President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, describing the temporary halt in fighting as a significant step toward a broader peaceful solution involving Iran.
The announcement came after phone calls with leaders from both Israel and Lebanon. According to the White House, the truce was a key precondition set by Iranian officials before they would consider a larger agreement with the United States to halt Israeli strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Plans are now underway for a future meeting at the White House.
Speaking on the development, President Trump stated: “I think we will have an agreement between Lebanon and they’re going to take care of Hezbollah, but they’re going to be working on Hezbollah right now. But we’ll have an agreement between Israel, very importantly, and Lebanon.”
Iranian officials have continued to emphasize that an agreement to stop Israeli actions against Hezbollah is important to any larger ceasefire with the U.S., which is set to expire next week. One Iranian statement noted: “Despite our deep mistrust of the United States stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless entered the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic.”
The president also reiterated his firm position on Iran’s nuclear program. “We have to make sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, because if they do, you want to talk about problems, you’d have problems,” Trump said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a strong warning to Iran, stating that if the regime rejects a deal, the U.S. military is prepared to escalate. “If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy,” Hegseth said.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it is expanding the U.S. military blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command stated it will “actively pursue any Iranian flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran. This includes dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil.”
The developments mark the latest effort by the Trump administration to de-escalate tensions in the region while maintaining pressure on Iran over its nuclear ambitions and support for proxy groups like Hezbollah.