Timothy Jones Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa
Published 06/01/2026Published June 1, 2026
The US bombed radar and drone sites in Iran and Tehran attacked a US air base in Kuwait. Follow live.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdID
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Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Iran has attacked a US air base in Kuwait
The attack came after US military bombed sites in southern Iran
The US attack came after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend
Fighting has also escalated between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire
This is a roundup of the developments in Iran and the Middle East on Monday, June 1:
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Skip next section Israeli military reports death of 'unit commander in Hezbollah's missile array'
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Israeli military reports death of 'unit commander in Hezbollah's missile array'
The Israel Defense Forces say that strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed "a unit commander in Hezbollah's missile array," identifying him as Mohammed Mouse Mteirek.
According to the Israeli military, Mteirek was "in charge of advancing and executing hundreds of rocket and UAV [drone] launches towards Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers."
In a slightly longer Hebrew-language post, the IDF said that Mteirek had been killed in a strike on Sunday in the Nabatieh area, not far north of the de facto border.
This reported attack was therefore not part of the strikes on a southern suburb of Beirut that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz had warned of earlier on Monday — with no word of strikes around the capital from the Lebanese side as yet either. The original warnings were tied to continued strikes on northern Israel, with Katz saying there would be no "calm" in Beirut unless there was also calm in the Israeli border region.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EgP8
Skip next section What to know if you're joining us now
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
What to know if you're joining us now
Roshni Majumdar Editor
The US military on Monday said it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend.
Iran on Monday then targeted a US air base in retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, without indentifying where the site was.
Iran announced the news after Kuwait said it repelled drone and missile attacks, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait.
The exchange of fire came as the two sides were working to figure out a potential agreement to bring an end to the fighting. But the text of the agreement is yet to be agreed on.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EfwX
Skip next section Ceasefire also includes Lebanon — Iran's top diplomat
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Ceasefire also includes Lebanon — Iran's top diplomat
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the ongoing ceasefire between the US and Iran means a halt in fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.
His comment comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has control.
"Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts," Araghchi wrote on X.
"The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation," he added.
Tehran has been consistent in demanding that any ceasefire or peace deal with the US should stipulate an end to Israel's hostilities against the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon.
Israel began its current offensive against Hezbollah after the paramilitary force carried out attacks on Israel in support of Iran amid the US-Israeli strikes on it launched at the end of February.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EfNe
Skip next section Iran conducts more protest-related executions
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Iran conducts more protest-related executions
Iran has carried out two more death sentences over convictions connected with the mass anti-government protests in January, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.
Two men, Mehdad Mohammadi-Nia and Ashkan Malek, were executed on Monday morning after being found guilty of acts including setting fire to a mosque, Mizan said.
More than a dozen executions have so far been carried out in connection with the protests, which started at the end of December in response to the country's economic plight before mutating into an uprising against Iran's authoritarian regime.
Iran is surpassed only by China in the number of people it executes each year.
According to Amnesty International, at least 2,159 people were executed in Iran last year — the highest recorded figure since 1981.
Hidden executions surge in Iran during US-Israeli war
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https://p.dw.com/p/5EecU
Skip next section US violating ceasefire with naval blockade — top Iranian negotiator
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
US violating ceasefire with naval blockade — top Iranian negotiator
Top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the continued US naval blockade of Iran's ports and Israel's intensifying offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon show that Washington is not complying with the ceasefire.
He wrote on X that "the naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon" were "clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire."
"Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place," he added.
The US and Iran agreed a ceasefire that went into force on April 8 and has since been extended, but both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.
The US began its naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 16 after talks between delegations from Washington and Tehran in Pakistan failed to produce a peace agreement.
Iran has maintained its closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a major chokepoint for the transport of oil and gas — partly because of the blockade.
It has also said a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is continuing its military operations against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, is a prerequisite for any peace deal with the US.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EeMt
Skip next section Lack of trust dogs diplomatic peace process — Iran's Foreign Ministry
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Lack of trust dogs diplomatic peace process — Iran's Foreign Ministry
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that exchanges between Tehran and Washington on ending the US-Iran war were taking place under difficult conditions caused partly by contradictory messages coming from the US.
"Negotiations have started amid severe suspicion and mistrust, and the exchange of messages is taking place in this atmosphere," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.
"The other party is constantly changing its views and putting forward new or contradictory demands (...) it is natural that this situation will prolong negotiations," he said.
Bagaei also said "a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war" as Israel continues its offensive against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.
He said there were currently no negotiations with the US over Tehran's nuclear program.
"We know when it is necessary to act on nuclear matters. No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is ending the war," he said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that the US offensive against Iran has the main aim of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, something Tehran has always denied as the purpose of its nuclear activities.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EduG
Skip next section Israel says orders strikes on southern Beirut suburb
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Israel says orders strikes on southern Beirut suburb
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said they had told Israel's military to carry out strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs.
"In light of the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the attacks on our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF to strike terror targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut," a joint statement said.
Dahiyeh, a Shi'ite suburb known as a stronghold of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, has come under Israeli attack several times in the past two decades.
Israeli strikes and evacuation orders in Lebanon have displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese since March 2, when Hezbollah began firing missiles and drones into Israel to support its ally Iran as it faced a US-Israeli offensive.
The Israeli offensive has so far killed more than 3,370 people, according to the Lebanese government.
Israel says more than 20 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
Tens of thousands of Israelis in the country's north have also been forced from their homes by Hezbollah rockets and drones.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdiW
Skip next section Security Council set for emergency meeting on Lebanon — diplomatic sources
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Security Council set for emergency meeting on Lebanon — diplomatic sources
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the conflict in Lebanon as Israeli forces move deep into the country during their offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency.
The meeting has been requested by France, with President Emmanuel Macron saying "nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that his country was facing "a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression" after Israel captured the medieval Beaufort Castle, marking its deepest incursion into Lebanon in 26 years.
The continued fighting in Lebanon comes despite a truce that began April 17 but has never brought any respite.
Hezbollah has said it has targeted Israeli forces near Beaufort Castle as well as army positions and infrastructure in Shlomi and Nahariya in northern Israel.
A US official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken to Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about ongoing diplomatic negotiations, asserting that Hezbollah must be the first to cease its attacks.
The official said Rubio had proposed a plan to allow for "gradual de-escalation."
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel in response to the US-Israeli killing of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdQ0
Skip next section Kuwait reports drone and missile fire
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Kuwait reports drone and missile fire
Kuwait, which hosts a major US base, said on Monday it was intercepting incoming drone and missile fire, without giving details as to where it was coming from.
Iran's paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has, however, said that it has targeted a US base in response to the US weekend strikes on Iranian military sites, making it seem likely that it is behind the Kuwait attacks.
Gulf states have come under several attacks from Iran during the current conflict, with Tehran saying it is targeting the US military presence there.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdPQ
Skip next section US bombed military sites in Iran on weekend — US military
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
US bombed military sites in Iran on weekend — US military
The US military said on Monday it had targeted radar and drone control sites in Iran over the weekend after Iranian forces shot down a US MQ-1 Predator drone.
The US military's Central Command said it conducted the strikes in Iran around the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island.
"The measured and deliberate strikes occurred ... in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters," it said.
"US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters," it added.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted an air base used by the US for an attack on southern Iran in response.
It did not identify the base.
The attacks come despite a weekslong ceasefire that has already been undermined by numerous military actions on both sides.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdMx
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage
06/01/2026June 1, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
The current war in the Middle East, triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, is still going on after three months despite numerous exchanges between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the conflict.
A ceasefire that went into effect on April 8 has mitigated the fighting, but both the US and Iran are continuing with limited attacks.
Israel has meanwhile not ceased its military efforts to combat the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, with its forces over the weekend marking the deepest incursion into the country in 26 years with the capture of Beaufort Castle.
DW brings you reports and background on a conflict that has spread throughout the Middle East region and that is having a major impact on economies around the world.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EdIQ
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