File photo– Rafael Gross, the director of the International Energy Atomic Agency (IAEA) . IAEA is the agency tasked with inspecting Iran’s nuclear activities. Iran denied that it authorized IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities

Here is the latest on the Middle East war

President Trump said Tuesday that Iran had “fully and completely” agreed to allow nuclear inspections, but Tehran said there were “no plans” for IAEA inspectors to return to its bombed enrichment sites.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that U.N. inspectors could return as soon as this week.
Iran’s chief negotiator told state media Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will “never return to its pre-war conditions” and that Iran will maintain control of the vital waterway.
Monday was the busiest day for transits of the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, with 35 commercial vessels crossing the waterway, according to data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler. That is still less than one fourth of pre-war traffic levels ( of 150 a day) , but it likely does not include some ships that transited the strait with their location transponders switched off.
President Trump is expected to meet with top executives from the largest U.S. defense contractors on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting.
The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on defense contractors to prioritize production and American manufacturing capabilities. Most of the defense industry received the message loud and clear from the president to deliver on existing contracts and increase and speed production to support the Department of War, said a source familiar with the meetings.

At least 4,190 people killed in Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the war against Israel in support of Iran

At least 4,192 people have been killed and 12,171 wounded in Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the war on March 2, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes.

The death toll for Israel includes at least 36 soldiers and four civilians.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a call with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, where they discussed the U.S., Lebanon and Iran working together to implement what was agreed to Sunday during direct U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland, according to Lebanon’s president’s office.

U.N. maritime body to begin evacuating 11,000 sailors stuck in the Gulf

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization said Tuesday that it would begin evacuating more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Persian Gulf by the U.S.-Iran war.

“This large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal States in the region, the United States and the maritime industry,” IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he added

At least 4,190 people killed in Lebanon since Israel war began

At least 4,192 people have been killed and 12,171 wounded in Lebanon since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began on March 2, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes.

The death toll for Israel includes at least 36 soldiers and four civilians.

Vance and Rubio tell Lebanon’s leader that plans for multilateral body to monitor truce “under review”

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun during a Tuesday phone call that the Trump administration was “closely following” efforts to create “a joint cell” involving the U.S., Lebanon and Iran that was agreed to Sunday during direct U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland.

The new body will be created “to stabilize the ceasefire in Lebanon and monitor the implementation of related measures,” the Lebanese president’s office said in a statement on the call.

The U.S. officials told Aoun “that arrangements regarding the structure and formation of this cell are currently under review.”

Vance and Rubio “reaffirmed the United States’ support for the positions of the Lebanese President and government in their efforts to disarm Hezbollah, extend the authority of the legitimate state, strengthen national sovereignty over all its territory through its army and security forces alone, and enable it to fulfill its commitments in this regard.”

Lebanon will accept “nothing less” than complete Israeli military withdrawal, president says

Lebanon’s president said Tuesday that his government would accept “nothing less” than the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south of his country, where they have occupied a roughly six-mile deep swath of land extending from the two nations’ shared border.

“We affirm that we will accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the elimination of all forms of external tutelage ( meaning Hezbollah and Iran’s IRGC) ,” President Joseph Aoun said ahead of talks in Washington with Israeli officials.

Israeli leaders say forces will remain in the “security zone” across southern Lebanon until the threat posed by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group is eliminated.

The memorandum of understanding signed last week by the U.S. and Iran calls for a “permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

“We are entering a new round of negotiations that we hope will be decisive in achieving what we seek for our country and our people,” Aoun said. “We see that objective in the full restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty over every inch of its territory and the extension of state authority across all Lebanese land.”

Aoun’s government has been under intense pressure by Israel and the U.S. to disarm Hezbollah, which, while designated a terrorist group by both of those countries, has long been a powerful political and paramilitary force in Lebanon, in addition to being Iran’s most powerful regional proxy. Without US support in providing the Lebanese army with up -to -date weapons it will be next to impossible for the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah on its own.

Israeli military says it fired at Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon in second incident of the day

The Israeli military said Tuesday that forces opened fire at Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon who approached soldiers posing as civilians, in a second incident of the day.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said troops “identified four Hezbollah terrorists riding a bulldozer and a motorcycle who had crossed into the security zone and approached the soldiers, posing an immediate threat.”

According to the IDF, soldiers fired warning shots before opening fire on the alleged Hezbollah fighters. It was not clear whether anyone was injured in the incident.

The IDF called it “yet another example of the cynical use the organization makes of Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure as a shield for its operations.”

Flare-ups in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have threatened to derail the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran. As part of the talks around that agreement, mediators say a “de-conflicting cell” is being created to avoid escalations, but it is not yet clear when it will commence, or how it will work.

Iranian president: ” All provisions of the MOA serve our interests”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed that all provisions of the memorandum of understanding serve his country’s interests, noting that “the gains from these negotiations will soon become apparent.”

The Iranian President observed that “US President Donald Trump’s positions have completely changed,” noting that Trump stated in his recent speech that “many things are the right of the Iranian people.”

According to analysts none of the US and Israeli objectives were achieved in the war

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