NewzVille Desk
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire after fighting postponed Iran-US peace talks in Switzerland. A senior U.S. official said, negotiators for the U.S. and Qatar worked out the deal with help from Iran. The US official said that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.
Israel and Hezbollah did not immediately confirm that the ceasefire had gone into effect.
Peace talks between the US and Iran were called off today after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, officials said. It raised questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran.
According to regional officials, Iranian officials didn’t travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. US Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.
Last night, Israel’s military struck targets in southern and eastern Lebanon. Hezbollah reported intense fighting and Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 21 people were killed. Israel said their four soldiers died.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire will bring immediate humanitarian relief to hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese and Israeli civilians by stopping daily airstrikes and casualties.
The ceasefire is crucial baseline needed for the U.S.-Iran framework to survive. The newly signed U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding explicitly mandates a permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The interim US-Iran peace deal has halted hostilities in Iran and the Gulf and reopened the Strait of Hormuz, after Iranian attacks and threats stopped the flow of oil and natural gas through the waterway, creating a global energy crisis.
The future talks are supposed to bring about a permanent end to the conflict, including addressing how to restrict Iran’s nuclear program, the core issue over which Israel and the US went to war on February 28.
