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Iran postponed planned technical-level talks with the United States in Switzerland on Friday, citing intensified Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon in the first major test of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed earlier this week.
Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been "all set" to leave for Switzerland but withdrew at the last minute following directives from Iran's top leadership, Pakistani government sources told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
The sources did not specify whether the directives came directly from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
"The Iranians have asked for guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon will end, as outlined in the signed agreement, and mediators are currently working to resolve the issue," a diplomat with knowledge of the matter told CNN.
Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israeli airstrikes after midnight Friday targeted residential homes in the towns of Al-Sharqiyah, Harouf and Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district.
Strikes also hit Nabatieh city, Kfar Tebnit, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and the Rayhan heights around 2:10 a.m. local time.
Separate strikes on the Kfarjoz-Nabatieh area, a university neighborhood in Nabatieh and the al-Baydar neighborhood in Harouf killed eight people around 3 a.m. Another strike on the al-Ashamiya area killed four people and destroyed a house.
Three people were killed in Kfar Sir.
A drone strike near the Doueir municipality building killed one person, and a separate drone strike on the Deir al-Zahrani-Nabatieh highway killed another.
The death toll from a strike on a residential building in Doueir rose to seven. In the Jezzine district, a drone strike in the Rihan area killed one person, while in eastern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes struck a farm near Baalbek, killing three.
The Israeli military said it had carried out the strikes in response to "repeated violations" of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, adding that it struck more than 80 targets in southern and eastern Lebanon and killed "dozens" of Hezbollah operatives.
The Israeli army said four soldiers, including an armored battalion commander, were killed shortly after midnight when their tank was hit while operating near the village of Manteef in southern Lebanon.
Five more soldiers were wounded in a separate drone strike, according to the Israeli military.
Hezbollah claimed it had ambushed an Israeli armored and infantry force advancing toward Ali al-Taher Heights, destroying three Merkava tanks with guided missiles before launching rocket and artillery attacks.
The group said the operation was carried out "in defense of Lebanon and its people and in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement."
There was no independent confirmation of Hezbollah's claims.
The Israeli deaths, the first announced since the U.S.-Iran deal was signed, prompted fury from far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.
"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn," National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a statement on X.
"For every tear shed by an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep," he added.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel must "go wild. Eradicate. Defeat terrorism," adding that "we must let fire speak... and open the gates of hell."
Avigdor Lieberman, head of the opposition Yisrael Beitenu party, called for a "heavy price" to be exacted in Lebanon, "from which the other side will never recover."
A Maariv poll published Friday found 63% of Israelis are "worried" about the future of Israel following the deal.
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A second person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Financial Times (FT) that Iran has held firm in its stance of "no Lebanon, no deal," believing it holds the upper hand and can extract concessions from Washington over Israel's campaign in Lebanon.
According to the first diplomat cited by the FT, Iran's message was: "We held Hezbollah back, the US is unable to hold Israel back. Until they do we won't come."
Two sources said the talks had been tentatively rescheduled for Monday, though this depends on the situation in Lebanon.
Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, which is close to Iran, quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying the latest Israeli attacks prompted Iran's negotiating team to postpone its trip.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was set to lead the next phase of talks under the memorandum, postponed his trip to Switzerland on Thursday night.
"The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now, the Vice President is not departing tonight," a White House spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. delegation was "prepared to depart at the first available opportunity."
Senior Pakistani officials, including military chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had also been scheduled to fly to Switzerland for the start of the talks on Friday, but their travel plans were called off.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed the Friday talks "will not take place."
Iran's chief negotiator, Ghalibaf, said Friday that future talks with the U.S. would remain bound by Tehran's red lines, one of which has been the Lebanon ceasefire since the start of negotiations.
"As we have shown in the past path of negotiations, we are steadfast in fulfilling the conditions and red lines set, and in achieving the interests of the Iranian nation," Ghalibaf said, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.
"If the enemy seeks to be excessive, we have proven that our fingers are on the trigger and we have no hesitation in giving a crushing response to the enemy," he added.
His remarks followed a message from Supreme Leader Khamenei stating that he had approved the deal despite having a "different view" on the matter, adding that direct talks with the U.S. "will not mean accepting the enemy's point of view."
Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran's foreign policy apparatus "will be used to secure the sublime interests of Iran" and "protect the rights of the noble Iranian nation."
President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a similar statement pledging to defend Iran's "dignity, honour and authority."
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