Image: keystone
04/09/2026, 09:2204/09/2026, 09:22
After Israel’s devastating air strikes in Lebanon, Iran is threatening to rupture the ceasefire it had just agreed with the USA. The USA would have to decide – “either a ceasefire or continuation of the war via Israel. You can’t have it both ways,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on Platform X. US President Donald Trump also threatened Iran with a new military escalation if a comprehensive agreement was not reached.
The Iran–US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the US must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both.
The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments. pic.twitter.com/2bzVlHFKgi
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 8, 2026
On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared on Thursday night (US local time) that the US military’s ships, aircraft and soldiers would remain stationed around Iran, with additional equipment if necessary, until the “REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully adhered to.” Everything is being prepared that is necessary for the “lethal pursuit and destruction” of an already weakened opponent, the Republican continued.
In response to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, the Hezbollah militia, which is allied with Tehran, said it fired on a kibbutz in northern Israel during the night. The attacks will continue until the “Israeli-American aggression” stops, the militia announced in a statement.
US Vice President JD Vance: ceasefire is “fragile”
Despite the ceasefire agreement with the USA, Iran continues to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for the global oil and gas market. Because of the danger of mines, ships would have to coordinate with the Revolutionary Guards and use designated alternative routes, according to a message from the port authority broadcast by state broadcaster IRIB.
On Wednesday evening, the Iranian Fars news agency reported that Iran had suspended shipping traffic through the strait again in protest over Israel’s attacks in Lebanon. Only two oil tankers have passed through them since the ceasefire began.
US Vice President JD Vance described the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran as “fragile”. The opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the mutual cessation of hostilities are “the basis for the fragile ceasefire we have,” he said in Budapest.
More than 180 dead after Israel’s attacks in Lebanon
In a surprise major attack on Wednesday, Israel bombed numerous targets in Lebanon, including the capital Beirut. According to the latest figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 182 people were killed, including many civilians.
Israel’s military said the attack targeted Hezbollah commanders and military infrastructure. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a national day of mourning for today. All administrative and state institutions should remain closed and flags should be flown at half-mast.
Smoke over Beirut after an Israeli airstrike.Image: keystone
UN Secretary-General António Guterres sharply criticized the Israeli air strikes. He “strongly condemns the massive attacks,” his spokesman said on the X platform. It was said that “hundreds of civilians, including children, were killed and injured” and that civilian infrastructure was damaged.
Sharp criticism of Israel
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, also strongly condemned Israel’s attacks. The extent of the killings and destruction in Lebanon is “simply appalling,” said the Austrian diplomat, according to a statement on Wednesday. Such a bloodbath, just a few hours after the agreement on a ceasefire with Iran, is hard to believe. “It puts enormous pressure on the fragile peace that the civilian population so urgently needs,” warned Türk. The international community must act quickly.
UN emergency aid coordinator Tom Fletcher wrote on Platform X: “This is not a ceasefire. This is not restraint.” As he told the Security Council, the violence must end and dialogue must be sought. However, unlike Iran, US Vice President JD Vance does not see Lebanon included in the ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran.
A grim day for Lebanon. This is not a cease fire. This is not restraint.⁰⁰As I told Security Council from Beirut last week, we must stop the violence, protect civilians, choose dialogue. https://t.co/Un0t4gfqor
— Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) April 8, 2026
The fact that Iran assumes this is a misunderstanding, said Vance in Budapest. “Neither we nor the Israelis said that this would be part of the ceasefire,” he said. But according to Pakistan’s mediator, the ceasefire explicitly also includes Lebanon.
Iran doubts whether negotiations with Washington make sense
The Iranian parliament speaker Mohammed-Bagher Ghalibaf questioned the usefulness of the negotiations with the USA. He accused Washington of breaking its promises before the negotiations began – again referring to Lebanon. Iran’s President Massoud Peseschkian also described the Israeli attacks as incompatible with the ceasefire agreement in a telephone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Iran will respond to any violation.
Chinese state media are calling for the “narrow window” of the two-week ceasefire to be used. The ceasefire is “not peace, but an opportunity,” commented the state-run newspaper China Daily. The temptation to use the break to regroup militarily is great. If the wrong decisions are made, there is a risk of a much longer and more damaging crisis.
French head of state Emmanuel Macron also insisted on maintaining the ceasefire in telephone conversations with US President Donald Trump and Peseschkian. “It must pave the way for comprehensive negotiations that guarantee the security of everyone in the Middle East,” Macron wrote on X. The ceasefire must also be observed in Lebanon. Israel’s attacks represent a direct threat to the ceasefire that has just been achieved. Lebanon must be fully protected, Macron explained.
I have just spoken with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
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.…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 8, 2026
Confusion about the basis for negotiations
According to the White House, direct negotiations with Iran will take place on Saturday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Trump is sending a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in Washington. The first discussions should therefore take place on Saturday morning (local time). In Pakistan it is three hours later than in Germany.
The basis should be a ten-point plan presented by Tehran. However, there is confusion about the content. Trump accused the New York Times and CNN on the Truth Social platform of reporting on “a completely fabricated ten-point plan for the Iran negotiations” that was “intended to discredit those involved in the peace process,” Trump ranted.
Israeli Prime Minister: Still have “finger on the trigger”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that the ceasefire in the Iran war was “not the end of the fight.” Rather, it is a “station on the way to achieving all of our goals,” said Netanyahu in a speech. “Iran is weaker than ever, Israel is stronger than ever.” Israel “still has goals to achieve, and we will do so.” This could happen either through an agreement or a resumption of fighting, said the head of government. “We are ready to resume fighting at any time,” he said. You still have your “finger on the trigger”. (pre/sda)