Israel’s Chief of Staff: War Against Iran Is Not Over

A photo released by the Israeli army shows Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the Glilot intelligence base.
A photo released by the Israeli army shows Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the Glilot intelligence base.
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Israel’s Chief of Staff: War Against Iran Is Not Over

A photo released by the Israeli army shows Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the Glilot intelligence base.
A photo released by the Israeli army shows Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the Glilot intelligence base.

Israel's Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Tuesday that the military operation against Iran is not over.

He instructed the army to be prepared for “a continued wide-scale and comprehensive campaign.”

During a rare “multi-front situational assessment” at the Glilot intelligence base - the first of its kind in nearly two years- Zamir said “Iran and its axis remain in our sights. The campaign against Iran is not over.”

He noted that 2026 would be a year focused on preparedness, restoring capabilities, and seizing operational opportunities.

On Tuesday, Zamir and top generals reviewed the operational, intelligence, and strategic picture across all fronts.

“The Israeli Army must operate offensively across multiple arenas alongside vital defense in each sector and along our borders,” he said. “We will continue preserving air superiority and advancing the intelligence effort.”

On Gaza, he described the war there as “one of the most complex” the army has ever faced.

“We have achieved very significant accomplishments, and the Southern Command continues to lead with standing army and reserve brigades in offense and defense. We are paying a heavy price in the fighting,” he said.

Zamir also underscored the need for continued operations in the West Bank, against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and against Iranian targets in Syria.

Meanwhile, former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said if the Iranian regime does not abandon its nuclear program, then Israel may have to strike again.

According to him, the Iranian government poses a serious threat not only to Israel but also to broader regional stability.

Gantz said Israel cannot allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. “We made the right decision with our previous strikes,” he said.

The former minister noted that the best solution to guarantee that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon would be peaceful pressure to compel Tehran to abandon its nuclear activities, but this method does not seem to be working in practice.

Therefore, military measures may return to the agenda, he said.



Senior Iranian Officer Says Renewed War with US 'Inevitable'

People walk on a street near a mural featuring an image of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People walk on a street near a mural featuring an image of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Senior Iranian Officer Says Renewed War with US 'Inevitable'

People walk on a street near a mural featuring an image of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People walk on a street near a mural featuring an image of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, June 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

A senior Iranian military officer said Tuesday that a resumption of hostilities with the United States was inevitable, as negotiations between Tehran and Washington appeared to stall, said AFP.

"The United States demands our total surrender, and the Iranian nation will never surrender," said Mohammad Jafar Assadi, deputy head of Iran's central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya. "Without surrender, war is inevitable."


Ultra-Orthodox Protesters Block Roads and Trains Across Israel Over Military Draft

Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against conscription by blocking the entrance to Jerusalem, on June 1, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against conscription by blocking the entrance to Jerusalem, on June 1, 2026. (AFP)
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Ultra-Orthodox Protesters Block Roads and Trains Across Israel Over Military Draft

Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against conscription by blocking the entrance to Jerusalem, on June 1, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against conscription by blocking the entrance to Jerusalem, on June 1, 2026. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrated across Israel on Monday, blocking roads and trains and setting cars on fire to protest mandatory enlistment in Israel’s military.

Israel’s police said demonstrators blocked major intersections and attacked a soldier who disembarked from a bus near a protest. Police struggled to control the crowds with water cannons and horses.

The protest largely crippled the country’s center, with highways closed and public transportation halted by the massive crowds in both Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv metro area.

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. The politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their followers to forgo military service and instead study in religious seminaries, but those exemptions are under threat.

Many Israelis are tired of the longstanding system that has allowed ultra-Orthodox men to skip military service at a time when the military is stretched to its breaking point and many have served multiple tours of reserve duty.

The issue is tearing apart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, possibly moving elections up by several weeks this fall after the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew their support for Netanyahu.

Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to a parliamentary committee.

Faced with severe shortages of soldiers, the military is looking to extend the period of mandatory service. Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years of military service, followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years.

“This public is determined, they see this as a war for their lives," said Israel Tropper, a demonstrator in Jerusalem. “From their perspective, going into the Israeli army means giving up religion ... we don’t want to give up our religion, so from our perspective it’s a war for our lives.”

He added that there is no way to force tens of thousands of people vehemently opposed to the idea to serve in the military.

Some protesters held signs condemning Israel saying: “We would rather die as Jews than live as Zionists” and “We refuse to serve an army for the sake of the Zionist religion.”

The ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society and are the fastest growing sector, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions date back to the birth of the state in 1948, when a small number of students sought to revive the Jewish scholarship system after it was decimated by the Holocaust.

Those exemptions — and the government stipends many seminary students receive up to the age of 26 — have infuriated many Israelis.

Israel is currently maintaining a simultaneous military presence in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, in addition to fighting a war with Iran, which has stretched its robust military to the breaking point.

The Supreme Court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have left them in place.

Among Israel’s Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and rite of passage. Many in the insular ultra-Orthodox community fear that military service would expose young people to secular influences.


Rubio to Testify Before Congress for the First Time Since the Start of the Iran War

 Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
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Rubio to Testify Before Congress for the First Time Since the Start of the Iran War

 Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to face a litany of questions Tuesday about the Trump administration's fragile or stalling diplomatic efforts around the world when he appears for back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began.

The former Republican senator will sit before House and Senate committees to make the State Department's annual budget request. But the focus is likely to shift quickly to the already unsteady ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, which has been further tested in recent days by back-and-forth attacks.

Cabinet members, including Rubio, have defended President Donald Trump's decision to launch the conflict despite promises over the years not to engage in “forever wars” in the Middle East. That work has been made more difficult by Trump's shifting goals for the conflict.

While Rubio is testifying before Congress for the first time since the Iran war started on Feb. 28, he took part in a classified briefing for lawmakers days after the first US and Israeli strikes. He faced Democrats' anger over the lack of congressional approval but strong support from most Republicans for taking action against one of America's oldest adversaries.

In the two months since the war began, however, a small but growing faction of Republicans have joined Democrats in questioning the astronomical price tag and overall economic consequences of the conflict as they head into midterm elections in the fall.

Last month, the Senate managed to advance legislation for the first time that would have forced Trump to withdraw from the conflict after GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy — fresh off a primary election loss in which Trump endorsed his opponent — joined Democrats in pushing it forward.

The House also had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, but GOP leadership kept it from coming to the floor after it became clear that the majority party would not have the numbers to defeat it.

The actions show the GOP is struggling to maintain political backing for Trump's handling of the war as rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.

Following his appearances Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the State Department, Rubio will return to the Hill on Wednesday to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and equivalent Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — also is likely to be questioned about the administration’s escalatory behavior toward Cuba, as Trump has hinted that the small island country could be the next US target after operations in Iran are wrapped up.

Despite a series of meetings between US and Cuban officials, Trump and Rubio have renewed threats against the island's government, which take on greater weight after the administration announced criminal charges against former President Raúl Castro.

Over his congressional career and now as America's top diplomat, Rubio has maintained that Cuba is a national security threat because of its ties to US adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it.