Hezbollah, Israel renew ceasefire

The US push to launch highstakes negotiations with Iran suffered a setback before getting back on track, as fresh fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forced the postponement of talks aimed at implementing the recently signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding and restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

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Hopes were revived late on Friday after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew truce, Reuters and the Associated Press said, citing two regional officials and a US official.

The truce, brokered by Qatar, the United States and Iran, came after escalating violence in southern Lebanon threatened to derail efforts to turn the interim accord between Washington and Tehran into a broader Middle East peace framework.

Technical talks between the US and Iran, scheduled to begin on Friday at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, were called off as clashes intensified in Lebanon. Vice-President JD Vance, tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the negotiations, had been preparing to fly to Switzerland for discussions with Iranian counterparts. White House officials, security teams and journalists had already assembled ahead of the expected trip.