Middle East: Iran says it targeted US bases in Gulf

Iran's Embassy in Turkey has criticized US officials for withholding visas for several members of the Iranian World Cup squad's accompanying staff — after the US ambassador in Ankara had hailed the move to grant visas to the core of the squad.

The Iranian embassy accused Ambassador Tom Barrack of trying to "whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations" and the US' obligations as co-host of the competition.

"Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?" the embassy asked online, responding to a prior post from Barrack. 

It accused the US of escalating its "deliberate and discriminatory treamtment of Iran's national football team to its highest level."

It called on FIFA to "hold the US accountable for violations of its rules." 

According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, a total of 12 visa applications were denied. Those not given US visas included Executive Director Mehdi Kharati, the secretary general of the soccer ​federation, Hedayat Mombini, ‌and Media Director Mohsen Motamedkia, Tasnim reported.

The Iranian squad is traveling to its base of operations in Mexico — relocated from the US in response to the conflict — this weekend. But all three of Iran's group stage matches will take place on the US Pacific Coast, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Global airline chiefs are gathering in Brazil for an annual three-day summit. 

This year's International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit is sure to be overshadowed by the sharp pressure on aviation fuel costs amid the conflict in Iran and the Gulf. 

It also comes as many airlines continue to restrict their services to the region and alter their flight paths amid security concerns.

The IATA, which represents more than 370 airlines and around 85% of global air traffic, had forecast record net profits of $41 billion (roughly €35.5 billion) for 2026 prior to the conflict. That figure will almost certainly be revised downwards. 

A Deloitte survey of 21 global airline CEOs said that "what was supposed to be a record year" had suddenly turned "into a fight for margin" for the industry. 

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned attacks by Iran against its territory and neighboring Kuwait, saying the countries intercepted seven missiles in total. 

"The ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Kindgom of Bahrain and the sisterly state of Kuwait," Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, said in a statement.

"This blatant aggression constiutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of both countries," it said. 

Bahrain also said that the attacks breached this year's UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf states and efforts to close or obstruct shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The minstry said that security was not built through missiles and drones and that stability was not preserved by laying mines, a reference to Iran mining large segments of the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

The Lebanese army says that "several Lebanese soldiers, including an officer" were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle. 

The strike took place on the Khardali-Nabatieh road in south Lebanon, the army said early on Saturday. The statement did not specify exactly when the alleged attack took place.

Khardali and Nabatieh are both near the de facto border and near the Beaufort Castle fortress seized from Hezbollah forces by Israeli troops last weekend.

Lebanon's army has typcially avoided involvement in confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel and has not engaged Israel in the current conflict.

A 7-month-old baby was killed and his parents were wounded by Israeli gunfire south of the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. 

The ministry reported that the infant died at the scene and his parents were in moderate condition. 

According to the baby's grandmother, the family was driving near a checkpoint when they saw Israeli military vehicles and stopped the car before coming under fire. 

Israel's military claimed that soldiers had perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them and one soldier fired shots in its direction. 

According to the military, a preliminary review found that the incident affected "uninvolved civilians." The event was under investigation and the findings would be submitted to the relevant authorities, the IDF said. 

The Tel Rumeida area of Hebron is a known flash point in the occupied West Bank, home to Israeli settlers living with heavy military protection among the Palestinian population.

In case you missed this news when it broke late on Friday, Iran's football squad has been granted visas to enter the United States for the World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday.

The US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, and a Trump administration official quoted by the State Department confirmed the news. 

"Proud of our outstanding team at the US Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran's national football teams on their road to the FIFA World Cup in the United States," Barrack said. "Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world." 

The team is set to fly to Spain during the course of the day, before moving on to a base camp in Mexico, provisionally arriving on Sunday. 

Iran will be based in co-host nation Mexico throughout the tournament — a late change made amid the conflict with the US — but the team's three group stage games will all take place in the US. 

Iran will face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 16, then Belgium, also in LA, and Egypt in Seattle.

Iranian foreign minister has fired back at Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, after Aoun and his prime minister both accused Tehran of treating Lebanon as a "bargaining chip" amid the conflict in the region. 

"Based on Mr. Aoun's comments, one would think it's Iran that has occupied [a fifth] of Lebanon, displaced [a quarter] of Lebanese and bombing his country on daily basis," Foreign Minster Abbas Araghchi wrote online. 

"Had Lebanon been bargaining chip for Iran, we'd have a deal long ago. Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President." he said.

Aoun had been unusually vocal in his criticism of Iran in an interview with CNN on Friday.

"It's not your country. It's our country. It's not your job to interfere in our country," Aoun had said. "Our people are being killed, our houses are being destroyed. They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States. It's unacceptable."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made similar comments in a press conference. 

Lebanon's government has an uneasy relationship with the influential Iran-backed Hezbollah political party and militia. Hezbollah fired on Israel in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, despite appeals for calm from the country's government. Israel's renewed military incursion followed thereafter.

The nominal ceasefire between the US and Iran has faced considerably fewer violations — besides the continued naval standoff in the Persian Gulf — than the one between Hezbollah and Israel.

The latest proposal to extend it on Thursday was supported by Lebanon's governmment but not Hezbollah. 

The UN's food agency, the World Food Program, said on Friday the conflict in the Middle East is pushing millions of people into hunger due to high oil prices and a short supply of fertilizer.

A new WFP report analyzed three countries and found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet basic food needs due to the crisis.

"The closure of Hormuz is translating into increased hunger," said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service.

"In many cases, the poorest families around the world, far from the center of the crisis, are being hit the hardest."

The impact of the war has a long tail for the global food supply. In some regions, farmers are entering planting seasons amid a fertilizer shortage, which leads to lower crop yields and higher food prices down the line.

"One of the biggest concerns is that the full impact of this crisis has yet to be felt,” Bauer added.

"Even if the conflict were to end today, irreversible damage has been done and the impact on prices, livelihoods and humanitarian operations will continue to be felt for a long time."

The US has intercepted "multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones" launched toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Gulf countries, the US Central Command said.

In a statement on X, the US CENTCOM said Iran fired the ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain hours after the US shot down four Iranian drones which "posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic."

"Initial assessments indicate six of the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its intended target." the US Central Command said.

"There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Saturday morning that it targeted US bases in the Gulf region.

"Following the invasion of the child-killing and terrorist US army into Sirik and Qeshm Island, enemy bases in the region were hit by aerial missiles," state broadcaster IRIB reported, quoting the Revolutionary Guard.

Kuwait said its air defenses responded to "hostile" drones and missiles while Bahrain activated its air raid siren. 

Air raid sirens have sounded in Bahrain in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the Bahraini Interior Ministry said on X

It comes after another gulf state, Kuwait, reported intercepting "hostile" drones and missiles.

Kuwait's military said early Saturday its air defenses responded to "hostile" drone and missile attacks. It did not specify their exact origin.

"The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces confirms that any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile attacks," the Kuwaiti military said on X.

The attack comes days after a strike on Kuwait's International Airport killed one and wounded dozens more.

US Central Command forces have shot down four Iranian "one-way attack drones" they said were launched toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

US forces also struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in the city of Goruk and the island of Qeshm on the Persian Gulf, the US CENTCOM said on X, saying the strikes aimed to "defend against further attacks."

"The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic," the US Central Command said.

Iran has launched a fresh wave of strikes against US bases in the Gulf region, with strikes detected in Bahrain and Kuwait.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said the strikes were in retaliation for the US destroying Iranian radars in Goruk and on Qeshm Island. The US said the Iranian ballistic missiles and drones were intercepted.

Meanwhile, the conflict also continues to have grave impacts around the world, with the UN's World Food Program reporting that millions are being pushed into hunger due to rising oil prices and a shortage of fertilizer.

All this and more is coming up in our Middle East coverage.