For now, links to ELEVEN reports: from the Associated Press, Al Mayadeen, the Cradle, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for today’s IRAN so far, and down for LEBANON 6-19-26.) — MCM
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NEWER. U.S.-Iran talks to begin Sunday in Switzerland as Tehran closes the strait over Lebanon fighting, by Kareem Chehayeb, Bassem Mroue and Munir Ahmed | AP TYRE, Lebanon — Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States today, angered by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and announcing that while its negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.
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Israel kills at least 29 in Lebanon, one day after ceasefire deal, by Fleur Hargreaves | Middle East Eye At least 29 people have been killed in a new wave of Israeli attacks on Lebanon across southern Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley, just a day after a ceasefire was announced. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.
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Deadly fighting persists in Lebanon as the U.S.-Iran deal is under threat, by Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue | AP TYRE, Lebanon — Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East. READ MORE. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.
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Hezbollah debunks Israeli ceasefire breach claims, cites 300 IOF violations. From Al Mayadeen. Israeli allegations that Hezbollah violated a ceasefire agreement are “completely baseless”, Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office stated, describing them as part of ongoing attempts to . . . READ MORE . . .
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How Israel’s refusal to withdraw from Lebanon affects the U.S.–Iran ceasefire deal. Reported by Jane Arraf and Scott Simon | NPR The ceasefire agreement between the U.S, and Iran extends to Lebanon, but the fighting there has yet to stop and Israel says it is not withdrawing. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JUNE 19 Hezbollah kills Israeli tank crew as Tel Aviv refuses to withdraw from Lebanon. From the Cradle. A Hezbollah resistance operation killed four Israeli troops in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit overnight, including a battalion chief, the Israeli military confirmed on Friday.A Hezbollah resistance operation killed four Israeli troops in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit overnight, including a battalion chief, the Israeli military confirmed on Friday. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 19 ‘All of Lebanon must burn,’ Israeli minister Ben Gvir declares, by Ayse Betul | Middle East Eye “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should cry,” the Israelinational security minister wrote on X on Friday after the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded directly to Ben Gvir’s post. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 19 Death of new commander puts spotlight back on Israeli battalion linked to killing of Hind Rajab in Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. The Israeli military’s announcement on Friday that the commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade was killed in southern Lebanon has renewed scrutiny of the same unit linked to the killing of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 19 U.S. intelligence warns Israel could undermine Iran peace deal: report. From Middle East Monitor. According to a Washington Post report on Friday, U.S. intelligence agencies have warned the Trump administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to take actions that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement with Iran. READ MORE . . .
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How Netanyahu could still wreck Washington’s Iran deal, by Jasim Al-Azzawi | Middle East Monitor There is a particular kind of danger in Middle East diplomacy that no memorandum of understanding can fully insure against: a leader with nothing left to lose and an army still under his command. READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED