Israeli strikes kill 32 in Lebanon, putting US-Iran talks in peril

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 32 people, threatening to derail talks between the United States and Iran aimed at cementing a fragile peace deal.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that follow-up talks between Iran ⁠and the US on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed this week will be held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, ‌on Sunday. US and Iranian representatives would participate, along with ⁠mediators from Pakistan ⁠and Qatar, it added.

US ⁠Vice ⁠President JD Vance said on Saturday that he would travel ‌to Switzerland for talks with Iran soon. “I expect that I will ⁠leave sometime in ⁠the next couple of days, but ⁠you know it’s ⁠always ⁠a delicate coordination dance and the diplomatic ‌protocols,” Vance told Fox News in an interview.

He said US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are already in Switzerland handling “some of the technical elements” of the talks, after negotiations were postponed earlier in the week.

Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon led to uncertainty about whether the Iranians would attend. But Iran’s state television reported on Saturday, citing a foreign ministry spokesperson, that the country’s negotiating team would travel to Switzerland.

High-level talks could be held as early as Sunday, Vance told Fox News. He also said he was confident Washington could sustain the current ceasefire, despite any potential differences in strategic implementation.

However, also on Saturday, Iran said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane because of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, calling them a violation of its deal with the US to end the Middle East war.

“The Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic; It is noted that this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations,” the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement on Iranian state TV.

Earlier, Axios reported that Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, was expected to travel to Switzerland on Saturday, but other sources said his trip may be delayed. A source from one of the mediating countries said Araghchi told several counterparts that Iran views a ceasefire in Lebanon as essential to the diplomatic process and that it could “make or break” the US-Iran talks. Separately, Araghchi is meeting Pakistan’s visiting Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, in Tehran on Saturday.

The Swiss foreign ministry said on Saturday that it continues to provide a “discreet and reliable ⁠setting” at Burgenstock to facilitate discussions on implementing the MoU. It added that no further ⁠details would be disclosed ⁠about ⁠participants and the content of the ‌talks, citing confidentiality.

“We’ve got one big conflict, two wars … the US is focusing on one war, but the ceasefire in the other war is the key to bringing the parties together,” said James Bays, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, reporting from Burgenstock.

“In the agreement signed by the US and Iran … it says there has to be a ceasefire [in Lebanon], and there is clearly not a ceasefire in place.”

Israeli attacks kill 32 in Lebanon

Israeli ⁠air raids and drone attacks in Lebanon, hours after the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group began, have complicated the planned US-Iran talks.

Lebanon’s civil defence agency said ongoing Israeli strikes killed 16 people and wounded 12 in Nabatieh district in the country’s south on Saturday.

A Lebanese soldier was killed in an Israeli attack on the village of Kfar Reman, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said.

NNA also reported Israeli attacks in Tyre District, with an Israeli strike on the village of Barish killing four members of the same family – a father, a mother and their two children.

Another Israeli raid hit a house in Sohmor in the western Bekaa while a family was inside, killing four people and injuring one, NNA said.

An Israeli attack on Qanarit in Sidon district killed at least seven people and wounded 13, said Lebanon’s Health Emergency Operations Centre.

The attacks come after Israel and Hezbollah announced a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon.

“It does point to the shaky nature of this ceasefire, and also how the whole negotiating process does seem to be reliant upon Lebanon and what happens here in the coming days and weeks”, reported Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride from Beirut.

Article 1 of the MoU explicitly states that ending the war in Lebanon is an integral part of the broader ceasefire arrangement across all fronts.

The Lebanese army said in a statement on Saturday that the continuation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon aimed to obstruct efforts to restore stability in the country.

Following the ceasefire agreement in November 2024, the government in Lebanon has been seeking to disarm Hezbollah as part of a US-backed roadmap. The Lebanese government has also pushed for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The text of an agreement earlier this month called for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon but did not call for Israel’s full withdrawal.

Hezbollah ⁠said on Saturday that it had targeted Israeli troops ⁠that had ⁠advanced towards ⁠an area near Nabatieh ‌overnight. The Israeli military published a statement soon after saying Hezbollah had launched more than 50 projectiles towards soldiers operating in southern Lebanon overnight, and that the armed group was violating the ceasefire.

Upcoming talks between Lebanon and the US

The US State Department has said that a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Washington, DC, on June 23 and 25, and will aim to “make progress toward a lasting peace”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday that “Lebanon’s bilateral negotiations with Israel represent the only feasible path to reconstruction, economic recovery and ending recurrent cycles of violence”, according to the State Department.

However, the talks have not included Hezbollah, hampering any meaningful progress.

On Saturday, Ali Fayyad, a representative of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese parliament, said in remarks carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency that the armed group ruled out a ceasefire with Israel while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory, warning that any further aggression would be met with a response.

“The position of the resistance is clear, unambiguous, non-negotiable and without retreat,” Fayyad said, adding: “A ceasefire while the enemy continues its targeting and assassinations is meaningless. The right to self-defence is established for us and is not subject to bargaining or negotiation.”