LiveLive Updates June 19, 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 19, 2026UpdatesTrump envoy tells lawmakers Iran will invite UN nuclear watchdog to inspect its nuclear sitesInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria last year. Credit: Michael Gruber,AP International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria last year. Credit: Michael Gruber,AP Iran will invite the UN's nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran's enriched material, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told U.S. lawmakers Thursday in a private briefing.The briefing was described by two people familiar with the conversation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to share the closed-door details.Witkoff told congressional leadership and members of national security-related committees that the memorandum of understanding that the U.S. struck with Iran did not include any side deals, but a side letter was drafted between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency extending the invitation.Witkoff disclosed the existence of the letter and invitation in the briefing, according to the people.Witkoff said the letter to IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi would enable him to bring U.S. nuclear inspectors to Tehran.RECAP: Khamenei says he approved MOU, U.S. lifts its naval blockade on Iran Here are Friday's latest updates from the U.S.-Iran peace process and Israel's war with Hezbollah:■ Iran's ⁠Supreme Leader ‌Mojtaba Khamenei said he had authorized a ⁠memorandum of understanding signed by the ⁠Iranian and U.S. presidents, despite holding a different view, after receiving assurances from President Masoud Pezeshkian. ■ U.S. Vice President JD Vance rebuked Israeli cabinet ministers critical of the emerging U.S.-Iran deal, saying they should not be "attacking the only powerful ally" Israel has left "in the entire world."■ The United States has lifted its naval blockade on Iran following U.S. President Donald Trump's orders, U.S. Central Command said.■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces will remain in the IDF-occupied buffer zone in southern Lebanon "so long as Israel's security needs require it."■ Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, medical sources said. In Lebanon, three people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Nabatieh governorate, Lebanon's National News Agency said.■ Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said Israel will cut ties with the European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over her reported equivalence of Israel and apartheid-era South Africa. In the NewsAt Least 16 Killed in Israeli Strikes, Lebanese Media ReportsSwitzerland Says U.S.-Iran Talks Postponed as Lebanon Fighting Challenges DealJewish Tradition Has Always Stood Against Looting'We Want to See How People Live Outside Our Druze Community – and Then Return'Netanyahu Hoped His Trump Card Would Win the Election, but He's HumiliatedRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHumiliated by Trump on the Iran Front, Netanyahu May Set the Middle East Ablaze'Once-in-a-lifetime Discovery': 1,700-year-old Roman Busts Found in IsraelTrump and Netanyahu Hurtling Toward a Rupture That Could Shock U.S.-Israel TiesNetanyahu's Mouthpieces Turn on Trump, Revealing a Deeper Israeli IngratitudeFork Found in Kitchen: Israelis Have Discovered the OccupationIran Reportedly Calls Off Missile Strikes on Israel After Trump Intervenes