US-Iran war highlights: Iran says Lebanon ‘key’ for ceasefire; Israel says will continue to attack it

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US Iran war LIVE updates: After well over a month of continuous fighting between Iran and the United States, backed by Israel, both the sides reached to a temporary two-week ceasefire on Tuesday until they worked out the details of a sustainable peace plan over negotiations to be held in Pakistan later this week. All seemed well for a few hours until the attacks continued on Wednesday and the ceasefire lived a short life.

Just hours after the ceasefire was announced and a sense of relief started to settle in among the people in the conflict zone, it turned into panic as Israel caught Lebanon unawares and launched one of the war's biggest offensives. It struck several residential and commercial areas in and around Beirut killing at least 182 people, according to Lebanon.

Israel, in its defence, said that it was targeting Hezbollah. However, the attack did not sit well with Iran which, in turn, decided to close down the Strait of Hormuz again. Click here to read more.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, according to the network and local health officials, along with two Lebanese journalists in Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists and one of their network.

Mohammed Wishah was killed in a drone strike in western Gaza City. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Wishah was affiliated with Hamas, reposting a 2024 message that described him as a “prominent commander” in its military wing, among other roles. (AP)

US Iran war LIVE updates: French President Emmanuel Macron said that he spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and expressed France's solidarity with Lebanon over recent Israeli attacks.

“I expressed France’s full solidarity in the face of the indiscriminate strikes carried out by Israel in Lebanon today, which resulted in a very high number of civilian casualties. We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” Macron wrote on X.

“They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it. I reiterated the need to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and France’s determination to support the efforts of the Lebanese authorities to uphold the country’s sovereignty and implement the Hezbollah disarmament plan,” he added.

US Iran war LIVE updates: The dollar slumped, wiping out its gains for the year, after a ceasefire between Iran and the US sent oil prices tumbling and unwound one of the conflict’s most prominent haven trades.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index weakened 0.8% on Wednesday, its worst day since January, as a relief rally swept through global markets. Stocks gained and the greenback fell against all 16 major peers — with the euro, pound and yen at one point posting 1% gains or more.

News of the two-week pause in fighting late Tuesday sent energy prices lower as Tehran pledged to reopen a critical pathway for global oil trade, sapping demand for the dollar as investors flocked to riskier markets. The initial moves, though, faded — particularly in the Treasury market — after a top Iranian official cast doubt on the agreement’s durability. (Bloomberg)

US Iran war LIVE updates: French President Emmanuel Macron said after Iran-US ceasefire that he told both of them that the arrangement should include Lebanon.

"I spoke today with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, as well as with U.S. President Donald Trump.

I told both of them that their decision to accept a ceasefire was the best possible one.

I expressed my hope that the ceasefire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon. This is a necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting.

It must open the way to comprehensive negotiations capable of ensuring security for all in the Middle East," Macron wrote on X.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel remains prepared to confront Iran if necessary, despite a truce reached between the United States and Iran.

"Let me be clear: We still have objectives to complete, and we will achieve them -- either through agreement or through renewed fighting," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

"We are prepared to return to combat at any moment required. Our finger remains on the trigger. This is not the end of the campaign, but a step along the way to achieving all our objectives."

"Iran enters this pause battered, weaker than ever." (AFP)

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a ceasefire in Lebanon is a key condition in the Islamic Republic’s 10-point plan to end the war in West Asia, reported ISNA on Wednesday.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said Tehran's "acceptance of the ceasefire is a clear sign of Iran's responsibility and serious will to resolve conflicts through diplomacy", the agency reported.

US Iran war LIVE updates: US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that Israel has agreed to check itself in Lebanon. He also said that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire that US and Iran agreed to on Tuesday.

US Iran war LIVE updates: United States Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that while Tehran's negotiators thought that Lebanon was included in the US-Iran ceasefire agreed to on Tuesday, the American side had not agreed to that.

US Iran war LIVE updates: United States Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday (local time) that Iran should take next step or President Trump has options to go back to war.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran Ports and Maritime Organization says passage through the Strait of Hormuz must be done in coordination with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, reported Iran's news network SNN

US Iran war LIVE updates: United States Vice President JD Vance will lead the delegation for talks on a peace agreement with Iran in Pakistan later this week, said the White House.

“I can announce that the president is dispatching his negotiating team led by the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr. Kushner, to Islamabad for talks this weekend,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning, local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” she added.

US Iran war LIVE updates: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday (local time) that closure of Strait of Hormuz “is completely unacceptable”.

The United States called on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz “immediately, quickly, and safely”.

“I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately quickly and safely,” Leavitt said.

US Iran war LIVE updates: The White House said on Wednesday that NATO turned its back on the United States in the ongoing war with Iran. This comes as NATO's secretary-general is set to meet US President Donald Trump.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said that Trump would discuss the possibility of leaving NATO in upcoming talks with Mark Rutte.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday hit out at the Israeli claims over its attacks on Lebanon, saying the US must choose ceasefire or continued war via Israel.

Araghchi was reacting to the Israeli attack in and around Beirut that killed dozens. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said earlier that strikes on Lebanon were not part of the ceasefire plan.

“The Iran–U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both," Aragchi wrote in a post on X sharing a post by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declaring the ceasefire.

"The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” Araghchi added.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the two-week ceasefire agreement will not include Hezbollah, adding that Israel would “continue to strike them.”

Netanyahu further said that ceasefire is not the end, adding that Israel has more goals to achieve by agreement or by renewing the fighting.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Air defences were activated in Iranian cities including Isfahan and Kerman, Reuters news agency reported citing Mehr news agency,

Explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan, Mehr reported.

US Iran war LIVE updates: The death toll from Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Wednesday has increased to 254, Lebanese civil defense said, according to Reuters news agency.

US Iran war LIVE updates: A US official on Wednesday said a 10-point ceasefire plan published by Iran is not the same set of conditions America agreed to for halting the conflict.

“The document being reported by media outlets is not the working framework,” AFP cited the senior official as saying on the condition of anonymity. “We're not going to negotiate in public out of respect for the process,” the official added.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar on Wednesday cast uncertainty over the US-Iran truce, citing significant gaps between the two.

“Nothing is over yet,” AFP cited Saar as saying in an interview with state broadcaster Channel 11. “I don't see how it is possible to bridge the positions of the US and Iran,” the foreign minister said.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran's state media is reporting that Tehran has again closed the Strait of Hormuz owing to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, which it has considered as ceasefire violations.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on a phone call with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned ceasefire violations in Iranian islands of Lavan and Siri, Reuters news agency reported.

US Iran war LIVE updates: The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah commander in Beirut on Wednesday. “A short while ago, the IDF struck a Hezbollah commander in Beirut,” the military said.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Air defence systems were activated in Tehran on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported citing Nour news. This comes amid intermittent ceasefire violations, with Iran allegedly launching strikes on Gulf countries, and Israel continuing attacks on Lebanon. Iran's Lavan oil refinery was also struck earlier.