The United States and Iran will stand down on strikes and vessels will be allowed to move freely, as technical talks are slated to continue on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the countries."Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU. Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely," a US official told Reuters on Sunday local time.The talks include arrangements around the Strait of Hormuz, the removal of a US blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran, and the future of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.The two sides have 60 days from their signing of the memorandum of understanding earlier this month to work out details.The comments of the US official came after the US and Iran exchanged fire amid rising tensions that threatened the interim deal between the two countries to stop the war.The US launched strikes on Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz early on Sunday morning, saying it was in response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.Iran then launched strikes targeting US allies Kuwait and Bahrain, prompting the US to launch a second round of air strikes, which Iran again retaliated against.Both sides accused the other of violating the interim peace deal, which stated military operations would cease permanently on all fronts.Axios, which first reported the cessation of hostilities, citing a senior US official, said talks would resume on Tuesday in Qatar.Israel has taken over around 600 square kilometres of southern Lebanon. (AP Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)Fighting in Lebanon threatens dealContinued conflict in Lebanon has threatened the peace agreement, with Beirut saying fighting must end on all fronts before certain issues can be discussed.Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes on Sunday, including on the southern city of Nabatieh, with the Lebanese health ministry saying two people were wounded by an Israeli stun grenade in the south.The Israeli army said it destroyed an extensive tunnel in southern Lebanon on Sunday."The tunnel, stretching more than 200 metres and reaching a depth of over 25 metres, contained hundreds of weapons as well as several launch shafts intended to target the State of Israel and its civilians," Israel's Minister of Defence Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint statement."Israel informed the United States and the US representative in Lebanon in advance of the destruction of the infrastructure."The incidents came despite a trilateral framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel under US sponsorship on Friday to pave the way for peace between the two countries and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.The agreement did not include Iran or Hezbollah, which has criticised it and rejected calls to disarm.Hezbollah's leader said on Saturday that the group would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.On Sunday, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi again said the US must force Israel to halt attacks and withdraw.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has called for the US to force Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. (Reuters: Thaier Al-Sudani)Israel occupies around 600 square kilometres in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer.Key Iranian negotiator and parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Sunday that a meeting of a new "conflict control unit" formed among Iran, the United States and Lebanon should meet as soon as possible, Iran's state broadcaster reported.Israel targets Syrian villageIsrael's military targeted Abdin village in southern Syria's Daraa province with artillery shelling on Sunday evening, Syrian state media reported.There was no immediate report of casualties.The provincial government of Daraa said in a statement that residents of the village had thrown rocks at an Israeli convoy when it advanced on the village, and that the troops withdrew after UN peacekeepers intervened.It said the Israeli artillery shelling drove Abdin's residents to flee the village.Earlier on Sunday, Israel's military said it had killed several armed men in southern Syria but gave no details. There was no statement from Syrian officials.Israel seized control of a UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria in December 2024 following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive.Israeli officials initially called the move temporary, but more recently they have said they plan to occupy the zone indefinitely.Reuters/AP/AFP