President Donald Trump has criticized Iran for its management of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, labeling it as a “very poor job.” He emphasized that the current situation does not align with the existing agreement between the United States and Iran, asserting that oil will continue to transit through the Strait regardless of Iran’s involvement.
Trump’s comments underscore the ambiguity surrounding the ceasefire and the specifics of the agreement in question.
In a related development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his administration is gearing up for direct talks with Lebanon, focusing on disarming Hezbollah and establishing normalized relations. However, military actions in Lebanon persisted on Friday.
A U.S. State Department representative confirmed that Washington will host a meeting next week aimed at discussing ongoing efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanese officials have called for a ceasefire prior to any negotiations, but Netanyahu rejected this idea, stating to residents in northern Israel, “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon,” as reported by BBC.
Israeli airstrikes continued in Lebanon on Thursday, targeting sites that the military identified as Hezbollah rocket launch locations in the southern region. The intensity of the attacks seemed to decrease overnight.
Trump mentioned that Israel would be moderating its military actions to facilitate diplomatic efforts. “I spoke with Bibi, and he’s going to low-key it. We need to be a little more low-key,” he told NBC. He further stated that Israel was “scaling back” its military engagements in Lebanon.
The strikes on Thursday led to new evacuation warnings in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The World Health Organization indicated that the Jnah area, affected by the strikes, houses two significant hospitals.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that approximately 450 patients, including 40 in intensive care, could not be safely evacuated due to the absence of alternative facilities. Some of the injured were among the 1,150 casualties from the large-scale strikes on Wednesday, which resulted in at least 303 deaths, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
He also noted that the headquarters of the health ministry, which provides shelter for over 5,000 individuals, is located within the evacuation zone.
There remains confusion regarding whether Lebanon is part of the ceasefire agreement. Iranian officials and mediators from Pakistan have claimed that it is included, while officials from the U.S. and Israel maintain it is not.
On Friday, the Iranian news agency Fars reported, citing officials, that peace talks in Islamabad are set for Saturday.
Trump, however, remarked to NBC that Iran is “agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to,” stating, “Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”
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