DIRECT. War in the Middle East: American envoy on his way to Switzerland to hold negotiations with Iran

Israeli strikes in a town in eastern Lebanon left five people dead, including a child and a woman, and killed two Palestinians in the Tire region in the south, the Health Ministry announced.

These strikes took place before an interruption noted by an AFP correspondent from the end of the day, when the Israeli army received the order to cease clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, while continuing to operate there “defensively”.

The Swiss government announces that the Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland this evening for talks on the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.

“We welcome the arrival of the Iranian delegation in Switzerland”, “as part of the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran”, declares the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X.

American Vice President JD Vance took off from Washington for Switzerland, his spokesperson announced, before the start of discussions scheduled for tomorrow with Iran.

He will join envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, already there, while the Iranian delegation has also left for Switzerland.

The Qatari channel Al Jazeera condemns, in a press release, “the deliberate murder” of its cameraman Ahmed Wishah, killed today in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, a few months after his brother and colleague.

The channel denounced “the continuation of crimes committed by the Israeli occupying forces against its correspondents and staff in Gaza”, stressing that Ahmed Wishah was the 12th Al Jazeera employee killed since the start of the war in October 2023 in the Palestinian territory, where a fragile ceasefire is in force since October 2025.

Donald Trump affirms, on his Truth Social platform, that the United States could impose a toll in the Strait of Hormuz if negotiations with Iran were to fail after the 60 days of ceasefire currently planned.

“There will be NO TOLLS in the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period, and there will be NO tolls after the expiration of the 60-day period, unless imposed by the United States of America, if an agreement was not found, for services rendered as a guardian angel of the countries of the Middle East and for purposes of reimbursement of past, present, and future costs,” wrote the American president.

A military spokesperson for the Israeli army confirms that an Israeli bombing killed a journalist in Gaza. He was, according to her, a “Hamas terrorist”.

Earlier in the evening, the Al Jazeera channel, based in Qatar, announced that one of its journalists had been killed in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip.

“The cameraman of the Al-Jazeera Live channel, our colleague Ahmed Wishah, as well as two other people, were killed in an Israeli bombing targeting a house in the center of the Gaza Strip,” the channel said on its website.

The Israeli army announced that one of its soldiers was killed today in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing its losses in the neighboring country to five since the conclusion of an Iranian-US deal to end the war in the Middle East.

Staff Sergeant Nir Ben Ari “fell in combat” in southern Lebanon, the army said, a day after the death of four other Israeli soldiers during clashes with Lebanese Hezbollah backed by Iran.

Pro-Iranian Hezbollah accuses Israel of being “totally responsible” for violations of the truce announced yesterday, while Israeli strikes fell on the south and east of Lebanon, killing dozens since Friday.

In return, the Israeli Foreign Ministry also accuses Hezbollah of violating this same fragile ceasefire.

The American armed forces remain “vigilant” to implement the ceasefire agreement with Iran, declares the American command for the Middle East (Centcom), after the announcement by Tehran of the new closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

According to Centcom, crossings of the Strait of Hormuz continue safely, with the passage of 55 merchant ships.

Pakistan, mediator country, announces that technical discussions to implement the US-Iranian agreement aimed at ending the war in the Middle East would be held in Switzerland tomorrow.

“Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding (…), technical talks will take place in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on June 21,” indicates the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, adding that Pakistani and Qatari mediators would participate in the discussions with American and Iranian representatives.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have left 4,057 dead since the start of the war between pro-Iranian Hezbollah and Israel on March 2, including 135 rescuers and medical personnel, according to a new official report on Saturday.

This toll includes 83 people killed on Friday, during massive Israeli raids in the south and east of Lebanon, which also left 141 injured, said the Ministry of Health, which had reported the day before a provisional toll of 47 dead.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry today warned the United States that the memorandum of understanding concluded between the two countries would be “in danger” if its provisions were not implemented quickly, in the midst of an outbreak of violence in Lebanon.

“The other party must take the necessary measures as soon as possible, or else the entire memorandum of understanding”, which provides in particular for the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon “will be in danger”, affirmed the spokesperson for Iranian diplomacy, Esmaïl Baghaï, quoted by the official Irna agency.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that American-Iranian “technical” discussions will be held tomorrow in Switzerland in the presence of representatives of Pakistan and Qatar, mediator countries.

Iranian negotiators left the country today for Switzerland, according to state media. The memorandum of understanding concluded this week by Tehran and Washington provides for the launch of negotiations lasting 60 days with a view to reaching a final agreement, which will be centered on the Iranian nuclear program.

“Preparatory” discussions began today among diplomats in Bürgenstock near Lucerne, Switzerland, according to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, with the aim of maintaining a dialogue on the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Swiss public broadcaster RTS said delegations from the United States and Iran, as well as mediator countries Qatar and Pakistan, were taking part in these discussions.

“Switzerland continues to offer a discreet and reliable framework allowing discussions to be held at Bürgenstock aimed at implementing the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran,” declared Swiss diplomacy in a press release.

“The diplomats from different countries present on site are currently continuing their efforts to maintain the dialogue. For reasons of confidentiality, no further information can be communicated concerning the people present and the content of the discussions,” he adds.

The central command of the Iranian army announces that it has once again closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in reaction to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, violating according to it the memorandum of understanding concluded with the United States.

“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to maritime traffic (…) this first measure is a response to the violation of commitments by the enemy”, declares the central staff Khatam-al Anbiya, in a press release distributed by the state television.

“If the aggression continues, other measures will be planned and implemented to force the enemy to respect its obligations,” he adds.

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The Iraqi authorities anticipate a return of oil production to its pre-war level “within one to two months”, declared the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, Salim Farhoud, yesterday evening to the official state press agency INA.

The production capacity of some oil fields which had been reduced has started to be increased, he added.

Before the war broke out in late February, Iraq exported around 3.5 million barrels of oil per day, most of which passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Hezbollah announces that it has “blocked” an Israeli force which was “trying to infiltrate” on a strategic height overlooking the town of Nabatiyé, in southern Lebanon.

“While being committed to the ceasefire, (Hezbollah) will show no tolerance in the face of any Israeli attempt (…) to extend its occupation,” asserts the pro-Iranian movement in a press release.

In a post on his Truth Social network, Donald Trump declares that the “idiots of the far left” and the Democrats “realize the extent to which we [les États-Unis, NDLR] We succeeded in our war against Iran, whose country was completely defeated militarily.”

He castigates Barack Obama and Joe Biden, whom he assures that the Iranian leaders thought “weak[s] and ineffective[s]” – “on that, they were 100% right,” he said.

He says Iran lived with impunity “for 47 years until I arrived. Then everything changed.”

An Israeli strike on a village near Saida, in southern Lebanon, left at least seven dead today, reports the National News Agency (ANI).

The strike on Qannarit killed “seven people and injured 13 others, according to a preliminary assessment”, she specifies.

According to the Lebanese national news agency ANI, around twenty bombings were recorded today in eastern and southern Lebanon.

From the Israeli side of the border, an AFP correspondent saw numerous explosions in southern Lebanon, with plumes of smoke rising above the Beaufort Fortress, which the Israeli army seized at the end of May.

The Lebanese Civil Defense announces that Israeli strikes in the Nabatiyé region, in the south of the country, left 16 dead today.

Civil Defense teams, mobilized “since the early hours of the morning” in the Nabatiyé district in response to “ongoing attacks targeting the area”, transported “16 dead and 12 injured” to hospitals, this organization specifies in a press release.

The Israeli army says it is targeting pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, in response to attacks against its soldiers deployed in this part of Lebanon, despite yesterday’s ceasefire announcement.

“During the night, the terrorist organization Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon,” said a military statement. “As a result of these attacks, the IDF [l’armée israélienne, NDLR] strikes Hezbollah terrorist targets in the south of the country.

A Hezbollah MP, Hassan Fadlallah, affirms that the pro-Iranian movement has “the right” to respond to Israeli attacks, at a time when Israel continues its strikes on Lebanon despite the announcement of a new ceasefire yesterday.

“It is a question of a cease-fire. For us, what matters is that the enemy fully and totally respects this cease-fire, and that he does not attempt to attack our country and our villages, nor to occupy new positions”, he declared in a press release, adding that “the resistance has the full right to face this enemy when he attacks us, because it is him the aggressor and the occupier.

In a press release confirming the death of one of its soldiers “targeted” by an Israeli strike on a road between Kfar Rumman and the town of Nabatiyé, the Lebanese army denounces “the continuation of brutal Israeli attacks (which) aims to hinder any solution allowing the restoration of stability in Lebanon”.

It specifies that “barbaric” Israeli attacks continue in Lebanon, after the latest escalation affected large areas from the South to the Bekaa, causing new deaths and injuries and causing significant material damage.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi left for Tehran today to meet senior Iranian officials, Reuters reports, citing the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

This specifies that Mohsin Naqvi should discuss with them the progress of negotiations between Iran and the United States, without adding more details.

Lebanon’s official news agency, NNA, reports that an “army soldier fell” in a raid on a roundabout in Kfar Rumman, a municipality in Nabatiyé, southern Lebanon.

All that for that? Signed by Donald Trump with great fanfare on Wednesday in Versailles, the memorandum of understanding ending the war with Iran arouses strong criticism in the United States, including in the president’s camp, for its numerous concessions granted to the Tehran regime.

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United States envoy Steve Witkoff is on his way to Switzerland to hold discussions with Iran, American media report, after the postponement of negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Donald Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, is also expected in Switzerland for talks, report Axios and CNN, both citing American officials.

Uncertainty reigns over the start, initially planned for yesterday in Switzerland, of talks with a view to a definitive peace, after the cancellation of the trip by the Vice-President of the United States, JD Vance.

Hello, and welcome to this live broadcast on Saturday June 20 dedicated to the latest information on the war in the Middle East.

This Saturday, five people were killed by new Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, despite yesterday’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The strikes targeted more than a dozen localities after midnight and this morning, many in the Nabatiyé sector, where artillery fire also took place, according to the official Lebanese agency ANI.

Three people were killed in Arab Salim and one in Deir Zahrani, while another died “after enemy drone fire targeting a motorcycle” at the entrance to the town of Dweir, the agency said.