US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, saying he has directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to achieve “lasting PEACE” between the two countries.
“I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST. On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
“I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE. It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote in a social post.
The development comes after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Trump on Thursday to help secure a ceasefire for his country in the first call ever between the two leaders, as Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was vital to ending the Iran war.
“Peace in Lebanon is essential for (Iran) peace talks,” Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, said.
In a Truth Social post published late on Wednesday in Washington, Trump said he was
seeking to create “a little breathing room” between Israel and Lebanon.
Also read: Strategic ‘breakthrough on nuclear front’ likely as Pakistan scales up US-Iran diplomacy
Aoun’s office said he spoke to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately on Thursday afternoon and thanked them for their efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon. Trump had also said the two leaders of Lebanon and Israel had not spoken for some 34 years and “it will happen tomorrow.”
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday but contact between Netanyahu and Aoun was a major milestone in ties between the two countries, which have remained in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
Aoun had said early in the war he would be open to direct talks but Lebanon’s position is that a ceasefire should precede negotiations.
In a statement earlier on Thursday, he had said a ceasefire would be the “natural entry point for direct negotiations” with Israel and that the withdrawal of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon would be “a fundamental step”.
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