US-Iran war highlights: Iranians in Switzerland, Vance on the way amid Trump's US toll threat on Strait of Hormuz

US-Iran war LIVE: Here are the key points so far:

• High-level delegations from the United States and Iran are gathering in Switzerland for closely watched negotiations aimed at advancing a multi-point memorandum of understanding.
• Three Indian-flagged tankers carrying more than 860,000 metric tons of oil and 94 Indian crew members have safely transited the Strait of Hormuz and are en route to India, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “no military takes more measures to minimise” civilian casualties than the Israeli military and that and no nation is attacked by more propaganda than Israel”.

US-Iran war LIVE: Three Indian-flagged tankers carrying more than 860,000 metric tons of oil and 94 Indian crew members have safely transited the Strait of Hormuz and are en route to India, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday.

Sonowal posted on X that the Desh Vaibhav, Desh Vibhor and Sanmar Herald had all completed the transit.

US-Iran war LIVE: Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf invoked the memory of victims of the Minab school incident ahead of technical talks with the United States in Switzerland, saying their sacrifice would guide the actions of the Islamic Republic during the negotiations with Washington as part of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached between the two sides to end the hostilities in West Asia.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said he, along with the Iranian delegation, carried the memory of the children of Minab and other Iranian martyrs with them as they prepared for the talks.

“I consider the innocent children of Minab and all the martyrs of dear Iran to be watching over my every action and behaviour at every moment. They see us and expect things of us. God forbid that I should ever bring shame to the innocent martyrs and the people of Iran,” Ghalibaf wrote, adding the hashtag “Minab168” and dedicating the message to the memory of the children of Minab School.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says “no military takes more measures to minimize” civilian casualties than the Israeli military and that and no nation is attacked by more propaganda than Israel”.

He added, “Truth and Israel will prevail.”

The post comes amid growing criticism of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, including from US President Trump, over their high civilian toll.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed at least 4,057 people and wounded 12,121 others. Many of the victims were women and children.

High-level delegations from the United States and Iran are gathering in Switzerland for closely watched negotiations aimed at advancing a multi-point memorandum of understanding.

The talks, held under tight security at the Bürgenstock Resort, bring together US officials, Iranian representatives, and regional mediators including Qatar and Pakistan. Key sticking points include implementation of ceasefire arrangements in Lebanon, maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, and broader commitments outlined in the agreement.

With tensions still high on the ground, the summit is seen as a critical test of whether diplomacy can hold or whether regional instability will once again escalate.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, has called on the Gulf states to build a joint defence network to repel any attack on their members.

In an op-ed published on Saturday in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the veteran royal and former ambassador said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had endured too many assaults and must close ranks, writing that its members should “stand together like a solid, fortified structure”.

He set out conditions for wider peace, demanding Iran abandon its drive for regional dominance and disband proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, while calling on Israel to end its “bloody brutality” and seizure of Arab lands.

The West, he added, must stop “coddling” Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover.

The US team’s expectations of these negotiations, according to JD Vance, are that there is a lot of work to be done at these meetings.

Vance told reporters before leaving late on Saturday afternoon that the US is interested in curtailing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and is trying to do more to shore up the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.

The ceasefire in Lebanon is, of course, of great concern because of numerous reports indicating that there could be a way for the Israeli government to sabotage the ceasefire between the US and Iran.

Of course there are other issues that are going to be talked about, such as sanctions, which have been imposed on Iran for decades, and this proposal by the US government to help rebuild Iran’s economy.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called on Israel to stop its missile strikes on Lebanon and urged world leaders to protect a new US-Iran peace deal.

Writing on X, Petro said the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran “must be respected by all nations”, as Colombia takes its turn this month to chair the UN Security Council.

Petro framed the plea around what he called a “Pact for Life and Peace”, and said Trump deserved “humanity’s full backing” to end the conflict.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, has invoked the victims of Minab in a post on X, marking his arrival in Switzerland.

In a post that also had his image outside the aircraft carrying the Iranian delegation, Ghalibaf said “the innocent children of Minab and all the martyrs of our beloved Iran” were watching his actions and conduct during the negotiations.

“They see us and have expectations of us,” he wrote, adding that he hoped not to “bring shame upon the innocent martyrs and the people of Iran”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said late Saturday 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.

These latest strikes came before a pause noted by news agency AFP, when the Israeli army said it had received orders from the country’s political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon.

Richard Schmierer, former US ambassador to Oman, has told Al Jazeera that Trump’s latest statement on the Strait of Hormuz is perhaps an effort to distract from the current situation by talking about what might happen after 60 days.

“I think there is uncertainty… CENTCOM [US Central Command] claims that it has the capability to ensure that shipping can continue through the strait securely and safely, while Iran has said ships should not transit or they will be in jeopardy. So we don’t really know who’s able to implement their version of events,” he said.

“But I do expect shippers and insurance companies are taking note of the threat from Iran,” he added.

He noted that so far, a number of ships have transited using Omani waters, close to the Omani coast, where there is apparently some US naval support to help ensure their safety.

“So perhaps shipping using that route will continue… There will be a reduction in commercial shipping but not a stoppage,” he said.

Iranian delegation has arrived in Switzerland for US talks. The delegation is led by Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

US Vice President JD Vance was traveling to Switzerland on Saturday for talks on implementing a deal to end the Middle East war, saying negotiators would discuss Iran’s nuclear program and the Lebanon ceasefire.

“I can only be there for a day or two. I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re to be focused on,” Vance told reporters before departing from Joint Base Andrews.

JD Vance is wheels up from Washington en route to Switzerland, US Vice President’s spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying.

An Israeli army official said Saturday that the military had received orders from the country’s political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon, where its forces have continued clashing with Hezbollah fighters despite a ceasefire.

The announcement came amid intense clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, with both sides accusing the other of breaching the US renewed ceasefire.

“The IDF has received updated directives from the political echelon to cease fire,” the official said in a statement.

“The IDF is not conducting proactive strikes, rather the IDF is only operating in a defensive manner within the security zone” in southern Lebanon, the official said.

“These defensive activities include the right to respond if Hezbollah does not abide by the ceasefire and continues to target our troops or our civilians.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will participate in the technical-level talks being held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on June 21, the PM’s office said on Saturday.

Earlier, the country’s foreign ministry said US and Iranian representatives would participate in the meeting, along with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose U.S. tolls in the Strait of Hormuz if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days.

Trump, spending the weekend at Camp David, underscored that the initial agreement to end the war with Iran calls for toll-free travel through the vital waterway for 60 days.

Then he said: “there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed.”

Trump said the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.”

The U.S. president has faced a lot of blowback domestically for how the memorandum of understanding with Iran addresses the issue of tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. The deal only secures toll-free passage for 60 days and doesn’t preclude future fees.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 20 people on Saturday, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA said, one day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, aimed at halting months of escalating violence.

Israel said the strikes were a response to projectiles fired overnight by the Iran-backed group. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting attacks on what the official described as “Hezbollah targets”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes and drones had struck multiple locations in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

Hezbollah accused Israel of committing hundreds of ceasefire violations, and warned that continued attacks “will not pass without a response”. It urged Washington to pressure Israel to halt its attacks.

Najat Aoun Saliba, Lebanese member of parliament, has told Al Jazeera that people in Lebanon are tired and have had enough of the killing and the destruction that is happening to their land, their families and also to their livelihoods.

“It’s also costing us [the government] a lot of money and a lot of pain,” she said.

She added that both Israel and Hezbollah have used Lebanese territory to gain leverage over the war in Iran and emphasised that the hostility between them has not led to any real gain on the ground.

“I don’t think this should continue, and this tit for tat and this hostility between the two is not going to lead anywhere,” she said.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera said on Saturday that one of its journalists was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip.

“Ahmed Wishah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza,” the broadcaster said on its website.

Israel army has confirmed the killing of journalist in Gaza, and has claimed that he was ‘Hamas terrorist’

The Israeli military said that one of its soldiers was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon on Saturday, marking the fifth such fatality since a US-Iran deal was reached to end the Middle East war.

Staff Sergeant Nir Ben Ari “fell in combat” in southern Lebanon, the military said, a day after four other Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

A Pakistani government official has told Al Jazeera Arabic that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s army chief Asim Munir will travel to Switzerland on Sunday to mediate the US-Iran talks.

Pakistan has positioned itself as a key mediator in the US-Iran conflict, urging both sides to uphold ceasefires and utilising high-level diplomatic visits to Tehran to push for a resolution.

Top Iranian officials have already left for Switzerland for the talks.

US-Iran war LIVE: The US military on Saturday denied Iran’s claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the key shipping route remained open and that American forces were monitoring the situation to ensure the continued flow of maritime traffic.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said.

“Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”

US-Iran war LIVE: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, state news agency ISNA reported on Saturday.