Israel-Iran ceasefire LIVE updates: Trump officials to give classified briefing to US Congress; Iran’s supreme leader says strikes on US base a ‘slap to America’s face’

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. Here’s everything you need to know this morning:

• A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding, with American and Iranian officials set to meet next week to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a rare TV appearance since the escalation of the conflict to say his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a US air base in Qatar before the ceasefire, warning against further attacks.
• Israeli Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed “victory” in the war with Iran, saying the outcome created the opportunity for a “dramatic widening of peace agreements for peace”.
• US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has clashed with reporters over their coverage of the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, providing new details on the strikes but shedding little light on the damage inflicted.
• Trump officials will give their first classified briefing to US Congress about the president’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.
• The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told French radio the agency can no longer assess the degree of damage, but uranium enrichment centrifuges at Fordow are “no longer operational” because of the power of US strikes.

Stay with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest updates on the region.

with Reuters, AP

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Indian and Japanese counterparts at a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on July 1 in Washington.

The meeting, part of regular dialogue between the four Quad allies, comes as the US pressures its Asia-Pacific allies to increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet for the second time at next week’s Quad meeting in Washington.Credit: AP

That is the same figure the US’s NATO allies agreed to spend at this week’s summit in the Netherlands, plus another 1.5 per cent on infrastructure described as defence adjacent.

The high-level meeting will be the second time Wong has met Rubio since the Trump administration came to power in January, the first being at a Quad meeting the day after the inauguration.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to have a face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, however, after the president left the G7 summit early to attend to matters in the Middle East.
Bilateral talks between the ministers are also on the agenda for the July 1 meeting.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a US air base in Qatar and warned against further attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s prerecorded speech is the first public statement he has made since June 19.Credit: AP

Khamenei’s prerecorded speech that aired on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19, was filled with warnings and threats directed toward the US and Israel, the Islamic Republic’s longtime adversaries.

The 86-year-old, a skilled orator known for his forceful addresses to the country’s more than 90 million people, appeared more tired than he had just a week ago, speaking in a hoarse voice and occasionally stumbling over his words.

The supreme leader downplayed US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites Sunday using bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles, saying that US President Donald Trump — who said the attack “completely and fully obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program — had exaggerated its impact.

Read the full story here.

AP