Israel said on Wednesday that it supports US President Donald Trump’s decision to stop his bombing of Iran but that the 11th-hour ceasefire did not include Lebanon.
Washington and Tehran reached an agreement for a two-week cease-fire on Tuesday, only an hour before Trump’s ultimatum to destroy Iran expired.
Tehran announced that it would ensure safe passage for marine commerce via the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, using the break to have discussions with the US on ending the war. Negotiations in Pakistan were scheduled to begin Friday.
“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel, and countries in the region,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israel also stated that it “supports the US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat”.
However, the statement stated that the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon,” contradicting a previous announcement by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has served as a mediator in the crisis.
Sharif stated that the United States and its allies had agreed to a truce “everywhere, including Lebanon,” implying that Israel had decided to halt its invasion of its northern neighbor.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict after Iran-backed Hezbollah initiated missile attacks against Israel.
According to authorities, that incident prompted an Israeli invasion and air attacks across Lebanon, which killed over 1,500 people.
Israel had persuaded Trump to join the fight against Iran, its arch-nemesis, and the first strikes in February killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s long-serving supreme leader.
