Mena Today

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is poised to take on his biggest role yet on the international stage as President Donald Trump's chief negotiator to end the three-month war with Iran, a moment that could shape Vance’s prospects as a White House successor.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after an escalation in fighting there jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal.

The ink on the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was barely dry before Tehran's chief negotiator was already drawing lines in the sand.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal on Thursday, saying President Donald Trump is Israel's only ally, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in U.S. defense aid the country receives.

France wants to play a role in talks dealing with Iran's nuclear programme and will not approve the lifting of UN sanctions unless it is satisfied by the terms of a final accord, its foreign minister said on Friday.

Switzerland said U.S. talks with Iranian negotiators on a pact to end the Middle East conflict would not take place on Friday, while Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel there, fuelling uncertainty whether a lasting truce can be found.

Initial talks between the United States and Iran are planned at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland on Friday, following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington, the Swiss government said on Thursday.

Israel's military published a map on Thursday showing an expanded zone of control for its troops in southern Lebanon, as Israeli officials told Reuters Israel was holding talks with the U.S. over continuing its deployment.

The blast was so powerful that the huge disc-shaped lid of an oil storage tank was launched into the sky over Moscow like a frisbee.

For decades, diplomats, scholars, presidents, kings, emirs, generals, and United Nations envoys have tried to achieve one impossible goal in the Middle East: Consensus.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday he was severing "all contact" with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over what he said were remarks attributed to her comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday approved a resolution setting the minimum age for social media use at 15, the government's media office said, making it the first Arab country to introduce such a measure.