Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, effective 4 p.m. local time, according to a senior US official and a Gulf diplomat. The truce, mediated by the United States, Qatar and Iran, followed an overnight surge in hostilities that killed at least 18 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers — the deadliest exchange since the US–Iran memorandum of understanding was signed on 17 June. The violence prompted Iran to withdraw its delegation from planned talks in Switzerland, and US Vice President JD Vance postponed his trip, leaving the broader diplomatic framework in limbo until the Lebanon front was stabilised.

Viewed from Washington, the ceasefire is an attempt to salvage an interim deal that President Donald Trump has described as essential to averting “economic catastrophe” from soaring oil prices. Trump has publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that “Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.” Israeli officials, however, said the military would retain “full operational freedom” to respond to threats and that forces would remain in a southern Lebanon security zone as long as necessary. Hezbollah, through a spokesperson, said it would abide by the ceasefire if Israel did, but reserved the right to respond to any violation. Iran’s foreign ministry blamed Washington for the Israeli strikes, citing the memorandum’s first clause requiring an immediate halt to military operations on all fronts, and Tehran’s chief negotiator warned that Iran’s “finger is on the trigger.”

The ceasefire is the first direct test of the US–Iran framework, which was designed to end a war that began on 28 February with US–Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The memorandum, signed electronically by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and approved with reservations by new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, calls for a permanent cessation of hostilities and a 60-day negotiation period on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief. The postponement of the Switzerland talks — which were to be led by Vance and Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf — exposes the deal’s vulnerability to the Lebanon theatre, where Israel and Hezbollah are not direct signatories but where Iran insisted the ceasefire must apply. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with 25 commercial vessels transiting on Thursday, has temporarily eased energy markets, though Iran’s new maritime authority signalled it may eventually impose fees, indicating Tehran’s intent to retain leverage over the waterway.

Mediators are now working to reschedule the Switzerland meeting, with no new date announced. The 60-day window for a comprehensive agreement remains open, but the durability of the Lebanon truce is uncertain: a previous ceasefire in April collapsed quickly, and Netanyahu’s government faces pressure from far-right ministers who have called for Lebanon to “burn.” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strikes as a “dangerous escalation” and said his government would continue to push for a full Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army. The coming days will determine whether the Lebanon ceasefire holds and whether the US and Iran can resume the talks that are meant to transform the interim accord into a permanent settlement.