June 20, 2026
US President Donald Trump's personal envoy and Iran's foreign minister were headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios said, although deadly strikes by Israel in Lebanon on Saturday could test a new ceasefire key to ending the Iran war.
The talks, led by Steve Witkoff and Abbas Araghchi mark an effort to turn this week's interim 14-point pact into a lasting regional deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.
But just hours after a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Israeli air strikes and drone attacks killed at least five people in the south on Saturday, Lebanese state media said.
A halt to the fighting in Lebanon is a condition for starting 60 days of US-Iranian talks to resolve disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme and other thorny issues needed to forge a more durable deal critical to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and stabilising global oil supplies.
