LiveLive Updates June 16, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJune 16, 2026UpdatesReport: U.S. intelligence assesses Iran gained ability to shut down Strait of Hormuz at willU.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran has acquired the capacity to effectively block access to the Strait of Hormuz at any time, causing harm to the global economy as a result of the war, CNN reported, citing three sources familiar with the assessments.Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday. Credit: AP Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday. Credit: AP According to the report, intelligence assessments suggest Iran can shut down traffic in the critical waterway as it did during the war, regardless of the U.S.-Iran deal set to be officially signed on Friday.The agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump said, stipulates that the Strait will be opened ahead of further nuclear talks."We have now handed Iran de facto control over the strait – a weapon more powerful than any nuke," one source told CNN.IDF says it intercepted several Hezbollah rockets fired at Israeli-held area in south Lebanon, dismantled launcherThe Israel Air Force intercepted several rockets launched by Hezbollah at an area where Israeli troops were operating in southern Lebanon, Israel's military said.The air force subsequently "struck and dismantled the launcher from which some of the rockets were fired," the IDF's statement said.The statement also said that in a separate incident earlier on Tuesday, IDF troops fired a "warning shot" towards a suspicious vehicle in southern Lebanon, and later struck the area to remove the threat. Report: U.S.-Iran deal will permit Tehran to sell oil and fuel, includes waivers of sanctions Iran will be permitted to immedietly start selling fuel and oil under the agreement reached with the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the deal.Cars queue at a gas station ahead of an announced fuel price hike, amid the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beijing, China, March. Credit: Maxim Shemetov/ REUTERSCars queue at a gas station ahead of an announced fuel price hike, amid the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beijing, China, March. Credit: Maxim Shemetov/ REUTERSAccording to the report, waivers for sanctions related to oil sales will take effect upon Friday's signing of the memorandum of understanding. The provisions will include banking, transportation and insurance services required to facilitate sales, the sources told The Wall Street Journal.AIPAC insists Israel be permitted to act against Hezbollah after Trump decries Israel's tactics in LebanonAIPAC, an American pro-Israel organization widely associated with the hawkish camp advocating for war and against any U.S. diplomatic efforts with Iran, offered a terse statement insisting Israel must be permitted to act against Hezbollah in Lebanon.Displaced families drive past a man holding the Shia-Muslim Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on Monday. Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANIDisplaced families drive past a man holding the Shia-Muslim Hezbollah party flag as they drive along the highway through the area of Jiyeh as they return to their home villages in southern Lebanon on Monday. Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANI"It is in America's strategic interests for the Israeli and Lebanese governments to continue working together, as they agreed to do, to drive out Hezbollah – the terrorist army that has killed hundreds of U.S. troops and relentlessly targets Israeli civilians," AIPAC's statement said.The statement came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 explicitly and publicly decried Israel's tactics against the Iran proxy organization amid the fragile cease-fire, and amid Israel and its advocates' insistence that Lebanon is not included in the U.S.-Iran deal.AIPAC's statement further said that "Israel has every right to take action to protect its families from the Iranian terror group that continuously hijacks the prospects for peace, coexistence, and regional stability."The agreement's text has not yet been published.Report: Four killed in Israeli drone strikes in southern LebanonFour people were killed in Israeli drone strikes in the town of Haddatha and the village of Meidoun in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, Destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Lebanon's Nabatieh GovernorateAl JadeedThe targets included areas outside Israel's Yellow Line, a self-defined demarcation for IDF-held territory in southern Lebanon.1 hour agoTwo brothers killed in Israeli strike in central Gaza Strip refugee campAn Israeli strike killed at least two ⁠Palestinians in the central Gaza ‌Strip on Tuesday, health officials said, as residents of an area in the north of the enclave fled their homes ‌after Israeli forces expanded their control in the territory.Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, May. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana,AP Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, May. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana,AP Medics said an Israeli strike near a residential building in the Nuseirat ⁠refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killed two brothers, Ahmed and Mahmoud Abu Heen. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.Iran's Ghalibaf tells Lebanese counterpart that Israel must withdraw from Lebanon, displaced residents must returnIran's ⁠top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Israel must ‌withdraw from "occupied areas" in ⁠Lebanon.Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Beirut. Credit: AFPIran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Beirut. Credit: AFPHe made the comments in a call ‌with Lebanon's Parliament ‌Speaker Nabih Berri, as Tehran and Washington planned to sign a peace deal on Friday ⁠to end their war. "The people of ‌southern ⁠Lebanon ‌must return to their homes", Ghalibaf added in ⁠a post on his Telegram channel.RECAP: U.S. Ambassador Huckabee says Hezbollah not part of U.S.-Iran dealHere are Tuesday's latest updates:■ Israel's Foreign Ministry denied Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's earlier statement that he had canceled the Hebron agreement, transferring planning and construction powers in the West Bank city from the Palestinian municipality to Israel's Civil Administration.■ Belarus's President Aleksandr Lukashenko accused Israel on Monday of committing a "holocaust" in the Gaza Strip, drawing criticism from Israel's Foreign Ministry for antisemitism.■ Hezbollah believes ‌Iran will not sign a nuclear ⁠deal with Washington unless ⁠Israel pulls its troops from southern Lebanon, and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will push ‌for Israel's withdrawal in its ‌next phase of talks with Washington.■ Hezbollah is not included in the U.S.-Iran deal, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, citing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and adding that Israel does not need Iran's "permission to defend itself."■ Lebanon's Health Ministry said that 3,826 people were killed and 11,851 were wounded in Israeli strikes in the country since the current round of fighting began on March 2.■ The United States military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers.■ The interim ‌U.S.-Iran accord aimed at ending ‌the war in the ⁠Middle East could be signed ⁠on Friday at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort in central Switzerland, according to a statement issued by ‌the Swiss government.■ Law enforcement officials arrested multiple people linked to "planned attacks" on a White House event on U.S. President Donald Trump's 80th birthday this past weekend, FBI Director Kash Patel said.Hezbollah not part of U.S.-Iran deal, U.S. Ambassador to Israel saysU.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in Jerusalem, Thursday. Credit: Ronen Zvulun/ REUTERSU.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in Jerusalem, Thursday. Credit: Ronen Zvulun/ REUTERSHezbollah is not included in the U.S.-Iran deal, the United States' Ambassador to Israel said on Tuesday."[Secretary of State Marco Rubio] made clear that Iran and Hezbollah aren't linked in a deal," Ambassador Mike Huckabee wrote on X, adding that Israel does not need Iran's "permission to defend itself.""The tether of terror must end," Huckabee added.Fortunately @SecRubio made clear that Iran & Hezbollah aren’t linked in a deal. @Israel doesn’t need Iran permission to defend itself. The tether of terror must end.JUST IN