Iran's negotiating delegation suspended its trip to Switzerland because of continuing Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, per local reports.

Iran's Al Mayadeen reported that the delegation had been preparing to travel for the first round of talks under the 60-day negotiation process before deciding to suspend the trip.

Tehran had allegedly informed Washington and the mediators that cessation of hostilities in Lebanon was central to the negotiations.

Statement by #Iran’s SNSC:
With complete distrust toward an unreliable adversary, & under strict monitoring of both the negotiation process & implementation of commitments, any breach by the US will trigger a reciprocal response in accordance with a pre-established plan.#Trump pic.twitter.com/iYz42RrN06

— Iran in Mumbai (@IRANinMumbai) June 19, 2026

Switzerland said US talks with Iranian negotiators on a pact to end the Middle East conflict would not take place on Friday, as Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel to Geneva, adding to uncertainty whether a lasting truce can be found.

The talks, set for the mountaintop resort of Burgenstock, would not take place, Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed, but gave no details.

There was no immediate response from Iran, which had earlier said it was ready to begin technical talks after Wednesday's 14-point accord extended a tenuous ceasefire by at least 60 days.

US President Donald Trump's interim deal to end the Iran war met scorching public criticism from some of his fellow Republicans as copies of the signed agreement circulated on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Today, U.S. forces lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, in accordance with the President's direction. American forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports. All U.S. military blockade…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 18, 2026

The average US price for a gallon of gas fell below $4 on Thursday, hitting a level not seen since the first full month of the war with Iran and providing a bit of relief to consumers squeezed by soaring costs.

 Iran will invite the UN's nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran's enriched material, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told US lawmakers Thursday in a private briefing.

The briefing was described by two people familiar with the conversation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to share the closed-door details.

"Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time," Vance said during a news briefing at the White House. "The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in", JD Vance said during press briefing at the White House.

JD Vance hits out at Israel from White House. pic.twitter.com/qWZkzTkX49

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 18, 2026

Hezbollah said its fighters were engaged in fresh clashes with the Israeli military on Thursday, hours after Lebanese state media reported that Israeli strikes in the south killed three people.

The fighting came a day after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts, including in Lebanon. 

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, said on Thursday it was fighting "a force of the Israeli enemy army that attempted to advance from the town of Arnoun towards the outskirts of Kfar Tibnit", near the key town of Nabatieh.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei confirmed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States with a pointed post, saying it was American desperation, not Iranian eagerness, that drove the agreement.

"As you have been informed, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the presidents of Iran and the United States of America," Khamenei wrote.

He said that while Iranian officials had worked sincerely to reach this point, it was the American side that had pushed hardest. "It was the American president who, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about," Khamenei wrote.

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers with six million barrels of crude onboard sailed through the Strait of Hormuz hours after US President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran over an end to the conflict, ship tracking data showed on Thursday.

The sailings from Saudi ports were the biggest departures through the strait in weeks, according to Reuters analysis of shipping movements.

Saudi Arabia has mainly used its Red Sea port terminal of Yanbu to ship out oil due to the conflict which started on February 28 and which has disrupted hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from leaving from Gulf producer ports through Hormuz.

Iran said on Thursday that its missile programme would not be part of future negotiations with the United States, after the two sides agreed a framework deal for ending their war.

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding early Thursday. There is no mention in the deal of Iran's missile programme, a longstanding concern for Washington and its ally Israel.

"Our missiles do not like at all to be talked about by anyone," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with Iranian state television.

"Iranian missiles are only for firing, not for negotiations. Iran's defence capability will not be discussed in any way, in any process or with any party."

An Israeli drone strike in south Lebanon killed one person on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media, hours after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war.

"An enemy drone targeted a car" in the Kfar Tebnit region, killing one person and seriously wounding another, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday that it was as ready to begin defining the "concrete steps" that will need to be taken to implement a US-Iran deal.

"Now it's for us to sit down with our American colleagues, our Iranian colleagues, and start formulating the concrete steps that will have to be to be taken," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Geneva.

China said on Thursday it "welcomes" news that the United States and Iran signed a deal to end the Middle East war, urging both sides to continue their cooperation in a second round of negotiations.

"China welcomes this development and hopes that all relevant parties -- including the US and Iran -- will uphold the spirit of their agreement and earnestly honour their commitments," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference, urging Washington and Tehran to "meet each other halfway" in the next stage of talks.

Initial talks between the United States and Iran are planned at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland on Friday, following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington, the Swiss government said on Thursday.

"As things stand, the plan is still for the U.S. and Iran, along with mediators Pakistan and Qatar and other involved countries, to meet tomorrow at Buergenstock for initial negotiations about implementing the agreement.

"No further information is currently available regarding the schedule and details of this meeting," the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement.

An exchange between US President Donald Trump and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy circulated online this week, hours after the peace deal with Iran was signed. At a press conference in Switzerland - where Trump attended the G7 Summit before signing the deal - Doocy reminded the president of a remark he made in 2020, during his first term.

"I just want to ask you about this..." Doocy began, "A wise man once said, in January of 2020, 'Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation.' That wise man..." Trump then jumped in. "Who said that?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"Donald Trump," Doocy replied. "That's what I thought you were going to say," Trump smirked.

Behind the quips lay Doocy's question - a problem right up the wheelhouse of a president who routinely refers to himself as 'the world's greatest deal-maker'. "How do you," Doocy asked, "convince a skeptical American public that this deal... "

In jumped Trump.

"Well, look, here they lost militarily, okay? It's very tough, because I know that no matter what - if I would go, by the way, if I'd go another three or four weeks, those same people that are critical would say he went too long, he shouldn't have... "

President Pezeshkian and his US counterpart Trump signed the MoU between Tehran and Washington digitally and remotely. pic.twitter.com/ratIJxoeLG

— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) June 18, 2026

Moments before signing the deal, Trump, holding a pen in one hand, told the leaders sitting with him: "This was not easy - that I can tell you".

He then signed the paper and held it up for the guests.

A video showed Macron - who was seated next to Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio - who was standing behind Trump, and other guests applauding.

Le Président Trump a signé ce soir à Versailles l’accord entre l’Iran et les États-Unis.

Cet accord ouvre la voie à une paix durable et permet la réouverture du détroit d’Ormuz.

C’est un pas important dans la bonne direction pour nos compatriotes… pic.twitter.com/b1XgZrBv0m

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 18, 2026

Iran's chief negotiator said the deal with Washington to end the Middle East war after more than three months was a "failure" for the United States.

"The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state TV late Wednesday after the text was released by both sides. 

Iran will charge a "maritime service fee" in the Strait of Hormuz, its foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, as Tehran expressed "deep mistrust" in the US despite signing a memorandum of understanding with Washington to stop the war.

"We have always maintained that we do not seek to collect transit tolls, but fees for navigation services, environmental protection, ship insurance and other necessary services will be charged," he said during a press briefing.

Iran's chief negotiator on Wednesday repeated Tehran would charge ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day fee-free period stipulated in a memorandum of understanding with the US.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in an interview aired on state television that the "Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions", adding: "Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services."

Oil prices fell in early trading on Thursday after the US and Iran signed an interim agreement that would end the Iran war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and waive US sanctions on Tehran's oil, resolving the largest energy supply disruption in history.

Brent crude futures were down 89 cents, or 1.12%, at $78.66 a barrel as of 0005 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate fell 98 cents, or 1.28%, to $75.81 a barrel.

The most important issue in imminent nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is how Iran's nuclear programme will be policed, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday.

"It will be most important to see the verification mechanisms that are (put) in place beyond the actual commitments on (uranium) enrichment, the actual commitment on the removal or downblending of nuclear materials," he said of the talks.

"How we will have a long-term, sustainable verification regime is what will matter the most, and that is what will give the international community but also the regional countries the most confidence and the ability to look towards a better future," the prince said.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday described Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "neutral" during the war with Iran, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"I just want to thank them because they made it a lot better," Trump said following the adoption of a ceasefire agreement in the conflict.

Speaking at a press conference at the Group of Seven conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, Trump told reporters he was grateful to the leaders for staying out of the conflict.

"I want to thank China, President Xi. I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it," Trump said. "And I want to thank Vladimir Putin, he was very neutral. They could have made it much more difficult for us."

(Reuters)

Trump said "nobody" purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran in February, citing an investigation into the incident.

The strike on February 28, the day US and Israel started war against Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials.

Trump initially claimed, without evidence, that Iran was responsible. He has since said he does not know enough about the strike, that an investigation ​is ongoing and ⁠that he will accept the results of the inquiry.

"That's under investigation," Trump said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Group of Seven conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, adding that mistakes are made in war. "Nobody did that on purpose."

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it would be unfair for Iran not to have ballistic missiles if other countries have them.

"I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some," Trump told reporters in Paris.

"If Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have some, I would say in relative proportion, I think it's okay."

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a "softer touch" in dealing with Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Speaking at a Press Conference at the G7 Summit, he called Netanyahu "a good man" who, according to him, "gets a little excited sometimes". He said, "In all fairness to Bibi Netanyahu, who happens to be a good man, he gets a little excited sometimes."

He added, "I said, you can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the "historic" peace deal between the United States and Iran has been electronically signed today.

He said deal "shall enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade."

I am honoured to announce that the historic ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Memorandum has been signed by honourable Presidents of both the countries and also…

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 18, 2026

US President Donald Trump has defended the return of frozen Iranian assets as part of the evolving diplomatic process with Tehran, arguing that permanently withholding another country's funds could undermine global confidence in the US dollar and the international financial system.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France, Trump said that while the United States had frozen significant Iranian assets.

"The unfreezing... we have taken a lot of their money. And we have their money. We have taken their money, it's not our money, it's their money. And we froze it. At a certain point in time, I guess we're going to have to give it back. You know, if we didn't give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again," Trump said.

🚨 President Donald J. Trump has SIGNED the Iran Memorandum of Understanding at Versailles in France. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JQ6qlbvFAF

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 17, 2026

Iran's chief negotiator on Wednesday repeated Tehran would charge ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day fee-free period stipulated in a memorandum of understanding with the US.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in an interview aired on state television that the "Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions", adding: "Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services."

US President Donald Trump has signed an agreement with Iran aimed at bringing an end to the conflict in the Middle East, according to a US official who spoke to AFP on Wednesday.

The confirmation came after US news outlet Axios reported that the signing took place during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following the G7 summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that "nobody" purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran in February, citing an investigation into the incident.

The strike on February 28, the first day of the conflict, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials.

Trump initially claimed, without evidence, that Iran was responsible. He has since said he does not know enough about the strike, that an investigation ​is ongoing and ⁠that he will accept the results of the inquiry.

(Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to ensure the safety of Indian seafarers as part of the implementation of the Iran deal.

His comments come days after three Indians were killed in a US strike on a commercial vessel off Oman.

Speaking after bilateral talks with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian in France, PM Modi said keeping the Strait of Hormuz open was vital for the global economy and that freedom of navigation must be safeguarded.

"Hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers are serving across the world's oceans in the maritime trade sector, and I believe that their safety is equally important" as reopening the key waterway, PM Modi said alongside Trump after their bilateral meeting, according to a video posted on his social media.

(AFP)

While U.S. President Donald Trump has recently hailed the resumption of oil flows from Gulf allies, Iran, too, appears to be gearing up to resume exports and trading.

At least three tankers carrying some five million barrels of Iranian oil have sailed through the U.S. naval blockade this week, shipping data shows, despite the U.S. military saying its operations against Iran-linked shipping will stay in place until Friday.

The oil market has focused on a deal to end the Iran war which Trump announced on June 14 and is scheduled to be signed on Friday in Switzerland.

(Reuters)

Iran's interim deal with the U.S. looks set to bolster Hezbollah's political and financial hand in Lebanon, with Tehran promising more funding for its ally once cash starts to flow, according to four sources familiar with ties between Tehran and the group.

A cash infusion to Hezbollah could help it recover from heavy wartime losses and deliver a setback to Israel, which dealt the Iran-backed group crushing blows in a 2024 war and has campaigned against sanctions relief for Tehran.

The U.S.-Iranian memorandum of understanding (MoU), due to be signed on Friday, is expected to halt hostilities across all fronts, mediator Pakistan has said, although its terms have not been made public.

(Reuters)

A leaked memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran outlines an ambitious roadmap to end hostilities, lift sanctions, restore oil exports and revive Iran's economy, according to a document published by a prominent media outlet on Wednesday.

The text released by Al-Arabiya, which has not been officially released by either Washington or Tehran, offers the most detailed account so far of the framework that President Donald Trump has described as a breakthrough in efforts to reduce tensions in the Middle East.

According to the document, Iran and the United States, along with their allies, would declare an "immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon" upon signing the memorandum.

(IANS)

Iran will immediately take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once a tentative deal with the U.S. to end the war is signed and will be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions, according to leaked copies of an interim agreement that officials say broadly matches the document.

(AP)

Hezbollah chief says Lebanon's main demand should be restoration of sovereignty.

(AFP)

Hezbollah chief says Israel-Lebanon talks should be limited to mutual security

(AFP)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war could be a "game changer" in the region and beyond.

There is "a likelihood that this memorandum of understanding agreement could be a game changer", Carney told reporters on the third day of a G7 leaders' meeting in the French town of Evian.

He pointed to encouraging discussions, which included US President Donald Trump, on Ukraine and Lebanon at the summit.

Israeli forces on Wednesday carried out airstrikes on several areas in south Lebanon, state media reported, despite a peace deal in the Middle East war that includes Lebanon.

Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli warplanes launched raids targeting the Nabatieh al-Fawqa area and the eastern outskirts of neighbouring town Kfar Tebnit. 

The Israelis also launched a drone strike on the town of Ansariyeh in the Zahrani area, NNA reported.

(AFP)

Iranian oil tankers have exited the zone in the Gulf blockaded by the US Navy, the TankerTrackers website said on Wednesday, calling it the country's "first crude oil exports in two months".

"At least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) VLCC supertankers named DIONA (9569695) and HERO2 (9362073) have exited the US Navy blockade perimeter carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil between them," TankerTrackers said in a post on X, citing digital tracking data corroborated by satellite imagery.

The site -- which monitors oil shipments and storage -- later added that a third NITC tanker had "exited the blockade line with 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil".

(AFP)

The United States military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers.

The operation on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz employs a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions. Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation - one off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and the other off Oman's port of Sohar. It started in early May, and at least 92 ships have been involved in the transfers, according to shipping data and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters.

As recently as June 11,17 pairs of ships could be seen carrying out simultaneous oil transfers at the two sites, according to satellite images reviewed by Reuters.

Pope Leo on Tuesday praised the interim US-Iran peace deal to end the regional war in the Middle East, saying "thanks be to God" that the two powers are set to formalize their accord on Friday.

Leo, who drew the ire of US President Donald Trump after criticising the Iran war, said he hoped the deal will end the conflict for good.

"There will still be several points to settle, but it is always better to do so through dialogue, through negotiations, and not by returning to war," the first US pope told journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

"I hope that it truly is a solution to the war, that the war really is over, and that we can move forward," he said.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a rare public rebuke of Israel's military tactics in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah militants, saying it was unnecessary to bomb entire apartment buildings to hunt militants.

Trump, who in recent days had expressed his displeasure over Israeli attacks in Beirut that he said could have endangered his peace deal with Iran, said Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned Lebanese militia, for "too long".

Oil prices sank again Tuesday and pulled below $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, while the US stock market drifted near its all-time highs in mixed trading.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and pulled 1.1% below its record set earlier this month. More stocks rose than fell on Wall Street, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 391 points, or 0.8%, toward another record. But drops for some influential tech stocks had the Nasdaq composite down 0.7%, with an hour remaining in trading.

A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland's mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) took centre stage in President Donald Trump's Middle East diplomacy at the G7 Summit, with Trump praising UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and expressing confidence that a newly signed agreement with Iran would ease regional tensions and help stabilise global energy markets.

Trump met the UAE leader on the sidelines of the summit in France, describing the relationship between the two countries as "outstanding" during a bilateral meeting that lasted less than 15 minutes.

The meeting came hours after Trump held discussions with the Emir of Qatar and participated in meetings involving G7 and Middle Eastern leaders, with the newly announced Iran agreement dominating conversations throughout the day.

(IANS)

Trump says 'soon we will be able' to reimpose sanctions on Russian oil

(AFP)

Trump says he'll send an agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran and opening nuclear negotiations to Congress for review.

(AP)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, was "the most important" issue in the peace deal with the United States announced the day before.

"The important point I want to emphasise here is that in our view, there are two parties to this memorandum -- one side is America and Israel, and the other side is Iran and Hezbollah," said Araghchi during a briefing with foreign diplomats broadcast on state television.  

"This is perhaps the most important issue in the memorandum -- the declaration of an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon," he said, adding that "ending the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the complete end of the war".

(AFP)

Iran said Tuesday that talks with the United States on its nuclear programme and sanctions relief would likely begin later this week, as President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would "completely open" once the foes sign their deal.

Officials say negotiations over a final deal would take place in a 60-day window after the memorandum of understanding to end nearly four months of war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran is physically signed.

"Likely on Friday, at a location to be determined... a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

"In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions."

(AFP)

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf will be present for the signing of an interim agreement to end the war with the US, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said, according to Tasnim news agency.