In a fresh escalation, Iran launched attacks on US military bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, hours after Washington carried out retaliatory strikes in response to the downing of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
The worst bout of fighting between Washington and Tehran since their April 8 ceasefire has cast further doubt on US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that negotiations were in their "final throes" before reaching an enduring settlement to end the West Asia conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on the Lebanese people to join Israel's fight against Hezbollah, saying their country had been taken "hostage" by the militant group.
"Israel is not at war with you. We are at war with Hezbollah, that has taken your country hostage... We yearn for peace with you, with Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video statement directed at the Lebanese people.
"Israel wants peace with you. Seize your future. Join Israel. Build safety and prosperity for all of our children. And once Hezbollah is dismantled, the possibilities are endless. And they are sky high."
US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday he will renew attacks on Iran, saying Tehran's peace negotiators "keep playing us for suckers."
"We're going to be attacking them -- attacking them very hard," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers."
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding access to Iranian nuclear sites.
The resolution stressed that providing information and access are “essential and urgent” in order to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that there is no “diversion of nuclear material.”
Twenty-one countries voted for the resolution put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 10 countries abstained and one did not vote as it was in arrears.
Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador in Vienna called it "counter-productive" and an obstacle to talks with Washington.
Ambassador Reza Najafi said the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution was "politically motivated" and "legally flawed".
The vote "cannot help and, would be indeed counterproductive to the current situation," he added. "It further complicates, the volatile, situation, volatile ceasefire, and the unfinished negotiations between Iran and the US."
Amid fresh escalation in the West Asia conflict, efforts to mediate a deal are still continuing even as Iran on Wednesday asserted that, in light of the new attacks by US and Israel, it would review its stance regarding the negotiations.
Following consultations with the US, a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks on Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks.
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, a Lebanese medical source said, as Israel carried out strikes across the south including the coastal city of Sidon.
Earlier, Israeli forces seized a municipal councillor and a worker from the border town of Kfarshuba, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, while Israel said it "apprehended" two people who approached its soldiers.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had delayed negotiations for too long and would now "have to pay the price," claiming on social media that the Iranian military had been "completely defeated."
Trump's remarks marked a sharp shift from his earlier statement on Tuesday, when he said talks to secure a lasting settlement were in their final stages and could conclude within days.
The comments came amid escalating hostilities between the US and Iran despite a ceasefire that took effect in April. Late Tuesday, US forces carried out strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter. The US military said the strikes targeted command, control, defence and surveillance facilities.
In response, Iran said it launched attacks on American military bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, further raising tensions in the region.
Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States had damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war, after more US strikes on targets in southern Iran.
"Unfortunately, the United States is damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, in a video message carried by Iranian media.
"Any diplomatic process is damaged by the use of force and by resorting to unlawful actions on the ground."
Russia on Wednesday urged "restraint" in the Iran war after Washington and Tehran traded new strikes in the worst escalation since their April 8 ceasefire.
"We are extremely concerned about the new round of US-Iranian armed confrontation, which began with the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We call on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately cease military attacks," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Iran attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, warning its Gulf neighbours that they had a "responsibility" to stop the United States and Israel from using their territory to strike the Islamic republic.
China said Wednesday it was "deeply concerned" over the conflict in the Middle East and urged against escalation after Washington carried out strikes on Iran over the downing of a US helicopter.
"Various relevant parties should maintain calm and exercise restraint, stop intensifying the conflict and escalating the situation, take concrete measures to ease and cool down tensions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the US strikes in the country's south, calling them a breach of the UN Charter and alleging that Washington was fuelling regional instability through military action.
"In the early minutes of Wednesday, June 10, 2026, under the pretext of the crash of a US terrorist army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, the US regime carried out brutal attacks against areas in the south of the country," a statement by the foreign ministry read.
"These attacks constitute a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, specifically Article 2, Paragraph 4, and the fundamental principle prohibiting the use of force in international relations. Through these aggressive actions, the US ruling authorities have once again revealed their criminal and warmongering nature," the statement further read.
According to reports, Araghchi made use of the call to condemn the overnight strikes on Iran, calling it a “violation of sovereignty and affirmed Iran’s right to respond in legitimate defense”.
Iran's foreign ministry warned Wednesday that its neighbours in the Gulf had a "legal and moral responsibility" to prevent American and Israeli strikes, as Tehran and Washington traded attacks.
In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry "reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf) to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran".
The Jordanian military said on Wednesday it shot down five missiles launched from Iran, as Tehran and Washington engaged in tit-for-tat strikes after the downing of a US helicopter.
"We intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards Azraq. The interception resulted in debris falling, but there were no casualties or material damage," the Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement.
Iran attacked US bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, the latest salvo in tit-for-tat strikes with the United States after the downing of a US helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
The worst bout of fighting between Washington and Tehran since their April 8 ceasefire has cast further doubt on US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that negotiations were in their "final throes" before reaching an enduring settlement to end the West Asia war.
The U.S. military said Wednesday it had completed its airstrikes on Iran after the crash of an American helicopter off Oman that it had blamed on Tehran.
The U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement it had "struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions." It described U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets being involved in the attacks.
Iran has acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and elsewhere, but offered no details on damage.