Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
Here are the key developments this morning:
• Iranian and US negotiators have begun talks in Switzerland to reach a final settlement over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s foreign ministry said the main topic would be Lebanon, where Israel has continued to press its offensive in defiance of the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran this week.
• These are the first talks since the two sides signed the MOU that ended the Iran war, re-opened the Strait of Hormuz and lifted the US blockade on Iranian ports.
• Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi are leading the Iranian team, while the US is represented by Vice President JD Vance and Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Pakistani and Qatari mediators are also involved in the talks.
• Traffic appears to be continuing to move through the Strait of Hormuz, despite Tehran announcing its closure yesterday amid Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon. Dozens of people were killed in intense Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley on Saturday.
• The Israeli military has claimed to have killed two “Hamas terrorists” in an airstrike last week, who it said were involved in financing the Palestinian group.
Iran, US hold high-level peace talks in Switzerland
