West Asia war: Iran ties truce to Lebanon; Israel says strikes to continue

A two-week US-Iran ceasefire begins with talks set in Islamabad on Saturday, but the situation remains tense as Israel says its military operations in Lebanon will continue

Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with the US and will begin talks with Washington in Islamabad starting Saturday. However, tensions remain high as Israel continues to strike Lebanon, which Tehran says could undermine the truce. 

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accepted the temporary truce but warned the move “does not signify the end of the war". It added that any provocation would be met with force. 

Reports earlier suggested Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz after Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The US demanded that Tehran reopen the strategic waterway. Later, the White House said the strait remains open and there are no disruptions. 

 

Here are the key developments as of 10 am on Thursday:

US developments

• The White House said the Strait of Hormuz remains open, rejecting reports that Iran had shut the key shipping route after Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
• US Vice President JD Vance will travel to Pakistan on Saturday for the first round of talks under the ceasefire arrangement.
• As Iran accused Israel of violating the temporary ceasefire, Vance warned that President Donald Trump “will not abide by the terms” if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected Iran’s 10-point proposal, calling it “fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and completely discarded”. She added that President Donald Trump's “red lines on uranium enrichment” remain unchanged.
• The US said Lebanon is not covered under the ceasefire agreement. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned of action against “aggressors in the region” if attacks on Lebanon continue.
• US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a warning to Tehran over its nuclear programme, saying Iran must surrender its enriched uranium or Washington will “take it out”. Hegseth also claimed Tehran had “begged” for a truce and said Washington secured a “decisive military victory” during Operation Epic Fury.
• Trump also warned that any country supplying weapons to Iran would face a 50 per cent tariff on goods exported to the US, though he did not specify the legal basis for such a move.

Iran’s latest moves

• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US must choose between a ceasefire or “continue war via Israel”.
• Iran also blamed Israel for threatening the fragile ceasefire. It warned that continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon could collapse the agreement and raise tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf warned that ongoing Israeli attacks could again trigger tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran has also demanded the right to collect tolls from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for reopening the waterway, the Associated Press reported.

Israel’s military stance

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Hezbollah.
• He added that Israeli military operations against the group would continue.
• In a televised address, Netanyahu said the US-Iran ceasefire was reached “in full cooperation” with Israel and claimed the country had achieved several objectives during the conflict.
• However, he indicated that the truce remains fragile and said Israel is determined to reach its goals through negotiation or by “resuming the fighting”.

Developments in Gulf countries

• Israeli strikes hit densely populated commercial and residential areas in central Beirut on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the ceasefire announcement.
• Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Haneed Sayed said the government is ready to begin negotiations with Israel to end the hostilities. Israel has not yet responded to the proposal.
• Iran also carried out missile and drone attacks on several West Asian countries, including the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, hours after announcing the ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported.
• Oman’s Transport Minister Said bin Hamoud bin Saeed Al Maawali said the country will not impose any fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, amid speculation that Tehran and Muscat could jointly charge vessels during the ceasefire period.

India-related developments

• India welcomed the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran and expressed hope it would also encourage peace efforts in Ukraine.
• State-owned Indian Oil Corp. has bought a cargo of Iranian oil, which would mark India’s first such shipment since 2019.
• The conflict has also severely disrupted India’s aviation sector. Nearly one-fifth of international flights operated by Indian carriers in March were cancelled due to airport disruptions during the war.
• Indian airlines cancelled 3,025 flights out of 15,984 international flights between March 1 and March 31. This was nearly 13 times higher than February, when only 228 flights were cancelled.

Oil prices

• Brent crude futures rose $2.6, or 2.74 per cent, to $97.35 a barrel.
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased $3.02, or 3.2 per cent, to $97.43 a barrel.