Middle East live: US-Iran peace talks underway as strait of Hormuz remains closed

US president says in social media post we'll hit Iran very hard again' if it does not stop its proxies in Lebanon'

• US-Iran talks in Switzerland to get under way as strait of Hormuz remains closed

There was and is no restriction' on Israeli soldiers to act to eliminate threats in Lebanon, and that troops would not withdraw from the security zone, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Lebanon on Saturday, Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported, a day after a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah took effect after months of escalating violence.