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US envoy Witkoff and Kushner will be in Qatar, no meeting with Iran, Qatari official says

DOHA, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law ‌Jared Kushner will be in Doha to meet Qatari mediators to discuss U.S.-Iran negotiations, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

• There will not be a high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran, Majed Al Ansari told a media briefing.

• Qatar has not transferred $6 billion of Iranian frozen funds to Tehran, he added.

• Doha has been coordinating with Oman, which sits on the western coast of the Strait of Hormuz, on the safe passage for vessels.

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions listen as Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS

Uncertainty over Qatar diplomacy clouds prospects for US-Iran deal

By Andrew Mills

DOHA, June 30 (Reuters) - Top U.S. envoys were due to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday, but uncertainty over the timing and content of any diplomatic talks raised questions over efforts to bring a lasting halt to the Iran war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

A woman holds an Iranian flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, June 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Exclusive-Turkey says NATO adjusting to security landscape, US not withdrawing

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, June 30 (Reuters) - NATO is adjusting to a shifting security landscape and the United States is not seeking to leave the alliance, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara next week.

Turkey will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8, amid tensions within the alliance over burden-sharing, defence spending, and U.S. complaints about allies' lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, as a part of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Keep out of China's clutches, Taiwan's president tells military cadets

By Ben Blanchard and Ann Wang

TAIPEI, June 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te warned military cadets on Tuesday not to succumb to China's spying activities and to defend freedom and democracy, speaking at a Cold War-era college originally set up to teach against the perils of communism.

Taiwan and China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, have long ​spied on each other, and Taiwan in particular has reported an increased number of ​Chinese espionage cases, especially in the armed forces.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks as he attends the opening ceremony of the annual Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Tsai Hsin-Han

Trump to make first flight on Qatar-gifted jet this week

US President Donald Trump will make his first flight on a new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar later this week, the White House said Monday.

Trump will take the jet on Wednesday to North Dakota for an event marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, a White House official told AFP.

As he unveiled the plane earlier this month, Trump praised the Gulf emirate for being "so nice and providing" the modified Boeing 747, which previously served Qatar's head of state.

Qatar's gift of the aircraft -- valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- has raised ethical, constitutional and security concerns

Czech president, prime minister clash over leadership as both pack for NATO summit

By Jan Lopatka

PRAGUE, June 29 (Reuters) - The Czech government agreed under court pressure on Monday to let President Petr Pavel attend a NATO summit in Turkey next week but refused to allow him to lead the country's delegation, laying bare their rift over defence spending.

Ankara will host 32 NATO leaders on July 7-8, amid tensions over burden-sharing, defence spending, and U.S. complaints about allies' lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

The Czechs are bringing an awkward spat of their own, as they cannot agree who will sit at key meetings.

FILE PHOTO: Commander of the Multinational Division North Jette Albinus and Czech President Petr Pavel visit NATO enhanced Forward Presence brigade Latvia in Adazi military base, Latvia, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo

Analysis-Israel-Lebanon deal may entrench stalemate rather than end war, analysts say

By Samia Nakhoul

BEIRUT, June 29 (Reuters) - A security deal between Israel and Lebanon risks entrenching a stalemate rather than resolving Israel's underlying conflict with Hezbollah by tying Israel's pullout from southern Lebanon to the Iran-aligned group's disarmament, a condition regional analysts and politicians say is unattainable.

At its core is a bargain few see as workable: Hezbollah has flatly rejected disarmament, and no Lebanese government has the power to enforce it.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as State Department Counselor Daniel Holler, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon's Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

Lebanon president tells US commander will exert sovereignty over all country's territory

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on Monday told the head of US forces in the Middle East that Beirut intended to assert its sovereignty over the entire country, with the army deployed right up to the Israeli border.

Aoun met Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, to discuss the Washington-brokered agreement signed last week by Israel and Lebanon aimed at a peace deal.

Cooper also met Lebanon's army chief Rodolphe Haykal, with the discussions addressing "the latest developments in Lebanon and the region", the army said in a statement.

This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun with Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), at the presidential palace in Baabda

U.S. says Trump envoys Kushner and Witkoff will travel for Iran meeting in Doha

By Humeyra Pamuk and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - The United States said a high-level meeting on Iran would be held in Doha on Tuesday with President Donald Trump's top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attending while technical talks would also continue on the sidelines.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump said that Iran had requested a meeting and that it would take place in the Qatari capital without giving any details.

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions listen as Vice President JD Vance (not pictured) speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS