Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Jun 2, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon After Pulling Back From Threat to Beirut
Under pressure from President Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel held off from attacking Beirut. But he vowed to continue Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, which could threaten peace talks with Iran.
June 2, 2026, 10:19 a.m. ET19 minutes ago by Aaron Boxerman Christina Goldbaum Farnaz Fassihi and Hari Raj
Here’s the latest
Israel launched fresh strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel appeared to pull back from a threat to strike Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, under pressure from President Trump and the United Nations.
Mr. Netanyahu paused the attacks on Beirut but made no mention of a cease-fire in Lebanon and vowed to maintain the military offensive in the south. Iran has said that among its conditions for a peace agreement with the United States is an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The Israeli military issued a new evacuation order on Tuesday for Nabatieh, one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, which has been heavily bombarded in recent days.
Hours later, officials from the Lebanese government and Israel met for a new round of U.S.-mediated talks in Washington aimed at defusing the conflict.
On Monday, diplomats at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council were nearly unanimous — with the exception of the United States — in calling for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and refrain from launching more attacks. Israel had warned that it would strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Mr. Trump said on social media that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop their attacks on each other, while the Lebanese government — which does not include or control Hezbollah — said a new truce was taking shape.
Mr. Netanyahu then issued a statement that appeared to move away from his immediate threat to attack Beirut while adding that the Israeli military would “continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.”
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Lebanon’s government said it had “received confirmation that Hezbollah had agreed to the U.S. proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks.”
Here’s what else we’re covering:
Beirut evacuations: Thousands of people fled their homes after Mr. Netanyahu’s threat to strike the city’s southern suburb, clogging roads in an exodus that has become a miserable routine over the past three years. Read more ›
U.S.-Iran negotiations: Iran had warned the United States through intermediaries that it would suspend negotiations to end the war if Israel attacked southern Beirut, according to two senior Iranian officials. Speaking to CNBC, Mr. Trump said he “couldn’t care less” about Iran’s threats to halt talks. Read more ›
Market reaction:Oil prices fell on Tuesday after jumping more than 4 percent a day earlier on worries that the precarious cease-fire in the Middle East and negotiations for a U.S.-Iran peace deal were faltering.
June 2, 2026, 6:03 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Reporting from London
Inflation in the eurozone hit its highest level in more than two years in May, as the conflict in the Middle East has caused energy prices to soar. The inflation rate rose to 3.2 percent last month compared to the same period a year ago, the highest since September 2023.
The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates at its meeting next week in an effort to stop higher inflation from becoming embedded in the economy as policymakers’ work to get inflation back to their 2 percent target.
June 2, 2026, 5:45 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
The Israeli military issued a new evacuation order on Tuesday for Nabatieh, one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, signaling that its offensive against Hezbollah would not ease. The city and surrounding areas have been heavily bombarded in recent days.
June 2, 2026, 5:20 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Reporting from London
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after jumping more than 4 percent a day earlier on worries that the precarious cease-fire in the Middle East and negotiations for a peace deal between the United States and Iran were faltering. Brent Crude, the global benchmark, was down about 2 percent on Tuesday to roughly $93 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was about 1.7 percent lower at roughly $91 a barrel.
More than three months since the United States and Israel attacked Iran to start the war in late February, the Strait of Hormuz has remained mostly closed, choking off a major transit point for oil and gas supplies and other critical materials. The disruption has sent oil prices soaring and Brent is up nearly 30 percent since Feb. 28.
Stocks were mixed in Asia and higher in Europe on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures pointed to a relatively quiet opening when markets resume trading in the U.S.
June 2, 2026, 4:58 a.m. ET6 hours ago
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
Israel continued striking southern Lebanon on Tuesday, even after appearing to pull back from immediate threats of attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs following an intervention by President Trump. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Monday night that Israeli operations in southern Lebanon would continue “as planned,” making clear that any understanding to dial down the fighting with Hezbollah was limited to halting plans for a major assault on Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
Israeli and Lebanese officials were set to resume U.S.-brokered talks in Washington on Tuesday, part of a diplomatic track aimed at stabilizing the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and reaching a longer-term settlement.