Lebanon army chief heads to Pakistan amid US-Iran talks
Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolf Haykal said he left to visit Pakistan amid Pakistan’s efforts to mediate an end to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has spread to Lebanon.
The army said that the visit was made upon the invitation of Haykal’s Pakistani counterpart, but did not yet provide detailed information about the purpose and duration of the visit.
The surprise visit is notable given the insistence of the United States and Lebanese leaders, including the president, that ceasefire talks for Lebanon remain separate from US-Iran negotiations brokered by Pakistan.
This comes as the Iranian government is once again warning neighboring countries not to open their territory to potential US military operations against it.
“Countries in the region should observe the principle of good neighborliness and not use their lands for aggressive actions against Iran,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. he said.
The statement came after US attacks on radar facilities in the Sirik region and on Iran’s southern Qeshm island early on Saturday.
“This attack is a clear violation of the April 2026 ceasefire and a military attack on Iran’s territorial integrity,” the ministry said.
Iran called on the United Nations Security Council to respond to what it described as “blatant violations of the ceasefire” and “unlawful actions of the United States” that it said endangered both regional and international peace.
Israel and the USA attacked Iran three months ago.
Technically, a ceasefire in the war has been in effect since April 8.
However, mutual attacks continue.
The US military announced on Friday that it had intercepted several missiles fired by Iran against US-allied Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they attacked US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks and opened fire on four tankers trying to cross the strait without permission.
It was previously reported that the US military intercepted four Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz region and then attacked radar stations on the Iranian island of Qeshm and the town of Goruk.
The United States and Iran have engaged in largely indirect negotiations for an interim deal to halt the three-month-old war, leaving issues including Iran’s nuclear program for further negotiations.
However, an agreement could not be reached as the two sides periodically clashed.
Iran wants access to billions of dollars of oil revenue, the lifting of sanctions on crude oil exports, the lifting of the US blockade of its ports, and influence over the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the war, Iran largely blocked the waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil traffic passes.
Iranian state media reported that Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday to meet Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
A Pakistani source said Naqvi will carry a message from Pakistan to Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
with DPA
