🔴 Live: Hormuz Strait closed over Israel attacks on Lebanon, Iran says

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Middle East live: Hormuz Strait closed over Israel attacks on Lebanon, Iran says

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FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026

FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026. REUTERS – Stringer

Iran’s central military command announced on Saturday that it had once again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz over Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon, describing them as a breach of Tehran’s agreement with the US. The latest round of violence unfolded as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi headed to Switzerland for talks. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

 

Death toll in Israel-Hezbollah war surpasses 4,000

US deal ‘in trouble’ if not implemented soon, Iran warns

Iran negotiating team to leave for Switzerland in minutes, foreign ministry spokesperson says

‘We did not sign a commitment that will not be implemented’, Iran’s FM spokesperson says

Iran negotiators to meet with US team to discuss interim deal in Switzerland

Iranian state television says the country’s negotiating team is going to Switzerland for talks with the United States over their interim deal on the war.

The broadcaster cited a foreign ministry spokesperson in its report Saturday. The trip was originally planned for Friday but was canceled.

The new announcement came shortly after Iran’s joint military command said the Strait of Hormuz had closed again, citing continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei told state TV that “Any memorandum or agreement is ultimately tested when it enters the implementation phase.”

Iran says Hormuz Strait closed over Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Iran’s joint military command said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and U.S. “bad faith” and “its clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war.

The statement on state television also warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”

Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. 

Vance says he expects to travel to Switzerland for Iran talks within days

⁠U.S. ⁠Vice ​President JD ​Vance said in a Fox News ​interview ‌on ⁠Saturday that ‌he expects to 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 said.

NGOs in Lebanon denounce Israeli attacks on medics amid ceasefire

On March 2nd, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war when it launched rockets at Israel in what it said was revenge for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Since then, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 3,900 people and displaced 20% of the population. The humanitarian situation on the ground is dire. Details from the ground with Dr Mina Naguib, an emergency physician with Doctors Without Borders in Beirut.

‘Confident we can maintain ceasefire’, US’s Vance tells Fox News

US negotiators Witkoff and Kushner ‘on the ground’ for Iran talks, Vance says

Iran’s FM Araqchi meets visiting Pakistani interior minister, Iran state media says

Death toll from Israeli strikes on south Lebanon reaches 16

Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 16 people on Saturday, Lebanese Civil Defence said, hours after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, with ​Israel saying it ‌was responding to projectiles fired by the Iran-backed group.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli warplanes ⁠and drones had hit multiple locations in the south and the Bekaa Valley.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill at least 16 people

Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces overnight, says IDF

Switzerland says US-Iran talks continue at BĂźrgenstock

⁠Switzerland ⁠continues ​to provide ​a “discreet and reliable setting” at ​BĂźrgenstock ‌to ⁠facilitate discussions on ‌implementing a memorandum of ⁠understanding between the US and ​Iran, the ‌Swiss foreign ministry said ‌on Saturday.

It added ​in a statement that no further details ​would ​be disclosed about ​participants and the ​content of the talks, citing confidentiality.

Hezbollah says confronted Israeli forces’ ‘infiltration attempt’ in south

Hezbollah on Saturday said its fighters confronted overnight Israeli forces as they tried to infiltrate towards strategic hills that overlook the southern city of Nabatieh.

“Again, under the cover of the ceasefire, the enemy last night carried out an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, adding that fighters ambushed the Israeli troops and “confronted them with appropriate weapons”.

Hezbollah “declares that while it is committed to the ceasefire, it will not be lenient in confronting any enemy attempt … to expand its occupation,” the statement added.

French police detain 20 at banned Iran opposition rally

French police arrested around 20 people in Paris on Saturday as demonstrators gathered for a protest against repression and executions in Iran, defying an official ban.

Several buses arrived at Place Vauban in central Paris despite police having banned the rally over what they said was concerns about potential clashes “in the current particularly tense national and international context”.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the location, an AFP correspondent saw.

Police issued orders for the crowd to disperse and a score of people were arrested, a police source told AFP.

“They arrested about 20 people for no reason,” Afchine Alavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told AFP.

“On the protesters’ side, there is no violence. Police dispersed many people and are preventing others from joining,” Alavi added.

The NCRI is the political arm of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI, also known by its Persian acronym MEK), which is designated a “terrorist” group by Iran.

The group has organised numerous protests in Paris without incident, including in recent months during nationwide anti-government demonstrations in Iran and the US-Israeli conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Lebanese state media says Israeli strike on south kills seven

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike on a village near the southern city of Sidon killed at least seven people on Saturday, as Israel presses strikes despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah announced a day earlier.

The strike on Qannarit killed “seven people and wounded 13 others, in a preliminary toll”, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said.

US-Iran ceasefire negociations underway in Switzerland

A ceasefire in Lebanon appears to have revived negotiations. US envoy Steve Witkoff flew out to join President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Switzerland on Friday. They will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtchi.

ďťżThe US and Iran signed a memorandum earlier this week to stop the war, with implementation yet to be ironed out. FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Iran, Reza Sayah, tells us more. 

Yesterday’s key developments:

• The next round of Lebanon-Israel talks will be held June 23–25 in Washington, the ‌US State Department said on Friday, ‌following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph ‌Aoun.

• Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire following Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon.

• Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose to its busiest in two months after a deal to halt the US-Iran war. 

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)

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