Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire

Lebanon has pushed for a ceasefire to stop fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before more talks, while pledging to work to disarm the group.

The president invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for what he said would be “the first meaningful talks” between the countries since 1983.

“Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe it will happen soon,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement in 1983 stating that Lebanon would formally recognize Israel and that Israel would withdraw from Lebanon.

The deal fell apart during Lebanon’s civil war and was formally withdrawn a year later.

Trump said the pause in fighting followed “excellent” talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Lebanese president refuses to speak to the Israeli prime minister

Fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah has continued in Lebanon amid the fragile ceasefire with Iran.

Trump had announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon would discuss ending the fighting. If that were to happen, it would be the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in more than three decades.

But at one point on Thursday, Aoun refused to speak to Netanyahu, a government official familiar with the developments told The Associated Press.

The administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations, said the comments were made during a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington “understands Lebanon’s position.”

Washington has not publicly expressed support for a ceasefire as a condition, and the Israeli government has framed the talks as peace negotiations with a focus on disarmament of Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire across the border, with Hezbollah attacking towns in northern Israel with rockets and drones. Israeli fire against southern Lebanon increased, especially around the cities of Tyre, Nabatieh and the strategic town of Bint Jbeil near the border with Israel.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was founded in 1948, and Lebanon remains more deeply divided than its diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Israeli forces have pushed deeper into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone” that Netanyahu has said will extend at least eight to 10 kilometers into Lebanon.

Pakistani army chief meets Iranian parliament speaker

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s powerful army chief met the speaker of Iran’s parliament on Thursday as part of international efforts to push for an extension of the ceasefire that has halted more than seven weeks of war between Israel, the US and the Islamic Republic.

It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal now that the two-week ceasefire has reached its halfway point. The war in Iran has killed thousands of people and roiled world markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

Iranian state television did not provide details of the meeting between Pakistani army general Asim Munir and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has emerged as his country’s chief negotiator.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, which has become a key mediator after hosting direct talks between the US and Iran that authorities say have helped narrow differences between the sides. Mediators are aiming for a new round before the ceasefire expires next week.

The White House said further talks on Iran were likely to take place in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, although no decision had yet been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire holds despite a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to attack regional ports across the Red Sea.

The war has shaken markets and thrown the global economy into turmoil as shipping has been cut off and air strikes have devastated military and civilian infrastructure. Oil prices have fallen on hopes for an end to the fighting, and US stocks surpassed January records on Wednesday.

Officials say the US and Iran are making progress

Even as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and new Iranian threats put pressure on the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP that the United States and Iran had an “agreement in principle” to extend the ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

The commander of Iran’s Joint Military Command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US does not lift the naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he is not in favor of extending the ceasefire.

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