Israel and Hezbollah Announce Ceasefire as US-Iran Talks Stall Over Lebanon Fighting

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire, with the deal described as coming at a moment when, as one side put it, "this is not the time for war." The announcement came against the backdrop of intensified fighting in Lebanon and a parallel diplomatic crisis involving Iran and the United States.

Earlier, CNN reported that Iran was seeking guarantees that the war in Lebanon would end as a condition for continuing talks with Washington. A diplomatic source said mediators were working to resolve the issue, but the Geneva talks were postponed for now. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said overnight that "any violation of the agreement or excessive demands will be met with a severe response," and later said the US talks would remain subject to Tehran’s "red lines."

Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry formally said the US-Iran meeting scheduled for today in Geneva would not take place after the Iranian delegation canceled during the night, citing the Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The White House later said Vice President J.D. Vance would not travel to Switzerland. It added that the planned technical talks were not final and that the US delegation was ready to depart at the first available opportunity, but that the logistics had never been simple or predictable.

The Iranian move followed the escalation in Lebanon and stepped-up IDF strikes on Hezbollah after repeated violations of the ceasefire. Shortly after midnight, four IDF soldiers were killed when a suspected aerial target hit a tank in southern Lebanon, including the commander of the 52nd Armored Battalion, Lt. Col. Dor Ben Shimon. The names of three others had not yet been cleared for publication. Hours later, a reserve officer was badly wounded by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon, and four warrant officers were lightly hurt.

In response, the IDF struck dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight and into the morning in the Bekaa Valley, Nabatieh, and other areas in southern Lebanon. The military said more than 80 command posts, launch positions, and terror infrastructure sites were hit, and dozens of militants operating from those facilities were killed.