By Nick Said
HOUSTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The United States will continue to assess the Iran squad's travel arrangements at the World Cup but for now the original plan remains in place despitethe team saying they would lodge a complaint with FIFA, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told Reuters on Saturday.
June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Saturday that no toll will be charged for passage through the Strait of Hormuz during or after the 60-day interim ceasefire with Iran — unless the U.S. imposes one should peace talks fail.
By Laila Bassam, Jana Choukeir and Emily Rose
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 20 people on Saturday, Lebanon's state news agency NNA said, one day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, aimed at halting months of escalating violence.
Israel said the strikes were a response to projectiles fired overnight by the Iran-backed group. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting attacks on what the official described as "Hezbollah targets".
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO, June 20 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least ninepeople, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, health officials said.
An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians, including two women and a child, in an apartment building in Gaza City, health officials said. The attack on the building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City destroyed the apartment and wounded several other people, medics added.
The Israeli military said it struck a militant, without elaborating.
By Humeyra Pamuk, Jana Choukeir, Ahmed Tolba and Steve Holland
ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - A high-level Iranian team departed for Switzerland on Saturday for talks with the United States, Iranian state media reported, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance indicated he would set off soon for meetings that Pakistan said will begin on Sunday.
The Iranian delegation was led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as well as senior security, central bank and oil officials, Iranian media said.
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Saturday denied Iran's claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open and that U.S. forces were monitoring the situation to ensure that continued.
"Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz," U.S. Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. "Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case."
PARIS, June 20 (Reuters) - Protestors against political executions in Iran gathered in Paris on Saturday in defiance of a ban on the rally, at which police arrested 20 people, according to organisers.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Place Vauban near the Les Invalides monument in central Paris, but were dispersed by police, Shahin Gobadi from the Paris-based NCRI said.
Paris police could not immediately be reached for comment.
June 20 (Reuters) - Iran's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to vessel traffic, citing alleged violations of a ceasefire agreement by the U.S. and Israel, Iran's Mehr state news agency reported.
It said that the closure was the "first step" in response to what it described as breaches of commitments and warned that further measures would be taken if "aggression" continued.
(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Ahmed Tolba, and Enas Alashray, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Diplomats from several countries were meeting Saturday at a Swiss retreat in a bid to maintain dialogue on the preliminary US-Iran deal to halt the Middle East war, said Bern.
The Swiss foreign ministry said diplomats were in discussions at the luxury Burgenstock resort near Lucerne in central Switzerland, without giving further details.
A diplomatic source told AFP the discussions under way on Saturday were preparatory in nature.
June 20 (Reuters) - Switzerland continues to provide a "discreet and reliable setting" at Bürgenstock to facilitate discussions on implementing a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Saturday.
It added in a statement that no further details would be disclosed about participants and the content of the talks, citing confidentiality.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter)
