Netanyahu says ‘no ceasefire in Lebanon’<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish to inform you: There is no ceasefire in Lebanon,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis in a short video address <\/a>posted on X. He said Israel was \u201ccontinuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments come shortly after President Trump said he had asked Netanyahu to be \u201cmore low-key\u201d in Lebanon, as the US seeks to negotiate with Iran<\/a> to bring the war to an end.<\/p>\n Netanyahu added that he had instructed his government to \u201copen direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.\u201d The talks will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations between Israel<\/a> and Lebanon, he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Air raid alerts rang out across Israel<\/a> early Friday, including in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv and in the southern coastal city of Ashdod following rocket fire from Lebanon.<\/p>\n Continued fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah is testing a fragile truce reached between the US and Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire repeatedly on Thursday.<\/p>\n The Israeli army\u2019s Home Front Command issued alerts for several areas following Friday\u2019s rocket fire, including the Tel Aviv area and southern communities far from the Lebanon border.<\/p>\n People run to take shelter in Tel Aviv as sirens sound during incoming missile fire. Photograph: Alexi Rosenfeld\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Hezbollah said it targeted \u201cIsraeli military\u201d infrastructure in the northern city of Haifa in the late hours of Thursday.<\/p>\n There were no immediate reports of casualties, but Israeli media reported that air-defence systems had intercepted at least one incoming rocket.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran doing a ‘poor job’ of allowing oil through the strait of Hormuz, Trump says<\/p>\n Donald Trump has said Iran is doing a \u201cvery poor job\u201d of reopening the strait of Hormuz, in his second comment on the vital waterway in just over an hour.<\/p>\n Accusing Iran<\/a> of being \u201cdishonorable\u201d, the president goes on to say this is \u201cnot the agreement we have!\u201d<\/p>\n Iran has said it has halted shipping traffic in the strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply moves through in normal times, in retaliation for Israel\u2019s strikes on Lebanon.<\/p>\n Just over an hour ago Trump warned Iran \u201cbetter not be\u201d charging fees to tankers travelling through the strait, after hearing \u201creports\u201d that Tehran was doing so.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A former Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharazi, has died from wounds inflicted in US-Israeli strikes on 1 April, Iranian media are reporting.<\/p>\n Kharazi, 81, had been serving as the head of the Strategic Council for International Relations, which is part of the foreign ministry.<\/p>\n The veteran diplomat, \u201cwho was injured in a terrorist attack carried out by the American-Zionist enemy a few days ago, died a martyr tonight\u201d, the Mehr and Isna agencies reported on Telegram.<\/p>\n Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi addresses reporters at a 1999 press conference in Tehran. Photograph: Atta Kenare\/EPA<\/p>\n His wife was killed in the strike on their home in Tehran, media reported.<\/p>\n Kharazi was Iran\u2019s envoy at the United Nations in New York and then became foreign minister from 1997 to 2005, under reformist president Mohammad Khatami.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says Iran ‘better not be’ charging tanker fees in strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Donald Trump has warned Iran it \u201cbetter not be\u201d charging fees to tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz, after hearing \u201creports\u201d that Tehran was doing so.<\/p>\n \u201cThey better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!\u201d Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n Iran has said it has halted shipping traffic in the key waterway in retaliation for Israel\u2019s strikes on Lebanon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The day so far<\/p>\n Donald Trump said he is \u201cvery optimistic\u201d a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by his vice-president JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war this weekend. Iran\u2019s leaders \u201ctalk much differently when you\u2019re at a meeting than they do to the press. They\u2019re much more reasonable,\u201d the US president said, in line with his administration\u2019s narrative that there\u2019s a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately. Trump went on: \u201cThey\u2019re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they\u2019ve been conquered. They have no military. If they don\u2019t make a deal, it\u2019s going to be very painful.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also confirmed that he had asked Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to be \u201cmore low-key\u201d in Lebanon to help ensure the success of the upcoming US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad. \u201cI spoke with Bibi and he\u2019s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,\u201d Trump told NBC News<\/a>, adding that he believed Israel was \u201cscaling back\u201d its operations in Lebanon (there\u2019s been no evidence of that yet \u2013 see the next few points).<\/p>\n Netanyahu said he had instructed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon aimed at disarming Hezbollah \u2013 all the while insisting that \u201cthere is no ceasefire\u201d in Lebanon<\/a> and that Israel will \u201ccontinue to strike Hezbollah with force\u201d.<\/p>\n Israel has since launched a fresh wave of strikes against what it called \u201cHezbollah launch sites\u201d in Lebanon, after the IDF earlier ordered people to flee Beirut\u2019s densely populated southern suburbs. Later in the day, Hezbollah said it had fired a rocket salvo towards northern Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n While Israel continues to insist that the war will go on and \u201ctalks will be held under fire\u201d, Lebanon is demanding a ceasefire before direct negotiations can begin. Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese president, said <\/a>this was \u201cthe only solution\u201d<\/a>. Lebanon is also insisting that it needs the US as a mediator and guarantor of any agreement. Those talks will reportedly take place next week, hosted by the US state department<\/a> in Washington.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s \u2060president \u2060Masoud Pezeshkian said \u2060Israeli strikes on \u2060Lebanon violate the ceasefire agreement and would render \u200cnegotiations meaningless, adding that Iran would not abandon the Lebanese people.<\/p>\n The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Lebanon forms \u201can inseparable part of the ceasefire\u201d deal. In a post on X<\/a>, he said \u201cthere is no room for denial and backtracking\u201d.<\/p>\n Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Israel\u2019s \u201congoing aggression against Lebanon\u201d on Thursday, ahead of the expected US-Iran talks in Islamabad. \u201cThe prime minister said that Pakistan was engaged in sincere efforts for regional peace and it was in this spirit that the peace talks between Iran<\/a> and the US were being convened,\u201d Sharif\u2019s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer also said that Israel\u2019s continued attacks on Lebanon \u201cshouldn\u2019t be happening\u201d. The British prime minister also dismissed an argument<\/a> put forward by US vice-president JD Vance on Wednesday that there had been \u201ca legitimate misunderstanding\u201d, saying the issue \u201cisn\u2019t a technical one of whether it\u2019s a breach of the agreement or not\u201d. It is \u201ca matter of principles as far as I\u2019m concerned\u201d, Starmer said.<\/p>\n A statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s supreme leader, said Iran will take management of the strait of Hormuz into a new phase, but did not elaborate on what that would be. In the statement, read out on state tv, he also said Iran remains determined to \u201ctake revenge\u201d for his father, who was assassinated on the first day of the war, and all those killed in the war. \u201cWe will certainly demand compensation for each and every damage inflicted, and the blood price of the martyrs and the compensation for the wounded of this war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi suggested that Netanyahu is resisting a ceasefire because of his corruption trial, and urged Trump not to \u201ccrater\u201d the US economy by allowing the Israeli prime minister to jeopardise ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the war. Araghchi said on X: \u201cNetanyahu\u2019s criminal trial resumes on Sun. A region-wide ceasefire, incl in Lebanon, would hasten his jailing.\u201d<\/p>\n Lebanon held a day of mourning after a punishing wave of Israeli attacks killed more than 300 people<\/a> and injured more than 1,000 in a single day on Wednesday, prompting worldwide condemnation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have said they\u2019re at the \u201cnext stage of finding a resolution\u201d for reopening the strait of Hormuz, Downing Street has said.<\/p>\n In a statement, No 10 said that the British prime minister discussed with Trump the UK\u2019s \u201cefforts to convene partners to agree a viable plan\u201d to reopen the critical shipping lane.<\/p>\n \u201cThey agreed that now there is a ceasefire in place and agreement to open the Strait, we are at the next stage of finding a resolution,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leaders discussed the need for a practical plan to get shipping moving again as quickly as possible,\u201d it went on, adding Trump and Starmer would speak again soon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran\u2019s foreign minister says Netanyahu delaying ceasefire to avoid corruption trial<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has suggested that Benjamin Netanyahu is resisting a ceasefire because of his corruption trial, and urged Donald Trump not to \u201ccrater\u201d the US economy by allowing the Israeli prime minister to jeopardise ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the war.<\/p>\n Araghchi said on X:<\/p>\n double quotation markNetanyahu\u2019s criminal trial resumes on Sun. A region-wide ceasefire, incl in Lebanon, would hasten his jailing.<\/p>\n If the US wishes to crater its economy by letting Netanyahu kill diplomacy, that would ultimately be its choice. We think that would be dumb but are prepared for it.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s long-running trial will resume on Sunday, an Israeli courts\u2019 spokesperson said on Thursday.<\/p>\n The first sitting Israeli prime minister to be charged with a crime, Netanyahu denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust brought in 2019 after years of investigations. His trial, which began in 2020 and could lead to prison terms, has been repeatedly \u200bdelayed due to his \u200bofficial commitments, with \u2060no end date in sight.<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on 19 March. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>US state department to host Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington next week<\/p>\n Talks between Lebanon and Israel will take place next week in Washington DC, a US State Department official has confirmed to AFP.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe can confirm that the Department will host a meeting next week to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon.<\/p>\n We earlier brought you that report from Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.09 EDT<\/p>\n Earlier today, the Guardian\u2019s Peter Beaumont wrote this analysis about Israel\u2019s continued attacks on Lebanon \u2013 asking: What was the point of surprise mass strikes<\/a> that killed more than 300 people and drew widespread international condemnation?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more from Peter\u2019s piece:<\/p>\n double quotation markPrime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> and other officials have claimed the largest strike against Hezbollah during the month-long war against Iran was carefully aimed at members of the armed group.<\/p>\n Others have speculated that the attack \u2013 without warning and initially hitting more than 100 targets<\/a> in 10 minutes including in densely populated residential areas in central Beirut \u2013 was aimed at undermining the US-Iran ceasefire that many see as being imposed on an unhappy Netanyahu.<\/p>\n The version being briefed in the Israeli media is that Hezbollah<\/a> had sought to move command posts to civilian areas outside its historical centres, such as the sprawling Dahieh suburb, to better conceal and protect them \u2013 a claim Israel has previously made about Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.46 EDT<\/p>\n Netanyahu says ‘no ceasefire in Lebanon’<\/p>\n \u201cI wish to inform you: There is no ceasefire in Lebanon,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis in a short video address <\/a>posted on X. He said Israel was \u201ccontinuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments come shortly after President Trump said he had asked Netanyahu to be \u201cmore low-key\u201d in Lebanon, as the US seeks to negotiate with Iran<\/a> to bring the war to an end.<\/p>\n Netanyahu added that he had instructed his government to \u201copen direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.\u201d The talks will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations between Israel<\/a> and Lebanon, he added.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Israel says it is attacking ‘Hezbollah launch sites’ in Lebanon<\/p>\n A few moments ago, the IDF said in a brief post on Telegram that it had started begun striking \u201cHezbollah launch sites in Lebanon\u201d.<\/p>\n The Israeli army earlier ordered people to flee from Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs as it warned of further strikes.<\/p>\n This is all as Lebanon says that a ceasefire must be in place before it can enter into negotiations with Israel, whereas Tel Aviv insists \u201ctalks will be held under fire\u201d.<\/p>\n It is also despite Donald Trump telling Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back his attacks on Lebanon<\/a>, ahead of high stakes talks with Iran this weekend.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll bring you more on this as we get it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.59 EDT<\/p>\n Supreme leader says Iran will take management of strait of Hormuz ‘into new phase’<\/p>\n A statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s supreme leader, who has still not been seen or heard from in public, has just been read out across state media \u2013 his first since the fragile ceasefire was announced.<\/p>\n He said Iran remains determined to \u201ctake revenge\u201d for his father, who was assassinated on the first day of the war, and all those killed in the war:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe will certainly demand compensation for each and every damage inflicted, and the blood price of the martyrs and the compensation for the wounded of this war.<\/p>\n He was also quoting as saying that Iran will take management of the strait of Hormuz into a new phase, but did not elaborate on what that would be.<\/p>\n Khamenei also called on pro-regime protesters to take to the streets because \u201cyour voices raised in public squares have an impact on the outcome of the negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n double quotation markIran is not seeking war but will not forfeit its rights and considers all resistance fronts as a unified entity.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.58 EDT<\/p>\n Trump confirms he asked Netanyahu to be ‘more low-key’ on Lebanon<\/p>\n In that interview with NBC News, Donald Trump also confirmed that he asked Benjamin Netanyahu to be \u201cmore low-key\u201d in Lebanon as the US seeks to negotiate with Iran to bring the war to an end.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke with Bibi and he\u2019s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,\u201d Trump said, adding that he believed Israel<\/a> was \u201cscaling back\u201d its operations in Lebanon (again, there\u2019s been no evidence of that yet).<\/p>\n Earlier, I brought you CNN\u2019s report<\/a> that the US president had made the request to the Israeli prime minister. NBC News heard the same<\/a>, reporting that Trump asked Netanyahu to pull back on the strikes to help ensure the success of the upcoming negotiations in Islamabad.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Israel\u2019s attacks on Lebanon should not be happening, says Starmer<\/p>\n Peter Walker<\/a> and Jamie Grierson<\/a><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s continued attacks on Lebanon \u201cshouldn\u2019t be happening\u201d, Keir Starmer<\/a> has said on his visit to the region, echoing criticisms by Yvette Cooper, his foreign secretary; and John Healey, his defence secretary, and emphasising a potentially widening gap between the UK and Donald Trump\u2019s US over the war on Iran and its aftermath.<\/p>\n As well as the condemnation over Lebanon<\/a>, Starmer and his ministers have been adamant that the strait of Hormuz must be free of any sort of tolls or levies, after Trump mooted the idea of a \u201cjoint venture\u201d between the US and Iran to do this.<\/p>\n Speaking in Bahrain on a trip in which he has also held talks in Saudi Arabia and the UAE on shoring up the tentative ceasefire between Iran, the US and Israel, and fully reopening the strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, Starmer criticised Israel\u2019s intensified bombing in Lebanon, which killed more than 300 people<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n He told ITV:<\/p>\n double quotation markThat shouldn\u2019t be happening. That should stop. That\u2019s my strong view.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve been reporting, while Israel<\/a> has announced it will begin talks with Lebanon, both Israel and the US have denied that ending attacks on Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. JD Vance, Trump\u2019s vice-president, argued that there had been \u201ca legitimate misunderstanding\u201d.<\/p>\n Starmer dismissed this argument, saying the issue \u201cisn\u2019t a technical one of whether it\u2019s a breach of the agreement or not\u201d, calling it \u201ca matter of principles as far as I\u2019m concerned\u201d.<\/p>\n UK ministers have refused to directly condemn Trump, even after the US president shocked the world by saying<\/a> Iran\u2019s \u201cwhole civilisation will die\u201d if Tehran did not meet US demands before the ceasefire.<\/p>\n In the ITV interview, Starmer was obliquely critical of the language, saying:<\/p>\n double quotation markThey are not words I would use, ever use, because I come at this with our British values and principles.<\/p>\n Read the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.26 EDT<\/p>\n Trump \u2018optimistic\u2019 about Iran peace deal even as ceasefire appears strained<\/p>\n Donald Trump has told NBC News<\/a> that he is \u201cvery optimistic\u201d a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by his vice-president JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war this weekend.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s leaders \u201ctalk much differently when you\u2019re at a meeting than they do to the press. They\u2019re much more reasonable,\u201d the US president said, in line with his administration\u2019s narrative that there\u2019s a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately.<\/p>\n Trump went on:<\/p>\n double quotation markThey\u2019re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they\u2019ve been conquered. They have no military.<\/p>\n If they don\u2019t make a deal, it\u2019s going to be very painful.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In line with what Reuters and others are hearing<\/a>, a Lebanese official has told Al Jazeera that talks with Israel would take place under US oversight.<\/p>\n They said Lebanon is seeking a ceasefire before agreeing to enter direct negotiations, and that those negotiations would be led by former Lebanese ambassador Simon Karam.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lebanese president says ‘only solution’ is ceasefire before talks with Israel<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve been reporting, Lebanon wants a ceasefire from Israel before direct negotiations can begin, while Israel<\/a> says the \u201ctalks will be held under fire\u201d.<\/p>\n Earlier, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said that a ceasefire first was the \u201conly solution\u201d.<\/p>\n