Iran-US war latest: Trump urges for peace as 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon begins – The Independent

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The truce follows a heavy bombing campaign by Israel against targets it says are linked to Hezbollah
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Israel has committed several violations of a ceasefire in Lebanon that took effect at midnight, the Lebanese army has said hours after Donald Trump hailed the “historic” truce.
Several villages in southern Lebanon were struck by intermittent shelling, the army added, calling on citizens to hold off on returning to southern villages and towns. The Israeli military did not immediately respond.
The 10-day ceasefire had come into affect just hours earlier, following weeks of conflict including intense Israeli bombardment and ground invasion in the south, and attacks on northern Israel by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “good things are happening”, amid hopes that the truce could boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the US and Israel after weeks of war.
But Hezbollah said that any truce must apply “across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement”, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it does not include withdrawing Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and France have mine clearance capacity which could help secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, French defence minister Catherine Vautrin told French TV station TF1 on Friday.
“There are capabilities to provide fully supported escort services – that is to say, in no way offensive, of course – for ships to ensure safe passage through the strait; that is what will be debated today in Paris,” she added.
France and Britain are set to chair on Friday a meeting of around 40 countries aimed at signalling to the United States that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait typically carries about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, once conditions allow.
The Lebanese military has recorded “several Israeli attacks” and “intermittent shelling targeting a number of villages” in southern Lebanon, just hours after a 10-day ceasefire between the two countries came into effect.
In a statement, the army called on citizens to “exercise caution in returning to the southern villages and towns, amid a number of violations of the agreement.” It had earlier warned people to avoid returning to areas of southern Lebanon despite the new truce.
A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the US and Iran just told Reuters there had been progress in backdoor diplomacy, and that an upcoming meeting between the two sides could result in the signing of ​an agreement.
The two sides would first sign a memorandum of understanding followed by a comprehensive agreement within 60 days, the agency reports.
“Detailed agreement comes later. Both sides are agreeing in principle. And technical bits come later,” the source said.
Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had been holding talks in Tehran since Wednesday and had made progress on “sticky issues,” the source said.
US president Donald Trump says Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium and that fresh talks could resume as early as this weekend.
Speaking at an event in Las Vegas, Trump said the two sides were “very close” to a deal and claimed the war was going “swimmingly” and should be ending soon.
He said Iran had agreed not to obtain a nuclear weapon and would turn over what he called the “nuclear dust” – enriched uranium believed to be buried underground following US-Israeli airstrikes. Iran has not commented on the claims.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump told reporters. “There’s a very good chance we’re going to make a deal.”
“They’ve agreed to almost everything,” Trump said. “They got to get to the table with a pen.”
He added that the deal would also include “free oil” and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also said he was not sure an extension to the ceasefire with Iran, due to expire in five days, was necessary.
France and Britain are chairing a meeting of around 40 countries in Paris today aimed at planning a defensive multinational mission to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict ends.
The meeting, attended in person by Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, will address the safety of more than 20,000 stranded seafarers and trapped commercial vessels, as well as outline military options including mine-clearance, intelligence sharing and naval escorts.
The initiative does not for now include the US or Iran, though European diplomats said any realistic mission would ultimately need to be coordinated with both. Britain, France and others have said joining Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports, imposed on Monday, would amount to entering the war, but have signalled willingness to help keep the strait open once a lasting ceasefire is in place.
“It can involve intelligence sharing, mine-clearance capabilities, military escorts, information procedures with neighbouring countries and more,” a senior French official told Reuters. “The resources deployed will naturally depend on the situation.”
Britain said today’s talks would feed into a multinational military planning meeting next week. China has been invited but it was not immediately clear whether it would attend.
António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has welcomed the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
“I hope this will pave the way for negotiations towards a long-term solution to the conflict & contribute to ongoing efforts toward a lasting & comprehensive peace in the region”, he wrote on X Thursday night.
US president Donald Trump has hinted at significant developments in Lebanon without providing details, posting on Truth Social: “May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening!!!”
The post comes as a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, following weeks of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets. Earlier, Mr Trump said he had held “excellent conversations” with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun and planned to invite both to the White House for “meaningful talks.”
Donald Trump has claimed inflation in US caused by the Iran war is “fake.”
The US president called war-related inflation “fake inflation” at an event in Las Vegas Thursday local time.
Inflation surged 0.9 percent since February, according to the US government’s Consumer Price Index for March. Driving inflation is the cost of energy, with gas prices rising a whopping 21.2 percent in March.
After the US and Israel began launching strikes against Iran on February 28, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passageway, which caused gas prices to surge.
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