Iran announced on Saturday June 20 to once again “close” the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for the deadly Israeli attacks in Lebanon which, according to it, violate the terms of its memorandum of understanding with the United States with a view to ending the conflict in the Middle East.
“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to maritime traffic (…) this first measure is a response to the enemy’s violation of commitments,” the Iranian army’s central command said in a statement read on state television. “If the aggression continues, further measures will be planned and implemented to compel the enemy to comply with its obligations,” he added.
At the start of the war, Iran blocked this sea route through which some 20% of the world’s hydrocarbons previously transited, causing a surge in oil prices and shortages.
Its reopening constituted one of the key points of the memorandum of understanding signed this week by the United States and the Islamic Republic, which provides for an end to hostilities in all theaters, including in Lebanon, Tehran having insisted on this last point.
But despite this text, and a new ceasefire announcement on Friday June 19 by the United States, Israel and the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah have been clashing for two days in the south of the Cedar country, where Israeli operations still left at least 24 dead on Saturday June 20.
According to the Lebanese national news agency ANI, around twenty Israeli bombings were recorded on Saturday in the east and south of the country.
Israel, which occupies part of the south, said it was targeting Hezbollah positions in retaliation for attacks against its troops. According to the Israeli army, “more than 50 projectiles” were fired by the Shiite organization against its soldiers during the night from Friday to Saturday. Israeli strikes killed, according to Civil Defense, 16 people in the Nabatiyé region, where an AFP correspondent saw columns of smoke in the air. A Lebanese soldier was also killed, according to the army, while the Health Ministry reported at least seven deaths in the village of Qannarit, near Saida, still in the south.
“Regain our lives”
Hezbollah said it had pushed back Israeli troops who, “under cover of a ceasefire, (…) attempted to infiltrate” a strategic height overlooking Nabatiyé. “While being committed to the ceasefire, (Hezbollah) will show no tolerance in the face of any Israeli attempt (…) to extend its occupation,” the movement said in a statement.
Israeli airstrikes on Nabatiye, southern Lebanon, June 20, 2026
Abbas FAKIH / AFP
“Fear dominates everyone,” Fadi Zayat, a resident of the southern village of Tayr Debba, told AFP. “We returned to our village a few days ago, with our bags ready in case we had to leave again,” said this 53-year-old laboratory worker. “We are waiting for a serious decision to end this war (…) and get our lives back.”
From the Israeli side of the border, an AFP correspondent saw numerous explosions on Lebanese soil, with plumes of smoke rising above the medieval Beaufort Fortress, which the Israeli army seized at the end of May.
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war in early March by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader, killed during US-Israeli strikes on Tehran that sparked the war on February 28.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, assured Friday that Israel was committed to respecting the ceasefire, provided that Hezbollah did the same. On Saturday, he accused Hezbollah of having “violated the ceasefire” and assured that his country honored it while “defending itself against terrorist attacks”.
“Preparatory” discussions
US Vice President JD Vance during a press briefing at the White House, June 18, 2026 in Washington
Ken Cedeno/AFP
As for the Iranian-American talks, initially scheduled for Friday in Switzerland and supposed to launch a 60-day process to resolve the central subject of nuclear power and lead to a final agreement, no new date has been announced.
However, “preparatory” discussions began on Saturday between diplomats in a Swiss tourist resort, according to Berne. According to the Swiss public channel RTS, delegations from the United States and Iran, as well as the mediator countries, Qatar and Pakistan, are taking part.
American Vice President JD Vance, who was to go to Switzerland, canceled his trip, but envoy Steve Witkoff is on his way, according to American media. Mr. Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, is also expected there, media outlets Axios and CNN said, both citing American officials.
The Interior Minister of Pakistan, the main mediating country, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of the negotiations.
