Report: Iran Pulled Out of Talks After Fighting in Lebanon

Israel's military said Friday its forces 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. Talks planned for Friday in Switzerland between Iran and the US, 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.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Lebanon rose sharply. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported at least 18 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, which the Israeli military said were ongoing. Israel said four of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, including a lieutenant colonel. An explosive drone attack hurt another five, it added.

• 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 US and Iran back to the negotiating table over Tehran's nuclear program. Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the agreement. Iran insists Israel must withdraw from the large swath of southern Lebanon it is occupying, but the wording of the interim deal doesn't explicitly require that. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has refused to withdraw. He said Thursday that Israeli forces will remain in a "security zone" of southern Lebanon as long as "Israel's security needs require it."
• Two regional officials, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said mediators were focused on calming the fighting in Lebanon. One said Iran pulled out of the Switzerland meeting specifically over the fighting and Netanyahu's comments, describing them as violating the interim deal between Iran and the US. Two other regional officials, similarly speaking on condition of anonymity, described Pakistan as being "stunned" by Iran's decision not to go to the talks Friday.
• The AP reports that Vance had been prepared to make an overnight flight Friday to meet with his Iranian counterparts at a mountainside resort in a tiny Swiss village and begin the technical talks. His staff and a small pack of journalists had even gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington in anticipation of the trip. Meanwhile, dozens of White House officials, advance staffers, and more media gathered in Switzerland to prepare for Vance's anticipated arrival. "The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," the White House said in a statement after the trip was abruptly called off.