Pakistan working on ceasefires for Lebanon, Yemen: Reuters report

As high-level talks between the US and Iran are set to take place in Pakistan, Islamabad is also working on ceasefires for Lebanon as well as Yemen, Reuters reported citing a Pakistani source on Thursday.

Tel Aviv has accused Iran for using proxies in Lebanon and Yemen to attack Israel.

Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, putting the US-Iran ceasefire into further jeopardy after the biggest Israeli attacks on its neighbour of the war killed more than 250 people and threatened to torpedo Donald Trump’s truce.

Trump announced a ceasefire in the six-week-old Iran conflict late on Tuesday on Pakistan’s request, just hours before a deadline after which he threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilisation.

In Pakistan, authorities are preparing for the first round of US-Iran talks, locking down the capital Islamabad.

But there was no sign Iran was lifting its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history, with Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon cited as a key sticking point.

In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, just a single oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers sailed through a strait that typically accommodated 140 ships a day before the war, accounting for around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Netanyahu, whose government rebuffed a historic offer for direct talks with Lebanon last month, said in a statement that he had given instructions to start peace talks as soon as possible, which would also include disarming Hezbollah.

“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” he said. “The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.”

An hour before Netanyahu’s statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was working on a diplomatic track on this matter that was starting to be seen “positively” by international actors.

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters that Lebanon had spent the last day pushing for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, describing the effort as a “separate track but the same model” as the US-Iran truce.

The official said no date or location had been set yet but that Lebanon needed the US as a mediator and guarantor of any agreement.

Meanwhile, expressing gratitude for Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s peace initiatives, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday sought Pakistan’s support in securing an immediate end to the Israeli attacks targeting Lebanon and its people.

According to the Pakistan’s PM Office, PM Shehbaz held a telephonic conversation with the Lebanese prime minister, during which he strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon and expressed grief over the loss of thousands of precious lives.

During the call, the premier stated that Pakistan remains sincerely engaged in efforts to bolster regional peace. He highlighted that, in line with this commitment, peace negotiations between Iran and the United States are currently being hosted, as per the PMO.

Israel says ceasefire does not cover Lebanon

Israel, which invaded Lebanon last month in parallel with the war on Iran to root out Hezbollah, says its actions there are not covered by Trump’s ceasefire.

Washington has also said Lebanon is not covered by the truce, but Iran and Pakistan, which acted as mediator, say it was explicitly part of the deal. A host of countries, including Britain and France, said the truce should extend to Lebanon.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, expected to head the Iranian delegation opposite US Vice President JD Vance, tweeted that Lebanon and the rest of Iran’s “axis” of regional allies were inseparable parts of any ceasefire.