Iran withdrew from Switzerland talks scheduled for today, pointing to Israel’s ongoing bombardment and occupation of Lebanon as incompatible with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) President Donald Trump signed earlier this week, as the Iran War entered its 112th day on Friday.
The MOU conditions an end to the conflict on the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” and “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.” Trump signed the agreement on Wednesday in France, kicking off 60 days of negotiations on a final agreement.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon from midnight into Friday morning killed at least 47 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The strikes were part of a major clash that included an attack by Hezbollah that killed four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, which Israel occupies. Israel has bombed or demolished homes in Lebanon every day since March 2, 2026, killing at least 3,980 people.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted to X on Friday morning that “for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!” He added that “In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint—you need to go berserk. To obliterate.”
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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Ben Gvir’s threat, saying that “this is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister” of the Israeli government, arguing that what he called “the genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv” is “a threat to all of humanity” and that “its only interest is permanent war.” Analysts have said the main stumbling block to a U.S.-Iran peace deal is Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
A U.S. official claimed that Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire to begin at 9 am Eastern Time. A senior Israeli official told Haaretz that Israel agreed to the ceasefire but would bomb Lebanon again if Israeli soldiers were attacked by Hezbollah. Haaretz, citing Lebanese media reports, noted that “the Israeli military continued to strike Lebanon, even after Israeli officials confirmed the truce had taken effect.” Al Jazeera reported at least 12 Israeli airstrikes and artillery shellings on Lebanon in the hour after the truce went into effect.
The price of Brent Crude oil closed Thursday at $79.85 per barrel while AAA reported the national average price of regular gas on Friday at $3.97.
