By John Irish

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - Paris-based Iranian opposition group NCRI said on Friday that the city's police had banned a rally it was due to hold on Saturday and that it had appealed what it said was a "bogus" decision.

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - France's foreign ministry denied on Friday that it had asked for the ban of an Iranian opposition rally that had been due to take place on Saturday in Paris.

The Paris-based NCRI said earlier in the day that the Paris police had banned their rally at the last minute and linked it to a call by France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi on Thursday.

"This allegation is false. The minister did not mention this protest or request its cancellation," the ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose to its busiest in two months after a deal to halt the US-Iran war, maritime trackers said on Friday.

A total of 25 commercial vessels crossed the newly reopened strait on Thursday, the highest number since mid-April, according to data from tracking firm AXSMarine -- more than three times the average of just over seven a day since early March.

By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE, June 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Bar Standards Board said on Friday it had imposed an interim suspension of Karim Khan, who had been the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor before he was suspended by the court on June 8 over sexual misconduct accusations.

"Under the BSB's Enforcement Regulations, the interim suspension must now be considered by an Interim Suspension Panel at a hearing within the next four weeks," the board said, adding that the suspension was effective immediately.

TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) - A vessel owned by a Japanese company carrying three Japanese crew members safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and exited the Gulf, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

• The vessel, which had been stuck in the Gulf due to the Iran war, is now sailing toward Japan, MOFA said, adding the government had coordinated with Iran over the passage.

• The vessel is a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker owned by Japan's Kyoei Tanker, the company said.

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - 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.

Jean-Noel Barrot, whose country is a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, told broadcaster franceinfo there would be no stability in the region unless U.S. talks with Iran also dealt with Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for proxies.

By Nandita Bose, Yomna Ehab and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ZURICH, June 19 (Reuters) - 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.

"The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," a White House spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

DUBAI, June 19 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 15 people on Friday, state news agency NNA said, while Israel said the attacks launched overnight were aimed at what it described as Hezbollah targets in several areas.

Residents and domestic media said Israeli airstrikes and shelling hit several towns in the Nabatieh district overnight and into early Friday, in a bombardment that NNA said was among the heaviest in recent weeks.

June 19 (Reuters) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has set up secretive new cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf countries that host American forces, bypassing established militia networks to avoid detection, eight Iraqi sources told Reuters.

Three or four cells, each comprising about 10 elite Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim fighters, launched at least seven drone attacks from desert locations near the southern cities of Basra and Samawa against sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between April 20 and May 17, three of the sources said.

By Nandita Bose, Yomna Ehab and Jonathan Allen

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, June 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland said U.S. talks with Iranian negotiators on a pact to end the Middle East conflict would not take place on Friday, as Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel to Geneva, adding to uncertainty whether a lasting truce can be found.

"The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable," the White House spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday night. Vance and the U.S. delegation had been ready to depart as soon as plans were finalised.