Over 2,000 US diplomats left foreign service over the last year
As the United States grapples with a deadlock in negotiations with Iran, NBC News has revealed that over 2,000 US diplomats left the foreign service over the last year, according to figures by the American Foreign Services Association.
The officials were either laid off or forced to retire, according to the report.
Current and former state department officials say that the reduction in numbers is a critical disadvantage for the US at this time. The US diplomatic service was made up of 13,000 employees in 2024.
Rebecca Whittaker2 June 2026 22:00
Pictured: Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh, Lebanon
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on June 2, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon (Getty)
A corpse of a person killed by an Israeli airstrike is carried to Al Najda Hospital on June 2, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon (Getty)
A car destroyed on the road, seen from inside another vehicle, on June 2, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon (Getty)
Becky Whittaker2 June 2026 21:00
Watch: Netanyahu says Iran will ‘fall in the end’ in speech in Tel AvivNetanyahu says Iran will ‘fall in the end’ in speech in Tel Aviv
Rebecca Whittaker2 June 2026 20:40
Israel kills 11 in Lebanon, a day after Trump said Israel and Hezbollah will de-escalate
Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed 11 people, including a man along with his son and daughter, the state-run news agency said, a day after Donald Trump said Israel and the militant group Hezbollah agreed to dial back fighting.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, launched dozens of projectiles and drones toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and Israeli cities and towns in recent days as Israel’s airstrikes killed dozens, including women and children, in Lebanon. Hezbollah did not carry out any attacks on Israel after Trump’s announcement.
Trump said Monday he’d spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had communicated with Hezbollah through mediators, and that no troops would be “going to Beirut.” But the intensity of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah continued.
Rebecca Whittaker2 June 2026 20:20
‘Stuck in quicksand’: How the Iran war has stalled the Trump agenda and frustrated the White House
The mood inside the White House is reportedly being driven by a sense of burnout among staffers and officials who are trying to push President Donald Trump’s agenda forward while being “all-consumed” by the unpopular Iran war.
For more than three months, Trump’s war with Iran has dragged on, pushing gas prices and inflation higher for Americans – leading to negative media attention and general disapproval by the public. The administration has made several efforts to end the war, or at least open the Strait of Hormuz but so far no tangible deals have been implemented.
Rebecca Whittaker2 June 2026 20:05
British couple jailed in Iran lose appeal
A British couple jailed in Iran on spying allegations have lost an appeal against their convictions, their family and the UK government said Tuesday.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were detained in January 2025 while on an around-the-world motorcycle trip. In February they were handed 10-year prison sentences for espionage, which they both deny.
Britain’s Foreign Office called the couple’s incarceration “unjustified and appalling.”
“We are disappointed by the appeal decision and will continue working to ensure that Craig and Lindsay are returned safely to the U.K.,” it said in a statement.
“Since their arrest last year, Britain’s ambassador to Tehran, diplomats and officials in London have been working to provide consular assistance. This includes the ambassador visiting them in prison and facilitating calls with their family back in the U.K.”
Daniel Keane2 June 2026 19:37
Nuclear watchdog offering technical support to UAE after attack on nuclear plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency is offering the United Arab Emirates technical as well as moral support, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said after a visit to the site of a nuclear power plant that came under a drone attack last month.
Grossi said Emirati authorities had reacted very quickly to the attack at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant by shutting down a reactor because of the loss of external power.
He said a number of activities would take place to complete repairs at the plant but provided no further details.
Daniel Keane2 June 2026 19:10
Watch: Trump calls Netanyahu ‘crazy’ in furious call as Hezbollah agrees to halt attacksTrump calls Netanyahu ‘crazy’ in furious call as Hezbollah agrees to halt attacks
Maira Butt2 June 2026 18:50
Trump calls reports of halted peace talks ‘false’
US President Donald trump has called suggestions the US and Iran are no longer holding peace talks “Fake News”.
Trump claims Iran and the US have been speaking “continuously”.
In a post on Truth Social he said the claims were “false and erroneous” adding the countries spoke “four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today”.
Trump says reports of halted US-Iran peace talks are ‘false and erroneous’ (Truth Social)
Rebecca Whittaker2 June 2026 18:21
Trump now says US left Iran’s military ‘alone’ after weeks of boasting that he destroyed its forces
Donald Trump has now said that Iran’s military was largely untouched by U.S. strikes over the past three months, contradicting countless statements he has made and continues to make about the scale of America’s successes in the ongoing war.
The president spoke in an interview that aired Saturday with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News. As the war in Iran now runs past the three-month mark, the U.S. remains mired in a stalemate with Iran under the shadow of a shaky ceasefire that Trump is now considering an offer to extend for another 60 days.
A war that the president and his team have long insisted would be over in “days” or even just a few weeks is now at a flashpoint with the U.S. having proven largely unable to forcibly open the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy shipping traffic.
Maira Butt2 June 2026 18:20