A “fragile” truce between Iran and the United States appeared to be faltering on Thursday as Tehran threatened to renew hostilities while Israel continued its heavy strikes in Lebanon.
Washington and Tehran claimed a “victory” on Tuesday after agreeing to a ceasefire and talks aimed at ending the Middle East conflict. But tensions escalated as Israel carried out deadly strikes in neighboring Lebanon – including densely populated central Beirut – in the biggest attack since the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group entered the war in early March. At least 182 people were killed and nearly 900 injured on Wednesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Hezbollah responded on Thursday by firing rockets at Israel, accusing it of violating the US-Iran ceasefire that was agreed late on Tuesday.
The deal now seems to hinge on the Lebanon issue. Here’s a look at what the various parties said about Lebanon as the deal was being worked out.
Pakistan
Late on Tuesday, after the ceasefire agreement was worked out, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the two-week truce extended to the entire region, specifically mentioning Lebanon.
“I am most humbled to inform you that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America along with their allies have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY (sic),” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
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Israel
Hours later, Israel said it supported President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend the strikes; however, it specifically mentioned that the two-week ceasefire did not include Lebanon.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, provided Iran immediately opens the Straits and stops all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region. Israel also said it supports US efforts to ensure that Iran does not continue to pose a nuclear, missile and terrorist threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world.
“The United States has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals, which are shared by the US, Israel and Israel’s regional allies, in the upcoming negotiations.
“The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” the post said.
Iran
Following the deadly attack on Lebanon, Abbas Araghchi reposted Shehbaz Sharif’s message on Wednesday and highlighted the part referring to Lebanon.
“The terms of the Iran-US truce are clear and unambiguous: the US must choose – a truce or the continuation of the war through Israel. It cannot have both,” Arghchi wrote.
“The world is seeing the carnage in Lebanon. The ball is in the US’s court and the world is watching to see if it will follow through on its commitments.”
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that fighting will start again if Israel does not abide by the cease-fire in Lebanon. “If the aggressions against dear Lebanon are not stopped immediately, we will fulfill our duty and respond pitifully to the evil aggressors in the region,” it said.
U.S.A.
Meanwhile, both US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance said “Lebanon was never part of their deal”.
“They weren’t included in the deal because of Hezbollah,” Trump told public broadcaster PBS. “We’ll take care of that too. It’s okay.”
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt echoed the US president’s comments later on Wednesday.
“Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire that has been communicated to all parties involved in the ceasefire,” she told reporters.
Similarly, US Vice President JD Vance flatly rejected claims that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire talks between Washington and Tehran, noting that the truce was aimed at targeting Iran and US allies – both Israel and the Gulf Arab states.
“We never made that promise. We never indicated that that would be the case. We said the ceasefire would target Iran, and the ceasefire would target America’s allies, both Israel and the Arab Gulf states.”
Read also | Trump’s allies, US officials worry that Iran’s victory lap is premature
Will the ceasefire talks fall apart?
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, apparently threatened a ceasefire, writing on X that the “functional basis on which to negotiate” had already been broken, making further talks “unwise”.
Ghalibaf cited three alleged U.S. violations of the cease-fire plan: continued attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace, and denial of the country’s right to enrichment.
Adding to the fragility of the truce – agreed hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump – was a senior US official who said Iran’s 10-point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to to end the war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, warned they would “fulfill our duty and deliver a response” if Israel did not stop the attacks, while Hezbollah said it had the “right” to respond.
Vance responded to the statement by saying, “If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart…about Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States has never said is part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice.
More than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month, local officials said.
(With input from agencies)
