US, Iran make 'encouraging progress' in first round of peace talks

Join us back here from 0700 tomorrow for more live coverage of developments in the Middle East.

Thanks for following.

Israel's prime minister, defence minister and military chief said the military would continue to act to "neutralise" threats against Israeli soldiers and citizens, demolish Hezbollah's infrastructure and maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement issued after a security discussion.

The statement added that the three officials "made it clear that the security of Israeli citizens and IDF forces will remain their guiding principle without compromise." 

Lebanese health authorities said Monday that at least 4,175 people have been killed and 12,164 injured by Israeli attacks across Lebanon since 2 March.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday "I will do what I have to do" if Iran does not stick to its agreement with Washington.

"If Iran doesn't live up to their agreement, or if they're not behaving, I will do what I have to do," Trump told reporters.

The Arab League on Monday confirmed Egyptian veteran diplomat Nabil Fahmy as its new chief during a meeting of foreign ministers in Amman, a statement said.

Fahmy's five-year term as secretary general is to begin at the start of July, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit who served two consecutive terms as head of the regional body.

The United States on Monday issued sanctions against three individuals and six companies spread across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa for allegedly facilitating financial transactions by the Islamic State (IS) armed group.

"This action targets key facilitators who enable ISIS to move funds among its regional affiliates," the US Treasury said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

The men being sanctioned included France-based Miloud Abderrahmane, Syria-based Abdelhakim Boukich and Nigeria-based Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad.

Boukich is a former Dutch national who controls Bitcoin Xchange, the US Treasury said, which was also sanctioned.

The United States on Monday warned that "mass atrocities" could soon be perpetrated in Sudan as paramilitary forces encircle the city of El-Obeid, with Washington echoing growing fears expressed by the United Nations.

"The United States is deeply concerned by reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied forces are massing forces around El Obeid," the US State Department said. "There are alarming indications that mass atrocities could be imminent."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday that Turkey welcomed the agreement reached between Iran and the United States and was ready to provide any support needed to help the process conclude peacefully, Erdogan's office said.

In a phone call, Erdogan said it was important to remain vigilant against attempts to sabotage the negotiations and that new steps to strengthen regional peace were both necessary and important, according to a statement from his office

US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that Iran will agree to have weapons inspections to ensure "nuclear honesty" long into the future, echoing comments made by Vice President JD Vance.

Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday continued to flow at a faster pace than before the US-Iranian agreement on talks to end the Middle East war, according to tracking firms, despite Tehran's announcement of a renewed closure.

"The latest figures suggest a cautious but visible rebound in traffic following the MoU (memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran), although the daily pattern remains volatile," Mihail Todorov of AXSMarine, a shipping data provider, told AFP.

As of 1530 GMT on Monday (late afternoon local time), the Kpler maritime tracking platform had already recorded 26 transits by commodity ships.

This level approached those of Thursday and Saturday, after the official signing of the agreement by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, when traffic was around 30 transits per day.

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad ​Bagher Ghalibaf is on his way to Oman to discuss joint efforts to "consolidate" Iranian arrangements for managing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement on his Telegram channel on Monday.

The Iranian delegation also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the statement said.

Direct damage to buildings in south Lebanon in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah is estimated at around $1.38 billion, a UN agency and a Lebanese research centre said Monday.

"In total, 11,095 buildings were completely destroyed, impacting 17,891 housing units, while 2,242 buildings sustained partial damage... and 9,311 buildings incurred minor damage," the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Lebanon's government-linked National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) said.

It cited a "rapid building-level damage assessment" in the country's south which compared satellite imagery from late April, nearly two months into the latest war, with those from October 2025, meaning it does not cover the latest weeks of the conflict.

"Findings indicate that direct damage to buildings in south Lebanon is estimated at $1.38 billion," the statement added.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on 2 March by launching rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel Tuesday through Thursday to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, on a trip that will give the Trump administration a chance to sell its preliminary Iran accord directly to Gulf Arab allies.

While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, a grouping of six Sunni monarchies that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Monday.

While GCC leaders have broadly supported efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran, many are disconcerted by the specific terms of the memorandum of understanding that US President Donald Trump signed last week.

One point of particular concern among regional officials is the possibility of a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Tehran, which Gulf leaders assume the Islamic Republic will use to rebuild its military capacity, while funding regional proxy groups. The MoU's failure to address Iran's ballistic missile program is also worrying Washington's Gulf allies, who have been buffeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks in recent months.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Pakistan on Tuesday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Monday, describing the visit as an "important opportunity" to discuss ongoing diplomatic engagements following the Iran-US peace deal. 

The US Treasury said Monday it is temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow the Islamic Republic to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products through 21 August.

"All transactions" that were previously prohibited involving the production, sale, and transport of Iranian-origin crude oil "are authorized through 12:01 am eastern daylight time, 21 August, 2026," according to a license published by the Treasury Department, which administers US economic sanctions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited Tehran's commitment in ongoing negotiations to "free and open transit" in the Strait of Hormuz and permission for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to enter their country as a reason for pausing the sanctions.

Welcome to our new live page, where we're continuing to track developments in the Middle East.

These are the latest updates on the US-Iran talks and the war in Lebanon on Monday afternoon:

•    Mediators Pakistan and Qatar reported "encouraging progress” on the first day of high-level talks in Switzerland between the US and Iran. The two sides agreed on a "a roadmap for a final deal to be reached within 60 days", which included a "de-confliction cell" to ensure an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

•    Traffic is continuing to move through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran claiming it had closed it in response to Israel's escalation in Lebanon.

•    A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is continuing to hold for a second day.

•    Israeli officials continue to insist they will remain in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza as long as necessary.

Visit our previous live page to catch up on developments earlier today.