Iran war: Hegseth declares 'historic' victory for US

The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday has been revised from 79 up to 112, according to the Health Ministry.

"The Israeli enemy's airstrikes on numerous Lebanese areas, reaching the capital Beirut, have led, in an updated non-final toll, to 112 martyrs and 837 wounded,"

Wednesday marked Israel's biggest attack against Lebanon since the beginning of the most recent war, despite a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran  being announced just hours earlier.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah has stressed it has a "right" to respond to Israel's deadly salvo of attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday, which have thus far killed at least 112 people, according to health authorities.

"We affirm that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today's massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression," the Iran-backed movement said in a statement.

The group is designated as a terrorist group in the US, Germany and several other countries, while the EU lists its military wing as a terrorist group.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday warned of the threat of "possible provocations and sabotage" to the ceasefire his country helped mediate between Washington and Tehran.

"We hope that the ceasefire will be fully implemented on the ground without giving any opportunity for possible provocations and sabotage," Erdogan said on X.

He urged in a phone call with US President Donald Trump "a lasting peace agreement with Iran," according to a Turkish presidency statement.

"This two-week window of opportunity, which has opened after 40 days of considerable tension and suffering for the whole world, must be used to reach a lasting peace deal," Erdogan told Trump.

The Turkish president also called for the process to not be "compromised under any circumstances," pledging Ankara's full support to ensure this.

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has welcomed the ceasefire deal between Iran and the US, but said "uncertainty remains."

"The US-Iran ceasefire agreement is a relief, but uncertainty remains in the region," she said in a post on X.

The EU foreign policy chief was in the Saudi capital Riyadh to meet with Gulf leaders.

She said she discussed "how to move from the two-week truce to a more permanent peace" with her counterparts.

"We also discussed broader regional issues. This crisis has proven the need for a stronger EU–Gulf partnership, including on security and defence cooperation which can make both of us stronger," Kallas added.

Israeli forces fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Monday, damaging one of the vehicles, the Italian government said.

The convoy, part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), was travelling from the town of Shama to Beirut when it was targeted by the warning shots. It immediately returned to its base.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto expressed his "firmest and most indignant protest" over the incident.

"Only vehicles were damaged, no injuries were reported, but for how long?" Crosetto said.

"It is unacceptable that Italian soldiers deployed under the UN flag, tasked exclusively with guaranteeing peace and stability, should be exposed to risky situations by the Israeli army," the minister added.

Three Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeepers were killed in separate incidents, at least one of which was blamed on Israel, in March.

Almost 90 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, cited by Reuters news agency.

A spokesperson for the ministry said the Israeli attacks across the country had killed "89 ‌martyrs ​and wounded 700 people."

The spokesperson added that 12 medics were among those killed.

The AFP news agency cited similar numbers, saying 89 were killed and 722 were wounded.

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at the London School of Economics, told DW that the Iran war will be seen in history "as one of the greatest miscalculations by an American president."

Watch the full interview with DW here:

President Trump reportedly told US public broadcaster PBS that Lebanon was not included as part of the ceasefire deal with Iran, contradicting statements from Iran.

"Yeah they were not included in the deal," he said when asked about Israel's continued bombing of Lebanon.

When asked why not, he responded "Because of Hezbollah," before referring to Israel's war in Lebanon as a "separate skirmish."

Iran has said it would unilaterally end the ceasefire if Israeli attacks continue against Lebanon, saying that the agreement with the US included all fronts of the war.

Donald Trump has suggested that securing the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping could be done as a "joint venture."

"We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture," the president told the US broadcaster ABC.

"It's a way of securing it  — also securing it from lots of other people," he added, without giving details.

It was not immediately clear how much Iran, which has been heavily bombed by the US and Israel for over a month, would be interested in cooperating with the US in a "joint venture."

Trump's tone matches his earlier comments in which he said the US would "work closely" with Iran after a "very productive Regime Change."

According to most analysts, the new leaders of Iran, including Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the former supreme leader who was killed in the first day of US-Israeli strikes, are more hardline than their predecessors.

US President Donald Trump has said that direct talks with Iran would happen "soon" after a ceasefire agreement was mediated by Pakistan.

He told the New York Post in a phone call that the talks would happen "very soon, actually — it's going to take place very soon."

"We'll have Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, JD —maybe  JD, I don't know. There's a question of safety, security," Trump added.

Iran has previously said it would talk to the vice president, but not Witkoff. The latter was involved in the previous two rounds of talks during which the US launched attacks against Iran. There have also been reported that Vance was against the war in the first place.

The in-person talks could begin as early as Friday, the day suggested by Pakistan.

Abu Dhabi police said in a post on X that they had arrested almost 400 people for posting messages or photos related to Iran's attacks over the past month.

"Abu Dhabi Police announced the arrest of 375 individuals of various nationalities for filming different locations and spreading misinformation related to current events on social media platforms," police said in a statement.

The post called on the public to use what it called approved official sources for news, rather than rumours or unverified news.

Similar waves of arrests have been conducted in the rest of the United Arab Emirates and across the Gulf after Iranian attacks hit both US and civilian infrastructure, especially oil and gas facilities.

Iran is reportedly considering abandoning the agreed two-week ceasefire if Israeli attacks against Lebanon continue, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said, citing a source familiar with the issue.

The source said that the ceasefire had been agreed for all fronts, "but the Zionist regime [Israel] has been carrying out brutal attacks against Lebanon in blatant violation of the ceasefire since this morning."

Tasnim also reported that the Iranian military was looking into how to respond to Israel's violations.

Despite the opening of the Strait of Hormuz being part of the ceasefire agreement, vessels in the Persian Gulf have reported continued threats from the Iranian military.

Several ships reported receiving threatening messages, according to Reuters news agency.

"Any vessel trying ​to travel into the ⁠sea ... ​will ​be targeted and ​destroyed..." a ‌message said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said shipping in the area would go ahead only in coordination with Iran's armed forces, "and with due consideration of technical limitations," according to a post by Iran's national broadcaster IRIB on X.

Araghchi said ships could only pass through the Strait of Hormuz with authorization.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the US had won its war with Iran several hours after a two-week ceasefire came into place.

"Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield," Hegseth told a press conference, using Washington's official term for its military campaign.

"Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it," Hegseth said.

He claimed that Iran could "no longer build missiles" due to the damage wrought to its military industry by US strikes.

Hegseth said that the US would have proceeded to destroy Iranian bridges and energy infrastructure had Tehran not agreed to the two-week ceasefire deal.

He said that US forces would stay in the region to ensure that Iran complies with the terms of the deal.

"We'll be hanging around, we're not going anywhere," Hegseth said.

Under the terms of the Pakistan-brokered deal, the US and Israel are to halt their attacks on Iran and Tehran is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump has said a 10-point Iranian proposal to end the war — which includes multiple points likely to be highly contentious to Washington, including reparations, a US military withdrawal from the Middle East and recognition of Iran's nuclear enrichment program for civilian purposes — is a "workable" basis for further talks.

In his Wednesday comments, Hegseth said that the US expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium stocks, saying: "They will give it up and we will take it."

Meanwhile, top general Dan Caine said at the same press conference that US forces remained ready to renew attacks against Iran.

"Let us be clear, a ceasefire is a pause, and the joint force remains ready, if ordered or called upon," Caine said.

What does the German government think about the US-Iran ceasefire agreement? What does Chancellor Friedrich Merz think? Media representatives in the German capital, Berlin, wanted to get answers to these questions on Wednesday.

Despite the fear of another massive escalation in the Middle East, which had been palpable in political circles in Berlin just a few hours earlier, the official reactions were almost void of any emotion.

Just before 8:00 a.m., the Federal Press Office had sent out a short statement from the chancellor reading, among other things: "The goal now must be to negotiate a lasting end to the war in the coming days. This can only be achieved through diplomatic channels."

That was also the message given in the Federal Press Conference a few hours later: Deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille tried to disclose as little as possible.

There were no details on what it actually means when Germany offers to "contribute in an appropriate manner to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz."

There was also no comment on the rumor that the German Navy could send mine-clearing vessels into the Strait of Hormuz.

Merz in contact with all parties involved

French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly announced that 15 states will gather to actively work towards keeping the faint hope for peace alive. Is Germany among them? "Intensive discussions are underway," government spokesperson Hille said.

But surely Germany must say something about the fact that just a few hours ago, US President Donald Trump openly threatened Iran with the annihilation of an entire civilization? Wasn't that a blatant announcement of war crimes? "I'm not going to offer any textual analysis of past events," government spokesman Hille stated tersely.

And so, the German government's only message was that Germany had by no means remained passive on the sidelines during the recent developments in the Gulf. Hille and the spokesman for the Foreign Office, Martin Giese, explained that Chancellor Merz had been in constant contact with all "relevant parties" over the Easter weekend, and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had spoken by telephone with his Israeli counterpart.