Live: US attacks Iran, Tehran vows swift response

The Israeli government and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon beginning at 4pm local time, Reuters reported.

The deal comes after Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people in an escalation in southern Lebanon on Thursday night. 

Israeli strikes have killed at least 21 and wounded over 39 others in southern Lebanon since Thursday night, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health announced. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun denounced "a dangerous and reprehensible escalation" that has cost the lives of "dozens of innocent people, including women and children".

These strikes "undermine all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war, particularly in light of recent developments between the United States and Iran", he said in a statement.

Read more: Israel kills dozens in Lebanon as minister calls to 'open the gates of hell'

Israeli forces raided a children's toy store in Jenin in the West Bank, occupied Palestine, and fired tear gas in the city's marketplace, Wafa news agency reported.

The Israeli military also stormed the village of Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, firing gas bombs on Palestinians arriving for Friday prayers, according to Wafa.

Wafa also reported that Israeli settlers attacked a house and several vehicles in the town of Kafr Haris, and vandalised an electricity pole in Beita, near Nablus.

US Vice President JD Vance has warned Israel that President Donald Trump is its only friend left in the world as he batted away criticism of the Iran deal.

Speaking at a White House press briefing about the reported $300bn reconstruction fund included in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Iran to end the months-long war, Vance said Israeli government ministers needed to think twice before attacking the deal.

“My message to them would be twofold. ​Number 1: 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 told reporters on Thursday.

Read more: Vance tells Israel Trump is ‘your only ally’ left as Iran talks postponed

Israeli officials have openly said that troops will remain in southern Lebanon, as strikes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah continue overnight despite the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Thursday.

The Israeli army will stay in Lebanon “as long as necessary”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement he posted on social media on Friday, promising to make Hezbollah pay a “heavy price” for its attacks.

“Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary for the protection of the communities of the north,” he added.

Four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Friday, including a battalion commander, the Israeli military reported.

Responding to the deaths of the four soldiers, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on social media: “We will not allow harm to our soldiers and citizens, and any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah will be met with great force.”

Israeli troops will remain in a so-called “security zone” in southern Lebanon, extending from “the coastline to the heights of Beaufort", Katz said.

The far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for a far more aggressive military response, saying: "For every tear shed by an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers should cry."

He added that "all of Lebanon should burn" and said Israel must make clear that "the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for grabs".

Iran informed Hezbollah that talks with the United States could not continue without the implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Friday.

Fadlallah called on the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.

He added that Washington bears the responsibility for ensuring Israel halts its attacks and implements the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Iran's Strait of Hormuz authority said on Friday it would waive planned fees to use the waterway during the 60-day negotiation period under the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States this week.

Ships seeking passage through the strait while the interim agreement is in force must submit transit requests at least 48 hours before arrival, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said in a notice.

Iran will waive fees for security, safety, environmental services and related insurance during the 60-day window, while requiring vessels to coordinate routes and transit times in advance to avoid mine-affected areas, according to PGSA.

Iran previously said it would continue to exercise control over the strait in partnership with Oman and intended to charge ships service fees that did not exist before the war, though not during the 60-day talks.

China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, called on Israel to stop violating the ceasefire in Gaza, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Speaking on Friday at an emergency UN Security Council session on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Fu said China views Israel's continued expansion of military occupation in Gaza with grave concern.

China calls on all parties concerned, particularly Israel, to fully comply with the ceasefire agreement and cease any reckless actions that violate it, Fu added.

Iran’s national football team will file a formal complaint with Fifa over travel restrictions imposed during the World Cup, the country's football federation announced on Thursday.

“Despite submitting our tournament preparation schedule well in advance, the national team has once again encountered restrictions from the organisers, disrupting the technical staff’s plans,” a federation spokesperson said, according to AFP.

The statement came after the team was forced to fly to Los Angeles just one day before their opening match against New Zealand and return to their base camp in Mexico immediately afterwards, despite having requested to arrive two days prior.

Players and coaches have openly expressed frustration over recurring hurdles throughout the tournament, as federation staff, players, and Iranian fans have all faced severe travel restrictions.

Playing in Group G, the Iranian team started the tournament following months of uncertainty over their participation, amid the war on Iran by the US and Israel.

An Israeli airstrike killed three people in the Lebanese town of Jamaliyah, located near Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley in the east of the country, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

The attack followed an Israeli military announcement claiming Hezbollah violated the ceasefire and stating it plans to keep up the attacks across the valley.

Despite the recently brokered ceasefire, ongoing Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon since midnight have intensified.

France wants to play a role in talks dealing with Iran's nuclear programme and will not approve the lifting of UN sanctions unless it is satisfied by the terms of a final accord, its foreign minister said.

Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday there would be no stability in the region unless US talks with Iran also dealt with Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for proxies.

"The return for major concessions that will be asked of Iran is the lifting of sanctions, sanctions that were taken at the United Nations," he said.

Reminding that France is a permanent, veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the foreign minister stressed that French approval is legally required to lift the sanctions.

"Our objective is to get major concessions from the Iranian regime, a radical change in posture. And we will have our word to say, because as a member of the UNSC it will be necessarily linked to the resolution of this crisis," Barrot added.

The agreement reached between the United States and Iran this week calls for negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme to take place over the next 60 days, with a final deal to be endorsed by the Security Council.

France, Britain and Germany want a role in shaping the coming talks after being sidelined in recent months.

Britain's International Development Minister, Jenny Chapman, urged Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon to allow families displaced by three months of war to return to their homes

“Israel should withdraw from southern Lebanon.”

Britain's International Development Minister, Jenny Chapman, urged Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon to allow families displaced by three months of war to return to their homes pic.twitter.com/E3FjDgdUmY

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 19, 2026

Egypt's foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, is set to host his counterparts from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the country's el-Alamein on Sunday.

The ministry said that Abdelatty "will hold a quadrilateral meeting on Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, followed by an expanded session of talks and a joint press conference".

The ministry has not yet specified what the discussions will revolve around. 

The latest Israeli air strikes targeted several areas in southern Lebanon and Beqaa valley, located east of the country. 

The ministry of health reported that the death toll has risen to at least 18 since Israel began its attacks early on Friday. More than 33 others have also been wounded as a result. 

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Israeli shelling was reported across southern Lebanon early on Friday, including in Tyre and Nabatieh, despite a recent agreement between the US and Iran, which categorically calls for a halt to fighting between Israel and Lebanon.

While Israel's military said it was striking Hezbollah targets, the country's National News Agency indicated that areas targeted were populated residential towns. 

Here are the latest updates from the region: 

• Expected US-Iran talks on Friday at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland will not take place, the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement. 

• French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "show a sense of responsibility" amid increased military action in the region, adding that its military strategy in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank "runs contrary to Israel's own interests" in the long-run. 

• US Vice President JD Vance criticised Israeli cabinet members in a press briefing on Thursday, in a departure from his usual stance on Israel. He said that "Israelis, like everybody else, have to respect this peace process".

• US President Donald Trump in an interview with Axios said that the war on Iran showed "there are no limits" to his ability to exert power. "We have the most powerful military in the world, by far. Who else could have done a blockade like that?" he said.

• Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that if there are breaches of the peace deal with the US, Iran will not hesitate to respond. "In the event of bad faith, breach of contract, and excessive demands by the opposing side, we have no hesitation in delivering a crushing response to the enemy," he said in a post on X.