Morning update

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Israeli shelling was reported across southern Lebanon early on Friday, including in Tyre and Nabatieh, despite a recent agreement between the US and Iran, which categorically calls for a halt to fighting between Israel and Lebanon.

While Israel's military said it was striking Hezbollah targets, the country's National News Agency indicated that areas targeted were populated residential towns. 

Here are the latest updates from the region: 

Expected US-Iran talks on Friday at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland will not take place, the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement. 

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "show a sense of responsibility" amid increased military action in the region, adding that its military strategy in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank "runs contrary to Israel's own interests" in the long-run. 

US Vice President JD Vance criticised Israeli cabinet members in a press briefing on Thursday, in a departure from his usual stance on Israel. He said that "Israelis, like everybody else, have to respect this peace process".

US President Donald Trump in an interview with Axios said that the war on Iran showed "there are no limits" to his ability to exert power. "We have the most powerful military in the world, by far. Who else could have done a blockade like that?" he said.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that if there are breaches of the peace deal with the US, Iran will not hesitate to respond. "In the event of bad faith, breach of contract, and excessive demands by the opposing side, we have no hesitation in delivering a crushing response to the enemy," he said in a post on X.