Trump Claims Netanyahu Will Tone Down Lebanon Strikes

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump claimed he asked "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back bombing in Lebanon, amid pressure from Gulf states and some NATO members for any ceasefire to be tied to a broader truce with Iran.

Despite Trump’s claim, Lebanese media reported continued “Israeli” strikes across the country on Friday morning. Around 1,800 people have been reported killed since the escalation began, including more than 300 on Wednesday alone, sparking widespread outrage, including from EU allies.

Iran has insisted that fighting in Lebanon must cease as part of the two-week truce framework with the US – something Washington and the Jewish entity have opposed.

The exact details of a potential US–Iran peace deal remain unclear, though Iranian media has outlined a draft including non-aggression guarantees, Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, limited uranium enrichment, a halt to "Israeli" strikes on Hezbollah, and lifting all sanctions—terms the US has previously rejected.

As the tentative US–Iran truce appears to be broadly holding in the Gulf, Trump warned that Iran had “better stop” charging fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran vowed to take the management of the strategic waterway to a “new stage.”

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited and under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG], which has published a map of “designated routes” citing the risk of mines.