Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Cease-Fire Shaky as Strikes on Lebanon and Confusion Over Strait Grow

 

Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Cease-Fire Shaky as Strikes on Lebanon and Confusion Over Strait Grow

Israel launched a major offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran threatened to retaliate if the strikes were not “immediately halted.” The Trump administration and Iran disagree about whether Lebanon was included in the truce.

 

April 8, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET19 minutes ago

Adam Rasgon Ravi Mattu and Yeganeh Torbati

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/08/world/iran-war-trump-news

 

Here’s the latest.

A tenuous two-week cease-fire between the United States and Iran was being tested on Wednesday — less than a day after it began — by uncertainty over the status of the economically vital Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon.

 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened a military response against “aggressors in the region” if there was not an immediate halt to attacks in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group. And other Persian Gulf nations reported dozens of Iranian missile and drone attacks since the cease-fire was announced.

 

That violence, coupled with confusion over the Strait of Hormuz — which President Trump had insisted must be reopened as a condition of the cease-fire — and disagreements about the 10-point framework for talks released by Iran underscored the delicacy of a truce that both sides have sought to frame as a victory.

 

Israel, which said the truce did not extend to Lebanon, on Wednesday carried out one of its largest strikes against Hezbollah since that front opened up following the militant group’s rocket attacks on Israel in solidarity with Iran in March. Lebanon’s health ministry said that at least 89 people had been killed and around 700 wounded in the strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and other parts of the country.

 

Pakistan said the truce was supposed to include Lebanon. There was no immediate comment from the Trump administration on whether Washington thought it was.

 

Further highlighting the fragility of the truce, Persian Gulf countries continued to report dozens of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Wednesday. And Iran’s state media reported that an oil refinery on Lavan, an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, was struck by unspecified “enemies.”

 

Nima, who lives in the Iranian capital, Tehran, said Wednesday morning was the first time in around 40 days that he had not feared that people he knows might be killed in an airstrike. Just a day before Mr. Trump had threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization with bombing.

 

“Last night was a really frightening evening,” said Nima, who declined to be fully named, fearing reprisals from the government.

 

Here’s what else we’re covering:

 

What’s next: Iran publicly released on Wednesday what it said was the 10-point framework for talks that Mr. Trump described as “a workable basis on which to negotiate” an end to the war. A White House official said the points do not match what Mr. Trump was referring to. Much of Iran’s list consisted of maximalist demands that look difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with U.S. aims. Read more ›

 

Nuclear demand: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called on Iran to turn over its stockpile of 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium, saying that Mr. Trump could still order U.S. commandos to seize the material. Read more ›

 

Persian Gulf: Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates reported missile and drone attacks on Wednesday. Bahrain’s interior ministry sounded warning sirens and reported a fire started by an Iranian attack.

 

Pakistan: Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said he had invited U.S. and Iranian delegations for talks in Islamabad on Friday, and Iran’s National Security Council said that Iran would attend. The Trump administration said it was in discussions about holding in-person talks with Iran.

 

Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,665 civilians, including 244 children, had been killed in Iran as of Monday. Lebanon’s health ministry on Monday said that more than 1,500 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In attacks blamed on Iran, at least 32 people have been killed in Gulf nations. In Israel, at least 20 people had been killed as of Monday. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.