Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant movement Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, Reuters and the British television channel Sky News reported on Friday, June 19, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

"If Hezbollah does not attack us, then for us it will not be a time of war either," a representative of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. At the same time, Israeli officials stated that the Israeli military will remain in southern Lebanon.

Earlier, Reuters, citing Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese parliament member Hassan Fadlallah, reported that Iran had informed the movement's representatives that negotiations with the United States could not continue without a complete ceasefire, including in Lebanon.

Ultimately, Israel and Hezbollah were able to achieve this ceasefire through negotiations involving delegations from the United States and Qatar, a senior U.S. official told the agency.

News of the remote signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran emerged on the night of June 18. According to the document, this was followed by the start of a 60-day negotiation period during which the parties are expected to agree on the final version of a peace agreement.