Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Jun 1, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Military Says Iran Targeted American Forces in Kuwait
U.S. Central Command said the military intercepted two Iranian missiles overnight on Monday and no personnel were harmed. The attacks threatened to further complicate talks to end the war.
by Aaron BoxermanYan Zhuang and Christina Goldbaum
Here’s the latest
The United States and Iran traded attacks in the last 24 hours, complicating negotiations over a framework for a deal to end the war.
The U.S. military said late Sunday that it had attacked radar and command sites in southern Iran over the weekend, the latest in a litany of low-level strikes amid strained negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began in late February.
The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said in a statement that it had retaliated against Iran for shooting down an American drone in the area. Fighter jets attacked Iranian air defenses, among other sites, the military said.
Less than an hour later, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that its forces had targeted a military base from which an American attack on a communications facility in southern Iran had originated, Iranian state media reported.
Kuwait, which hosts U.S. military bases, accused Iran on Monday of launching a new wave of attacks against its territory, but did not confirm whether a base had been targeted.
It was not immediately clear how the latest strikes would affect U.S.-Iranian negotiations over a framework for a deal to end the war and lift Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipments.
Talks to end the war have advanced in fits and bursts. Last week, officials familiar with the negotiations said that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had agreed on a document that had been sent to the two countries’ leaders for approval.
It is unclear whether Mojtaba Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader believed to be in hiding, responded to the proposal. But President Trump has pushed to toughen the terms of the deal, sending a revised document to Iran, according to three officials who spoke anonymously because they could not discuss the matter publicly.
Fighting in Lebanon was also complicating efforts to reach a broader agreement to end the war. Iran demanded that a cease-fire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, be implemented as part of earlier talks that led to an April cease-fire.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement that he had ordered the Israeli military to attack the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as part of the widening campaign against Hezbollah. Thousands fled Beirut’s southern suburbs, clogging the roads with traffic after the Israeli threat.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
Energy markets: Oil prices climbed on Monday as investors weighed a renewed exchange of military strikes between the United States and Iran. Read more ›
Trump comments: Mr. Trump said on social media early Monday that Iran wanted a deal and suggested that criticism from Republicans and Democrats had made negotiations more difficult.
Lebanon castle: The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had captured a strategic, Crusader-era castle in southern Lebanon as part of the most sweeping Israeli invasion in the country in decades. Read more ›
Strait of Hormuz: American forces have helped coordinate the passage of around 70 commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in the last three weeks, according to U.S. officials. Read more ›
June 1, 2026, 8:28 a.m. ET48 minutes ago
Reporting from Jerusalem
Iran launched two ballistic missiles at U.S. forces based in Kuwait overnight on Monday local time, the U.S. military said on social media. The military said American forces had successfully intercepted the two missiles and no personnel were harmed.
June 1, 2026, 8:02 a.m. ET1 hour ago
Reporting from Jerusalem
The Lebanese government vowed on Monday to continue negotiating with Israel despite the Israeli threats to step up attacks on the country as part of its conflict with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group based there.
“Some regrettably consider negotiation to be surrender. It is not that, nor is it a concession,” President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon said in a statement. “It is a solution to stop wars with the least possible harm.”
The Trump administration has brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on disarming Hezbollah, whose power and influence has long overshadowed the Lebanese government.
June 1, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Reporting from Jerusalem
As the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon appeared poised to escalate further, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, warned that the hostilities could further rattle the U.S.-Iran cease-fire that began in April.
“The cease-fire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a cease-fire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Araghchi said in a social media post. “Its violation on one front is a violation of the cease-fire on all fronts.”
It’s worth noting, though, that Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Tehran, have been bombarding one another for weeks without prompting Iran to resume war.
June 1, 2026, 6:23 a.m. ET3 hours ago
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
Thousands of people were fleeing Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday after Israel warned the area would be targeted with attacks. For many, urgently leaving the area, known as the Dahiya, has become a well-worn routine.
“I lost count of how many times I’ve evacuated,” said Zahra Khomasi, 43, as she sat in her car in Tayouneh on the outskirts of Dahiya. Khomasi fled her home during the last escalation between Hezbollah and Israel in 2024 and then again when the war began in March.
She returned in April after a shaky cease-fire went into effect, only to hurriedly pack up again on Monday and leave with her children, ages 14 and 9. “We’ve somehow become used to this,” she said.
June 1, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET4 hours ago
Reporting from London
Kuwait accused Iran of launching military strikes against it, hours after reporting that its air defenses were dealing with drone and missile attacks. Kuwait hosts U.S. military bases and has come under attack in recent days after Iran said it had targeted American facilities used to launch strikes against it.
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry said Iranian attacks “represent a dangerous escalation and a direct assault on the security and stability” of the country in a statement on social media.
June 1, 2026, 4:30 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Aaron Boxerman and Heedo Abu Laban
Reporting from Jerusalem
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement that he had ordered the Israeli military to attack the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as part of the widening Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia.
Israel has mostly refrained from attacking the city since the U.S.-Iran cease-fire took effect in early April, but it has continued to bombard southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired on invading Israeli soldiers, as well as Israeli border communities.
June 1, 2026, 2:52 a.m. ET6 hours ago
The U.S. says it hit military targets in Iran and intercepted a missile attack in Kuwait
The United States said on Sunday that it had attacked military targets in southern Iran over the weekend, the latest in a series of attacks over the past week.
Less than an hour later, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that its forces had targeted a military base from which it said an American attack on a communications facility in southern Iran had originated.
United States Central Command said that overnight Monday, the U.S. military had “intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait.” It said that no U.S. personnel had been harmed. The Kuwaiti authorities had earlier accused Iran of launching a wave of attacks against its territory, without confirming whether a U.S. base had been targeted.
The exchanges may further complicate U.S.-Iranian negotiations over a potential framework for a deal to end the war.
The latest U.S. strikes on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast targeted radar and command and control sites for drones in the city of Goruk and the Island of Qeshm, U.S. Central Command said in a statement late Sunday.
Central Command said that the U.S. strikes on Saturday and Sunday were a response to what it described as “aggressive Iranian actions,” including the shooting down of a remotely piloted American military drone that had been operating over international waters.
The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement early Monday that Iran had targeted a military base, the country’s state news agency reported. The statement described the move as a retaliation for an American strike on a communications tower on an island in the south.
The statement, which did not identify the base, said that Iran would respond differently if such attacks were repeated.
The U.S. strike appeared to be the third round of American attacks in southern Iran in the past week. Iran has retaliated by targeting bases where it said some of the strikes originated.
Last Monday, the United States struck missile launch sites and Iranian boats trying to emplace mines Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said at the time.
Those strikes came after U.S. intelligence analysts detected a series of potentially threatening Iranian military actions in the 24 hours leading up to the operation, two U.S. officials told The New York Times, speaking anonymously to discuss operational matters.
On Wednesday, the United States shot down four one-way attack drones. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said Iran launched the drones over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening U.S. forces in the region and the limited commercial maritime shipping still transiting the waterway, which Iran has effectively blockaded.
The military then carried out airstrikes against a drone ground-control station in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas before it could fire a fifth drone, the official said.
Following those strikes, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster that it had retaliated by targeting the U.S. air base from which the attack originated.
Farnaz Fassihi and Sanam Mahoozi contributed reporting.
June 1, 2026, 2:34 a.m. ET7 hours ago
Oil prices jump as the U.S. and Iran exchange fire
Oil prices, after falling last week, climbed on Monday as investors weighed a renewed exchange of military strikes between the United States and Iran against indications that both sides remain engaged in negotiations aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement.
Stocks were mixed, pulled higher in East Asia by the continued surge in interest in artificial intelligence, and lower in Europe.
The United States said it carried out a series of “self-defense” strikes in Iran over the weekend, the latest in a series of attacks in the past week. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced that it had struck a U.S. air base in retaliation for a U.S. attack on a communications facility.
Oil pushes higher
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose nearly 3 percent to about $94 a barrel for August delivery, the most heavily traded contract.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, jumped 3.5 percent to about $91 a barrel for July delivery, its most popular contract.
Stocks are mixed
Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a 0.3 percent increase when stocks resume trading in the United States on Monday.
Stocks in Asia, where countries import vast quantities of oil and gas, were mixed. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged 4 percent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose nearly 1 percent. Stocks in mainland China declined.
In Europe, stocks were mixed. The Stoxx 600, a broad-index that tracks the region’s largest companies, was down slightly. Germany’s Dax index was up 0.5 percent.
Gasoline prices slide
Gas prices fell again on Monday, dropping to a national average of $4.32 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. Still, the overall increase in gasoline prices has raised the cost for drivers by 45 percent since the war began.
Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.
The average price of diesel pulled back three cents to $5.45 on Sunday, up 45 percent since the start of the war.