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Switzerland's Foreign Ministry said scheduled talks between the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed. Negotiations to implement the signed U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war were scheduled to take place at a Swiss resort complex on Friday. Meanwhile, Israel reached a ceasefire with Hezbollah following fresh strikes, a senior U.S. official told Fox News.
Covered by: Greg Norman-Diamond, Landon Mion, Emma Bussey, Efrat Lachter, Alec Schemmel, Morgan Phillips, Jackson Thompson and Jasmine Baehr
Vice President JD Vance scrapped plans to travel to Switzerland on Friday for the next round of U.S.-Iran talks, the White House confirmed Thursday night.
President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday remotely executed the historic 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war, bypassing a planned in-person Swiss ceremony by finalizing the text via concurrent digital signatures. Trump physically signed a paper copy of the document during a G7 summit dinner at the Palace of Versailles.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) is already producing results in the Strait of Hormuz, pointing to a surge in oil traffic and a pause in Iranian attacks on ships, Vance said Thursday. Trump added that “The Markets are loving what is happening with Oil Prices way down, and Stocks way up.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets and eliminated dozens of Hezbollah terrorists after four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.
Trump critic and Democratic strategist James Carville praised President Donald Trump for getting out of the conflict with Iran by signing a memorandum of understanding aimed toward ending the war.
“You know, they call it a memorandum of understanding. It’s actually an instrument of surrender. We started a war and we surrendered. Let’s be very clear about that. And let’s give Trump credit where credit’s due. He did what Lyndon Johnson did not do in Vietnam — just get out,” Carville told NewsNation on Thursday.
“He didn’t do what Bush and even Obama did in Afghanistan — just get out. You understand? I think the best thing Biden ever did was just leave Afghanistan, and I’ll give Trump credit. He saw this thing was going the wrong way, and he just quit and got out, and sometimes you got to do that,” Carville added.
U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper praised the roughly 15,000 American service members who helped enforce the blockade of Iranian ports over the past two months, calling their performance a reflection of the U.S. military’s strength and professionalism.
“I could not be prouder of our 15,000 men and women in uniform who supported the blockade over the past two months,” Cooper said in a statement shared by CENTCOM on X.
Cooper said troops maintained strict enforcement of the operation while also supporting the flow of humanitarian aid.
“There is no mission too great for our warfighters who make up the most powerful military the world has ever known,” he added.
The remarks come days after the U.S. lifted its blockade of Iranian ports following the signing of a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict with Tehran.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Friday that Israel remains “firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” with Hezbollah, pushing back on claims from the terror group and Iran that Jerusalem continued offensive operations after the truce took effect.
“At 11:30 this morning, Israel halted all offensive operations; Hezbollah and Iranian claims to the contrary are bold lies,” Leiter wrote on X.
The ambassador said Israel would honor the ceasefire if Hezbollah does the same.
“If Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet,” Leiter said.
Leiter also defended Israel’s security buffer zone in southern Lebanon, saying Israeli forces would remain there until Hezbollah’s infrastructure is dismantled.
“The people of Lebanon deserve a future free from Hezbollah’s grip, and a real, genuine peace between our two countries remains possible,” he added.
As Americans remain divided on the memorandum of understanding ending the war in Iran, star athletes who represent two of the countries most impacted by the deal have shared their thoughts.
Former Iranian youth wrestling champion Sardar Pashaei, who won the Asian Youth Wrestling Championship in 1998 for Iran, expressed disappointment with the current regime’s survival.
“Many believed that under President Trump, the Islamic Republic would become history. Instead, it was handed one of the greatest opportunities in its history to survive. The regime gained financial lifelines and political breathing room while millions of Iranians sank deeper into poverty, unemployment, and uncertainty,” Pashei told Fox News Digital.
“This agreement gives the regime room to rebuild its machinery of repression — new centers for arrest, torture, and intimidation. When an agreement offers nothing to the Iranian people, why would the regime hesitate to intensify its crackdown?”
Meanwhile, Israelis have been among the harshest critics of the deal, warning the agreement does not do enough to safeguard Israel’s security.
Team Israel skeleton and bobsled Olympian AJ Edelman, who is American-born but represented Israel in the 2026 and 2018 Winter Olympics, called the deal “a disgrace.”
“We emboldened the regime,” Edelman told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
President Donald Trump has described the arrangement as a means of avoiding a wider conflict while pursuing what he called a “great settlement” with Tehran.
He has also argued that the agreement could help stabilize energy markets by reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route, while creating an opportunity to negotiate additional restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Retired Navy Captain and former Pentagon official Brent Sadler told Fox News on Friday that the Iranians will try to “test” the Trump administration after signing a memorandum of understanding this week aiming to end the war.
The comment comes after Vice President JD Vance scrapped plans to travel to Switzerland on Friday for the next round of U.S.-Iran talks.
“I think we should expect that it’s not going to be a straight line or a smooth path in executing this MOU,” Sadler said. “And clearly the Iranians are going to now try and test the administration, both with things like this trick right now of not showing up to Switzerland despite saying they would, and also to try to test the bounds of what they can get away with from U.S. pressure on the Israelis in Lebanon, especially when a response from the Israelis against an attack by Hezbollah is balanced and warranted.”
Iran’s foreign minister said this week that any attack by Israel against Lebanon would be considered a violation of the agreement. Israel’s military has been clashing in recent days with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon.
A U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah was set to take effect Friday afternoon, as Washington tried to salvage a broader regional framework with Iran after talks scheduled for Switzerland were abruptly postponed.
The Israel–Hezbollah ceasefire was set to take effect 9 a.m. Eastern Time/4 p.m. local time, both a senior U.S. and an Israeli official told Fox News Digital, but whether the ceasefire formally took effect remains disputed.
The White House has not publicly commented on whether the ceasefire has formally taken effect.
A Hezbollah spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the group would abide by the ceasefire if Israel does, but “reserves the right to respond” to any violation. The spokesperson said Hezbollah did not yet view the ceasefire as having taken effect, claiming Israel was still carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon more than an hour after it was supposed to begin.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video after the 4 p.m. local start time that he said showed Israel Defense Forces striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. It is unclear when those reported strikes took place, and Fox News Digital could not independently verify their timing.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this post.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on X Friday that the “Republican war of choice in the Middle East has been a complete disaster.”
“Gas prices are higher, Iran is stronger, America is less safe and more than $100 billion in taxpayer money has been wasted,” he said. “Regime change is coming to Congress in November.”
The comments come after President Donald Trump pushed back Friday against claims that Iran is now better off than before the war.
“It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago,” Trump said on Truth Social.
A Hezbollah spokesperson told Fox News on Friday that the terrorist group did not yet view a ceasefire with Israel as having taken effect, claiming Israel was still carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon more than an hour after it was supposed to begin.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital earlier that a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. The official revealed the ceasefire began at 4 p.m. local time.
The Hezbollah spokesperson said the group would abide by the ceasefire if Israel does, but “reserves the right to respond” to any violation.
About an hour and a half after the ceasefire was supposed to begin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X, “As I instructed — the IDF struck powerfully 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and eliminated dozens of terrorists.”
Netanyahu did not comment on the timing of those strikes.
Still, an Israeli official told Fox News Digital they intended to honor the agreement. “If Hezbollah doesn’t shoot, we won’t shoot. If they shoot- we will respond.”
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this post.
President Donald Trump signaled he is likely to back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming elections, dangling a potentially powerful endorsement even as he has been at odds with the Israeli leader publicly over the tensions in Iran and Lebanon.
“I’ll have to look at who’s running, but I like Bibi very much. I would be most likely to endorse him,” Trump said in an interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN News, using Netanyahu’s nickname, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
“But I need to see who is running,” Trump added. “I have a good relationship with Bibi, but he needs to be more rational. I am willing to meet with him. He’s doing a very good job; he’s got to be a little bit more rational.”
The remarks came as Trump has offered increasingly pointed criticism of his longtime political ally, while the U.S. pushes ahead with Middle East diplomacy involving Iran and Lebanon.
Axios reported earlier this month that Trump lashed out at Netanyahu during a call over Israel’s actions in Lebanon, with one U.S. official summarizing Trump’s message as calling the Israeli leader “f—ing crazy.” Trump later confirmed in an interview on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that he made the remark, while also saying he likes Netanyahu and works “very well” with him.
A ceasefire has gone into effect between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The official revealed the ceasefire went into effect at 4 p.m. local time.
“If Hezbollah doesn’t shoot, we won’t shoot. If they shoot — we will respond,” a senior Israeli official told Fox News Digital.
“We are currently in a ceasefire. We remain in the security zone, and if we are attacked, we will respond. We will thwart threats,” a senior Israeli official also told Fox News.
This comes following following clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah terrorists. The IDF said Friday that four of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon after an Israeli military tank was struck by a suspicious target.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Efrat Lachter and Fox News’ Manahil Ahmad contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran gets “no money” and “not ten cents!” during a 60-day negotiation period to hash out the final details of an agreement to end the war.
“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Trump administration on Wednesday publicly outlined the contents of its new memorandum of understanding with Iran.
It revealed plans for immediate waivers on Iranian oil exports, a framework for at least $300 billion in reconstruction and economic development if a final deal is reached, and a 60-day negotiation period aimed at securing a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this post.
President Donald Trump on Friday pushed back against claims that Iran is now better off than before the war, writing on Truth Social that Operation Epic Fury has “diminished” the regime in Tehran.
“It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago,” Trump said.
“Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???” he added.
Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday signed a 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war.
U.S. Central Command said Friday that its forces “remain present and vigilant” in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding directed at ending the war.
CENTCOM released a video showing U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets receiving fuel while flying a patrol over the region.
The announcement comes a day after CENTCOM said “U.S. forces lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, in accordance with the President’s direction.”
Data and intelligence company Kpler said Friday that it has observed a “notable increase in daily maritime activity” in the Strait of Hormuz following the signing of a memorandum between the U.S. and Iran.
“Verified Strait of Hormuz crossings reached 25” on Thursday, it wrote on X, “marking a notable increase in daily maritime activity.”
“Traffic was evenly distributed across both directions, with most vessels following established Iranian route patterns. Five sanctioned vessels were recorded among the crossings, while no additional physical attacks have been confirmed since May [10],” it added.
“The latest figures coincide with discussions surrounding the implementation phase of the US-Iran 60-day memorandum framework, which aims to preserve the ceasefire, support navigation through the Strait and facilitate broader negotiations,” Kpler said.
Kpler also said while the “uptick points to improving operating conditions, unresolved implementation details and continued dark crossings indicate a continued elevated degree of caution with ship operators.”
China’s foreign ministry said Friday that it sees a new “dawn of peace” in the Middle East following the signing of a memorandum between the U.S. and Iran aimed at ending the war.
It described how China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by telephone Friday with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
“Wang Yi said that China welcomes the signing of the first-phase MoU between Iran and the U.S.,” and “Facts have proved that force and power cannot solve problems, and dialogue and negotiation are the correct choices,” according to the ministry.
“The dawn of peace has emerged, and the key to the next step is for all parties to truly implement their commitments and eliminate various distractions,” it added. “The issue of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz should be properly addressed and the common concerns of the international community should be appropriately responded to.”
A proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran included in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding may face major legal obstacles under existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions about whether the plan is workable even if both sides move toward a final agreement.
The memorandum, digitally signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, is aimed at ending the war and restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. As part of the 14-point plan, the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on Iran, allow Tehran to increase its oil revenue and regain access to parts of the international banking system, among other measures.
But one of the most ambitious parts of the framework — a proposed $300 billion private investment fund for Iran’s reconstruction and development — may collide with a longstanding U.S. determination that Iran’s construction sector is controlled directly or indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The issue is not just technical. It goes to whether one of the central economic promises of the Trump-Iran framework can realistically be executed under current U.S. law. If the $300 billion fund depends on investment in sectors Washington has already identified as IRGC-controlled, experts say the administration may be forced to rely on temporary waivers or new licenses — a legal structure that could make long-term investors wary and complicate any final deal.
The State Department formally determined in 2020, and again in May 2025, that Iran’s construction sector was controlled directly or indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, known as IFCA, that finding creates sanctions risks for people or companies doing business in the sector.
Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control executive, told Fox News Digital that the legal and sanctions-related problems surrounding the fund are more complicated than simply asking whether Congress would have to approve it.
“I think Congress is unavoidable for a durable version of that investment,” Maleki said. “If we have a final deal and now as part of this commitment, the U.S. government and allies are going to have to go in and help Iran to set up this fund or get access to such a fund.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Friday that the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon will pay a “very heavy price” for attacks on Israeli soldiers and territory.
The remark comes after the Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.
“I send heartfelt condolences to the families of the Commander of the Armored Corps 52nd Battalion, Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, and of three heroic fighters whose names have not yet been cleared for publication, may God avenge their blood,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “I also wish a speedy recovery to the wounded in the exchanges of fire yesterday.”
“My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks,” Netanyahu added. “The IDF will act to thwart any threat to our forces and our territory.”
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this post.
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets and eliminated dozens of Hezbollah terrorists after four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.
“A short while ago, in response to the repeated violations of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the IDF struck two Hezbollah command centers in the Beqaa Valley, while Hezbollah terrorists were operating inside,” the IDF said in a statement.
“Overnight, the IDF struck more than 80 command centers, terrorists, launch positions, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites in the area of Nabatieh and additional areas in southern Lebanon, within the Security Zone and beyond it,” the IDF added. “Furthermore, during the strikes, dozens of Hezbollah terrorists operating in the command centers were eliminated.”
The IDF said earlier Friday that four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Friday, including a battalion commander.
The deaths were confirmed after an Israeli military tank was struck by a suspicious target, according to an IDF official.
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this post.
Vice President JD Vance scrapped plans to travel to Switzerland on Friday for the next round of U.S.-Iran talks, the White House confirmed Thursday night, highlighting ongoing uncertainty over the timing and logistics of the negotiations with Tehran.
“As the vice president said at his press conference, the plans for the upcoming technical talks have not been finalized, and the U.S. delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity,” the spokesperson said.
“But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now, the vice president is not departing tonight,” they added.
“We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”
The remarks came in the wake of a newly signed memorandum of understanding, with negotiators originally planning to finalize a deal between the U.S. and Iran within 60 days.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry announced that scheduled talks between the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed, adding that the Swiss remain ready to facilitate negotiations.
“The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed. Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Bürgenstock is continuing,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The foreign ministry said no additional information was available at this time.
Yesterday’s Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Live Coverage begins here
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG.