US attacks southern Iran | Netanyahu vows to 'crush' Hezbollah | Russia warning

Good evening.U .S.forces have carried out strikes in southern Iran as negotiations continue towards a framework to end their three -month war.There's been no immediate response from Iran, which earlier said that a deal was not imminent.In other developments, Donald Trump is under pressure from Republican critics to take a harder line on Iran's nuclear capability, while the U .

S.president says Arab nations should sign the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel as part of a wider deal to end the conflict.Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister has pledged to wipe out Hezbollah as strikes are intensified on southern Lebanon.But our coverage tonight begins with the war in Iran and America's latest campaign.

day honors for U .S.service members, including 13 who died during U .S.-Israeli attacks on Iran starting February 28th.

These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror.

will never have a nuclear weapon.

Oh, and they won't.

no lasting ramifications.According to a Middle East diplomatic source, the plan beingconsidered would see Iran use a 30 -day window after a deal to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz and restore full access.Knows as a senior parliamentarian, Iran would still control transit.

I've seen claims about reopening the strait or returning it to its previous situation and so on, but that's not what it means at all.

From the US Secretary of State.Straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls.Both sides managing expectations.

It's true we've reached a conclusion regarding a large part of the topics under discussion, but to say this means a deal is imminent, no one can make such a claim.

On nuclear issues, President Trump is under pressure from Republican critics to take a harder line.The enriched uranium will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed, or preferably, in conjunction with Iran, destroyed in place or at another acceptable location.For the Iranian people, some good news.The global internet blackout, reimposed after February 28th, has been lifted.Raina Sarampait, SBS, World News.

Donald Trump has said Arab nations must sign the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements to formally normalise relations with Israel as part of a peace agreement with Iran.But a former Australian ambassador to a number of Arab countries says President Trump has made a catastrophic miscalculation and that Iran will emerge as the primary power in the region.

drawn up during Donald Trump's first term as president.The Abraham Accords aimed to normalise ties between Arab states and Israel.Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed on in 2020.Israel.sign the Abraham Accords and that he would be honoured to have Iran as part of his so -called unparalleled world coalition.But some say Donald Trump is living in a parallel universe if he thinks the Abraham Accords can anchor a new Middle East order.

It's certainly not a realistic proposition.And indeed, when Trump first made the suggestion, it was greeted with stony silence by those countries he was meeting with.If anything, the region is finding ways of accommodating an undesirable reality that Iran has prevailed.in this war and will emerge from the war as the primary power in the region.

The former Australian ambassador says Donald Trump is staring down a humiliating loss of face.

It has been a catastrophic miscalculation on the part of President Trump to be persuaded to join in these attacks upon Iran.There is not a single element that one can see coming out of this war which leaves the United States in a better position than it was going into.the war.

Dr. Bowker says a key component for maintaining peace in the region is a pathway to Palestinian statehood and that Gulf states want to see a genuine desire on Israel's part to change to something which

really a more constructive part of a regional security architecture into which all the countries of the region can contribute and feel secure.

He says what the region really needs is a promising future for younger generations, something he says won't be achieved from this war.Virginia Langeberg, SBS World News.

The IDF fears intensifying strikes against the militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered the military to escalate its offensive to, quote, crush Hezbollah, saying his country remains at war with the militant group.

Traffic backs up out of Beirut's southern suburbs, a known Hezbollah stronghold.Residents fearing a return of Israeli strikes to the capital.

We're not taking our foot off the gas, on the contrary.I've said to step on the pedal even harder.We'll take care of them.

Since April, Israel has refrained from carrying out attacks in Beirut as part of the US -brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon.Unlike in the country's south, where both Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging fire on a near daily basis, in the hours before Israel's latest threat, the IDF targeting Hezbollah positions in the districts of Nabata and Tyre.In recent weeks, the militant group has been steadily increasing attacks on Israeli troops who are largely confined to the south, many of its operations relying on drone warfare.The Israeli Prime Minister is facing pressure from Israel's far right to respond with greater force.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying the explosive drones harming our fighters are not a decree of fate.For every explosive drone, 10 buildings should fall in Beirut.

Netanyahu has since vowed he is committed to crushing the militant group.We will smite them with overwhelming force.With no let up in hostilities, the UN says displacement in Lebanon remains highly fluid due to the repeated cycles of relocation.Almost 130 ,000 people are registered as displaced in shelters nationwide.Yesterday in Beirut subdued celebrations for Liberation Day, marking May the 25th when Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon's south in 2000.The militant group Hezbollah pledging that another liberation is imminent.

Tom Stainer, SBS, World News.

Russia has issued a warning to foreign diplomats to leave Kiev immediately, vowing to launch a brutal bombardment of strikes on the Ukrainian capital days after carrying out one of its largest attacks on the city since the start of the war.Ukraine has labelled the threats as nothing short of blackmail.

After four and a half years, it's an all -too -common scene in the Ukrainian capital.But for Kyiv's residents, it doesn't get any easier.

The main thing is that everyone is alive.This is the first and most important thing.But it is sad.We worked hard every year here to earn money.We had customers and friends here.And in one hour, everything ended.

Russia has continued its bombardment on Kiev after strikes killed four people and injured about 100 more on Sunday.The Kremlin warning it's just the beginning of a series of systematic strikes targeting Ukraine's decision -making centres, command posts and drone facilities in the capital, and issued a broader call to the international community, warning foreign nationals, including staff of diplomatic missions and internationalorganisations, of the need to leave the city as soon as possible.Moscow said the strikes are in response to what it claims was a deliberate Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory last week, which officials say killed 21 people.Ukraine's foreign minister urged people not to fall for Russia's saber -rattling tactics as he toured 70 ambassadors through the rubble of the weekend's deadly strikes.

We're telling our partners that there is no need to give in to this Russian blackmail.We have been through all of this before and we know when Vladimir Putin amps up this rhetoric he tries to influence this so -called Western mentality.

Some are interpreting the threats as psychological pressure from a Russia on the back foot.The drawn -out war has allowed Ukraine to develop a sophisticated and layered air defence system, which now intercepts the vast proportion of drones and missiles.Whether it struggles to hold out this latest Russian threat will be its next big test.Georgia Marr, SBS World News.

In Europe, temperatures have hit record highs as a rare May heatwave smothers the continent.Across France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and northern Italy, temperatures have been 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above average, as forecasters warn of continued extreme heat until at least the weekend, with the so -called heat dome drifting across the Mediterranean from North Africa.

Brits cooling off on the bank holiday as the UK breaks May temperature records, the hottest day in May in more than 80 years.Temperatures approaching 35 degrees in parts of London, beating the UK's previous 32 .8 degree record, registered both in 1922 and 1944.

Well, listening to the radio yesterday, they said that it looked like

Across the channel, France also baked under record temperatures.But not everyone was complaining.

This heat does you good.It warms your heart.The heat really does you good.

Crowds flock to the banks of Parisian canals to cool off, the temptation of the water too much for some.

It's a 40 euro fine.and that is worth 40 euros.That's all there is to it.

Other European countries also sweltering.Braving temps in the mid -30s for a snail festival in Catalonia on Sunday, while parts of southern Spain recorded 38 degrees.Hundreds of localities in Germany saw records for May being broken, with temperatures climbing into the mid -30s.But the human cost is already being felt, with Italy banning outdoor work during peak afternoon hours.In France, two people died of heat stress on Sunday and authorities warn that more deaths are expected.France sees an average of around 4 ,000 heat -related deaths every summer.

The elderly are especially vulnerable, trapped in tiny apartments with no air conditioning and no escape from the relentless heat.Carl Holm, SBS World News.

Rescue efforts have intensified for seven people trapped in a remote cave in Laos.Two rescuers who were part of the mission to save a trapped Thai boy's soccer team in 2018 have now arrived to help.The villagers have been stuck inside the cave in Saesomboon province near the country's capital since last week.Authorities are trying to pump out as much water as possible as divers navigate the tight tunnels and murky water inside.The villagers are thought to be in an area more than $300 million.inside the cave system, but ongoing rain has hindered rescue efforts bringing sediment back inside.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told a meeting of foreign ministers from the Quad group of countries that Washington remains focused on events in Asia as the war in Iran continues.SBS News international correspondent Aaron Fernandes has the latest from New Delhi.

The war in Iran has really overshadowed Marco Rubio's visit here to India, but today both he and the foreign ministers of the quad countries, India, Japan and Australia, were all keen to emphasise that the United States has not taken its eye off developments in the Indo -Pacific.And they were keen to announce new initiatives and practical examples of cooperation.Most notably, the Indo -Pacific Maritime Surveillance Cooperation Initiative, which will see these countries engage more strongly on surveillance at sea and share intelligence to deter would -be aggressors in the region.

We are beginning to show real achievements and real accomplishments.We are deeply committed to this partnership.It is a linchpin and a cornerstone of our global strategy as a nation in the United States.

India.The big question hanging over the quad, whether there will be a leaders summit anytime soon, that went unanswered.