Iran, the United States and Israel said they reached a deal for a two-week ceasefire, with Tehran saying it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.
Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan, but he later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating.
Trump’s threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran hit a new extreme hours before the ceasefire when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," if Iran failed to make a deal that included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn’t include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 1,500 people have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Al-Moussawi has warned of a response from Iran and its allies if Israel “does not adhere to a ceasefire.”
His comment to local television channel Al-Jadeed is the first from the militant group in Lebanon after the U.S. and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by Pakistan.
Iran-backed Hezbollah joined the war after firing rockets towards Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Tehran. Hezbollah has not issued an official statement since the ceasefire but also has not yet claimed any strikes on Israel.
Israel has denied Lebanon’s inclusion in the agreement and said it will continue strikes against the small country. Pakistan, France and Egypt, which helped mediate the deal, all have confirmed Lebanon’s inclusion.
“The agreement includes Lebanon, according to its terms, and Iran insisted on this inclusion,” Al-Moussawi said.
Iran’s allies elsewhere, notably the Iraqi umbrella group the Islamic Resistance, announced it would halt its attacks.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the ceasefire agreement between the U.S., Israel and Iran “fully includes Lebanon,” which is in opposition to the stance taken by Israel as it continues an offensive there against the militant group Hezbollah.
Macron said the inclusion of Lebanon in the deal is “a good and even essential thing.”
“What we are witnessing today, both from what we have seen with the strikes and the occupation of southern Lebanon, cannot be a long-term solution, we know that,” Macron said.
Macron unsuccessfully backed Beirut’s earlier efforts to deescalate and push back against an Israeli ground invasion that has displaced more than 1 million people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the ceasefire in the Middle East to again call for a halt to fighting in Ukraine.
“A ceasefire is the right decision that leads to ending the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, adding that an agreement which “paves the way for diplomatic efforts” would save lives and stop the destruction of cities.
“Security must be guaranteed, and the interests of every nation must be taken into account when defining post-war arrangements,” Zelenskyy said, calling for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ukraine has “always called for a ceasefire” in the war with Russia and Kyiv would respond in kind if Moscow stops its strikes, he said.
Ceasefire efforts in Ukraine have yielded no results, with both sides continuing long-range strikes.
Egypt has called for Israel to immediately stop attacks on Lebanon as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s two-week ceasefire declaration in the region.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the situation in Lebanon remains critical.”
“This declaration of a cessation of military operations must be reflected in Israel immediately ceasing its repeated attacks on brotherly Lebanon,” it said.
Residents of Tel Aviv, Israel, are taking news of the ceasefire with a grain of salt
“A lot is unclear, the feeling is sour,“ Zamir Bakal told The Associated Press, adding, “we’re looking forward positively and hope that good things will come out of it.”
After another night disrupted by a blaring missile warning after the announced ceasefire, some residents were jogging on the city’s long promenade and playing beach volleyball.
Yehuda Raveh said he believes Israel will be “in a slightly better position” if the agreement extends to the fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but he added, “we did not solve our problems.”
Dan Tzivoni decried what he sees as Israel’s lack of political independence, saying Israel “became a little bit a puppet of the United States” and claiming it doesn’t know how to translate “very impressive military achievements” into political achievements.
Nizan Yogev sounded optimistic despite the tentative nature of the announcement, saying, “A temporary agreement will become permanent, and we will return to routine.”
Iraq’s Civilian Aviation Authority chief Bankin Rekani said the country’s airports and airspace have reopened following the ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
He made the announcement hours after the two-week cessation of hostilities mediated by Pakistan went into effect.
Airspace and flights throughout the region have been disrupted by the war. Baghdad and Irbil’s international airports were shuttered and the latter faced threats and attacks.
Families displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war scrambled to pack belongings in hopes of returning home after Pakistan said the Iran war ceasefire would include Lebanon.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed his country’s military would press on in Lebanon.
At a displacement camp along Beirut’s waterfront, families whiplashed by the conflicting statements expressed confusion and despair.
“We’re just stuck,” said Fadi Zaydan, 35. “We can’t take this anymore, sleeping in a tent, not showering, the uncertainty.”
His family set out Wednesday for the coastal city of Sidon, where he said they would wait before venturing further south to their abandoned home in Nabatieh.
Others said they expected Israel to escalate operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah even as guns fell silent elsewhere.
“Israel isn’t going to give up,” said Shadi Chehadeh, 47, who fled his southern village of Zefta to sleep in his car in Beirut. “They want our land.”
India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire in the Middle East Asia and said it expects the “unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce” through the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry in a statement said the fighting has caused “immense suffering” and disrupted global energy supplies and trade.
“We have consistently advocated de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy to bring an early end to the conflict,” the ministry said.
The leaders of France, Spain and Finland and top European Union leaders all issued statements welcoming the two-week pause in fighting but urging swift negotiations to bring the war to a permanent end.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the planned pause in fighting between Iran, the United States and Iran as “a very good thing” and said he hopes it “will be fully respected in the whole region and permit negotiations to be held.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been Europe’s loudest critic of the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in the Middle East, criticized the threats of violence that preceded the ceasefire announcement.
“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” Sánchez wrote on X, adding, “What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, and Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council, praised Pakistani mediation efforts in social media posts Wednesday.
The Turkish and Austrian foreign ministries issued statements welcoming the deal and calling for further negotiations. Austria also offered to host talks.
A regional official said Lebanon is included in the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
The official, who is involved in negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pause applies to “all fronts including Lebanon.”
Pakistan, which is a key mediator, has said the ceasefire includes the fighting in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Wednesday that the ceasefire won’t stop his country’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
China welcomed the ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States but did not confirm any direct talks with Iran that might have led to acceptance of the agreement.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also welcomed efforts by Pakistan and others, adding without elaborating that China “did its own efforts.”
“We have been advocating for peace talks and a ceasefire,” Mao said in Beijing, adding that Chinese authorities will “keep playing a constructive role” toward peace.
China and Pakistan agreed days earlier to promote a five-point proposal aimed at restoring peace in the Middle East after a monthlong war.
The five points they said they would pursue included an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of nonmilitary targets, guaranteeing navigation safety through the Strait of Hormuz and safeguarding the primacy of the U.N. Charter.
Israel’s military said Wednesday it “continues fighting and ground operations” in its war against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
The military issued a statement acknowledging the war continued, even after mediator Pakistan said Israel would halt its attacks as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war.
Israel separately acknowledged strikes into Iran up to the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel would honor the Iran ceasefire while continuing to fight Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has not offered any statement yet.
Israel was told the U.S. is committed to removing Iran’s nuclear material and missile threat in upcoming negotiations, a senior Israeli official said.
Senior Trump officials told Israel that the U.S. “will firmly insist on removing the nuclear material, stopping enrichment, eliminating the threat of ballistic missiles, and more” during talks expected to take place in the next two weeks, the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed diplomatic conversations, described the conditions as “shared goals of Israel and the U.S.”
There was little indication in public statements and proposals about the ceasefire that Iran and the U.S. had resolved disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program.
The official said the U.S. coordinated the ceasefire with Israel in advance and credited “the massive crushing of the regime’s infrastructure” with securing the agreement.
The United Arab Emirates announced it would suspend production at the Habshan gas complex.
The Abu Dhabi media office said falling debris from an interception of an attack caused three multiple fires at the facility.
Two Emirates and an Indian suffered minor injuries, the office said.
Oman Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi said his country, which has long mediated between Iran and the U.S., will provide support to negotiations following the two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
Al-Busaidi said serious negotiations are required to establish a lasting regional peace.
“For now the world has stepped back from disaster,” he wrote on X. “But there’s no room for complacency.”
Diplomats in the Middle East and Europe are offering assessments of the two-week ceasefire and the work that remains ahead.
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said his country has to manage a “complex regional landscape.”
Gargash argued on social media that the UAE will have “greater leverage, sharper insight, and a more solid capacity to influence and shape the future.”
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described the ceasefire in the war in the Middle East as a “step back from the brink.”
The agreement has created “a much-needed chance to tone down threats, stop missiles, restart shipping,”
Kallas wrote on X. “The Strait of Hormuz must be open for passage again.”
Jan Engeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid group, said the two-week ceasefire will allow scaling up of assistance for millions of refugees and displaced people in Iran.
He called for more funding to humanitarian operations.
“But we have only some funding from Scandinavians,” he wrote on X. “How come there are easily billions for war, but no funding for the victims of the war?”
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the ceaseire between the United States, Israel and Iran presents a critical opportunity to ease the suffering of populations affected directly and indirectly by the war.
Youssouf said the agreement reflects commendable leadership and a shared commitment to the de-escalation that the union has consistently called for.
He added that diplomacy guided by the United Nations Charter remains the only viable path to resolving international crises.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he supports the ceasefire, adding that the goal now must be to end the war.
Negotiations must protect Iran’s civilians and ensure security in the region, as well as avert a global energy crisis, the chancellor said in a statement.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday that news of a ceasefire in the Middle East was “incredibly encouraging” after weeks of destabilizing conflict.
“The events of the past six weeks have been incredibly destabilizing and deeply concerning for the world. We all want to see an end to the Middle East conflict, which is affecting every country in the world, including New Zealand,” Luxon said in the capital Wellington.
Earlier, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also said on X that his nation welcomed the effort to end the war, while noting “significant important work” remained.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Iran and Israel.
“There has never been such a political disaster in our entire history. Israel was not even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security,” Lapid wrote in a Wednesday morning post on X.
Lapid and other opposition party leaders in Israel have expressed support for the war against Iran while criticizing its “management.”
Lapid said in the post hours after the agreement was announced that “the military did everything asked of it, the public displayed incredible resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, failed to meet any of the goals he himself set.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is traveling to the Gulf on Wednesday to support a newly announced ceasefire and wider efforts to end the U.S.-IsraeIi war on Iran.
The ceasefire “will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world,” but it must be turned into a “lasting agreement,” Starmer said in a statement.
The U.K. has been involved in international efforts to restore freedom of navigation to the Strait of Hormuz, hosting international diplomatic and military meetings in the past week to work on a post-conflict security plan for the key waterway.
Starmer will hold talks with regional leaders and meet British troops based in the region on the trip, which was planned before the ceasefire was announced.
Protesters stormed the Kuwaiti Consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra late Tuesday.
Kuwait said in a statement it condemns the action by protesters opposed to the U.S. military’s use of numerous bases in Kuwait for launching attacks against Iran.
“Kuwait holds Iraq fully and directly responsible for this assault and for any shortcomings in taking the appropriate measures to protect diplomatic and consular missions on its territory,” the statement said.
Kuwait said it would “negatively impact bilateral relations” between the countries, which share a border.
“The State of Kuwait affirms that it is not a party to any regional or international conflict and that it has not and will not allow its territory to be used to launch an attack against any country, in accordance with its foreign policy,” the statement added.
The Iraqi government condemned the incident and said it will launch an investigation. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issued statements supporting Kuwait.
Oman said it welcomes the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire agreement and praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts to bring about the 14-day cessation of hostilities.
Prior to the war, Oman was a key mediator in its capital Muscat and in Geneva.
“The Sultanate of Oman emphasizes the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions that will end the crisis at its roots and achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities in the region,” the Omani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Israel hit parts of southern Lebanon, with many of the strikes targeting areas near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
A residential building was struck at dawn, killing four people in Tyre, where a drone strike targeted a car, although it was unclear who the intended target was in the vehicle.
Elsewhere, Israel hit a post of the Islamic Health Committee paramedics, one of various social programs operated by militant group Hezbollah, NNA reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Lebanon and Israel continue to trade fire because Lebanon is not part of the two-week ceasefire agreed by Washington and Tehran. The statement contradicted information released by Pakistan, which served as a mediator for the agreement.
Hezbollah has not issued a statement on the developments.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil sank 13.3% to $96, while brent crude, the international standard, dropped below $95 on Wednesday.
The oil prices fell while Asian benchmarks rose in Wednesday trading after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Shares jumped in early trading in Japan, Australia, South Korea and China in reaction to the ceasefire.
A recent spike in prices was a response to the war effectively blocking passage of much of the world’s oil supply through the strait.
Lebanon’s Crisis Management Unit has urged displaced people not to travel south following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.
The unit’s statement came as many displaced people packed their belongings and started moving south, thinking the agreement also included Lebanon, where Israel and the Hezbollah militant group are at war.
Pakistan, which mediated the agreement, said the two-week cessation of hostilities agreement included Lebanon, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it did not.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
More than 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced in just over a month.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday that the two-week ceasefire in the war in Iran “augurs well for the restoration of peace and stability, not only to the region but also the rest of the world.”
Indonesia also welcomed the latest development as an effort to keep the door open for diplomacy in order to promote de-escalation.
Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs, said: “The Indonesian government will always support any constructive diplomatic efforts, including those that have the potential to lead to a more permanent resolution, with the protection of civilians as our primary focus.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in a statement praised mediation efforts by countries including Pakistan and called for a swift restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East. It said it expects the “prompt and safe” resumption of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels, including South Korean ships.
Trump in a social media post declared the ceasefire agreement a “big day for World Peace” and that the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“There will be lots of positive action!” Trump predicted in his post.
“Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”
Trump’s message on his Truth Social website signals Washington’s concern about Iran maintaining its chokehold over the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of all oil and natural gas passes in peace time.
Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Wednesday morning, hours after the U.S. and Iran say they reached a two-week ceasefire in the war for negotiations.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced the warning.
It wasn’t immediately clear from the ceasefire when it would begin.
Iran has fired missiles on the Gulf Arab states and Israel after the announcement.
