LIVE UPDATES: US intelligence flights surge around Cuba; Trump demolishes Iran peace response; Iranian Drone attacks target Gulf nations; Trump lashes Obama as 'weak and stupid'

Thanks for reading today's' live blog on the Iran war.

Here are the main events of the day.

Iran sent its response to the latest US proposal to end the Iran via Pakistani mediators, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it in a social media post as "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"

Washington's latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is still work to do before the war's goals are achieved including, the extraction of enriched uranium.

And the fragile ceasefire was tested again when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace.

Keep up to date with the latest on nine.com.au.

The US president loves AI content - and his latest "ReTruth" is sure to bait the online crowd into a rage.

He's shared a very obviously AI-generated image of construction workers carving his face into Mount Rushmore, right next to a stony-looking Abraham Lincoln.

It's fitting that Trump would put himself alongside "Honest Abe" - he's often compared himself to the man who abolished slavery and reckons he's done a better job as president.

The post came from an account called "Women for Trump" with a caption that said: "Things are moving along nicely for America's 250th birthday in July!"

Considering he's putting a UFC octagon on the front lawn of the White House, the idea of Trump adding himself to a globally recognised tourist attraction doesn't seem that far-fetched.

The internet blackout in Iran is more than two months old, the longest on record. For millions who rely on being online to make a living, the void has been devastating.

But some have privileged access through what's called "Internet Pro" – and that's causing widespread public criticism. The program, launched earlier this year, appears to be another weapon enabling hardliners and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to exert control in Iran.

Iran's state media boasts of the unity of the government and the people in the face of what it calls an "imposed war" by the United States and Israel, but arguments over who gets what internet access have spilled into the media and embroiled the highest levels of government.

Iranians speak of mounting frustration about being cut off or spending what little money they have in occasionally getting a glimpse of the outside world.

The sale of Internet Pro began in February through the Mobile Communications Company of Iran (MCI), after businesses complained that they had been hurt by heavily restricted access during nationwide protests in January. MCI is owned by a consortium with close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Internet Pro emphasises connection stability and less restricted access to international sites. Essentially it provides the same level of access to a fortunate few that was once available to everyone. Users must pass a verification process and have a business, academic or scientific role.

But many Iranians complain it widens the already huge gap between rich and poor.

The latest images from Iran show people in cafes and art galleries alongside looming propaganda on the streets.

One photo from capital Tehran shows a huge graphic showing the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a building.

In another, a man waves an Iranian flag for a pro-government campaign under a billboard with graphic showing Strait of Hormuz and sewn lips of US President Donald Trump.

In stark contrast are images of a man in a cafe adorned with Hiolywood film posters, and two woman in an art gallery exhibition called Art & War.

Iran's deputy foreign minister warned against a planned French-British effort that aims to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities are over.

"The presence of French and British vessels, or those of any other country, for any possible cooperation with illegal US actions in the Strait of Hormuz that violate international law will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces," Kazem Gharibabadi said on social media.

French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying it won't be a military deployment but an international mission to secure shipping once conditions allow.

Netanyahu also denied that he told Trump the attack on Iran would result in regime change in Iran.

"We both agreed, you know, that there was both uncertainty and risk involved," Netanyahu said.

"And I remember that we, I said and he said, that the danger, there's danger in action, in taking action, but there's greater danger in not taking action."

He admitted the possibility of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz only became apparent "as the fighting went on".

"I don't claim to have perfect foresight," he said.

US military planners for decades have pointed to Iran's ability to close the vital shipping lane if attacked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken to CBS' 60 Minutes for his first US television interview since the current war with Iran began.

He says there is still work to do before the war's goals are achieved - namely, the extraction of enriched uranium, the dismantling of enrichment sites, and the eradication of Iran's support for militant proxy groups such as Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said he believed an agreement would allow the US to simply retrieve any enriched uranium itself.

"I'm not going to talk about military means, but what President Trump has said to me is, 'I want to go in there', and I think it can be done physically, that's not the problem. If you have an agreement and go in to take it out, why not? That's the best way," he said.

But he sidestepped a query of how the US and Israel would achieve that goal if Iran held firm on its refusal, saying that would reveal military planning.

Security expert and former deputy assistant secretary for Iran in the US government Jennifer Gavito says the Iranian regime may have time on its side in negotiations with the US.

She told ABC radio that US President Donald Trump's aggravated reaction to Iran's peace counter-offer suggested Tehran was holding firm on its non-negotiables.

And she said while the White House and Pentagon continue to treat Iran as a defeated foe, the still-entrenched regime did not view itself as such.

And those in power have less to lose from public reaction than US leaders, with Gavito saying the regime in Iran did not have to care about its people or how they suffered under the US blockade.

"I think that the regime can hold out for a considerable amount of time, and increasingly seems to believe that it has time on its side," she said.

"Iran will, I think, draw this out as long as it can, suspecting that the Trump administration will become more and more eager to strike a deal and thus may end up being more flexible in some of its positions the longer this continues."

Iran has deployed domestically-made submarines to the Persian Gulf.

Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani told the semi-official Tasnim News Agency that the light submarines, known colloquially as "dolphins" would take action against hostile vessels.

Irani said the submarines were capable of resting on the seabed for weeks before embarking on any action.

The US has not reported any specific conflict with submarine vessels, after light boats were reportedly used in last week's attack on three US warships.

Iran's reclusive and reportedly wounded Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has "issued new directives" to the Iranian armed forces, according to state media.

IRNA did not go into the specifics of those supposed directives, but said they were aimed at "strengthening their combat readiness and decisively dealing with the aggressive enemies".

Khamenei reportedly gave the instructions in a meeting with Revolutionary Guard officer Major General Ali Abdollahi.

The supreme leader has not been seen in public since winning the title.

He has been hidden since airstrikes in the opening of the US-Iran war killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.