Israel backs Trump’s two-week pause on Iran strikes, says Lebanon excluded

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JERUSALEM – Israel said on April 8 it supports US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend his bombing of Iran, but maintained the 11th-hour ceasefire does not include Lebanon.

“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.

But the statement said the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, contradicting an earlier announcement by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has acted as a mediator in the conflict.

Mr Sharif said the United States and its allies agreed to a ceasefire “everywhere, including Lebanon”, suggesting Israel agreed to halt its invasion of its northern neighbour.

Lebanon was drawn into the war after the Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched rocket fire on Israel.

That attack sparked an Israeli invasion and air raids across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,500 people, according to the authorities.

The remarks came after Washington announced a two-week suspension of strikes against Iran as part of efforts to de-escalate the conflict and open a window for negotiations.

Iran said on April 8 negotiations with the US would begin on April 10 in Islamabad.

Tehran said it would guarantee safe passage for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, announcing that the pause would be used for talks with the US on ending the war.

Israel encouraged Mr Trump to join the war against Iran, its arch-nemesis, and in the first strikes in February killed the long-serving supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP, REUTERS