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07:35
US Forces Intercept Iranian Missiles, Drones
US forces successfully intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones during incidents across the Middle East, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.
In statements on June 2 and June 3, CENTCOM said that several Iranian missiles launched toward regional neighbors failed to reach their intended targets.
The command reported that three missiles fired at Bahrain were intercepted by US and Bahraini air defense systems, while two missiles aimed at Kuwait fell short or broke apart in flight.
CENTCOM also said US forces shot down three Iranian one-way attack drones that were said to be targeting civilian shipping in regional waters. In response, US forces conducted what CENTCOM described as "self-defense strikes" against an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, which is located in the Strait of Hormuz.
The command emphasized that no US personnel were injured andrejectedthe claims from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that US 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and a US air base in the region had been successfully hit.
In a later post on X, CENTCOM added that another wave of Iranian drones targeting US forces in Kuwait was intercepted without causing damage or casualties.
The Kuwaiti military separatelyreportedthat its air defense systems were "confronting hostile missile and drone attacks" but provided no further details.
Military authorities alsourgedresidents not to approach or handle any debris, shrapnel, or unidentified objects that could result from the interception of hostile aerial targets.
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23:57
2.6.2026
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
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22:33
2.6.2026
US Treasury Imposes Sanctions On Iranian Crypto Exchange
Amid uncertainty over weeks of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, the US Treasury has made a major new sanctions announcement targeting Irans largest crypto exchange, Nobitex.
In astatementon June 2 it said Nobitex and three other digital exchanges were being hit. It said Nobitex was a conduit for transactions linked to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
While Irans economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
A recent Reuters investigation highlighted the role of Nobitex in creating what the news agency called a parallel financial system serving the IRGC and central bank.
Nobitexs chairman, Amir Hossein Rad, and other senior representatives were also personally sanctioned by the US Treasury.
The statement said Nobitex accounted for more than 50 percent of all Iranian asset inflows in 2025.
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21:47
2.6.2026
Rubio Urges China Not To Block UN Resolution On Hormuz
Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on China to help a US-sponsored resolution calling for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to pass through a vote at the United Nations, saying Beijing should have a "vested interest" in the issue.
Rubio was speaking on June 2 at a hearing at the House Appropriations Committee, following an earlier session with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"We would like to see their help at the United Nations," he said, referring to a motion that Washington has co-sponsored with Bahrain that seeks to protect international waterways, commercial shipping, and energy supplies.
"Unfortunately, the Chinese continue to threaten a veto of it. So, if in fact they are against the closure of the straits, they should be endorsing this, at a minimum abstaining, and not using a veto of it," Rubio said.
"The Russians are another matter, of course. They're vehemently opposed to that resolution for a variety of different reasons," he added.
A similar motion tabled by Bahrain in April was vetoed by both China and Russia.
A Security Council report on June 1 said it was not clear when the motion would come to a vote.
Rubio told lawmakers on June 2 that the first stage of a deal would be Iran lifting its blockade of the strait in exchange for Washington lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports and waters.
Referring to the UN resolution, he noted that China was an "export-driven economy" and therefore "China in the short to long term should have -- and we've made this point to the Chinese -- a vested interest as well in ensuring that Iran stops its activity."
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17:27
2.6.2026
Rubio Says Sanctions On Iran Won't Be Lifted To Open Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that no sanctions on Iran will be lifted in exchange for Iran agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a Senate committee hearing on June 2, Rubio said, "That's not been discussed. That's not been offered."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 2.
His comments directly contradict accounts in Iranian state media of the draft agreement being negotiated by Tehran and Washington via Pakistani mediators. These reports have said the deal being discussed includes sanctions relief and the return of Iranian funds that have been frozen abroad.
Rubio told senators that the first phase of any deal would be Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz, and that this would be followed by a second phase dealing with Iran's nuclear program lasting 30-90 days.
He added that talks were being complicated by delays caused by the structure of power within Iran. Iran's negotiators, he said, had to then negotiate with their own leadership council in Tehran -- causing delays of several days each time new messages were passed.
Rubio was also asked if could use his influence within the Trump administration to persuade it to provide lawmakers with the legal rationale for US military strikes on Iran, which it began with Israel on February 28.
"Let me take that back and ask the Office of Legal Counsel. But certainly, they provided the legal rationale for the strike," he said.
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17:04
2.6.2026
Iran's Judiciary Rejects Appeal Of Imprisoned British Couple
The family of a British couple imprisoned in Iran announced on June 3 that Craig and Lindsay Foreman's appeal to overturn their 10-year prison sentence has been rejected.
According to Reuters, the family explained that the Islamic republic's judicial authorities did not allow the couple to attend the court hearing and have provided them with very little information about the proceedings.
A court in Tehran sentenced the Foremans to 10 years in prison last year on charges of "espionage."
Both have denied the spying charges.
A handout photograph released in August 2025 by the family of Craig and Lindsay Foreman shows the couple at Naqsh-e Jahan Square, or Shah Square, with the Shah Mosque in the background, in Isfahan, Iran, at an undated time.
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15:43
2.6.2026
Iran Plans 3-Day Funeral Ceremony For Ali Khamenei
Iranians shout slogans as they march in Tehran the day after the assassination of Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike the day before.
Tehran is reportedly planning a "farewell ceremony" and funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to take place in several Iranian cities.
Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, has not yet been buried.
The cities of Qom and Mashhad, as well as the capital, will host the event, according to a Tehran official.
According to Iranian media reports, Mohammad Amin Tavakolizadeh, deputy social affairs director for the Tehran region, said on June 2 that officials are expecting up to 20 million people to attend in the capital alone.
He did not specify the exact date of the ceremony but said it would likely be held in late June or early July.
Tavakolizadeh said the "farewell ceremony" will last three days in Qom and Mashhad and 24 hours in Tehran.
He added that Khamenei would be buried at the shrine of the eighth Shi'ite Imam in Mashhad, "according to his will and the wishes of his relatives."
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15:31
2.6.2026
Middle East Flight Disruptions Continue As Some Airlines Resume Flights
An Emirates aircraft takes off from Dubai International Airport on March 8.
While some airlines have begun resuming flights to the Middle East, disruptions caused by the Iran war continue to overshadow regional air routes and Europe-Asia flights.
Regional airlines have increased their flight capacity after severe war-related disruptions, but many airlines outside Middle East are still rerouting flights from Europe to Asia to avoid the region's airspace.
A number of European and Asian carriers have suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Beirut, Erbil, Baghdad, and Tehran until dates in the summer or fall. Air France has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until June 14 and flights between Beirut and Dubai until June 17, while KLM has suspended flights to Dubai until August 2 and routes between Riyadh and Dammam until July 12.
British Airways has also delayed the resumption of flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv until August 1 and plans to reduce the number of flights to the Middle East once it returns. The airline has also permanently removed Jeddah from its list of destinations.
Among US carriers, Delta has extended the suspension of its Atlanta-Tel Aviv route until December 18, but plans to resume its New York-Tel Aviv flight on September 6. Air Canada has also canceled its flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until September 7.
In contrast, some airlines are resuming limited flight schedules. Malaysia Airlines has announced that it will resume limited flights to Doha from July 2. Australia's Qantas has also increased flights to Rome and Paris to meet increased demand on European routes.
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13:25
2.6.2026
IAEA Head: Transferring Iranian Uranium Abroad 'Difficult But Not Impossible'
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says that while it is "difficult," transferring Iran's enriched uranium abroad is "not impossible."
Grossi's remarks come as the fate of Iran's highly enriched uranium reserves has become a central issue in ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington. Iranian officials have called the US demand that Tehran give up its enriched uranium "excessive" and said they will not give in to it.
Iran is estimated to have about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to about 60 percent. Grossi previously said that Iran's uranium stockpile had largely remained intact and in the same place after US and Israeli air strikes on the country's nuclear facilities in 2025.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Grossi said that transferring Iran's highly enriched uranium abroad was "not easy, because this is in gas form, and this is highly contaminant, and it is not an easy operation."
Grossi also added that several other options are being considered, including "downblending" the uranium to a lower level of enrichment. Kazakhstan has also been mentioned as a possible storage location.
US President Donald Trump has called Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium, which are buried in nuclear facilities, "nuclear dust" and has repeatedly said that the United States must acquire these stocks.
However, in Trump's latest comments on the matter, made during a recent trip to China, Trump said that he did not think the United States removing enriched uranium from Iran was necessary and that it was more of a "public relations" move.
"We were thinking about doing it early on, but it would take time, it would take about a week and a half. And thats a long time to be in enemy territory," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on May 14.
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07:32
2.6.2026
Trump: Iran Deal Expected 'Over the Next Week'
President Donald Trumptold ABC Newsthat he expects to reach an agreement with Iran to extend the cease-fire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within the next week.
Speaking to ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl in a telephone conversation on June 1, Trump said a peace deal could be "even better than a military victory."
A draft agreement, mediated by Pakistan, has been going forth and back between the two sides in recent weeks -- with huge uncertainty hanging over the on-again, off-again negotiations. A limited cease-fire has been in effect since April, though it has been tested by sporadic strikes.
There was, the president said, "tremendous hostility" from Iran.
"It's not an easy thing for them. It's actually not easy from our standpoint either. But we're getting what we need to get," Trump said.
Regarding a time frame for a possible deal, Trump said: "I think you're talking about over the next week." He said that an agreement hadn't been made yet because "I still have to get a few more points."
In recent days, Iran and the US have traded military strikes, with US forces announcing self-defense attacks on Iranian targets and Iran indicating it had attacked a US base in Kuwait.
The push for a deal comes as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has significantly disrupted global oil supplies and driven up energy prices.
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