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei has said that the Iranian delegation must negotiate “from a position of victorious power.”

Ebrahim Rezaei said, "The definitive victor of the war has been and remains the valiant Iranian nation. Yielding to the enemy only makes it more savage and exacerbates our problems. Please do not whitewash the red lines.”

US Iran War News LIVE: Hours after the US struck southern Iran, Israel's air force also began started targeting sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The strikes were reported in eastern Bekaa Valley.

Vowing to step up the attack, Netanyahu said, “We will hit them. It's true that they are shooting drones at us, fiber optic drones. We have a special team working on that and we will solve that too. What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh.”

US Iran War News LIVE: Pakistan has rejected signing Abraham Accords with Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stating that Islamabad would not support any agreement that conflicts with the country's “fundamental ideologies”.

“Personally, I don't think we should join any such accord that clashes with our fundamental ideologies,” Khawaja Asif said.