Iran demands Israel ends war in Lebanon as talks with US set to begin

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

• Iran said that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and armed group Hezbollah will top the agenda in talks with the United States in Switzerland, as well as issues such as frozen Iranian funds and the sale of the country's oil. READ MORE BELOW

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated that Tehran was willing to provide assurances that the country was not seeking a nuclear weapon, while insisting that Iran would not relinquish its right to enrich uranium. READ MORE BELOW

• A quadrilateral meeting between Iran, the US, Qatar and Pakistan will be held at the Buergenstock mountaintop ​resort in Switzerland on Sunday afternoon, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson told Iranian state media. 

• Israelis overwhelmingly believe that Iran emerged stronger from the Middle East war and its subsequent deal with the United States, a poll released on Sunday found. READ MORE BELOW

• Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the head of the military, Asim Munir, arrived in Switzerland for talks over the Middle East war, Sharif's office said. US Vice President JD Vance also arrived, saying negotiators would discuss the Islamic republic's nuclear program and the Lebanon ceasefire.

• Hojjatoleslam Abdollah Haji Sadeghi, the main representative of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, says "negotiation is not the primary option" with the United States. "We will enter negotiations with power and caution, but we are not passive," Sadeghi was quoted as saying in a post on Telegram.

• Citing unnamed "military sources," the semi-official Fars news agency reports the Strait of Hormuz "remains closed and the IRGC Navy will not issue passage permits until further notice."

• The US military said it remained "present and vigilant" in the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after Iran announced it was closing the critical shipping lane.

• Lebanon's health ministry said that fresh Israeli strikes in the south and east of the country had killed seven people. Five people, including a woman and child, were killed in the east of the country and two Palestinians were killed in the southern Tyr region, said the ministry.

• There was and is no restriction on Israeli soldiers to act to eliminate threats in Lebanon, with troops remaining in positions in the security zone, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

• Lebanon's health ministry said that Israeli attacks since March 2 when the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began had reached 4,057 dead, including 135 health and emergency workers, and 12,121 people wounded.

• At least nine Palestinians have been killed and 41 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Israel has killed 3,249 people across Gaza since the supposed ceasefire came into force in October last year, the ministry said.

IN DETAIL

Iran says Israel-Lebanon conflict will top the agenda in talks with US

Iran said that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and armed group Hezbollah will top the agenda in talks with the United States in Switzerland, as well as issues such as frozen Iranian funds and the sale of the country's oil.

"The Zionist regime continues to violate its commitment in Lebanon, this issue will be the main topic of discussion in today's talks," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a video shared by IRNA state news agency.

Tehran said on Thursday it had signed a deal with Washington to end months of hostilities that began on February 28 following US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Under the agreement, the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon was also due to stop.

Iran's military announced that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon. But there were no reports of fresh strikes in Lebanon after Saturday evening and Baqaei said that since Saturday "a fragile cessation (in Lebanon) has been established."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated that Tehran was willing to provide assurances that the country was not seeking a nuclear weapon, while insisting that Iran would not relinquish its right to enrich uranium.

"What the United States demands is that Iran not build an atomic bomb. This is nothing new, and we can also state in writing that we have no intention of building a bomb," the president's website quoted him as saying.

"However, we will not relinquish our right to enrichment, and the other side will have no choice but to accept this right," he added, before Iranian and US negotiators were set to meet for talks in Switzerland. 

Meanwhile, Baqaei added that Tehran would also pursue the issue of its frozen and inaccessible funds in the negotiations.

"The issue of making available Iran's frozen or restricted assets, as well as the discussion related to issuing the necessary licences for the sale of Iranian oil, will also be on the agenda," he said.

Iran has not officially disclosed the value of its frozen assets, though media reports have estimated them at more than $100 billion, largely frozen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.

Poll: Majority of Israelis believe Iran won or gained more from conflict

Israelis overwhelmingly believe that Iran emerged stronger from the Middle East war and its subsequent deal with the United States, a poll released on Sunday found.

The poll of 3,644 respondents, conducted between June 17 and 20 by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in collaboration with the Agam Institute, paints a stark picture of public sentiment following the US-Iran deal. 

Of those surveyed, 92.1% said Iran had won or gained more from the conflict, while 82.9% felt that Israel's long-term security had been weakened.

The survey found that even among voters who support the right-wing bloc, the electoral base of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 93.1% believed Iran had won.

Opposition to the US-Iran agreement was widespread, with 63.2% of respondents opposing it compared with just 12.1% expressing support. 

The findings pointed to a broader crisis of confidence in Israel's leadership. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, 72.5%, said they did not believe Netanyahu's claims about the military campaign's achievements, while 56.4% rated his management of the campaign as "failed" or "poor."

The poll also pointed to the political price paid by Netanyahu, with support for his premiership plummeting from 40.5% in early March to 29.4% in June.

Despite this, the survey found ongoing support for military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Nearly half of respondents, 48.2%, backed renewed major military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon, even if it risked confrontation with Washington, while only 21% opposed such a move.