Israel’s military struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight, as Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area, threatening the nascent agreement between Iran and the United States to end their war.
US-Iran Talks Postponed
Talks planned for Friday in Switzerland between Iran and the United States, which Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to attend, were postponed as the fighting intensified. Mediators worked to reschedule the meetings crucial for starting talks over a permanent end to the Iran war, with much of the attention focused on Lebanon, regional officials said.
The Israeli military also said it struck targets in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley on Friday, with Lebanese media saying the village of Douris was hit. The death toll in Lebanon rose sharply, with at least 18 people killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
Impact on US-Iran Agreement
The continued fighting in Lebanon could unravel the newly signed deal, which calls for an immediate halt to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” where Israel has been battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, and for ensuring Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
The deal aims to end the war and has reopened the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, while bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran’s stranglehold on the strait had all but stopped the flow of oil through the key waterway.
President Donald Trump said he signed the agreement to avoid “economic catastrophe” in the U.S., after the war caused oil prices to skyrocket, made financial markets skittish and fueled inflation.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.