SWITZERLAND PUSH An Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland late Saturday, state media and the Swiss foreign ministry said.Iran’s official broadcaster said it included parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the delegation would “demand implementation of the other party’s commitments” under the deal.”Otherwise, the entire understanding will be in trouble,” he said, according to the official news agency IRNA.Vance left Washington on an afternoon flight to join the talks, saying he could only stay “a day or
two.”US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already there handling “some of the technical elements” and had reported that “things are going well,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News earlier Saturday.Mediator Pakistan – whose interior minister was reportedly in Iran on Saturday for meetings with officials – said “technical-level talks” were scheduled for Sunday in Burgenstock, Switzerland, with Pakistani and Qatari mediators joining US and Iranian representatives.The talks are meant to open a two-month negotiation period on issues left unresolved by the
initial accord, notably Iran’s nuclear programme. LEBANON TRUCE FRAYS Israel and Hezbollah continued trading accusations Saturday as fighting persisted in southern Lebanon.The Israeli military said one soldier was killed in combat, the fifth such fatality since the US-Iran deal was reached.An Israeli army official later said the military had received orders from the country’s political leadership to cease fire, adding that troops were “not conducting proactive strikes” but operating defensively inside a security zone.Earlier, an Israeli military official said fresh attacks were underway after Hezbollah
“launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out “under the cover of the ceasefire . an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills”, a strategic feature overlooking Nabatieh, and said its fighters had responded “with appropriate weapons”.Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with authorities counting more than 30 dead. The overall death toll from the fighting in Lebanon had surpassed 4,000, the health ministry said.Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said his group
retained “the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us”.Israel’s US ambassador Yechiel Leiter maintained it was Hezbollah that broke the truce, saying Israel was “defending itself against terrorist attacks”.But Hezbollah said Israel bore “full responsibility”.Fadi Zayat, who fled the southern Lebanon town of Tayr Debba, told AFP that “fear dominates” the south.”We returned to the village a few days ago, but our bags are ready to flee again,” the 53-year-old said.Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the wider Middle East conflict in early March
when it fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.A previous ceasefire meant to take effect in Lebanon in April was never honoured, with each side justifying its attacks by citing alleged violations by the other.
US Iran talks Switzerland, Abbas Araghchi, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Esmaeil Baqaei, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Burgenstock technical-level talks, Pakistan mediator, Lebanon truce, Hezbollah Israel fighting, Hassan Fadlallah, Yechiel Leiter, Tayr Debba Fadi Zayat