19/06/2026

FRIDAY | JUNE 19, 2026

9 US and Iran sign ceasefire agreement

been surrendered, its ballistic missile capabilities have not been destroyed and it has not ended its support for anti-Israel militias, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump recanted his February promise to destroy all of Iran’s missiles and “raze their missile industry to the ground”. “I am saying if other countries have them, it is a little bit unfair for them not to have some,” he told reporters in Paris after leaving the summit. European leaders share US concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, but never endorsed his decision to go to war without United Nations authorisation and worry Iran has gained leverage by withstanding the superpower onslaught and asserting control over the strait. The leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Italy, Canada and the United States demanded in a joint statement an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, where the memorandum calls for a halt to hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group that have killed thousands of people and displaced more than a million. Fighting there has abated but not ceased since the agreement was reached on Sunday and Israel, which was not part of the negotiations and EVIAN: G7 leaders hailed a newfound unity on increasing pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, sensing a shift by US President Donald Trump to take a tougher line against Moscow on Wednesday. The three-day meeting in the French town of Evian focused intensely on Trump’s deal to end the war with Iran and efforts to pressure Russia into brokering peace with Ukraine through ramped-up sanctions. There was a major breakthrough on the Middle East, with Trump signing a memorandum of understanding meant to bring the months-long conflict with Tehran to a close. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States also agreed on a final statement that included references to the Ukraine war, in contrast with last year’s meeting, when Trump walked out early. “It was tough work but worth it,“ said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, describing the statement as a “success”. As well as increasing supplies of air defence equipment to Ukraine, the leaders agreed to “increase the pressure on the Russian war economy” by strengthening sanctions, including on Moscow’s fossil fuel revenues, the statement said. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed a “very deep change in the US approach” towards Ukraine, saying Trump has understood that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Ukraine

whose military is occupying southern Lebanon, says it retains the right to use force. Trump on Wednesday gently rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has distanced Israel from the US-Iran agreement, over his tactics in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The two have repeatedly clashed over Israel’s refusal to constrain its pursuit of Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand. “Netanyahu happens to be a good man, gets a little excited sometimes. We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi,” said Trump, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “You do not have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that is from Hezbollah.” Lebanese state media reported fresh Israeli air strikes and artillery fire in several southern towns throughout Wednesday. Lebanese security sources said Hezbollah had launched two drone attacks on Israeli forces in the south. The group did not publicly claim the attacks. Israel later said five of its soldiers had been injured in two Hezbollah drone attacks in southern Lebanon. – Reuters there was “a lot of convergence, which is not always obvious”, there was “no friction or divergence”. Throughout the summit, which was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump took a harder line against Moscow, saying Russia has to seek a deal and showing impatience over the casualty toll on both sides. G7 leaders also agreed to grant licences for Ukraine-based companies to produce long-range missiles and air defence systems, a diplomatic source said. In his final news conference, Trump hailed his talks with Zelensky in Evian and a recent phone conversation with Putin. “They both want to do something, they just do not know how to do it.“ At a lunch on Wednesday, the digital sphere took centre stage, with some European G7 members pushing for more security to protect minors in a fast-changing world, moves that have irked the United States. OpenAI head Sam Altman, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, Google’s AI lab DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis and Mistral AI’s Arthur Mensch all attended. G7 leaders called on tech firms “to develop and apply technology and systems that ensure safe, secure and age-appropriate experiences”, according to a joint statement. Macron called for “better regulation” of AI, warning of the risk of “non-cooperation between democracies”. Altman called on the leaders “not to cede your responsibilities” over AI to the companies building it. – AFP

o If they do not behave, we will go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head: Trump

EVIAN: The United States and Iran released the text of an interim agreement their presidents have signed to end their war on Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they fail to honour their commitments. Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, withdrew at least one of his stated rationales for attacking Iran in the first place, saying it would be “unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, having previously vowed to obliterate them. “We are going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement. I do not want them to. I want them to honour the agreement.” He called Iranians “smart people” as US and Iranian negotiators work on a permanent truce over the coming 60 days, expressing hope that this would usher in peace in the Middle East and lower oil prices. Earlier, he had said: “If I do not like it, if they do not behave, we will go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their

The memorandum includes an immediate end to the war on all fronts, the full resumption of maritime traffic “with no charge” in the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of a US blockade of Iranian ports, the waiving of US sanctions on Iran, the unfreezing of its assets and a US$300 billion (RM1.23 trillion) investment fund for Iran’s post-war reconstruction. Iran also undertakes not to build nuclear weapons, reaffirming a vow it has made for decades. It also agreed to the on-site “down-blending” of its stockpile of enriched uranium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Trump had wanted to take it out of the country, which Iran rejected. Despite his combative rhetoric, Trump appears to have achieved little of what he said he wanted in going to war, while Iran appears much closer to sanctions relief worth billions of dollars than before it was attacked. Iran’s theocratic government remains in place, its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has not

head, okay?” Iran’s leaders did not address the new threats while celebrating the moment, releasing photographs of what is believed to be the first agreement signed by both a US and Iranian president since the Islamic Republic’s founding in 1979. “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation, it was not even comparable,” said Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on the agreement, which includes the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets. The 14-point agreement extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, including in Lebanon, to allow the two sides to negotiate a final truce. Both Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have digitally signed the memorandum in English and Farsi, US and Iran officials said, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying the agreement was already in effect as of Wednesday.

G7 leaders welcome shift in US stance on Russia

Firefighters working in Sumy, where authorities said one person was killed in a drone attack. – REUTERSPIC Ukraine launches large-scale attack on Moscow

KYIV: Ukraine yesterday launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in years, sparking fires in and around the capital and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport, officials said. The large-scale attack came hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to meet Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in the central city of Kazan, about 700km east of the capital. Kyiv has stepped up its drone strikes on Russia in recent months, hitting oil refineries that fund Moscow’s war chest, as diplomatic talks on ending the more than four-year conflict remain stalled. “Air defence forces are continuing to repel a large-scale attack. Several drones managed to reach the Moscow Oil Refinery,“ said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, with authorities closing traffic on streets near the refinery. Russia’s busiest airport, Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, announced that it had evacuated passengers to “safe locations” during the barrage and was restricting flights.

Kyiv said is “false”. In the southern Russian region of Rostov, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one, injured two and caused a fire at two commercial facilities, local officials said. Meanwhile, authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy said one person was killed in a drone attack. “The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in safe places until the air raid alert is over,” said Kyiv’s military administration head Tymur Tkachenko yesterday. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said he has spoken to Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in France, describing it as a “coordinating conversation” to try to end the war. Earlier this week, an attack on Kyiv by Russia killed 10 people and damaged a 1,000-year-old monastery that symbolises Ukraine’s spiritual and cultural heritage, drawing criticism from European leaders. Russia denies striking the monastery. – Reuters

A drone crashed into an apartment building in the Moscow region district of Zhukovsky while drone debris sparked a fire at a shopping centre near the capital’s suburbs, said Moscow Regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov. Russian air defences shot down 180 drones on approach to Moscow, said Sobyanin, while the Russian Defence Ministry reported that it had intercepted over 500 Ukrainian drones. A Ukrainian drone strike on Tuesday halted operations at the refinery, sources said, adding to widespread damage inflicted on Russian energy facilities and extending the fuel crisis in the country. In the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, Russia-appointed Mayor Maksim Pukhov said Ukrainian strikes killed one person and injured four. In Russia’s Belgorod border region, local officials said a Ukrainian drone strike killed one man in his car. On Wednesday, Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren, an accusation