Israel and Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire after intensified fighting threatens U.S.-Iran talks

( NBC )

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire Friday after a deadly escalation between the two looked set to derail Washington — Tehran peace talks in Switzerland, a U.S. official told NBC News.

Hezbollah and Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the U.S. official’s statement. The ceasefire was meant to start at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. E.T.) on Friday, they said.

The intensified strikes came days after an interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed, stipulating that all fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, must end immediately.

On Friday, Tehran and Washington were set to sit down for their first negotiations to agree on a lasting conclusion to the war started by the U.S. and Israel in late February. But the new Israeli strikes in Lebanon cast doubts on the deal to end the war, and Vice President JD Vance canceled his planned travel to Switzerland for the talks.

Set to take place in the Swiss Alps, the negotiations were temporarily postponed following the deadly Israeli attacks, a regional diplomat with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.

Tehran asked for guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon would end, as outlined in the deal signed with Washington, and mediators were working to resolve the issue, the diplomat said.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed early Friday that the planned talks between the U.S. and Iran would not take place in the mountaintop resort of Bürgenstock. The meeting would include Qatar and Pakistan.

“Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks,” it said in a statement, adding that “relevant preparatory work” in Bürgenstock is continuing.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Vance defended the deal with Iran and stressed that Israel had to “respect this peace process that is fundamentally good for them and good for the entire region.”

He also hit out at Israeli critics of the agreement.

“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 said. “If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”

In Lebanon, Israel said it targeted Hezbollah across the south of the country overnight and early Friday. At least 18 people were killed, Lebanese health officials reported.

The Israeli military said that four of its soldiers were killed, including a senior commander, and another five injured. Hezbollah also reported fighting in the area.

Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military to strike Hezbollah “with force” following the deaths of the soldiers, which he called “a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”

The military attacked “more than 80 terror targets and eliminated dozens of terrorists,” Netanyahu said, and hit the group’s headquarters in the Bekaa Valley on Friday morning. Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect its northern communities, he added.

Hezbollah accused Israel of never adhering to a ceasefire or the deal that Trump signed, which called for immediate ending to all fighting, including in Lebanon.

Iran has warned that it would not abide by the agreement with the United States if Israel, which has not been part of talks, continues its campaign in Lebanon. On Thursday, Israel published a map with an expanded ​military control zone in southern Lebanon and said it would not rule out more attacks beyond it.

The agreed 14-point memorandum of understanding agreed by the U.S. and Iran calls for an immediate end to “military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” as well as “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

The pact also stipulates that the key Strait of Hormuz trading route will be reopened after months of disruption for the global economy, but particularly oil and gas markets.

Brent crude steadied Friday but remained set for a more than 8% weekly decline given news of the deal.

NBC News’ analysis of marine traffic through the crucial waterway revealed a trickle of ships travelling through the strait Thursday and into Friday, as two Chinese and two Hong Kong owned ships, and a Japanese crude oil tanker left the Persian Gulf, where they had been stuck since February.

The authority Iran has established to manage the strait has issued new guidelines for vessels Friday, saying it won’t be charging any fees during the 60-day negotiation process, but a transit request must be submitted 48 hours before arrival. Iran would waive “tariffs for security, safety and environmental services” during the period, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in an advisory.