2h ago
03.42 BST
Welcome
summary
Welcome
to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The
fragile two-week truce between the US and Iran was hanging in the balance on
Thursday, with Tehran threatening to resume hostilities as Israel launched a
major bombardment of Lebanon, killing at least 254 people, according to
Lebanon’s Civil Defence.
As a
result, the conditional opening of the strait of Hormuz is precariously placed.
Iran is threatening to lock up the chokepoint if Israel keeps striking Lebanon.
Just before 4am on Thursday, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern
Israel over “ceasefire violations”, reports said.
Washington
and Tehran have both claimed victory in agreeing the ceasefire, but fractures
emerged quickly as Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon –
including in central Beirut – since Hezbollah joined the war in early March.
The UN
rights chief, Volker Turk, called the scale of killing “horrific”, as Israeli
bombarded Beirut without warning, triggering scenes of horror and panic. The
Red Cross said it was “outraged by the devastating death and destruction” in
densely populated areas across Lebanon.
Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards warned they would “fulfil our duty and deliver a response”
if Israel did not cease its strikes there, while Hezbollah said it had a
“right” to respond.
Israeli
prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country remained prepared to
confront Iran if necessary, as it still had “objectives to complete”, with the
military saying it continued to pursue the goal of “disarming” Hezbollah in
Lebanon. The Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, also vowed that US forces remained
at the ready if the conflict flared up again.
The
belligerent rhetoric came ahead of high-stakes talks in Pakistan expected on
Friday, where the reopening of the strait of Hormuz will be a main talking
point.
Here’s
the main developments:
Iran
announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the strait of Hormuz,
citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway. The
statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through
the strait.
The Trump
administration on Wednesday stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal,
with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming “that has been
relayed to all parties”.
The US
vice-president, JD Vance, also told reporters in Budapest that the US never
promised to include Lebanon in the ceasefire, and that Iran may have been under
that impression due to a “misunderstanding”. Israel announced on Wednesday it
did not consider Lebanon covered by the Iran-US truce.
Karoline
Leavitt also dismissed “misreporting” that Trump is working from the original
10-point plan put forward by Tehran. She said the 10-point plan presented in
public by Iran was “literally thrown in the garbage” by Trump – despite the
fact Trump said on Truth Social that the US received a 10-point proposal from
Iran that is believed to be a “workable basis on which to negotiate”. Leavitt
claimed Iran actually put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different and
condensed plan to the president”.
French
president Emmanuel Macron said he has urged his US and Iranian counterparts,
Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached
with Iran. Australia’s foreign minister has urged the same.
Donald
Trump vented his frustration with Nato during a private meeting with its
secretary-general, Mark Rutte, as relations in the alliance reached a crisis
point. “He is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his
point,” Rutte said on CNN, after spending more than two hours at the White
House. “This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion
between two good friends.”
Sir Keir
Starmer will continue his tour of the Middle East on Thursday after he met with
the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, as part of ongoing talks
with allies to give shipping the “confidence” to pass through the strait of
Hormuz.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário