Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over ceasefire violations in Lebanon
Strikes kill 7 in Lebanon just before Israeli-ordered ceasefire
Stephen Marr
Lebanon's health ministry said that new Israeli strikes in the south and east of the country had killed seven people.
Five people, including a woman and child, were killed in the east of the country and two Palestinians were killed in the southern Tyr region, said the ministry.
The latest strikes came before the Israeli army said it had received orders from the country's political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon.
- AFP
Key points of the US-Iran memorandum
Stephen Marr
Here are the main points from the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the US and Iran, the text of which was made public by Washington and Tehran:
Permanent end to war: The US, Iran and their respective allies "declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".
Final agreement within 60 days: However, the 60-day deadline is "extendable with mutual consent".
Lifting US blockade: The US also undertakes to "remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal".
Reopening Strait of Hormuz: Iran to ensure the "safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days". The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start" and be fully restored within 30 days, once the strait has been cleared of mines.
Reconstruction and development: The US and its regional partners will draw up a plan to rebuild Iran worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Lifting sanctions: The US to "terminate all types of sanctions against" Iran, and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds" of Iran.
Nuclear weapon ban: Iran reaffirms that "it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons". The disposition of Tehran's enriched uranium will be resolved by "a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon."
UN resolution: The final agreement will be endorsed by a binding resolution of the United Nations Security Council.
- AFP
Iranian delegation arrives in Switzerland for US talks
Stephen Marr
An Iranian negotiating team has landed in Switzerland ahead of talks at the Burgenstock resort on the preliminary US-Iran deal to halt the Middle East war.
"We welcome the arrival of the Iranian delegation in Switzerland," the Swiss foreign ministry said on X, adding that the talks were part of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United States.
Iran's official news agency IRNA also said Tehran's delegation had arrived in Switzerland ahead of the talks.
- AFP
Vance departs Washington for Iran talks in Switzerland
Stephen Marr
US Vice President JD Vance was travelling to Switzerland today for talks on implementing a deal to end the Middle East war, saying negotiators would discuss Iran's nuclear programme and the Lebanon ceasefire.
before departing from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC, Vance told reporters: "I can only be there for a day or two. I think we're going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we're to be focused on."
- AFP
War-weary Iranians see glimmer of hope in peace deal
Stephen Marr
In Iran, a war-ravaged population has felt cautious relief at the news of diplomatic progress between their government and the Trump administration.
Even as their government and the US President vie to hold up the agreement as evidence of victory, many ordinary Iranians say the war has yielded nothing but devastation.
Over five weeks of active combat, US and Israeli airstrikes hit more than 13,000 military, industrial and political targets in Iran, damaging or destroying thousands of structures and killing more than 1,700 civilians.
That figure includes more than 150 children at a school on the war’s first day.
While the onslaught failed to topple the Iranian government, it did compound the country’s economic crisis, punishing a civilian population of more than 90 million already mired in years of hardship.
Inflation has grown to more than 70% and the country’s currency, the rial, is trading at over 1.8 million to the US dollar, one of multiple record lows set in recent years.
- The Washington Post
Al Jazeera condemns 'crimes' against its journalists after Israeli strike
Stephen Marr
Al Jazeera condemned Israel's "crimes" against its staff after a strike in the Gaza Strip killed its cameraman Ahmed Wishah, the channel's 12th journalist to be killed since the start of the war in the Palestinian territory.
The broadcaster said it "denounces the continuation of these crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against its correspondents and staff in Gaza, and renews its call on the international community and legal institutions to take urgent, practical measures to hold the Israeli officials involved in these appalling crimes accountable".
- AFP
Trump threatens Hormuz tolls if Iran deal not completed
Stephen Marr
Israel army official says 'political echelon' orders ceasefire in Lebanon
Stephen Marr
An Israeli army official confirmed the military had received orders from the country's political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon, where its forces have continued clashing with Hezbollah fighters despite a ceasefire.
The official said "the IDF has received updated directives from the political echelon to cease fire", adding that troops are "not conducting proactive strikes" but operating "in a defensive manner within the security zone" in southern Lebanon.
- AFP
US patience with Israel is running out
Stephen Marr
US President Donald Trump famously made an expletive-laden call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau in the aftermath of an Israeli military action that threatened peace negotiations with Iran.
And Vice President JD Vance recently warned the nation that the US and Trump were essentially the only sympathetic ear it had left on the world stage.
Vance has complained in recent days that every time the US and Iran got close to an agreement, Israel would launch another attack on Lebanon.
Benjamin Friedman, policy director for the think tank Defence Priorities, which advocates for a more limited role of the US military in world affairs, urged Trump to put “real pressure on Israel to not spoil the deal at the expense of the global economy”.
In a statement, Friedman said: “Israel needs to fear reduced aid and suspension of US military help, including removal of US missile defences that protect it, if it refuses to play ball."
- The Washington Post
Israel and Hezbollah blame each other for truce violations
Stephen Marr
Hezbollah said Israel bore "full responsibility" for violating a ceasefire, as Israeli strikes pounded Lebanon's south and east.
Ongoing Israeli attacks "are no longer just ceasefire agreement violations but represent clear aggression and a continuation of the war in every sense. Accordingly, full responsibility lies with the Israeli occupation", the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
It added that Israel "has never adhered to ceasefire provisions".
Israel's foreign ministry responded: "Hezbollah continues to constantly violate the ceasefire".
- AFP
Stephen Marr
Israel admits killing journalist in Gaza, claims he was 'Hamas terrorist'
Stephen Marr
The Israeli military has confirmed that it had carried out a strike that killed Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Wishah in Gaza, saying he was a "Hamas terrorist".
An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman told AFP: "The IDF confirms it carried out a strike on Ahmed Wishah, who was a Hamas terrorist."
The spokesman did not immediately provide evidence to support the military's claim about Wishah, but said "there will be a statement issued with further details".
- AFP
Israeli soldier killed in south Lebanon fighting
Stephen Marr
The Israeli military said that one of its soldiers was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, marking the fifth such fatality since a US-Iran deal was reached to end the Middle East war.
Staff Sergeant Nir Ben Ari "fell in combat" in southern Lebanon, the military said, a day after four other Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
The latest fatality brings the military's death toll to 36 soldiers and one civilian contractor since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began on March 2.
- AFP
Iran does not control Strait of Hormuz, says US military
Stephen Marr
The US military denied Iran’s claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open.
US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters: “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) declared the Strait of Hormuz shut and warned ships not to approach the waterway.
- The Telegraph
Netanyahu tells military to hold fire in Lebanon
Stephen Marr
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has ordered the military to “hold its fire” in Lebanon.
The instruction comes following “coordination between the political echelon and the United States”, according to media reports.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) earlier said it remained “committed to the ceasefire agreement” but would act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and IDF troops.
Lebanese media reported several Israeli strikes in the south of the country since the IDF’s announcement.
- The Telegraph
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon, as Iranian and United States negotiators prepare to converge on Switzerland for talks on implementing a deal to end the Middle East war.
Planned negotiations in Switzerland were postponed at the last minute as Israel carried out a wave of deadly strikes in Lebanon after four of its soldiers were killed in combat.
The US announced a renewed ceasefire there yesterday - a stipulation under the deal it signed with Iran - but Israel ignored the announcement and troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters and conducted strikes again, with both sides accusing the other of violating the new truce.
Citing a US “breach of contract” and “the Zionist regime’s continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon”, Iran’s central military command announced “the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic”.
The naval force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned vessels not to approach the waterway, “otherwise, their security will be jeopardised”.
Tehran had agreed to reopen it under the preliminary accord signed this week by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian, and shipping traffic had started to pick back up in recent days.
The US military’s Central Command said after the announcement that its “forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to”.
An Iranian delegation left for Switzerland yesterday afternoon, state media reported, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying they would “demand implementation of the other party’s commitments” under the deal as soon as possible - “otherwise, the entire understanding will be in trouble”.
After postponing a planned trip the day before, US Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News that he too expected to travel to Switzerland for talks in “the next couple of days, but you know it’s always a delicate co-ordination dance”.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland handling “some of the technical elements” and had reported that “things are going well”, Vance added, just moments before the Iranian announcement about the Hormuz strait.
Mediator Pakistan - whose Interior Minister was reportedly in Iran on for meetings with officials - said “technical-level talks” were scheduled for Sunday local time.
The Swiss talks are meant to kick off a two-month period of negotiations to discuss outstanding issues not covered by the initial deal, notably Iran’s nuclear programme.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed unnamed foreign envoys there were “continuing their efforts to maintain the dialogue” but declined to offer further details.
Following Israel’s heavy strikes in Lebanon - which killed 83 people, according to health authorities - a US official announced a new ceasefire brokered by US and Qatari mediators.
But hours later an Israeli military official said forces were conducting fresh attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah, accusing it of having “launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.
Hezbollah in turn accused Israel of having carried out “under the cover of the ceasefire ... an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills”, a strategic feature overlooking the city of Nabatieh.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations on Saturday local time, with the country’s civil defence agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said seven more people were killed and 13 wounded in a strike on a village near Sidon and reported that the overall death toll from the fighting had surpassed 4000.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said that his group retained “the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us”.
- AFP