On Thursday, Trump announced on the Truth Social platform that he had spoken with Lebanese President Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and both sides agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. He stated that he “has instructed Vance, Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kaine to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting peace.” The ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect at midnight local time on Friday. In two statements issued on Thursday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah acknowledged the ceasefire but did not explicitly confirm acceptance of the arrangement, emphasizing that any ceasefire agreement with Israel must cover all of Lebanon and must not allow Israelis “freedom of movement” within Lebanese territory. Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that Israeli forces would continue their presence in Lebanon during the temporary ceasefire. Trump also mentioned that the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations could take place over the weekend, adding that Iran has agreed never to acquire nuclear weapons. Pakistani military leader Asim Munir is currently visiting Tehran to push for the resumption of U.S.-Iran peace talks. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated that no specific date has yet been set for direct negotiations to resume. Regarding whether the U.S. and Iran can reach an agreement, despite Iran maintaining that the fate of its nuclear program remains unresolved, there is growing optimism among observers that a deal ending the Iranian conflict may now be within reach, following breakthroughs by Pakistan as mediator on several “tricky issues.”
On the same day, Hegseth stated at the Pentagon that if Iran fails to reach an agreement with the United States, the U.S. military is prepared to restart combat operations against Iran. He said the U.S. is “locked and loaded” to respond to a breakdown in negotiations and warned Iran: “We are closely watching you.” Hegseth repeatedly urged Iranian leaders to “make wise choices,” stating that the U.S. maritime blockade of Iranian ports will “continue until necessary.” He also warned that if the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement fails, U.S. forces will attack Iran’s power infrastructure.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862692495398089/
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