Iran partially restores internet access after months-long shutdown
Iranian authorities partially restored internet connectivity Tuesday after an almost three-month shutdown imposed against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the US, said a monitor, a senior official and sources inside the country.
The shutdown left Iranians largely cut off from international networks, with only a domestic intranet working for daily tasks like shopping, ride-hailing and education.
"Live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88," of the shutdown, monitor Netblocks said on X, saying it was "unclear" if this meant a permanent end to the "longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history".
Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X that the "first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken," adding that the demands of Iranians "will be fulfilled."
State news agency IRNA and Fars news agency said "full international internet connectivity has been restored" for users of fixed broadband services, but this had not been confirmed by internet monitor NetBlocks.
Witnesses inside Iran also told AFP that mobile internet remains cut but home internet with Wi-Fi had been restored, even though VPNs were still needed to access some social media.
Israel's Elbit developing hardware to combat Hezbollah drones, CEO says
Israel's largest defence contractor is developing hardware to combat explosive Hezbollah drones that have killed Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including through the potential use of laser-based defence systems, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has used the cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones to attack Israeli troops which have remained in southern Lebanon since an April 16 truce. Difficult for air defences to thwart, the drones are also being used to deadly effect in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Under pressure to address the threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to escalate attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. But he did not spell out a plan to address the drones, which can evade Israel's high-tech jamming technologies.
Israel says French-Palestinian lawyer directed 'terror cell'
Israel on Tuesday accused French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri of organising and directing a "terrorist cell" from Europe composed of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that was dismantled in late 2025.
In a joint statement, police and the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet said that "five residents of East Jerusalem, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were arrested and interrogated by the Shin Bet during November and December 2025."
"The Shin Bet investigation revealed that during 2024 and 2025, Hamouri met members of the cell -- all residents of East Jerusalem -- in several European countries and recruited them to establish an infrastructure intended to carry out terrorist activities in Israel," the statement said.
"To this end, he allegedly supplied them with phones enabling encrypted communications."
Born in Jerusalem to a French mother, Hamouri held a permanent residency permit granted to Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed.
The permit was revoked in late November 2022 for what Israel described as a "breach of allegiance" to the Israeli state, one month before his expulsion to France -- a move Hamouri denounced as a "deportation."
Lebanon's health ministry reports over 3,200 dead since March
Lebanon's health ministry says the cumulative toll from the Israeli offensive since March 2 had reached 3,213 dead and 9,737 wounded by May 26, while the Israeli military says Hezbollah has launched explosive drones towards Israeli troops and northern Israeli towns, killing at least 11 soldiers since the ceasefire.
The World Health Organization has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce. Hezbollah has not released figures for its own casualties.
Turkish President Erdogan says Turkey to keep supporting talks in call with Iran's Pezeshkian
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue providing support for peace talks during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday.
Erdogan said the conflicts in the region had cast a shadow over the Muslim Eid holiday period, adding that he believed the Iranian people would overcome the challenges.
Iran vice president says first steps taken to restore internet after shutdown
Iran's vice president said on Tuesday that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February.
"The first step towards free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken," Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X, adding that the demands of Iranians "will be fulfilled".
Israeli media say army expands south Lebanon ground operation beyond Yellow Line
Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the military had expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the "Yellow Line", an Israeli-drawn demarcation line near the border, though the reports gave no further details on the extent of the advance.
Cross-border fighting has been escalating between Israel and Hezbollah, despite the declaration of a ceasefire several weeks ago.
Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire over past 48 hours
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
"The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire ... has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region," the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country's airspace.
Explosion damages tanker off Oman, marine monitor reports
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO)said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel's port side, close to the waterline 60 nautical miles off Oman's capital Muscat.
UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea.
Iran judiciary suspends presidential body after order to restore internet
Iran's foreign ministry says US violated the ceasefire
The United States has violated the ceasefire with strikes in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's foreign ministry has said in a statement.
The US military carried out strikes late on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.
Iranian media reported early on Tuesday that sounds of explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas in the province.
"The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours... Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions", the statement said.
Sheep theft ruins Eid festivities for Palestinian shepherd
Palestinian shepherd Sameeha Rasheed was planning for the sacred ritual of sacrificing her family's sheep for the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the holiest occasions in Islam, but West Bank Jewish settlers stole them in a pre-dawn raid, she told Reuters.
Instead of celebrating, Rasheed has been left with nothing and has also been deprived of the income she would have received from selling the sheep not used by her family.
The settlers stole around 45 sheep from her home in Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets near Hebron, she said. Before the theft, they stole the family's guard dogs, so no one was alerted when the men broke in before dawn on May 21 and herded the animals away.
Photo: Mussa Qawasma, Reuters
"This is our livelihood, my husband and I live from the income from these sheep. I don't have anything to get treatment for my husband or spend on myself," said Rasheed, whose husband has cancer.
Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's two main festivals, marks the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage, when Muslims slaughter animals to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command, often distributing meat to the poor.
Ireland to ban goods from Israeli settlements in West Bank by July
Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee has said.
Ireland's government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024.
But the legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other.
Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed last week that the bill would be limited to goods and said widening the scope to services was neither "implementable" nor "viable”.
Iran seeks release of $24 billion in potential US deal, Tasnim reports
Around $24 billion of Iranian funds frozen overseas must be released under a memorandum of understanding being negotiated with the United States, a source close to Tehran's negotiation team has said, according to a report by Iran's Tasnim news agency.
The agency said Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf, had travelled to Qatar to reach agreement on a mechanism to implement this demand.
Israeli military issues evacuation warning for Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh
The Israeli military has warned residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or military equipment is putting their life at risk!" the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.
Israel has continued to strike the country despite agreeing to a ceasefire and peace talks with Lebanon.
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed a man for alleged espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
"Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was executed on charges of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported, adding that his sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The Tuesday hanging is the latest in a string of executions by the Islamic republic for security-related cases since the start of the war with Israel and the US.
Iran carries out the second-highest number of executions in the world after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.
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The agency identified the individual as Gholamreza Khani Shekarab.
Canada demands Israel probe 'appalling' treatment of flotilla members
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday that the treatment of activists detained by Israel had been "appalling" and described the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic," Carney's office said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister reiterated that the appalling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable, and he called for an independent investigation," the statement said.
Carney, it said, also reaffirmed Canada's opposition to illegal Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence in the West Bank, and violence against Palestinian civilians.
Iran's Guards reserve right to retaliate for any US ceasefire violations
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has said it reserves the "legitimate and definite" right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US, hours after Washington said it carried out strikes on Iranian boats and missile sites.
The IRCG said its air defence units shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace, state media reported.
Israeli strike on village in eastern Lebanon kills 12
An Israeli air strike on a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, the country's state-run National News Agency has said.
The strike late Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley area came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had authorised more intensive strikes targeting the Hezbollah militant group across Lebanon.
Rescue workers say that a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.
The intensified attacks come three days before Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are set to meet in Washington for direct talks.
Iran's supreme leader says regional powers will no longer be a shield for US bases
Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has said in a post on his Telegram channel.
Khamenei, whose father and predecessor Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war, has not been seen in public since.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Vessels carrying Middle East oil, liquid natural gaz exit Hormuz Strait, head for Pakistan, China
- Israel military issues new evacuation warning to 10 Lebanon villages
- Iran says charging fees for "navigational services" through Strait of Hormuz
- Mexico accepts to host Iran during the World Cup
- Israel's Netanyahu orders escalation of Lebanon offensive to "crush" Hezbollah
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
