live US Embassy In Jerusalem Urges Staff, Families To Shelter In Place

The American Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all US government employees and their families to shelter in place following renewed Iranian missile attacks on Israel.

"As a result of the current security situation in Israel...the US Embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place, and be prepared to move to a protected shelter in the event of a red alert, until further notice," a notice on the embassy website stated.

Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on June 7 launched a fresh wave of missile strikes against Israel, calling them a "warning" after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day.

The US Embassy was not hit in the attacks.

The move threatened the already shaky cease-fire in the Middle East that took effect on April 8.

US President Donald Trump urged Israel not to retaliate as he attempts to forge a lasting peace settlement with Tehran.

Iran fired a fresh wave of air attacks at Israel on June 7, all of which the Israeli army said had so far been intercepted.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it had launched missiles toward Israel on June 7, saying they were in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Lebanon earlier in the day. It added that "more crushing and regretful blows" would follow if Tel Aviv continues.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said air raid sirens sounded in several areas across the country "following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel."

"The IDF intercepted all missiles from Iran thus far. The IDF has currently identified additional launches fired toward the State of Israel," it said.

"The Aerial Defense Array is currently identifying and intercepting threats."

The development came hours after Israeli forces struck the suburbs of Lebanon's capital for the first time since Washington announced a renewed truce between Beirut and Tel Aviv last week.

While talks between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East have appeared to stall over key issues such as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Iranian officials have maintained that the conflict between Israel and Lebanon is also central to efforts to end the regional war.

Iran's Parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on June 7 that Tehran viewed latest Israeli strikes on Beirut as evidence that the United States and Israel do not believe in dialogue and "only understand the language of power."

Israel has been launching strikes targeting militants in Lebanon from Hezbollah -- which has been labeled a terrorist organization by Washington, while the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing -- since March 2, two days after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, when Hezbollah forces opened fire in support of Tehran.

Hezbollah is a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

A truce that has been in place since April has reduced fighting between Israel and Hezbollah but has not stopped it; hundreds of people have been killed in strikes since then, and each side has accused the other of numerous violations.

President Donald Trump said the United States would work with Iran to retrieve and destroy its highly enriched uranium if the two sides reach an agreement to end the war between them, or take military action to seize the material if diplomacy fails.

In an interview with NBC News’s Meet the Press released on June 7, Trump described two possible paths. One would involve cooperation with Tehran. The other would rely on force.

“If we make a deal that now we’re friendly, we’ll all go together. It’ll be our equipment. We’ll take it out and destroy it, whether it’s on-site or whether we take it off-site,” Trump said.

“And we will go with them, or without them. But we won’t have people shooting at us, OK?” he added. “Now, if we don’t make a deal, then we’re going to take them out militarily very harshly.”

Trump said that US forces would act only when conditions are safe. He also said Washington would be able to monitor Iran’s nuclear facilities using space-based surveillance.

Trump said the two sides are “very close” to a pact but that a few issues remain unresolved. He said Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons, but he wanted broader language in any deal.

“I want to put the word, ‘if they buy, purchase or acquire,’” the US president said. “You’ve got to have that in there, too.”

Trump also said he expects US troops to remain in the region until a deal is fully implemented. He said he does not consider deployed forces to be in danger.

The comments come as Washington continues efforts to secure limits on Iran’s nuclear program and clarify the status of its highly enriched uranium stockpile.

Contrary to earlier reports about the entry and exit of the Iranian soccer team into the United States for the 2026 World Cup, the head of Iran's soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, said that the national team is allowed to enter the country one day before each match.

The World Cup is being held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Iranian team, which will be based in Mexico for the tournament, will be playing its group games in California and Seattle. The team plays its first match against New Zealand on June 15.

Previously, Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran's ambassador to Mexico, said that players and technical staff would only be allowed to enter the United States on the day of their matches and must leave the country on the same day.

However, speaking to the semi-official ISNA news agency, Taj said that "they have allowed our national team to enter one day before the match."

This marks the first time in World Cup history that a host nation will welcome the national team of a country with which it is currently at war.

The United States has not commented on how long Iranian players will be allowed in the country surrounding their games. In a statement, the State Department said that “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued.”

Conflicting accounts continue to circulate over the condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was named as his father’s successor following his death in a US-Israeli air strike in February.

In remarks carried by Iranian media on June 6, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami repeated earlier claims that Khamenei was wounded in the attack, with amputation considered a possibility.

“Thanks to the effort by the medical staff [amputation] did not happen,” Khatami said, adding that the new supreme leader “is now in good health.”

Last month, the head of the Public Relations and Information Center of Iran’s Health Ministry claimed that "nothing significant” had happened to Khamenei in the attack that targeted the supreme leader’s residence in central Tehran, reportedly killing several of his family members and Iranian officials.

Khamenei, 56, has not made any verified public appearance since being announced as the designated successor in early March, with continued speculation that he had died from injuries sustained in the attack. No authenticated video or audio recordings of him have been released.

Iranian state media and supporters continue to publish statements attributed to him and circulate images, including AI-generated visuals, but none have been independently verified as recent or authentic.

International media, including Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times, have reported that Khamenei is receiving medical treatment for serious injuries affecting multiple parts of his body, including his face, arms, upper body, and leg.

The New York Times has also reported, citing Iranian officials, that he was awaiting a prosthetic for one leg.

The United States is considering using Iranian financial assets to help fund repairs and reconstruction in Gulf countries damaged by Iranian strikes, US media reported on June 6, citing unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.

Reports by ABC News, CNN, and other outlets said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has instructed his department to assess the cost of damage caused by Iranian missile and drone attacks on US allies, including Kuwait and Bahrain. The aim, according to the sources, is to determine whether Iranian funds could be redirected to cover reconstruction -- and possibly any future damage should fighting resume.

No details have been disclosed about which assets might be targeted or how such a move would be implemented. It remains unclear whether the review is limited to Iranian funds already frozen under US sanctions or could extend to other Iranian holdings held abroad.

The reported discussions come as Iran is pressing Washington to release billions of dollars in overseas assets as part of any agreement to end the conflict.

Senior Iranian officials have said access to about $24 billion in frozen funds is essential for a peace deal, a demand the United States has so far rejected.

The assets mainly consist of Iranian oil revenues and state funds held in foreign accounts, frozen under US sanctions dating back largely to 2018 and reinforced since then.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has arrived in Tehran as part of Islamabad's diplomatic drive to bring an end to the US war with Iran, even as new attacks were reported over the previous 24 hours.

News agency dpa cited Pakistani security and diplomatic sources as saying high-level meetings with Iranian government officials were planned for June 7. Naqvi last visited Tehran in mid-May.

The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that Naqvi would meet with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Iran's ISNA news agency reported that Naqvi was expected to deliver a message from powerful Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Munir has taken a lead role in Islamabad's efforts to mediate talks between Tehran and Washington.

Although a shaky cease-fire has officially held, US and Iranian forces have conducted military operations several times since the April 8 beginning of the truce.

Late on June 6, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces in the Middle East shot down two Iranian attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier in the day, CENTCOM said ⁠it hit Iranian coastal radar stations in "self-defense" strikes hours after Tehran launched attack drones toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) then retaliated for those strikes by firing at least seven ballistic missiles toward US-linked sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Meanwhile, Reuters and ABC TV were among media outlets citing sources saying that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damage inflicted on Gulf allies by ⁠Iran and that Washington will consider using Iranian assets to undertake repairs.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal has departed for Pakistan, where he is set to meet his counterpart, Asim Munir, the country's military said. Citing a source familiar with the matter, AFP reported that the visit is linked to negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Haykal "left Lebanon for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir," a Lebanese military statement said on June 6.

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AFP cited a source, who said that Haykal's visit is "linked to the Pakistani mediation to resolve" issues between Washington and Tehran, that are negotiating a potential peace agreement to bring an end to the broader conflict in the Middle East.

"Lebanon is a critical part of the negotiations," the source added, and Munir, who is scheduled to meet Haykal in Pakistan, is seen as Islamabad's key negotiator.

While talks between the United States and Iran have appeared to stall over key issues such as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to global energy markets, and Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Iranian officials have maintained that the conflict between Israel and Lebanon is also central to efforts to end the regional war.

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Tel Aviv has been launching strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon since March 2, two days after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, when Hezbollah forces opened fire in support of Tehran.

Hezbollah is a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

A truce that has been in place since April 17 has reduced fighting between Israel and Hezbollah but has not stopped it; hundreds of people have been killed in strikes since then, and each side has accused the other of numerous violations.

Iran fired seven ballistic missiles at Kuwait overnight, authorities said, and falling debris caused some damage on the ground, but no casualties.

The June 6 attack came just days after an Iranian strike on the Gulf state’s international airport killed one person and injured 63 others. The attack was the latest sign that a cease-fire announced two months ago by the United States remained fragile.

In a statement, Kuwait’s military said it had intercepted the seven missiles at dawn over Kuwaiti airspace, with some debris falling on residential areas.

No further details were provided. There was no immediate comment from Iran.

Earlier, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks as “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the state” and that they represented a “dangerous escalation.”

Iran has repeatedly targeted several Gulf State nations -- mainly US allies -- with drones and missiles over the course of the war, which erupted on February 28 when US and Israeli forces launched air strikes on Iran.

Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, said it also was targeted by Iranian missiles, though it gave no details as to when and where, or whether there was damage or casualties.

Earlier, US Central Command -- the Pentagon entity overseeing US forces in the Middle East -- confirmed the launch of seven Iranian missiles at Kuwait, and said six were intercepted, while the seventh “did not reach its intended target.”

While Iran's national soccer team players have received visas to attend the World Cup in the United States after months of uncertainty, The New York Times reported that the visa application of Mehdi Taj, the president of Iran's soccer federation, has been rejected.

Citing four senior officials, The New York Times reported that the applications of all 26 Iranian players were accepted but more than a dozen members of the support staff and federation officials who were supposed to accompany the team have not been allowed to enter the United States.

Taj was previously a commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which the US and Canada have designated a terrorist organization.

Hours earlier, the Fars news agency, which is linked to the IRGC, wrote that visas for some members of the national team's technical and executive staff have not yet been issued and "the US embassy had so far refused to issue them."

Iran's national team is scheduled to play its first match on June 15 in Los Angeles against New Zealand.

UPDATE: The Iranian Embassy in South Africa has this to say: