Middle East updates: Israel and Iran trade fresh strikes
Skip next section Iran says US responsible for escalation with Israel 06/08/2026 June 8, 2026 Iran says US responsible for escalation with Israel The Iranian
Skip next section Iran says US responsible for escalation with Israel 06/08/2026 June 8, 2026 Iran says US responsible for escalation with Israel The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it holds the United States "responsible for the consequences of any escalation" in Middle East. "Israel['s] actions cannot be separated from US policies," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman, adding: "[The] US holds direct responsibility [for] recent ceasefire breaches." The spokesman also took aim at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), accusing the UN nuclear watchdog of "disregard[ing] realities of the conflict" and of political bias in the ongoing crisis.
The renewed Israeli strikes on Iran have come despite US President Donald Trump reportedly warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks. "I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn't call the shots," claimed Trump, speaking to the Financial Times, insisting that the renewed hostilities were "not going to have any impact" on a peace deal. A senior US official told The Associated Press (AP) on Sunday that Trump had urged Netanyahu not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack, which itself came in response to Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
AP also reported that officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the US were "furious" at the Israeli strikes on Beirut, which came while the Pakistani interior minister was
in Tehran in a bid to encourage negotiations. The mediators reportedly told the US administration that the Beirut strike was designed "to disrupt our efforts to reach a deal" and that "Trump has to stop Netanyahu's reckless maneuvers."
The BriefWire