Friction in the air as talks currently look set to go aheadpublished at 21:09 BST

21:09 BST

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

First, the talks were off; now they seem to be on.

Iran’s delegation, headed by its lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is now enroute to Switzerland for high-level meetings meant to take place on Friday in the luxury resort of Bürgenstock.

That means the US Vice-President JD Vance should soon be boarding a plane in Washington.

There’s friction in the air too.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmael Baghaei emphasised this was not the start of negotiations, as set out in the new 14-point Memorandum of Understanding.

"Negotiations for a final agreement will begin when the implementation of the commitments starts" he told the state-run IRINN news channel.

Iran accuses the US of violating this framework, most of all the clause which calls for an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".

Despite yesterday’s statements by Israel, and Iran-backed Hezbollah forces, that they would hold fire, their truce appeared to immediately fall apart.

President Trump and his team want this deal to work – they’re exerting pressure on their Israeli ally not to jeopardise it.

And Iran is also trying to stick to what it calls its red lines - without bringing the deal to breaking point.

Image source, EPA

In a post on X, also shared by Iran's state broadcaster IRIB, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Mohammad Mokhber, threatens that energy supplies will "come to a halt" if other parties fail to adhere to the US-Iran deal.

He suggests the agreement is currently "on paper" only, adding that Iranian negotiators will only be satisfied with "full implementation".

On the economic threat, he says: "Americans understand the language of economics and cost-benefit better."

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump says there will be "NO TOLLS" in the Strait of Hormuz, either now or after the 60-day negotiation period set out for further peace talks ends.

He also suggests the US could impose its own tolls if a broader deal is not reached between the US and Iran during the 60-day negotiation period.

He writes on social media: "There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!"

• As a reminder: the 14-point deal signed earlier this week stipulates that Iran "will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days"

Israel-Hezbollah fighting puts MoU under strainpublished at 20:20 BST

20:20 BST

Tomos Morgan
News correspondent in Washington DC

For the past few days, President Donald Trump has been explicit in his language towards Israel - urging it to cease the fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The tone from the US leader has been far stronger, far harsher, far blunter than any used by his predecessors towards its ally in the Middle East - lambasting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for continued attacks.

Those clashes delayed the original signing of the peace deal, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which specifically declared a ceasefire in Lebanon as well as between the US and Iran.

Overnight, Tehran warned the US that if clashes continued there would be consequences.

According to US media, US intelligence had also warned the American administration that Israel would undermine, and put the MoU in jeopardy, by continued fighting.

Israel says it is in fact Hezbollah which has broken the ceasefire by firing more than 50 projectiles at Israeli troops. It says its own strikes, which have reportedly killed 20 people, are a retaliation.

Yet in Washington there is confusion and contradiction, with both Vice-President JD Vance and US Central Command announcing the Strait of Hormuz is still open.

No doubt this latest development will give even more ammunition to critics of the MOU like Republican senator Bill Cassidy, who branded it "the worst foreign policy blunder in decades".

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the start of US-Iran talks in Switzerland on 21 June, his office has told the BBC.

Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war, and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran in its capital, Islamabad, in April.

• How Pakistan won over Trump to become an unlikely mediator in the Iran war

Image source, Press Information Department of Pakistan

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Iran's nuclear programme has been the focus of diplomatic talks, sanctions on Iran, and inspections for decades.

It was often referred to by Donald Trump as the reason the US joined with Israel in launching strikes on the country in late February this year.

Iran maintains its programme is peaceful.

The US and Israel have consistently rejected this and say there have been efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Under a nuclear deal agreed in 2015, Iran had limited its enrichment to 3.67%, which can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Weapons-grade uranium is 90% enriched or more.

Iran began openly escalating its enrichment levels after Donald Trump abandoned the previous agreement in 2018.

By June last year, Iran was enriching at 60% and had amassed a stockpile of 400kg, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In the 14-point US-Iran deal signed this week, Iran "reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons", but other parts of the programme are still to be negotiated.

The two parties also "agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs".

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is in Switzerland and is expected to lead some of the negotiations around Iran's nuclear programme, a source tells the BBC's US partner CBS News.

The memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran includes a provision that the IAEA - the United Nations' nuclear watchdog - at a minimum oversees the process of diluting Iran's enriched uranium.

Iran's nuclear programme has been a major sticking point in negotiations with the US, with the precise details of a nuclear agreement yet to be reached.

The Israel Defense Forces says five soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon in the past two days.

It says that in an incident on 19 June, four soldiers were killed in combat.

In another incident on 20 June, one soldier was killed and three were injured, it says.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, whose work helped turn a stretch of coastline in southern Lebanon into one of the eastern Mediterranean's most important nesting sites for endangered sea turtles, has died after being wounded in an Israeli strike two weeks ago.

Khalil, 76, was injured when her house on Mansouri beach, near the southern city of Tyre, was hit during Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

She died on Friday after several days in hospital, according to a local environmental group.

The BBC has reached out to the Israeli military for a response.

• Read more: Lebanese turtle conservationist Mona Khalil killed by Israeli strike

Some tankers appear to have passed through the strait todaypublished at 19:07 BST

19:07 BST

Paul Brown and Richard Irvine-Brown, BBC Verify

While several vessels appear to have made U-turns around the Strait of Hormuz today, the latest tracking data shows at least five tankers appear to have passed through the Strait.

The Bitumen Star, listed as an asphalt/bitumen tanker, and Petrel 1, listed as an oil/chemical tanker, appear to have transited the strait today (they each began transmitting AIS data while already in the middle of the strait) by the northern route.

The former appeared in the strait around 10:30 UTC (11:30 BST, 14:30 local) and exited the western side around 13:45, with the latter following about an hour behind.

Image source, MarineTraffic

Meanwhile, three vessels - the Mombasa B, Al Salam and Al Bateen - all listed as types of oil tanker, each appeared at the eastern end of the southern route between 09:30 and 10:30, and appeared to transit the strait, all having left on the western side by 12:10.

However, Bahrain Prosperity appeared in the middle of the southern route around 12:45, but stopped while approaching the western edge of the strait at 14:15 without moving further, then disappearing by 15:15.

Tracking ships turning back in the Strait of Hormuzpublished at 19:05 BST

19:05 BST

Image source, MarineTraffic

Paul Brown and Richard Irvine-Brown, BBC Verify

Monitoring shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz, using maritime tracking website MarineTraffic, can be challenging as some vessels suddenly appear and disappear, likely because their AIS trackers are turned on or off. But there are some journeys worth noting.

Five vessels look as though they have made sudden about-turns earlier today, two of which have stopped near the western edge of the strait according to the latest data.

For example, the Lumina Ocean appeared on the western edge of the strait around 12:45 UTC (13:45 BST, 16:15 local), close to the time of Iran’s announcement.

It was following the northern route through the waterway but made a 180-degree turn around 14:30 before appearing to stop at the western edge where it remains, edging slightly north, at time of writing.

Tracking data shows another tanker, the Abu Dhabi III, approached the western side of the strait along the southern route around 10:00 and also appeared to U-turn, stop at the western edge at approximately 14:00, and then disappear from the tracking data around 14:45.

Later, the Gulf Sunrise and Monaco Loyalty were seen to make the same adjustment and leave the strait in the opposite way to their original headings.

Also on the southern route, the Titan Harmony is notable for entering the strait around 05:30, making a 180-degree turn at 07:30 (long before the announcement) and leaving by 10:30.

As we've been reporting, at least 20 people were reportedly killed by Israeli strikes less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

Both acknowledge attacking the other, but each claimed they were responding to violations by the other side.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins has told Al Jazeera, the Washington Post and Reuters: "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz".

He reportedly told them that "traffic continues to flow", with US forces "monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case".

The BBC has contacted Centcom for comment.

A US official announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday - but fighting between the two has continued, with both sides blaming the other for ceasefire violations. Here's what both sides have said:

Israel Defense Forces

• The IDF said Hezbollah had launched more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon overnight
• It described these as "repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement"
• The military said it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in response, including rocket launch positions and command centres
• The statement said the IDF remains "committed" to the ceasefire agreement, "and will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel and IDF soldiers"

Hezbollah

• The armed group has also released statements today, saying it is committed to the ceasefire and accusing Israel of making "falsehoods" about Hezbollah violating the ceasefire "in an attempt to justify its ongoing aggression"

• Hezbollah says Israel is attempting to "sabotage" the agreement between Iran and the US, and accuses it of repeated violations ceasefire violations
• It says it has attacked Israeli forces, but says it was responding to attempts to make advances further into Lebanon, saying the Lebanese people have a right to defend their "land and sovereignty"
• Israeli "aggression" will "not pass without a response", it says, adding: "The expulsion of the occupation from our land is only a matter of time"

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent in Beirut

If there was ever a ceasefire in Lebanon, it did not last long. All day, waves of deadly Israeli air strikes took place across the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley, both areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, hours after another truce was announced.

In one of the attacks, in the town of Barich, a family of four was killed - a father, a mother and their two children. In another, on the Kafr Raman-Nabatieh road, a soldier of the Lebanese national army, which is not a party to the conflict, was killed.

The Israeli military said it hit what it described as targets linked to Hezbollah, and that this was in response to the firing of around 50 projectiles by the group against Israeli troops occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah confirmed attacks, saying it had targeted Israeli forces who were trying to make advances in the south of the country. It said that, while it is committed to the ceasefire, it will not tolerate attempts by Israel to seize more Lebanese territory.

The conflict here raises questions about the future of negotiations for a permanent deal between the US and Iran. A halt to the fighting is a condition for those talks to go ahead. Israel, which was not involved in the talks, says its troops will continue in Lebanon.

Image source, Reuters

US Vice-President JD Vance said Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, and envoy Steve Witkoff were already on the ground in Switzerland ahead of planned talks with Iran.

Vance said the pair are "dealing with some of the technical elements of this negotiation".

"My understanding, talking to Jared and Steve this morning, is things are going well," Vance said,

Asked if he has any plans to join them, he says he expects he will leave "sometime in the next couple of days".

Image source, EPA

An Iranian delegation, headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has now departed for Switzerland, state media reports.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, is also in attendance along with other officials including national security, central bank and oil representatives.

Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi and foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei are also reported to be on board the flight.

Baghaei said earlier that Iran will demand the US "fulfils its commitments".

Failure in Lebanon could endanger attempts to make wider peace dealpublished at 16:43 BST

16:43 BST

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

The situation in Lebanon always looked like the thing most likely to endanger attempts to find a wider peace deal.

Iran has always insisted that the fighting between Hezbollah, its ally and proxy, and Israel must also cease if progress was to be made elsewhere. The US, as well as the mediating parties, agreed to this.

Israel initially wanted Lebanon to be considered separately from the deal with Iran. When Iran made clear this was a red line, pressure from the US seemingly forced agreement from Israel.

But, attempted ceasefires in Lebanon have all failed, with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms. That is exactly what we have seen over the last 24 hours, with both Israel and Hezbollah putting out statements saying that they were responding to provocations by the other.

Whatever the truth of it, the end result is the same. The wider ceasefire, which has broadly held in the rest of the region since April, has not brought respite to Lebanon. This failure now looks like it could endanger the entire deal.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the Iranian military says it is closing the Strait of Hormuz, blaming "America's blatant breach of promise" on the deal to bring about an end to the war.

It highlights the first paragraph of the 14-point deal, which declares an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".

It comes after reports that at least 20 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon - less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

A US official said yesterday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed a ceasefire, following concerns that continued clashes would undermine the deal to end the war between the US and Iran.

The Israeli military confirmed that a ceasefire was in effect, but later a spokesman said its forces would "continue to remove immediate threats".

A Hezbollah official told the BBC it does not recognise the ceasefire that was announced by US officials on Friday afternoon, and it rejects the Israeli objective to operate freely inside Lebanon.

Earlier today, local officials said 16 people have been killed in the Nabatieh district and seven in neighbouring Saida, in Lebanon.

The Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of Hezbollah targets after the group fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah have both accused each other today of repeated ceasefire violations.