France raises its voice. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, called on Israel to “respect” the memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States which provides for the “cessation of hostilities” including in Lebanon. “This agreement provides for the cessation of hostilities, the Israeli government must respect it, and the United States in particular must exert all the necessary pressure on the Israeli government for this to be the case,” the head of diplomacy said on France Info.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, Israeli strikes in the south of the country left 18 dead and 33 injured, according to a provisional report from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Four dead soldiers
Israel says it struck Hezbollah targets after announcing the death of four of its soldiers in Lebanon, including a senior officer. “All of Lebanon must burn,” responded Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, a figure of the extreme right and political ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This is the heaviest toll published since the announcement of the conclusion of the agreement on Monday, which provides for a ceasefire “on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” The memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States to end the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering on its foundations on Friday.
« Discussions techniques »
For his part, Jean-Noël Barrot put into perspective the postponement of the negotiations scheduled to begin on Friday in Switzerland between Washington and Tehran, and intended to implement the agreement concluded on Wednesday. “The hardest part remains to be done, but let us not over-interpret the postponements of meeting to the extent that this agreement was signed” Wednesday evening in Versailles, he estimated.
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“What is essential now is that the discussions, including at the technical level, can continue so that the first steps provided for by this agreement can be activated,” according to him.
/2026/06/19/6a34f82986229161935177.jpg "Agreement between Iran and the United States: Jean-Noël Barrot \"calls on all parties to scrupulously respect the terms of the agreement")
