The fragile truce between Iran and the United States showed signs of unravelling on Thursday, with Tehran threatening to resume hostilities as Israel pummelled Lebanon, killing at least 182 people and wounding nearly 900, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The conflict has sparked global economic upheaval, with the United Nations calling for calm and restraint from all parties involved. Washington and Tehran both claimed victory after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and negotiations aimed at ending a war that has killed thousands across the Middle East.
Iran-US Truce Under Strain
But the deal’s fractures emerged quickly on Wednesday as Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on neighboring Lebanon, including in densely packed central Beirut, since the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah joined the war in early March. Hezbollah responded on Thursday, saying it had fired rockets towards Israel and accusing it of violating the US-Iran truce.
US and Israeli Positions
Israel had said earlier its battle against the Lebanese group was not part of the ceasefire, an argument echoed by US Vice President JD Vance, who is due to lead talks with Tehran in Pakistan. The US Vice President stated that if Iran wants to let the negotiation fall apart over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice.
According to a US Department of State official, Iran’s 10-point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to in order to pause the war. This discrepancy has added to the fragility of the truce, which was agreed hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump.
In Lebanon, where UN rights chief Volker Turk called the scale of killing ‘horrific’, strikes across the capital Beirut without warning triggered scenes of horror and panic. The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, with more than 1,700 people killed since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month.
- 182 people killed in Lebanon strikes
- Nearly 900 wounded in the attacks
- Over 1,700 people killed in Lebanon since the conflict began
The situation remains volatile, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warning they would ‘fulfil our duty and deliver a response’ if Israel did not cease its strikes, while Hezbollah said it had a ‘right’ to respond. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country remained prepared to confront Iran if necessary, as it still had ‘objectives to complete’, with the military saying it continued to pursue the goal of ‘disarming’ Hezbollah in Lebanon.
