By JON GAMBRELL, ELENA BECATOROS and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press
Updated
An initial agreement between the United States and Iran to extend their shaky ceasefire is inching toward a formal signing. That's despite questions Monday over the fate of Tehran's nuclear program and an offensive by Israel in Lebanon that could prolong the fighting and scuttle the deal. The agreement signed electronically Sunday is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran's theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region. But logistical and military challenges underscored the fragile nature of the deal.
By MUNIR AHMED, MICHELLE L. PRICE and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
Pakistan's prime minister says the United State and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post Friday that mediators are working with both sides to finalize a deal. He wrote: "Peace has never been this close." No details were given. But three regional officials who spoke Friday to The Associated Press said they expect the deal to pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A senior U.S. official said terms include removal or destruction of nuclear material from Iran. All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive negotiations.
Lebanon's president and prime minister are criticizing Iran for rejecting the latest ceasefire deal between the Lebanese government and Israel. In separate remarks on Friday, they said their country should not be used by Tehran as a "bargaining chip" in its talks with Washington. The comments by the Lebanese leaders came as the Israeli military struck multiple parts of southern Lebanon and issued evacuation warnings for nine villages, including one that has sheltered thousands of people displaced by the three-month war. The strikes killed nine people in six locations in southern Lebanon, the state news agency reported.
By BASSEM MROUE, JON GAMBRELL and SAM METZ Associated Press
Hezbollah has rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government and demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal. Thursday's announcement came as local authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least four people. A U.N. peacekeeper was also killed in the crossfire. Hezbollah's leader said the agreement's demand that Hezbollah fighters leave southern Lebanon under fire would mean surrender and defeat. The ongoing fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south, threatens efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
By KAREEM CHEHAYEB, JOSH BOAK and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press
President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "crazy" in a phone call that involved expletives. Trump discussed the tension between the two leaders in an interview released Wednesday. He said he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But the president insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both wartime leaders. The interview with The New York Post's "Pod Force One" offered a sign of the growing pressure Trump faces to resolve the Iran war.
Ceasefires have been announced, often to great fanfare, in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. But the fighting continues. In just the last few weeks, Israeli forces have captured more territory in Gaza and killed two top Hamas militants there, as well as more than a dozen other people. In Lebanon, Israeli troops captured a Crusader fortress over the weekend in their deepest incursion in 26 years, as Hezbollah kept up rocket fire. The fighting in Lebanon showed no sign of letting up on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said both sides had agreed — again — to de-escalate. The United States and Iran have traded fire as they try to reach a more lasting truce.
By AAMER MADHANI, BASSEM MROUE, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and NATALIE MELZER Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to dial back fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with the Lebanon-militant group through mediators. Trump announced the development Monday in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu. Israeli forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century. Trump's comments emerged after Israel's government ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and as Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa.
Israel's military says that the air force has carried out an airstrike on a southern suburb of Lebanon's capital. The strike on Thursday afternoon hit an apartment in Choueifat near Beirut's international airport. This comes amid escalating tensions in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops have crossed the Litani River. The Israeli military has intensified attacks against Hezbollah and killed at least 14 people across southern Lebanon. Lebanese and Israeli military officials will hold security talks in Washington on Friday. The Hezbollah militant group say it has carried out multiple drone and rocket attacks targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
The Israeli military has told residents across southern Lebanon to leave as it expands its operations there. The statement says the military will "work with extreme force" against Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. The warning on Wednesday is the first since a ceasefire went into effect on April 17, and came amid a rising escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah war, with Israeli troops crossing the Litani River and edging closer to the southern city of Nabatiyeh. The escalation comes two days before Lebanese and Lebanese military officials were scheduled to meet at the Pentagon to discuss among things strengthening the ceasefire agreement.
