Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to three diplomats briefed on the deal, offering hope that the latest outbreak of violence threatening broader Middle East diplomacy could finally cool down.
Reuters first reported the agreement, which the diplomats said was scheduled to take effect at 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday.
The truce comes after the bloodiest clashes between Israel and Hezbollah since the United States and Iran struck a memorandum of understanding earlier this week.
President Trump and Iran’s president signed the agreement Wednesday, calling for hostilities to end across the region, including in Lebanon, despite the fact that neither Israel nor Hezbollah was a party to the deal.
The fighting in Lebanon had become a major sticking point in ongoing diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
The latest round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Switzerland was thrown into uncertainty after Israel launched a fresh wave of deadly strikes across southern Lebanon, according to three people familiar with the negotiations.
The interim agreement signed Wednesday called for the “immediate and permanent termination” of fighting, extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire by 60 days and included plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Iranians have asked for guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon will end, as outlined in the signed agreement, and mediators are currently working to resolve the issue,” said a diplomat with knowledge of the matter.
Iran, which backs the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, has insisted that Lebanon be included in any broader regional settlement and has viewed continued Israeli operations as a threat to the fragile agreement.
Overnight Israeli strikes and attacks into Friday morning hit more than 10 villages in southern Lebanon, killing 21 people and wounding 39 others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Operations around Beirut repeatedly raised fears that negotiations could collapse, with President Donald Trump publicly expressing frustration over Israel’s determination to continue its military campaign.
Tensions escalated further Friday when Iran fired warning shots at vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Tehran also broadcast a message to ships warning that the critical waterway, which handled roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas before the conflict, “will remain closed” until Israel withdraws from Lebanon and other conditions of the agreement are met.
Lebanon has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to the broader U.S.-Iran accord, with diplomats scrambling to keep the negotiations on track.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is expected to ease pressure on the talks and could remove one of the most serious threats facing the fragile diplomatic breakthrough.
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