News of the World

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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

Iran promises to help Hezbollah once assets are unfrozen, sanctions are lifted

Iran’s initial peace deal with the US sets the stage for Tehran to bolster Hezbollah’s financial and political grip in Lebanon once cash begins to flow from unfrozen funds and oil deals, according to a new report.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Iran stands to gain hundreds of billions from post-war investment, sanction relief and unfrozen funds.

And Iran is promising to use the reconstruction funds to prop up its battered terror proxy in Lebanon, sources familiar with the dealing told Reuters.

Tehran reportedly promised the inflow of cash to Hezbollah as soon as possible, paving the way for the group to rebuild its military wing and political arm in war-torn Lebanon, two regional diplomats and two senior Lebanese sources said.

Hezbollah’s communications office confirmed Iran’s public support for the terror group, which it has propped up for decades — including a transfer of $1 billion last year, according to the US Treasury Department.

The media office insisted that Iran would continue to support Hezbollah “regardless of the details of the retrieval of its funds.”

The US has maintained that Iran cannot use its unfrozen funds to finance “any terror organization,” warning that the money will be locked out if the agreement is broken.

One of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goals of the war was to eliminate Iran’s regional terror infrastructure in the Middle East.

The situation in Lebanon has repeatedly caused friction in the peace negotiations and briefly caused the talks to collapse and fighting to restart in the region last month.

The MOU also calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, providing further relief for the terror group that has had its leadership and ground forces devastated by nearly three years of fighting.

The war has come at a tremendous cost for Hezbollah, with nearly 4,000 people killed in southern Lebanon since March, according to the country’s health ministry.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Iranian minister head to Switzerland for talks

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi were both headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios said on Friday, as a cease-fire in Lebanon appeared to revive efforts to turn an interim Iran war pact into a lasting regional deal.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire in Lebanon on Friday after escalating fighting cast doubt over US-Iran talks critical to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and stabilizing oil supplies.

That followed a 14-point memorandum the two sides signed this week to halt fighting and open a 60-day window to resolve disputes over Iran’s nuclear program, as well as other thorny issues needed to forge a more durable deal.

US Vice President JD Vance canceled plans on Thursday to travel to Switzerland for the talks, however, amid rising tension in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, a terrorist group backed by Iran.

With the cease-fire in place, Witkoff is heading to Switzerland to join Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who is already there, Axios said. Araqchi plans to travel there on Saturday, it added.

The development may signal that both sides intend to begin technical negotiations aimed at securing a permanent truce.

The White House did not respond to questions about Witkoff’s travel.

A senior US official said the cease-fire took effect around 4 p.m. in Lebanon following an exchange of fire, adding that negotiators for the United States and Qatar had worked out the agreement with help from Iran.

Two sources from Hezbollah and a senior Israeli official confirmed the cease-fire to Reuters.

“If Hezbollah does not attack us, then for us it is not a time of war,” the Israeli official said, adding that Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon, where it has occupied an area along its northern border.

Two Lebanese security sources said Israel had carried out a dozen airstrikes in the first hour of the cease-fire but none were recorded after 5 p.m.

Strait of Hormuz closing again, IRGC announces — as US Central Command says commercial traffic has ‘increased’

It’s an open and shut case.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it was shutting down the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, even as US Central Command touted an increase in commercial traffic along the critical waterway.

About 55 merchant ships traveled safely through the corridor, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil as safe passage remained intact on Saturday, according to CENTCOM.

“U.S. forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” the military command center added, referencing the new Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran.

CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said, “The strait is open and the U.S. blockade against Iran has ceased.”

That assessment came hours after the IRGC announced it was closing the strait, putting the delicate agreement — a 14-point MOU that centered on the immediate reopening of the passageway — in peril.

Amid the conflicting reports, top US and Iranian officials were headed to Geneva, Switzerland, for a new round of technical talks expected to get underway on Sunday.

The IRGC warned the strait’s closure was a result of renewed fighting in Lebanon despite a Friday US brokered cease-fire between Israel and the terror group Hezbollah.

“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic; It is noted that this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations,” the IRGC’s military headquarters said in a statement on state TV.

Israel said it struck Lebanon Saturday in response to dozens of projectiles fired by Hezbollah. One strike on a three-story building in the Tyre district killed a father, mother and two children, according to a town official.

The Israeli military said four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed overnight into Friday in an attack by the terror group in southern Lebanon, and five IDF soldiers were wounded hours later.

Conflict erupts in Lebanon between Israel, Hezbollah — just hours after 2 sides reach critical truce

Hours after the two sides agreed to stop fighting, Israel and Hezbollah traded attacks in Lebanon Saturday threatening to upend a fragile peace agreement between the US and Iran.

The terror group launched “some 50 projectiles at Israeli troops” overnight, prompting Israel Defense Forces’ attacks on what an official described as “Hezbollah targets.”

An IDF soldier was killed and 13 others were wounded by the terror group in the Nabatieh-area village of Kfar Tebnit, the Israeli military said.

“Hezbollah broke the ceasefire, not Israel,” Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter wrote on X Saturday. “Terrorists lie. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. Hezbollah lies.

“Iran is using its proxy to extract concessions. That is the modus operandi of the murderous regime in Tehran.”

The IDF carried out a wave of retaliatory strikes killing at least 27 people, according to Lebanese officials, the Times of Israel reported.

Hezbollah denied that it was the the first to strike, claiming it had “adhered to the ceasefire” since the truce with Israel, which was brokered by the US and Qatar, went into effect Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., local time.

The terror group — based in southern Lebanon — said its fighters engaged with IDF troops attempting to advance on Lebanese territory. 

“We will not tolerate any attempt by the enemy to seize land and expand its occupation,” Hezbollah said in a statement Saturday.

“The continuation of brutal Israeli attacks aims to obstruct any solution that would allow for restoring stability in Lebanon,” the Lebanese army said of Israel’s actions that have sparked unprecedented criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from President Trump.

“I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah,” the president told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit earlier this week.

“Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump also said. “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody.”

He warned the Israeli prime minister that he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon” and urged him to accept the cease-fire Friday.

Under pressure from the Trump administration, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Netanyahu instructed the Israeli military to “hold its fire” in Lebanon on Saturday, Channel 12 news reported.