Live: US attacks Iran, Tehran vows swift response

US Vice President JD Vance rejected claims that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz during an interview with Fox News on Saturday.

His comments came after Iran's top military command said the strategic waterway had been closed to vessel traffic following what it described as Israel's violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

Iran’s top joint military command said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to vessel traffic again, citing Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon as a violation of Iran’s agreement with the US.

“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic; it is noted that this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations,” the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement carried by Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

US Vice President JD Vance said that he expects to travel to Switzerland for talks with Iran soon after the initial meetings scheduled for Friday were postponed.

He said that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, are in already Switzerland for negotiations.

“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 in an interview with Fox News on Saturday.

Vance added that the talks are going well and that he is confident a ceasefire can be maintained, so he intends to “give negotiations a chance”.

At least 29 people have been killed in a new wave of Israeli attacks on Lebanon across southern Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley, just a day after a ceasefire was announced.

Lebanon’s civil defence agency said a series of Israeli attacks on the Nabatieh district in the country’s south on Saturday killed 16 people and wounded 12 others.

The agency said its personnel had been working since dawn to respond to the ongoing attacks.

An Israeli strike on the village of Barish in Tyre, a coastal city known as Sour in Arabic, killed four members of the same family, which Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) described as a "massacre".

The NNA also reported that at least seven people were killed and 13 were injured in an Israeli attack on a village near the southern city of Sidon.

Another person was killed in the municipality of Shahour in the Tyre district, and one person was killed in the town of Sohmor, the western Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon.

In a statement published on X, the Lebanese army said one of its officers had been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Kfar Rumman-Nabatieh road.

Read more: Israel kills at least 29 in Lebanon, one day after ceasefire deal

Switzerland continues to provide a "discreet and reliable setting" at Burgenstock 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 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," Hezbollah 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.

An Israeli strike on a village near the southern city of Sidon killed at least seven people on Saturday, as Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon despite agreeing to a ceasefire 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.

Israeli strikes on Saturday killed five people in Gaza, including four members of the same family, according to Palestinian health officials.

An overnight Israeli air strike on an apartment building in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City killed four members of the al-Safadi family, including the husband, wife and their two daughters, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

It added that the strike also wounded 12 others.

Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of four members of the al-Safadi family, including two children. 

The hospital also said it had received another body following a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in the north of Gaza City.

At least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on 10 October last year. The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.

Lebanon’s civil defence agency said that a series of Israeli attacks on the Nabatieh district in the country’s south on Saturday killed 16 people and wounded 12 others, one day after a ceasefire was announced.

A statement from the agency said that personnel have been working in the district since dawn to respond to the ongoing attacks.

The Israeli army said it had struck Hezbollah targets in response to overnight projectile attacks on Israeli troops stationed in Lebanese territory.

“Overnight, the Hezbollah terrorist organisation launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Following the attacks, the IDF has been striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon,” an Israeli military official said.

The strikes came after a Hezbollah lawmaker described any ceasefire as "meaningless" while the Israeli army remains in southern Lebanon.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is due to meet with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a visit to Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media has reported.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told ISNA news agency that Naqvi’s visit is part of Islamabad’s ongoing efforts to mediate negotiations between Iran and the United States.

Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza have accused the Bank of Palestine of freezing or closing their accounts without adequate explanation, leaving them unable to access salaries, aid and personal savings.

Several account holders told Middle East Eye they were unable to access funds needed to pay rent, buy essentials and support their families after discovering their accounts had been restricted or shut down.

They said they received little or no explanation from the bank and were given no clear pathway to challenge the decisions.

Due to the chronic liquidity shortage in Gaza and widespread deterioration of banknotes, many Palestinians rely heavily on banking applications and digital wallets to access and transfer money.

Ahmed Sardah told MEE that he was trying to transfer money through the bank's mobile application when he discovered his account had been closed. He later learned that his PalPay and Jawwal Pay wallets had also been suspended.

Read more: Palestinians in Gaza say bank account closures cut off access to vital funds

An Israeli attack on the village of Barish in southern Lebanon killed four members of the same family, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

The attack came just one day after Israel agreed to a ceasefire.

A senior Hezbollah lawmaker has ruled out a ceasefire with Israel while the Israeli army remains in Lebanese territory, warning that further aggression will be met with a response.

“A ceasefire while the enemy continues its targeting and assassinations is meaningless”, MP Hassan Fadlallah said in comments cited by Iranian media, adding that “the right of self-defence is established for us and is not subject to bargaining or negotiation”.

Fadlallah said Iran's military and diplomatic support for Lebanon was key to maintaining a military balance with Israel and could eventually force Israeli troops out of Lebanese territory.

The Lebanese army said on Saturday that Israel had launched an attack targeting an army soldier in the country's south, in violation of the ceasefire reached a day earlier.

“The continuation of brutal Israeli attacks aims to obstruct any solution that would allow for restoring stability in Lebanon,” the army statement read.

تتواصل الاعتداءات الإسرائيلية الوحشية على لبنان بعدما طال التصعيد الأخير مناطق واسعة في الجنوب وصولًا إلى البقاع، موقعًا المزيد من الشهداء والجرحى، ومسببًا دمارًا كبيرًا في الممتلكات.
في هذا السياق، استهدفت غارة إسرائيلية معادية عسكريًّا في الجيش على طريق كفررمان - النبطية ما أدى… pic.twitter.com/07U6EWtfEc

— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) June 20, 2026