Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz after Israel strikes on Lebanon kill at least 15

Iranrsquos joint military command said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon and US ldquobad faithrdquo and ldquoits clear breach of its commitmentsrdquo by failing to end the warThe statement on state TV also warned that ldquoif the aggression continues subsequent steps have been plannedrdquo Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim USIran agreement was signed earlier in the weekIsraeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people including two children hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in West AsiaLebanonrsquos National News Agency said the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages At least seven people remained trapped under the rubble it saidAt least seven people remained trapped under the rubble PicPTIMediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiersAn Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there The official spoke anonymously in line with regulationsOn Friday Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said on X that Israel ldquoremains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefirerdquo if Hezbollah honours the agreement and ceases hostilitiesIn public statements Hezbollah has said it will abide by a ceasefire if Israel does but has not said a ceasefire was actually in place An anonymous Hezbollah official said Friday after reports of a ceasefire deal emerged that efforts were underway by Qatar the US and Iran to broker an IsraelHezbollah ceasefire but stopped short of confirming a deal had been reachedWitkoff en route to SwitzerlandSteve Witkoff PicXSAM_BADAWIAxios reported on Saturday that White House envoy Steve Witkoff was on his way to Switzerland where the first round of talks after the MoU is expected to take place with focus on Iranrsquos nuclear stock The MoU signed last week led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and marked the beginning of a 60day negotiation window aimed at restoring peace in West Asia Axios cited an unnamed source saying Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also planning to travel to SwitzerlandPak min reaches IranPakistanrsquos Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday reached Iran unannounced mdash the first visit by any senior Pakistani official after US and Iran signed an MoU last week Naqvi reached Mashhad in Iran on Saturday reported Geo News Later Iranian media reported that Naqvi was on his way to Tehran to hold talks with senior Iranian officials According to the stateowned IRNA news agency Naqvi will ldquomonitor the ongoing negotiationsrdquo between Iran and the USThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever