Iran peace deal - LIVE UPDATES

Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire, a US official said Friday, after deadly new exchanges in Lebanon put the fragile deal to end the Middle East war under immediate strain.

 

The truce that began at 4pm local time (1300 GMT) was brokered by US and Qatari mediators following talks with Israel and Iran, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

 

A Gulf diplomat also confirmed the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to AFP.

 

The Lebanon clashes had threatened the deal between Washington and Tehran to end the war, after the postponement of planned talks in Switzerland featuring US Vice President JD Vance.

 

US President Donald Trump and his administration have shown growing frustration recently with Israel, Washington's ally and partner in the Iran war.

 

Trump called on Thursday for a "complete ceasefire on all fronts" including from Israel.

 

He has also been increasingly critical of the high death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

 

"When two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don’t have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better, and frankly they could do a better job," Trump said at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday.

 

Vance meanwhile issued an extraordinary rebuke of hardline ministers in the Israeli government on Thursday for criticizing the Iran deal, telling them to "wake up and smell the reality."

 

"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 a White House briefing.