04-09 08:09 · 地缘政治,冲突,地区不稳定,供应链风险,宏观市场
Lebanon has declared a national day of mourning after Israeli attacks killed at least 254 people in a single day.
Lebanon has declared a national day of mourning after a wave of Israeli attacks killed at least 254 people and injured more than 1,165 in a single day, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam mobilising “all of Lebanon’s political and diplomatic resources to stop the Israeli killing machine”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, a position echoed by US Vice President JD Vance, who said: “We never made that promise.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who, along with the country’s army chief, mediated the ceasefire, had, however, said the deal covered a pause in fighting in Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi quoted Sharif in insisting that the “terms are clear”, warning that Washington must choose between a ceasefire or “continued war via Israel”. He added that “it cannot have both.”
Here is what we know:
In Iran
- Iran demands Lebanon truce: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a halt to Israeli attacks in Lebanon was one of the key conditions of Iran’s 10-point plan for securing an end to the Middle East war.
- Iran speaker claims ceasefire violations: Iran’s parliament speaker, expected to lead talks with the US in Islamabad, said a ceasefire and negotiations were “unreasonable” because of violations of Tehran’s 10-point truce plan. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement on X that these included continued attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace and a denial of the country’s right to enrichment.
- Iran’s published ceasefire plan not agreed to by US: A US official said Wednesday that a 10-point ceasefire plan published by Iran is not the same set of conditions agreed on by the White House for pausing the war. “The document being reported by media outlets is not the working framework,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity.
War diplomacy
- Vance takes over US negotiations: US Vice President JD Vance will lead the country’s delegation for talks with Iran in Pakistan, scheduled for Saturday. US President Donald Trump’s chief envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have so far negotiated with Iran, will also join Vance in Islamabad. Iran has made it clear that it does not trust Witkoff and Kushner, who led the US team in talks in Geneva in February that were still ongoing when Trump joined Israel in bombing Iran, beginning the war.
- UN outrage over Lebanon killings: The UN rights chief and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) voiced outrage over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. “The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said. “Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief.”
- Macron pushes to include Lebanon in ceasefire: French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with US, Iranian and Iraqi leaders, urging that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire as the “best path to peace”.
- Lebanon ramps up diplomatic push: Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is mobilising political and diplomatic efforts to halt Israel’s ongoing military campaign, as regional powers including Oman and Qatar condemn the attacks as war crimes and violations of international law.
- Trump criticises NATO, calls alliance a ‘failed test’: Trump has sharply criticised NATO allies for what he described as a lack of direct military support during the US-Israel war on Iran, with the White House framing the conflict as a “test” the alliance failed.
In the Gulf
- Gulf states hit by Iranian strikes: Kuwait reported “severe material damage” and fires at key oil facilities, power stations and desalination plants following a drone attack.
- Fires disrupt UAE gas operations: In Abu Dhabi, three people were injured and activity was temporarily suspended at the Habshan gas complex, after debris from an intercepted strike ignited fires.
- Qatar intercepts multiple projectiles: Qatari defences shot down seven missiles and drones launched from Iran, authorities said.
- Strikes reported in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia was also targeted, including an attack on a major pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, while Bahrain reported incoming projectiles.
- Strategic fallout raises regional concerns: The UAE is seeking urgent clarification on the US-Iran ceasefire terms, warning that ambiguity risks prolonging instability across the Gulf.
In the US
- ‘No clarity whatsoever’ over ceasefire terms: Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said there is deep confusion within the US administration over what Trump actually agreed to, with conflicting claims about Iran’s 10-point plan and whether Lebanon was included, leaving major uncertainty over the scope of the deal.
- Vance says Lebanon not included: US Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that the agreement excludes Lebanon entirely.
- Protests erupt in New York: Hundreds of antiwar demo
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04-09 08:09 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
UN human rights chief Volker Turk describes Israel’s attacks on Lebanon as ‘horrific’, coming so soon after ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump, writing on social media, says that “all US ships, aircraft, and military personnel” will remain in place around Iran until the “real agreement” on a ceasefire “is fully complied with”, warning of more conflict otherwise.
Lebanon has declared a day of mourning after a wave of Israeli attacks killed at least 254 people and injured more than 1,165 in a single day on Wednesday.
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04-09 00:01 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Israeli attacks have killed at least 254 people and wounded 1,165 others, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence.
Israeli forces have carried out a devastating bombardment across Lebanon, killing hundreds of people, hours after a two-week ceasefire was announced in the United States-Israeli war on Iran.
Lebanon’s Civil Defence said at least 254 people were killed and 1,165 others were wounded in air strikes that targeted areas in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, and several villages in southern Lebanon.
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The Israeli military said that the attack was its largest coordinated assault on Lebanon since it started a new military operation in the country on March 2, “targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites”.
In a written statement, the head of Lebanon’s syndicate of doctors, Elias Chlela, urgently called for “all physicians from all specialities” to head to any hospital they could to offer help, with one of Beirut’s biggest hospitals saying it needed donations of all blood types.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Lebanon was not part of the US-Iran truce, but mediator Pakistan said that the ceasefire included the country. US President Donald Trump said Lebanon was “separate” and not part of the agreement.
Here’s how the world has reacted to the attacks:
Lebanon
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called the attacks on densely populated areas a “full-fledged war crime.”
“Today’s crime, coinciding with the ceasefire agreement declared in the region — an agreement that Israel and its political and security apparatus have failed to uphold — is a serious test for the international community and a blatant challenge to all international laws, norms, and conventions, which Israel violates daily through its unprecedented campaign of human assassination in modern history,” Berri said.
“It is also a test for all Lebanese — political, religious, and civil leaders — to unite in solidarity with the martyrs. May God have mercy on the martyrs, grant a speedy recovery to the wounded, and protect Lebanon,” he added.
Hezbollah
The Lebanese armed group said it had a “right” to respond to the attacks.
“We affirm that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today’s massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told the news agency Reuters that the Israeli strikes were “a grave violation of the ceasefire”, adding there would be “repercussions for the entire agreement” if they continued.
Israel
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel “insisted on separating the war with Iran with the fighting in Lebanon in order to change the reality in Lebanon”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told a news conference that Israel would “continue to strike” Lebanon as the US-Iran ceasefire did not apply to Hezbollah.
Iran
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that it will respond to the attacks on Lebanon if Israel does not stop the assault.
“We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a response,” the IRGC said in a statement carried on Iran’s state-owned TV channel, using a reference to Israel.
In a post on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the terms of the ceasefire were “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,” he added.
US
President Donald Trump told the US public broadcaster PBS that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal with Iran due to Hezbollah.
“That’ll get taken care of too,” he reportedly said, adding: “That’s a separate skirmish.”
Vice President JD Vance told reporters that there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” regarding Iran’s position on Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire deal; however, contradicting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the key intermediary in the US-Iran ceasefire talks, who had said the truce would include Lebanon.
“The Israelis, as I understand it … have actually offered to, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon, because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said, without elaborating.
Qatar
The foreign ministry condemned the “brutal series” of Israeli attacks on Lebanon that had killed hundreds of people, calling the attacks a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sister Lebanese Republic, the rules of international humanitarian la
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04-09 00:01 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Israel carries out 100 strikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes, health minister says hospitals overwhelmed with victims.
Israel has bombed locations across Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, in devastating attacks that authorities say have killed at least 254 people and wounded more than 1,165.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said that Lebanon would not be included in the ceasefire.
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04-08 00:01 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
The US president nevertheless warned that the suspension was dependent on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
United States President Donald Trump has agreed to suspend his planned bombing of Iran for two weeks, following his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not comply with his demands.
On Tuesday evening, within hours of the planned attack, Trump took to his platform Truth Social to announce he had reversed course.
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He credited Pakistan for mediating the settlement but warned it came with conditions — namely that Iran re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote.
The message was posted online at 6:32pm US Eastern time (22:00 GMT), just under one and a half hours before Trump’s 8pm (00:00 GMT) deadline for the attack.
Shortly after Trump’s message, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” Araghchi wrote.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
Araghchi likewise thanked Pakistan for its last-minute appeal to suspend the US bombing campaign. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council meanwhile hinted in a statement that the ceasefire could be extended beyond its initial two weeks, if negotiations proceed favourably.
Further talks are expected to take place in Islamabad over the coming weeks.
Dire warnings
In the lead-up to the Thursday evening announcement, there had been speculation that Trump might extend the deadline, as he has multiple times in recent weeks.
But tensions had mushroomed on Tuesday as the deadline inched closer — and after Trump himself posted a menacing message on social media that morning.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump had written at the time. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
He added that the evening deadline would mark “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World”.
Trump had previously threatened to blow up power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure, actions that many legal experts said would amount to a war crime.
In his Tuesday evening message, the US president once again claimed victory over Iran and said that Tehran had delivered a feasible ceasefire proposal.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.
“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Trump explained that the next two weeks would be spent finalising the agreement with Iran. But he voiced optimism that any past disagreements had been resolved.
“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran,” Trump said.
“It is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution,” he added.
‘The one who lit the fuse’
Al Jazeera correspondent Osama Bin Javaid noted that Trump’s latest announcement was likely to be welcomed by US allies in the Middle East, who had been bracing for a heavy attack on Iran and the possibility of counter-attacks.
“That is going to be a big sigh of relief, collectively from the region and beyond, because the alternative was so horrific,” Bin Javaid said.
“The level of anxiety around the region was extraordinary, and Donald Trump was the only person who could defuse it, because he’s the one who lit the fuse in the first place.”
Trump’s announcement was met with scepticism and confusion on the ground in Tehran, where some questioned if the war as a whole had been paused.
“It’s not clear, at least not to me, whether he’s suspending what is already going on since the beginning of the war entirely, or he’s extending the deadline for that ultimate destruction of the power plants,” Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall said from Tehran.
The war has been raging for more than five weeks, since Israel and the US launched a joint military offensive against Iran on February 28.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have argued that the offensive was necessary to eliminate Iran
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04-08 00:01 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Pakistan’s PM has asked Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks and for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran says it has accepted a two-week ceasefire, with negotiations to begin on Friday in Pakistan’s Islamabad, after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend attacks subject to Tehran agreeing to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s foreign minister says safe passage through the key waterway will be possible for a period of two weeks via coordination with Iranian armed forces.
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04-07 01:21 · 地缘政治,中东局势,军事冲突,市场波动,供应链风险
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says US forces are carrying out more strikes on Iran than any day since start of war.
US President Donald Trump has warned of the “complete demolition” of Iran’s power plants and bridges in a matter of hours if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully reopened by Tuesday’s deadline.
Trump says Iran’s response to the US ceasefire proposal, conveyed through intermediaries, is “significant”, but “not good enough”.
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04-07 00:01 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
US president says Washington, as the ‘winner’ of the war, has a ‘concept’ for charging a toll in the strategic waterway.
President Donald Trump has suggested the United States may be looking to charge a toll in the Strait of Hormuz after the war, a move that would likely require direct US military control over the strategic waterway.
Asked on Monday whether he would accept a deal that would allow Iran to take fees from ships to traverse the strait, the US president said: “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
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Trump reiterated that Iran has been militarily defeated, a claim that he has been making since the early days of the war, despite Iran’s sustained drone and missile attacks across the region and its continuing blockade of Hormuz.
“The only thing they have is the psychology of, ‘Oh, we’re going to drop a couple of mines in the water.’ All right, no, I mean, we have a concept where we’ll charge tolls,” Trump told reporters.
Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, lies mostly within Omani and Iranian territorial waters. About 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the strait before the war.
Trump’s latest comments came as he issued what he called a “final” ultimatum to Tehran to reopen the strait and agree to Washington’s terms or face attacks against Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.
The US president told reporters on Monday that any deal with Iran must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil,” he said.
Reports have suggested that Iran is already charging a toll for some of the few ships it is allowing to pass through the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz situation won’t return to its pre-war status,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X last month.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also called for “new arrangements” to manage the waterway after the war, ensuring safe passage for ships and protecting Iran’s interests.
“I believe that after the war, the first step should be drafting a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz,” he told Al Jazeera in March. “Naturally, this should be done between the countries that lie on both sides of the strait.”
The White House said last week that Trump is considering asking Arab countries to pay for Washington’s expenses in its war on Iran.
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04-07 00:01 · 地缘政治,中东局势,国际关系,市场波动,区域风险
Iran says no direct talks during escalating US-Israeli attacks as Trump’s Hormuz deadline nears.
Amid more threats on civilian infrastructure, United States President Donald Trump tells reporters Iran’s response to the ceasefire proposal was significant but “not good enough”.
US-Israeli attacks across Iran have killed at least 34 people, including at least six children.
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04-06 17:08 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Mediators Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt are proposing a 45-day ceasefire plan. But Iran is reluctant.
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to blow up Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not agree to open up the Strait of Hormuz by early morning local time on Wednesday, in a profanity-laced post on his Truth Social platform.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!,” he wrote, before turning to abusive language.
This is just the latest in a series of deadlines that Trump has laid out – and then deferred – since March 21, when he first threatened to blow up Iran’s electricity plants and energy facilities. But on each occasion, he cited negotiations that he claimed were ongoing with Iran to seek either the opening of the strait – talks that Tehran has repeatedly denied were happening – to justify pushing back his announced deadlines.
On Sunday night, Trump issued a specific new deadline: 8pm ET on Tuesday (00:00 GMT, Wednesday), which works out to 3:30am local time in Iran on Wednesday.
With less than two days left, mediators, including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye, are attempting to secure at least a partial breakthrough to at least postpone, if not end, the risks of a further military escalation by Trump.
Already, the US-Israel war on Iran has killed more than 2,000 people in the country. Concurrently, close to 1,500 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Lebanon, as well as more than 100 in Iraq, 24 in Israel and 27 in the Gulf countries. The US has lost 13 service members and, on Sunday, carried out a high-risk rescue operation to pluck an officer out of Iran after his F-15 jet was brought down.
But what could a breakthrough between the US and Iran look like, and how likely is it that the mediators can seal a deal in time?
A 45-day ceasefire proposal
A source close to mediators has confirmed to Al Jazeera that a proposal for a 45-day ceasefire is on the table. The idea is to create a longer window within which Iran and the US can, directly or through mediators, discuss and negotiate the broader differences between them in a bid to arrive at a longer-term agreement to end the war.
But officially, Pakistan – the central mediator passing messages between the US and Iran – refused on Monday to confirm or deny the 45-day ceasefire plan. “There have been several reports of a 45-day ceasefire offer, or 15-point exchange,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Al Jazeera. “We do not comment on these individual, specific incidents. Our point is that the peace process is ongoing.”
Trump’s top envoy for talks with Iran, Steve Witkoff, has previously confirmed that Pakistan passed on a 15-point plan for peace shared by the US with Iran. Tehran had called the US demands under that plan “maximalist” and unacceptable.
US publication Axios has also reported the 45-day ceasefire proposal.
Officials said mediators were cautious about spelling out details of their communication between the US and Iran in part because of the sensitive nature of attempts at negotiations, and the fast-changing nature of the positions articulated by Washington, in particular.
A shorter ceasefire
Officials close to the mediation efforts told Al Jazeera a second proposal is also being considered: a shorter ceasefire. This would not allow for any comprehensive talks aimed at ending the war, but it could create a window for the US and Iran to take confidence-building measures that could, in turn, create momentum for a longer ceasefire.
On Monday, Reuters reported that mediators led by Pakistan had shared plans for a short-term pause in fighting, followed by a longer ceasefire, with the US and Iran.
The agency said Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was leading the mediation efforts, and had been on the phone all of Sunday night with US Vice President JD Vance, Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Under this proposal, Iran would agree to open the Strait of Hormuz – at present, it is only allowing ships from select countries through – pending a larger agreement aimed at ending the war.
What has Trump said about ceasefire plans?
The US president has continued to warn of a massive military escalation and the prospects of a pause in fighting at the same time.
On Sunday, Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that he believed the US would be able to secure a deal with Iran on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by Monday.
“I think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now,” he said.
Reuters also reported that the mediator nations were pressing Iran and the US to agree to a deal by Monday.
What is Iran saying?
At a news conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that mediators were passing messages between Iran and the US, but did not confirm or deny specific proposals for a ceasefire.
“Whenever necessary, we will clearly inform you about its [the Iranian government’s] announcement” about its response to the medi
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