US Pushes Lebanon Ceasefire as Iran Talks Gain Pace

Washington/Beirut: US president Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon Thursday, saying the two sides agreed to halt hostilities following US-led talks aimed at easing regional tensions. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, the US president said he had held "excellent conversations" with Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. "These two leaders have agreed that ... they will formally begin a 10-day ceasefire," Trump said, adding that it would take effect at 21:00 GMT. The announcement follows rare talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington earlier this week -- their first engagement in more than three decades. US secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance were involved in the diplomatic effort, with Trump saying senior officials had been tasked with working towards a lasting settlement. Trump later said he would invite Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for further talks, which would mark the first direct engagement between the two countries' leaders since 1983. The ceasefire appears to have been a precondition for dialogue. According to Al-Jazeera, Aoun had refused any direct engagement with Netanyahu without a truce in place, prompting an intensified US push for de-escalation. While Iran was not mentioned in Trump's announcement, the ceasefire is widely seen as linked to ongoing U.S. talks with Tehran, with Vice President JD Vance playing a central role in both tracks. Pakistan had earlier said that peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating to end the war between the United ?States and Iran. Although a separate two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was announced on 7 April, Israel continued its strikes in Lebanon -- a development Iran said violated the spirit of the truce. US and Israeli officials have insisted Lebanon was not part of that agreement, but Washington had been quietly urging Israel to scale back operations to prevent undermining its peace talks with Iran. Iran-US Talks held in Islamabad last weekend ended without agreement, with Tehran insisting that any broader deal must include a ceasefire in Lebanon. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led the Iranian side in talks, reinforced that position on Thursday. "For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran," he said after speaking with Lebanon's parliamentary speaker, Nabih Berri, adding that Tehran had been pushing for a permanent ceasefire across all conflict zones, including during the Islamabad talks. In Israel, the security Cabinet did not formally vote on the ceasefire. During an urgent phone call, Netanyahu informed ministers the truce would begin at midnight at Trump's request. Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah was quoted by Reuters saying the group had been informed by Iran's ambassador to Lebanon that a one-week ceasefire could begin on Thursday evening. Asked if Hezbollah would commit to the truce, Fadlallah said everything was tied to Israel's commitment to halt all forms of hostilities and credited Iran's diplomatic efforts for the possible ceasefire.

Failed war goals

Israel has failed to achieve its stated objectives in the Lebanon war, including ensuring the safety of northern Israeli residents and establishing a buffer zone extending to and beyond the Litani River, says former Israeli diplomat Shaiel Ben Ephraim. He added that Israel's silence on Donald Trump's announcement of a ceasefire pointed to deeper issues. "First, it suggests the ceasefire has been forced upon Israel and amounts to a diktat," Ben Ephraim told Al Jazeera. "Second, Netanyahu has yet to figure out how to present this to the Israeli public or even to his own cabinet, which is reportedly shocked and outraged." He also warned that Israeli forces on the ground in Lebanon could be left vulnerable if hostilities cease. "This indicates there was immense pressure on Israel, and it now has no clear way to explain the situation to its citizens, who are likely to view this as yet another failure," he said.