President Donald Trump has asserted that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, directly contradicting claims made by Pakistan, which mediated the truce. This statement came after Israel launched a significant assault on Lebanon on Wednesday, resulting in over 1,400 casualties in densely populated areas.
Trump described the Israeli military action against Hezbollah as a “separate skirmish.” He told public broadcaster PBS, “Because of Hezbollah, they were not included in the deal. That’ll get taken care of, too. It’s all right.” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt reiterated the president’s comments later that day, stating, “Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire that has been relayed to all parties involved in the ceasefire.”
Leavitt also dismissed suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be attempting to undermine the truce by attacking Lebanon, emphasizing that Israel remains a “key ally and partner” to the US. Neither Leavitt nor Trump addressed Pakistan’s earlier announcement that Lebanon was indeed covered by the ceasefire.
**Iranian Warnings**
The exclusion of Lebanon from the truce poses a risk to the broader regional ceasefire. State-affiliated Iranian news outlets have reported that Tehran intends to take serious measures in response to the Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The Fars News Agency claimed that “oil tankers have been suspended from passing through the Strait of Hormuz” in retaliation for the Israeli assault, though Iranian officials have not confirmed this report. It remains unclear whether any purported suspension would be temporary or long-term.
Tasnim news agency also cited an informed Iranian source who stated that Tehran would withdraw from the agreement if Israel continues its violations of the ceasefire through attacks on Lebanon. A senior Iranian official informed Al Jazeera Arabic that Tehran would “punish Israel in response to the crime it committed in Lebanon,” stressing that the ceasefire was meant to include the entire region. The official added, “Israel is known for breaking promises and will only be deterred by bullets.” However, Iran did not launch missiles or drones at Israel in the hours following the Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Later on Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a warning that fighting would resume if Israel failed to observe the ceasefire in Lebanon. “If the aggressions against dear Lebanon are not stopped immediately, we will do our duty and give a regretful response to the evil aggressors in the region,” the IRGC stated.
On Tuesday evening, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced that the two-week truce encompassed the entire region, explicitly mentioning Lebanon. Sharif posted on X, “With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce 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.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Arghchi shared Sharif’s post on Wednesday, highlighting the reference to Lebanon. Arghchi wrote, “The Iran-US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the US must choose – ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.” Israel’s Channel 12 also reported that Iran had insisted on Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire, but Netanyahu quickly asserted that attacks against Lebanon would persist.
**At Least 250 People Killed**
Hours after Netanyahu’s remarks, Israel launched one of its most intense attacks in the history of the conflict in Lebanon, bombing residential buildings, mosques, medical centers, vehicles, and cemeteries across the country. Lebanese health authorities reported that the Israeli onslaught killed at least 254 people and injured more than 1,160 others. Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told Al Jazeera, “The needs are increasing, but the scale of the assault is also huge. We are facing a dangerous escalation that happened in Lebanon, an Israeli aggression with more than 100 air strikes that targeted innocent civilians in Beirut, Dahiyeh, Bekaa, Mount Lebanon and the south.”
The attacks exacerbated the humanitarian and displacement crises in Lebanon, where over 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes. One strike tragically targeted a funeral in the Bekaa Valley town of Shmestar, killing at least 20 people. Several air raids were also reported in central Beirut and the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on the international community to intervene and “bring an end to these aggressions.” Salam stated that Israel “remains utterly heedless of all regional and international efforts to halt the war – not to mention its utter disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, which it has never respected.”
For its part, Hezbollah condemned the Israeli attacks as being driven by “blind malice, habitual criminality and boundless brutality.” The Iran-allied group re-asserted what it called its “natural and legal right” to resist the assault, stating, “This barbaric aggression – which constitutes documented war crimes and acts of genocide through targeting of densely populated civilian areas, markets and commercial shops during peak hours – is nothing more than a desperate attempt to exact revenge upon the civilian population.”
The war between Israel and Hezbollah intensified after the Lebanese group launched a rocket attack on Israel in early March. Hezbollah stated that this attack was in response to Israeli violations and the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The parties had reached a previous ceasefire in November, but Israel has continued to carry out daily attacks across Lebanon in the more than 15 months since.
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