Seeking deal with Iran, Trump promises calm in Lebanon

US President Donald Trump said late Monday that Israel and Hezbollah, through intermediaries, have agreed that “all shooting will stop.”

Trump's announcement came after Iran said it was suspending talks with the United States over Israel's continued strikes on Lebanon, which have so far killed more than 3,400 people and displaced over 1 million.

Later on Monday, Trump told ABC News that he believes an agreement with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be sealed "over the next week."

Trump talks with Israel and Hezbollah

Trump said he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "highly placed" Hezbollah representatives.

"I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," Trump wrote on social media.

"Likewise, through highly placed representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah," Trump added, "and they agreed that all shooting will stop — that Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel."

In a subsequent post a few minutes later, Trump wrote that: "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Iran suspends negotiations with US

Earlier on Monday, Iranian state TV quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as threatening to open "new fronts" and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed should Israel continue its attacks on Lebanon.

"Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war," state TV quoted the Guards' intelligence organization as saying.

Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported that "the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and exchange of texts through mediators," blaming Israeli actions in Lebanon.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran considered Lebanon to be a component of the shaky ceasefire between the United States and Iran, with Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, considering Israel's escalation in Lebanon "clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire."

Israel and Hezbollah stop short of confirming truce

The Lebanese government announced that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group had accepted a US proposal to cease attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel's halting strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

A statement posted by the Lebanese Embassy in Washington on X said the agreement followed a phone call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and was followed by another call between US President Donald Trump and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Maawad.

According to the statement, Trump informed Maawad that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also agreed to the proposal.

Netanyahu meanwhile stressed that the Israeli military would "continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon," without explicitly clarifying whether he has agreed to the US proposal.

"I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop firing at our cities and citizens – Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut," Netanyahu said in a statement on X, adding: "This position of ours remain (sic) unchanged."

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying the group would support a full ceasefire across all Lebanon as a prerequisite to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Like Netanyahu, Fadlallah stopped short of saying whether Hezbollah would halt attacks on Israeli territory.

Fighting continues despite diplomatic efforts

Fighting between the two sides continued after Trump's announcement, with Hezbollah claiming attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon while Israel said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed over from Lebanon.

The Lebanese government is preparing to resume US-mediated talks with Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday, as it hopes for a more long-term ceasefire. The Lebanese embassy in Washington said the talks aim "to discuss this progress and build upon it."

How Lebanon became part of the wider conflict

Lebanon was drawn into the US-Israeli war on Iran on March 2, when Hezbollah attacked Israel over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The attack triggered Israeli strikes across the country, followed by an incursion by Israeli troops into southern Lebanon, where they remain despite a ceasefire agreed in mid-April.

Over the weekend, Israeli forces seized the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle, near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, and raised the Israeli flag there, with  Netanyahu describing the capture as a "dramatic shift" in the fight against Hezbollah.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse

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