LIVE War in the Middle East: The Iran-United States meeting in Switzerland and…

The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, underlines during a telephone interview with the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, that a “comprehensive ceasefire” constituted a “fundamental basis” for moving forward in direct negotiations with Israel.

Before the resumption of these negotiations scheduled for Monday in Washington, Mr. Aoun also thanked Mr. Rubio for “the support of the United States for Lebanon,” according to a press release from the presidency.

Iran said Friday that there was “no urgency” to meet American negotiators in Switzerland, the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war in the Middle East having already been signed by the leaders of the two countries.

“Given that the signing of the text took place electronically on June 18, there is no urgency to hold the said meeting in Switzerland, but we intend to organize a meeting in the coming days,” declared the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaïl Baghaï.

Israeli strikes left 47 dead and nearly a hundred injured in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to a new report from the Lebanese authorities. The Israeli army, for its part, reported the death of four of its soldiers, including a high-ranking officer.

A previous official report showed 21 dead and 39 injured during the night from Thursday to Friday in the south and east of Lebanon.

The Ministry of Health specifies that its new assessment concerns “intensive Israeli strikes carried out between midnight and until this afternoon”.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire on Friday, an American official announced on Friday, after a surge in violence in Lebanon which jeopardized the new agreement between the United States and Iran.

The truce, which has already entered into force, was negotiated by American and Qatari mediators following discussions with Israel and Iran, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Iranian maritime authority responsible for the Strait of Hormuz demanded on Friday that all ships wishing to pass through this strategic route submit a transit request “48 hours in advance”, despite its reopening in the wake of the Iranian-American framework agreement ending the war.

“In order to avoid any delays in entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, it is essential that requests for passage, accompanied by all required information, be submitted at least 48 hours before arrival in the area,†the Strait of Hormuz Authority said in English on Persian Gulf (PGSA).

The intensification of deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon undermines efforts to end the war in the country after the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday. The latter denounces “a dangerous and reprehensible escalation” having cost the lives of “dozens of innocent people including women and children”, in a press release from the presidency.

According to Joseph Aoun, these strikes “attack all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war, particularly in light of recent developments between the United States and Iran” which signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to achieve an end to hostilities in the Middle East, including in Lebanon.

Lebanese Hezbollah fighters “will defend their land and their people with great courage” against Israel, the pro-Iranian movement assured Friday, after a resurgence of deadly violence despite a memorandum of understanding on the end of hostilities in the Middle East.

Denying in a press release “the enemy’s accusations of violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah”, the latter placed responsibility on Israel, affirming that the neighboring country had “never respected any ceasefire agreement whatsoever” since the end of 2024.

Israel will remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, adding that his country would make the Islamist movement Hezbollah “pay a very heavy price”, after the announcement of the death of four soldiers in operations.

The Israeli army “will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect the northern localities” of Israel, declared Benyamin Netanyahu in a press release. “Israel will not accept any attack against our soldiers or our territory,” he adds.

Israeli Defense Minister Katz, for his part, warned of an Israeli response “with considerable force” to any attack by Hezbollah, Iran’s ally.

The Israeli army announced Friday that it had struck “more than 80 targets” and killed “dozens” of members of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah since the night.

“In response to violations [du cessez-le-feu] repeated and blatant attacks by Hezbollah, IDF […] struck more than 80 terrorist command centers, [lanceurs] and other sites of the terrorist infrastructure” of the Iranian allied movement, indicates a military statement. “Dozens of Hezbollah terrorists […] ont été éliminés. »

A total of 25 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, after an agreement allowing its reopening the day before, a volume not seen since mid-April, according to data from the maritime monitoring platform AXSMarine published on Friday.

This is the highest number of boats in a single day since April 18, which coincided with a brief reopening window, after Iran’s announcement that the strait was then open to commercial traffic on this strategic artery for the global trade.

The head of the Iranian negotiating team, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, insisted Friday on the need to respect Iran’s “red lines” during future talks with the United States.

“As we have demonstrated throughout the previous negotiations, we remain firm in respecting the conditions and red lines set, and in defending the interests of the Iranian nation,” declared the influential Bagher Ghalibaf, quoted by the Irna agency.

“If the enemy proves excessive” in its demands, “we have proven that we are ready to retaliate and that we will not hesitate to inflict a scathing response,” added the man who is also the President of Parliament

“All of Lebanon must burn,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right figure and key political ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared Friday after the loss of four Israeli soldiers in the south of the Cedar country. “With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not to be sold off. All of Lebanon must burn,” he said in a statement.

The Israeli army announced at the start of the morning the death of four of its soldiers, killed in a skirmish in southern Lebanon, its first losses since the signing of the agreement between Washington and Tehran supposed to lead to the end of the war in the Near and Middle East, on all fronts, including including in Lebanon where Israel and the Islamist movement Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, clash.

Israel must “respect” the memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday between Iran and the United States, which provides for the “cessation of hostilities” including in Lebanon, the head of French diplomacy called on Friday after new Israeli strikes in the south of 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,†Jean-Noël Barrot said on FranceInfo radio.

Israeli strikes carried out during the night from Thursday to Friday in the Nabatiyé region, in southern Lebanon, left at least 16 dead according to the Lebanese National Information Agency (ANI), despite the conclusion of the Iranian-American protocol which provides for a cessation of hostilities.

ANI reports that “the enemy committed several massacres” during a series of airstrikes targeting homes in several localities near Nabatiyé. These attacks left at least 16 dead, including eight in the town of Harouf. This is the heaviest toll published since the announcement of the conclusion of the agreement on Monday.