Iran-US war latest: Iranian banks hit by cyber attack after Trump said millions in frozen funds would be released

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Iran-US war latest: Iranian banks hit by cyber attack after Trump said millions in frozen funds would be released

Iran has denied that it has agreed to the inspections and warned against ‘exaggerations’

Iranian banks were hit by a cyber attacks just days after Donald Trump said that frozen funds would be returned to the Islamic Republic as part of their initial deal to end the war.

Iran’s state-owned technology provider said on Tuesday that ATMs, point-of-sale terminals and mobile apps linked to card systems at three banks. All three had to temporarily suspend all card-related operations to stop further unauthorised access to accounts, they told state TV.

Cybersecurity teams were working to restore normal operations after the attack, which adds to disruption from an earlier incident on 14 June that hit communication infrastructure at several banks. There has been no official statement on who Iran thinks was behind the cyberattacks.

The attacks came Washington offered relief from sanctions and the release of frozen assets held around the world as part of an interim deal to end the war. The US on Monday agreed to waive sanctions for 60 days after a first round of talks in Switzerland.

Negotiations remained tense, however, as Iran denied it had agreed to invite nuclear inspectors back into the country, after US vice president JD Vance said it had.

Watch: Trump says Strait of Hormuz is open and threatens Iran to 'stick to an agreement'

James Reynolds23 June 2026 20:00

US following up on Lebanon ceasefire plans, Washington says

JD Vance and Marco Rubio told Lebanese president Joseph Aoun in a call on Tuesday that the US was following up on understandings reached in Switzerland, including plans to consolidate a ceasefire in Lebanon.

The statement, issued as Lebanon and Israel began a new round of talks in Washington, added that arrangements for a mechanism to firm up the ceasefire and monitor its implementation were still being discussed.

Lebanese officials have insisted that face-to-face negotiations with Israel are the only way to secure an end to the war. But four rounds of Lebanese-Israeli talks since April have failed to produce a durable ceasefire.

Instead, the longest lull in fighting came this week after Iran and the US agreed a memorandum of understanding that stipulated fighting would halt across all fronts, including Lebanon.

That deal buoyed Iran-backed Hezbollah and dealt a blow to the Lebanese state, whose leaders including Aoun had repeatedly warned that Tehran cannot negotiate on Lebanon's behalf.

James Reynolds23 June 2026 19:00

Israel committed genocide in Gaza by deliberately killing Palestinian children, UN inquiry says

Israel has deliberately and intentionally targeted Palestinian children during its military campaign in Gaza, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, a UN commission of inquiry has said.

A report released on Tuesday says that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately and intentionally targeted Palestinian children, including after a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025.

It says that Israeli forces "deliberately carried out acts inflicting death and severe bodily and mental harm on hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children", as part of a “deliberate strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinians in Gaza”. Around 30% of those killed in the Gaza war were children, the report found, with a total death toll of at least 20,179 by October 2025.

Read the full story below.

UN says Israel committed genocide in Gaza by deliberately killing children

The independent inquiry found that Israel deliberately and intentionally targeted children

Maira Butt23 June 2026 18:00

The Strait of Hormuz's future is unsettled even as more ships venture through

Ship traffic has picked up in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran and the U.S. signed an interim deal to end a war that constricted global oil supplies and fuelled inflation, but questions surrounding control of the vital waterway and whether vessels will be charged tolls to cross it could interfere with negotiations to forge a lasting peace.

Tehran and Washington clashed over the Strait of Hormuz again this past weekend. Citing Israel's latest attacks on Lebanon, Iran declared that it reclosed the strait. The U.S. was quick to contest that. Maritime tracking data showed that dozens of ships passed through on Saturday and Sunday, though far fewer than the daily average before the war.

The Strait of Hormuz's future is unsettled even as more ships venture through

Ship traffic has picked up in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran and the U.S. signed an interim deal to end a war that's constricted global oil supplies

Maira Butt23 June 2026 17:30

Oman and Iran to pursue talks on managing navigation in Strait of Hormuz

Oman and Iran agreed on Tuesday to continue discussions about the future administration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, including maritime services in the strategic waterway and the costs associated with them.

In a joint statement issued after talks in Muscat, the two countries said a joint working group involving their foreign ministries would be formed to continue the discussions and that they would consult other littoral states and relevant parties.

Three stranded supertankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, while seven empty Qatar-linked liquefied natural gas tankers have entered in recent weeks in an early sign Gulf gas shipping may be resuming, ship-tracking data showed.

Maira Butt23 June 2026 17:00

Iranian banks hit by cyber attacks amid peace talks

Iranian banks were hit by a cyber attack days after Donald Trump said frozen funds would be returned to the Islamic Republic under the terms of their initial deal to end the war.

Iran’s state-owned banking technology provider said on Tuesday that ​ATMs, terminals ​and mobile apps linked to card systems were all affected.

Customers experienced interruptions, and the banks had to suspend card operations to stop unauthorised access.

Major banks including Melli, Saderat, Tejarat and the ​Export Development Bank of Iran have faced ​disruptions that were first reported on June 14.

Iranian state media said those took several days to resolve.

James Reynolds23 June 2026 16:31

Trump was boasting of his ability to buy ‘good maple trees’ in early days of Iran war, book claims

President Donald Trump was more enthusiastic about buying “good maple trees” for the White House than discussing his recently-launched war with Iran when visited by two reporters in March, a new book claims.

In the latest advanced extract from Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, the authors recount an Oval Office meeting with the president in the early weeks of the conflict.

Trump had attacked Haberman on Truth Social three days before the sitdown as a”SLEAZEBAG writer” but, according to a passage read aloud by Lawrence O’Donnell on MS NOW Monday, the pair found him in a buoyant mood.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

Trump boasted he was ‘good at buying maple trees’ in early days of Iran war: report

President Trump appeared more interested in redecorating White House grounds than discussing conflict in Middle East in Oval Office meeting with journalists, new book alleges

Maira Butt23 June 2026 16:30

Israeli military moves 'yellow' and 'orange' lines deeper into Gaza

A new coordination line issued by the Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza this morning advances the Israeli military’s “orange line” several hundred meters north in the Rafah area of Gaza, forcing Palestinians into a smaller area of land, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians.

However, both the “yellow” and “orange” lines are not clearly demarcated, putting civilians at risk of death and injury, with Israeli military attacks continuing throughout Gaza, says MAP.

The UN OHCHR has warned that Israeli forces have killed Palestinians apparently for being too close to the “yellow” line.

Haitham Saqqa, MAP’s Nutrition Programme Officer, has said: “My home is in Khan Younis, in an area close to what is called the "yellow line," near areas whose status can change at any moment. Daily life is filled with uncertainty, fear, and the constant possibility of displacement, attack or stray bullets that come from where the Israeli army is located”.

Maira Butt23 June 2026 16:00

Downed US pilot saw Iran drones flying in ‘jellyfish’ formation: ‘Real alien s**t’

The US fighter pilot rescued by commandos after he was shot down by Iran in April has described how Iranian drones swarmed him in what appeared to be a “jellyfish” formation before he ejected from his plane, according to a report.

Iranian forces opened fire on the $31m F-15E Strike Eagle on 3 April, triggering a major search for the missing weapons-system officer, who held out in the mountains for hours before his dramatic rescue.

During a debriefing with intelligence officials, the pilot described seeing a unified and overwhelming drone formation resembling a jellyfish, sources familiar with the matter told CNN in a report published on Tuesday.

James C Reynolds reports:

Downed US pilot saw Iran drones flying in ‘jellyfish’ formation: ‘Real alien s**t’

The pilot was rescued after ejecting but another airman remained stranded for 200 miles behind enemy lines

Maira Butt23 June 2026 15:30

Lebanon's president says he will accept nothing less than end of Israeli occupation

Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun has said on Tuesday that he will accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.

It comes as two people were killed in Israeli fire on Tuesday with Israel saying that the two people killed were Hezbollah “terrorists”.

He said that the new round of US-backed talks with Israel could be decisive.

Maira Butt23 June 2026 15:05