DUBAI: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has authorised direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible”, as a tentative ceasefire in the Iran war staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut.
Related news: Israel’s attack on Lebanon violates ceasefire agreement, renders negotiations meaningless: Iran President
Netanyahu said he gave the order in response to requests from Lebanon and that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the neighbouring countries. He welcomed a call by Lebanon’s Prime Minister to demilitarise Beirut.
There was no immediate response from Lebanon.
The ceasefire was also hampered by Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether planned peace talks can find common ground.
Iran and the US, which both declared victory after the ceasefire announcement, appeared to apply pressure. Semi-official news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, warned that US forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfil the agreement.
And there was disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel on Wednesday pounded Beirut with airstrikes, resulting in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began on February 28.(Agencies)
Israel-Lebanon talks expected to start next week in Washington
April 9, 2026 10:43 pm
Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans. The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation. It was not immediately clear whom Lebanon was sending. Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.
China denies reports of support to Iran’s military during war with US
April 9, 2026 10:43 pm
China’s Defence Ministry on Thursday denied reports that Chinese firms provided satellite imagery and semiconductor chip manufacturing equipment to the Iranian military in the midst of the US-Israeli war against Iran. China firmly opposes the dissemination of speculative and insinuating disinformation targeting China by relevant parties, Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in Beijing.
Israel’s attack on Lebanon violates ceasefire agreement, renders negotiations meaningless: Iran President
April 9, 2026 9:00 pm
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday accused Israel of violating the agreement with its renewed military offensive in Lebanon, warning that continued aggression would make negotiations “meaningless”. Pezeshkian, in a sharply worded statement, described Israel’s latest incursion as a “blatant violation” of the initial ceasefire framework and a “dangerous sign of deception” that calls into question the credibility of ongoing diplomatic efforts. “The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless. Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers,” he said, signalling Tehran’s readiness to escalate if hostilities persist. TNS
Israeli vows to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon
April 9, 2026 8:36 pm
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned on Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses” in a social media post. Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet US Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad. The White House has said Vance would lead the delegation for talks starting Saturday.
Russia condemns Israeli attack on Lebanon, calls for immediate ceasefire
April 9, 2026 8:36 pm
Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday strongly condemned an Israeli attack on Lebanon and called for an immediate ceasefire. It said such aggressive actions threaten to derail a negotiation process that is underway and risk further escalation in the region.
Pakistan promises foolproof security to visiting US delegation
April 9, 2026 8:35 pm
Pakistan on Thursday told the US that it will provide foolproof security to its visiting delegation ahead of the talks with Iran for a possible peaceful end to the West Asia conflict. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was talking to US Charge d’affaires Natalie Baker, who called on him to discuss the preparation for the upcoming talks. Pakistan is set to host in-person talks between the US and Iran after a two-week ceasefire was announced between the two countries, bringing a pause to the hostilities which broke out on February 28.
The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium remains a question
April 9, 2026 8:34 pm
The fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes - which the US and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war - also remained unclear. The US insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build them. Iran insists its programme is peaceful. The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks.
Oil prices remain high amid uncertainty over the strait
April 9, 2026 8:34 pm
Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war - a message that may be intended to pressure the United States. The chart, released by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20 per cent of all traded oil and natural gas once passed.
Peace talks expected in Pakistan
April 9, 2026 4:52 pm
The White House said that Vice President JD Vance would lead the US delegation for talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the war, which are set to start Saturday. There appear to be many points of disagreement to address, including whether Iran will be allowed to formalise a system of charging ships to use the strait that it has instituted. That would upend decades of precedent treating it as an international waterway that was free to transit. The fate of Iran's missile and nuclear programmes - the elimination of which were major objectives for the US and Israel in going to war - also remained unclear.
Oil prices remain high amid uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz
April 9, 2026 4:51 pm
The strait's de facto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket - raising, in turn, the cost of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East. Oil prices fell on news of the ceasefire Wednesday, but began to climb as uncertainty over the deal grew. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around USD 98 Thursday - up about 35 per cent since the war began. Trump warned that US warships and troops will remain around Iran "until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with". If it is not, "then the Shootin' Starts,' bigger, and better," Trump wrote in a social media message.
At least 200 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health officials say
April 9, 2026 4:28 pm
Lebanon's health ministry said Thursday that at least 203 people were killed in widespread Israeli strikes in central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on Wednesday. It said more than 1,000 were wounded. The death toll Wednesday was the highest for a single day in Lebanon during more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah sites. However, several of the buildings that were struck without warning during the afternoon rush hour were in densely-packed commercial and residential areas, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strikes "barbaric." AP
Chart shows Iran may have put sea mines in Strait of Hormuz
April 9, 2026 10:52 am
Dubai: Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart on Thursday suggesting the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war. The reports came from the ISNA news agency, as well as Tasnim, which is believed to be close to the Guard. The chart showed a large circle marked "danger zone" in Farsi over the Traffic Separation Scheme, which was the route ships used to take through the strait. That was where the Guard allegedly put the mines. It suggested that ships travel up north through waters closer to Iran's mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war. The dates on the chart ran from February 28 until Thursday, April 9. It's unclear if the Guard had cleared its alleged mining in the route. And it likely served as a pressure tactic as Iran, Israel and the United States now are in an uneasy, two-week ceasefire ahead of possible negotiations in Islamabad. AP
White House looks ahead to peace talks
April 9, 2026 8:50 am
Tehran: US President Donald Trump initially said Iran proposed a "workable" plan that could help end the war that the US and Israel launched on February 28. But when a version in Farsi emerged indicating Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium - key to building a nuclear weapon - Trump called it fraudulent. Leavitt said a plan that Iran presented on Tuesday could "align with our own" proposal for peace. The White House said Vance would lead American negotiators at upcoming peace talks, which could begin in Pakistan as soon as Friday. Iran's demands for ending the war include a withdrawal of US combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets. AP
Parliament speaker accuses US of breaking Iran's conditions
April 9, 2026 8:47 am
Tehran: The Iranian Parliament speaker said planned talks were "unreasonable" because Washington broke three of Tehran's 10 conditions for an end to the fighting. In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf objected to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace after the ceasefire took effect and US refusal to accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities in a final agreement. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon. When the deal was announced, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country served as a mediator, said in a social media post that it applied to "everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere". Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes killed 182 people on Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war. AP
