Israel carries out air strikes on Lebanon, state media says, as Iran claims deal with US near
Lebanese state media said Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon after ordering people to leave about 20 areas.
According to the Lebanese National News Agency, at least one person died following an attack on the town of Marakeh in Lebanon’s Tire region.
The Israeli prime minister has previously warned that his country would strike Hezbollah if it continued attacks against northern Israel.
The attacks came after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country mediates negotiations between the United States and Iran, wrote about X, “We are closer than ever to a peace agreement.” The official added that “it is expected to be finalized probably within the next 24 hours.”
A sense of normalcy has returned to the streets of Tehran since the ceasefire in April [Reuters]
Iran’s foreign minister has previously said an agreement with the United States to end the war is close. Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the agreement also envisages ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Araghchi said that the agreement includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and in his statement to state television that the agreement also includes the lifting of the US blockade of Iran. However, he said that talks on Iran’s nuclear program would begin later.
US officials confirmed some details of the deal, saying Iran’s economic benefits would depend on Tehran fulfilling its obligations.
Previous reports from the US suggested that Lebanon may not be part of this agreement; Iran reportedly insists on this.
The war began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28; It prompted Iran to attack Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf, as well as to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
Trump says there’s “no such thing as good faith dealing” in negotiating with Iranians [Getty Images]
Despite agreeing to a ceasefire in April, the United States and Iran have exchanged intermittent fire, including two rounds of tit-for-tat attacks this week.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was canceling “planned attacks” on Iran because negotiators had reached a “great deal” that would likely be signed soon.
On Friday, Iranian media published some details of the 14-point agreement, which Trump said had “nothing to do with the agreed terms” and “nothing to do with reality.”
A few hours later, the Pakistani prime minister said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran had been accepted and was expected to be finalized.
On Saturday, Sharif wrote on
Iran’s Araghchi said in state media that the final terms of the agreement among Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, have “supporters and opponents.”
However, he added that no collective decision had been reached. “We have to wait for now. If approved, the agreement will be signed remotely,” he said.
Israel is not taking part in talks that would lead to the start of negotiations on important issues, including the extension of the ceasefire and Iran’s nuclear program.
For decades, Iran has been accused by Western countries of trying to develop nuclear weapons. He denied the accusations, saying his program was for peaceful purposes, producing electricity and research.
In a detailed briefing to reporters Friday afternoon, U.S. officials said the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade of Iranian shipping.
These steps will take effect almost immediately. This will be followed by a 60-day period of negotiations focusing on Iran’s enriched uranium, a material needed to make a nuclear bomb. This will result in all material being destroyed on-site and then removed from the country, but the exact mechanism for this has still not been developed, officials said.
On the economic side, officials emphasized that no money would be provided in advance; This was a clear rejection of earlier Iranian reports that some of Iran’s assets would not be frozen before major negotiations begin.
U.S. officials have instead said Iran will gradually reintegrate into the global economy through measures such as lifting sanctions and gradually unfreezing assets.
The agreement calls on Iran to stop financing proxy groups in the region; this refers to Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East.
US officials emphasized that the Memorandum of Understanding was based on “performance” and not on trust or promises; Iran would only reap economic benefits if it could be verified that it had implemented the measures it had committed to.
Although there is cautious optimism on all sides, with the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar assisting in mediation efforts, there is still a small distance to go. It was expected that this agreement would be amended several times in the past month or two, only to disappear in later stages.
The difference now, according to the US administration, is both a higher level of optimism and greater clarity about the content of the agreement.
Iran’s foreign minister said, “This agreement will be signed and announced as soon as the final stages of our negotiations are completed.”
“This may happen in the coming days. I am very hopeful,” Araghchi told state television.
He emphasized that the first point expressed in the Memorandum of Understanding was the lifting of the US naval blockade against Iran.
As for the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, Araghchi said his administration “will never be the same again.” Since Iran closed the Bosphorus, it has insisted that ships wishing to pass must pay a fee, while the USA insists that the passage be free for all ships.
Additional reporting by Olivia Ireland and White House correspondent Bernd Debusmann
