Middle East crisis live: Israel strikes targets in Lebanon as US-Iran talks in Switzerland called off

Welcome to our continuing live coverage of events in the Middle East. Israel ’s military says it is attacking Hezbollah in several areas across southern Lebanon and has been striking throughout Thursday night. It said on Telegram that the strikes on “Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure sites” came after “repeated violations of the ceasefire” by the Iran-backed grup. It was earlier reported that three people had been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon , according to Lebanese state media. Hezbollah had said its fighters were engaged in fresh clashes with the Israeli military on Thursday. The strikes have occurred despite the US-Iran agreement stipulating an end of the war on all fronts in the Middle East , including Lebanon. Meanwhile, talks set to take place on Friday between the ⁠US ⁠and ​ Iran on implementing the 14-point agreement to end their war have been cancelled, Switzerland ’s foreign ministry has announced. Vice-president JD Vance has postponed his trip to Switzerland, casting uncertainly over what happens next. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said “nothing has been confirmed” about the Iranian delegation’s trip to Switzerland. A White House spokesperson said the US looked forward to starting “technical talks as soon as possible”. In other key developments: Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal , saying Donald Trump was Israel’s only ally left in the world, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in defence aid ⁠the country receives from America. 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. Trump said the ​US expected “a ⁠complete ceasefire on all fronts, including ⁠Lebanon, Hezbollah ​and Israel” , adding in a social media post: “We ‌encourage everyone ‌in the ‌Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations ‌to beautifully unfold.” Iran’s supreme leader said he approved the deal with the US despite having a “different view” , without elaborating. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in message read on state television: “In principle, I had a different view [about the memorandum of understanding], but I issued my permission due to the commitment that the honourable [Iranian] president, as the chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, gave me on behalf of himself and other members to protect the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front.” In Khamenei’s message on Thursday – his first reaction to the Iran-US deal – he claimed Trump had “used all kinds of levers” to secure the deal “out of desperation” . The US president has claimed the agreement is a victory for Washington and averts a “worldwide depression”. View image in fullscreen Trump signs the framework agreement with Iran in the Palace of Versailles in France, beside French president Emmanuel Macron (R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (L), with US secretary of state Marco Rubio (standing L), on Thursday. Photogr