The US and Iran prepared for direct talks in Pakistan with the Strait of Hormuz still effectively shut and Israel and Hezbollah exchanging fire, complicating efforts to turn a fragile truce into lasting peace.
The two-week ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump and Tehran was broadly holding across the Middle East on Friday. The exception was in Lebanon, where questions remain over whether Israel’s parallel campaign against Tehran-backed Hezbollah is part of the agreement.
Israel continued to strike towns in southern Lebanon, albeit on a smaller scale than the major operation that killed more than 200 people on Wednesday. Hezbollah ...
