By Duarte Dias, Frank Andrews
What to know about the Iran war:
- Talks on Iran’s nuclear program were expected to start in Switzerland as soon as this weekend, but the White House said Vice President JD Vance’s trip there was put off and Switzerland said the negotiations have been postponed.
- At least 10 commercial vessels were transiting the Strait of Hormuz Thursday morning amid a noticeable increase in traffic hours after President Trump and his Iranian counterpart signed the agreement between the two countries.
- The memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately and initiate broader direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran on a range of contentious issues, including Tehran’s nuclear program.
4 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon fighting, Israel’s military says
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Israel’s military said Friday that intense fighting in southern Lebanon killed four soldiers.
The military identified one of the dead, a lieutenant colonel, and said the three others would be identified later.
Lebanon’s state-run news agency says at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the south overnight.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with Hezbollah, reported that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over ongoing Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
Switzerland says U.S.-Iran talks postponed
Switzerland announced Friday that planned talks following up on the deal to end the Middle East war had been postponed, hours after Vice President JD Vance’s departure for the Alpine country was also put off.
The signing of the accord this week was intended to end the conflict in Iran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin a 60-day period for talks on wider issues, including Tehran’s nuclear program.
At the same time, the deal was supposed to halt the fighting in Lebanon, but Israel’s military announced new strikes Friday against Hezbollah targets in the nation’s south.
“The planned talks between the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed,” the Swiss foreign ministry said.
“Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing,” it added, without providing a new date for the talks.
It followed the announcement late Thursday from the White House that Vance’s trip was postponed, with a spokesperson saying the “logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable.”
“We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”
Lebanon says at least 16 dead in strikes Israeli military says targeting Hezbollah
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.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, which the Israeli military said were ongoing.
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.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has refused to withdraw, saying Israeli forces will remain in Lebanon until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday put off his trip to Switzerland, where he had been set to lead the talks. The White House blamed logistical issues, but the announcement came after a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied to Hezbollah, that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
Iran to lodge complaint with FIFA over World Cup restrictions, team says
CBS/AFP
Iran’s World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA claiming it’s being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament in North America, the Iranian football federation spokesman said on Thursday.
“Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organizers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” the spokesman said.
The team’s coach complained about restrictions immediately after Iran’s first match, a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif. on Monday night. The team had expected stay in California overnight to give players typical recovery time but was told after the match that it had to immediately fly back to is training base in Tijuana, Mexico.
Iran wanted to fly from Tijuana to the U.S. two days before its next match, against Belgium in Inglewood on Sunday. But the Iranian federation said its request was turned down.
The Trump administration has pushed back against the Iranian claims.
White House FIFA Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani told CBS News on Sunday that Iran had been informed in advance that the team would be allowed to come into the U.S. only on the days before games.
Vance no longer traveling to Switzerland for talks with Iran tonight, White House says
Vice President JD Vance is no longer planning to fly to Switzerland late Thursday to help kickstart talks with Iran, a White House spokesperson told reporters.
“As the Vice President said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks have not been finalized, and the U.S. delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity. But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the White House press pool. “As of now the Vice President is not departing tonight. We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps.”
The spokesperson added: “We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”
Under the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the U.S. this week, the two sides are planning to hold 60 days of technical talks on the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.
Earlier in the day, Vance told reporters the plan was for those talks to begin this weekend, and he intended to travel to Switzerland for the start of negotiations, but “that could change” because Iran is “not an easy country … to get out of.”
“It just depends on exactly when the Iranians can get there,” he said. “We’re trying to figure that out as we speak, but again, I suspect it will happen this weekend.”
Trump administration briefed congressional leaders about Iran deal
Senior Trump administration officials hosted a briefing call with House and Senate leaders this afternoon about the memorandum of understanding it signed with Iran this week, a White House official and multiple congressional sources told CBS News.
Top lawmakers with the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees were on the call, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sources said. Senior officials gave a readout of the agreement, answered lawmaker’s questions and previewed the upcoming negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Punchbowl was first to report the briefing.
The agreement has proven controversial in Congress, with several Republicans — including some who are not frequent Trump critics — expressing wariness or concern it does not sufficiently restrict Iran.
GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement: “I am concerned that the memorandum of understanding negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President’s goals.”
Israel will not withdraw from security zone in Lebanon, Netanyahu says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has forcefully come out against the Israeli military leaving its security zone in southern Lebanon in spite of the Iran memorandum of understanding.
The text of the deal, read by a senior U.S. official but not seen directly by CBS News, calls for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”
Hezbollah has said the last part of that point means Israeli forces must leave Lebanese territory, and they will consider it a breach of the agreement if they don’t. Netanyahu said he has no plans to do so.
“Just as we restored security and prosperity to the Gaza envelope, so we will restore security and prosperity to the northern communities,” Netanyahu said at a road inauguration event on Thursday night. “This requires maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon, and it dictates that we will not withdraw from there as long as Israel’s security needs require it.”
However, the prime minister did thank the U.S. for its support in the war, a concession to some degree.
“The struggle is not yet over, and additional challenges lie ahead,” he said. “These require of us composure, a resolute stand on our security interests, and at the same time — maintaining the important connection with our American friends who fought shoulder to shoulder alongside us, and we appreciate this very much.”
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Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-us-deal-strait-of-hormuz/