Tehran has repeatedly demanded that Israel stop major attacks targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. After the failure of talks between the US and Iran last weekend, US President Donald Trump’s role in brokering this ceasefire could prove to be crucial in restoring confidence between the two sides and bringing them back to the negotiating table.
Let us tell you that the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon by President Donald Trump can prove to be a major step towards taking forward the peace agreement with Iran.
Full story of ceasefire
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US on 7 April, Israel continued its bombings against Iranian proxy groups in Lebanon. Tehran described the move as a ceasefire violation and said it could jeopardize the fragile armistice with the US.
The US and Israel insisted that Lebanon was never part of the ceasefire with Iran, and claimed there was a “misunderstanding” on Tehran’s part. But behind the scenes, Trump officials were pressuring Israel to halt its attack because they were worried it could harm their peace efforts with Iran.
Trump himself had taken the initiative to initiate talks between the two sides, writing in a post late Wednesday, “I am trying to reduce tensions between Israel and Lebanon. The leaders of the two countries have not spoken to each other for a very long time, almost 34 years.”
Following the ceasefire announcement, Trump said he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for peace talks; This will be the first time in 34 years that the leaders of these two countries will talk directly to each other.
Lebanon’s President refused to talk to Netanyahu
Earlier, Aoun had refused to talk directly to Netanyahu. If this happens, this would be the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in decades. Lebanese officials had told Israel and the US that they would not hold any further talks until a ceasefire was reached between Lebanon and Hezbollah.
After this, President Donald Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. After this, according to the Lebanese Presidential Office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also spoke on phone with US President Donald Trump. After talking to both of them and persuading them, Trump announced ceasefire.
Now Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he welcomed President Donald Trump’s announcement earlier today of a cease-fire aimed at stopping hostilities between Israel and Lebanon.
In a post on X, he thanked countries that have tried to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon, including the US, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan.
Also read: Donald Trump announces 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon