Israel, Lebanon agree to “implement ceasefire”

News blog about the war in the Middle East

USA: Lebanon and Israel want to implement a fragile ceasefire

Trump confirms a telephone freakout. Iran continues to talk to the US. All developments on the war in the Middle East in the news blog.

According to US President Donald Trump, the USA will take over Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium as part of an agreement currently being discussed. “We’ll get it in the not-too-distant future,” Trump says. Tehran’s uranium reserves are a main point of contention in the negotiations.

Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to extend their fragile ceasefire and set up a series of “pilot” safe zones in Lebanon from which Hezbollah fighters would be banned. In a joint statement released at the State Department after a fourth round of U.S.-brokered talks, both sides said the ceasefire was “contingent on a complete cessation of firefights by Hezbollah and the evacuation of all Hezbollah fighters” from areas south of the Litani River.

It was initially unclear how the security zones would be established, but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of these areas. No information was initially given as to whether the new commitment to the ceasefire was a temporary extension. The ceasefire had previously been extended for a limited period of time.

Amid speculation about an end to negotiations between the USA and Iran, the Iranian Foreign Minister emphasizes that contacts continue. The talks with the USA have not broken off, Abbas Araghchi told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Majadin, who is close to the Hezbollah militia, in an interview that was also published in the Iranian media.

However, the negotiations will only make progress once the war against Iran and in Lebanon is over, he said. In recent days, Iranian media, citing negotiating circles, reported that talks between the warring parties had been broken off.

In response to recent Iranian attacks on its territory, Kuwait has declared two Iranian diplomats persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours. In addition, the number of employees at the Iranian embassy in the emirate will be reduced, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry announced on Platform X on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the acting charge d’affaires of the Iranian embassy in Kuwait was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. There the government handed him a formal note of protest against what Kuwait described as ongoing Iranian attacks.

The decision was made due to the continued and serious Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones. The facilities targeted several civilian facilities and vital installations, including Kuwait International Airport.