US troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait (File)

EA on LBC and DW News: Trump’s Indecision on Iran Deal

UPDATES: US-Israel Wars, Day 94 — Uncertainty Over US-Iran Framework Deal as Israel Expands Attacks on Southern Lebanon

UPDATE 1946 GMT:

The Lebanese Embassy in Washington says Lebanon’s authorities have “received confirmation of Hezbollah’s agreement to the US proposal, which calls for a reciprocal cessation of attacks”.

Under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from carrying out attacks against Israel, with the ceasefire framework to be expanded to encompass all Lebanese territories.

The Embassy says Trump had a call with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Maawad, to say “that he had obtained the approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the proposed arrangement”.

The Ambassador spoke with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, who notified Hezbollah.

The Embassy said negotiations in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli officials will “discuss this progress and build upon it”.

But Netanyahu has a different version of developments, indicating he has not agreed to a full ceasefire:

I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our towns and our citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut.

Our position on this remains unchanged. At the same time, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah insisted that the ceasefire covers all of Lebanon and not just Beirut.

A full Israeli withdrawal “must be part of the solution. A full ceasefire, no return to what was before March 2. There is no such thing as freedom of movement”, said Fadlallah.

UPDATE 1823 GMT:

Iran is threatening to attack northern Israel if the Israelis renew strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

Iran’s central military command warned residents in the area to leave, avoiding harm if the Netanyahu Government carries out its planned attacks on Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut (see 0744 GMT).

UPDATE 1625 GMT:

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has told the Trump Administration that Hezbollah is ready for a full and immediate ceasefire with Israel.

Berri pledged to guarantee its implementation, said his top advisor Ali Hamdan.

UPDATE 1614 GMT:

Iran has executed two more detainees amid its escalation of hangings during the US-Israel War.

Mehrdad Mohammadinya and Ashkan Maleki, involved in nationwide protests in January, were killing on charges including arson at a mosque and clashing with security forces.

UPDATE 1531 GMT:

A cargo vessel transiting the Persian Gulf, about 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr, Iraq, has been hit by an unknown projectile on its starboard side, reports the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

The strike “caused a large explosion”.

UPDATE 1405 GMT:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said a ceasefire must halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon as well as US and Israeli assaults on Iran.

The Iranian semi-official outlet Tasnim said Iran’s negotiating team is pulling out of message exchanges through mediators because of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

Tasnim said Iran and its allies will try to block the Strait of Hormuz completely. Tehran may “activate” other fronts, including the Bab al-Mandab strait, off the coast of Yemen and across the Arabian peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.

UPDATE 1400 GMT:

The US military has confirmed that it intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait late Sunday.

No US personnel were harmed.

UPDATE 1102 GMT:

Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has issued a warning to the Trump Administration, saying that it has broken the ceasefire.

UPDATE 1058 GMT:

At least six people were killed overnight by Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon.

An Israeli drone struck a car on a highway near the town of Zefta this morning, killing the driver and injuring another person.

UPDATE 0846 GMT:

US officials say Central Command has guided around 70 commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz over the last three weeks.

Most of the vessels had turned off their transponders to avoid detection. The officials declined to say what types had transited and what route they took.

Before the war, well over 100 commercial ships a day passed through the Strait. Around 1,500 vessels have been trapped during the US-Israel War.

UPDATE 0801 GMT:

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has criticized the Trump Administration for jeopardizing talks to end the US-Israel War:

Negotiations have started amid severe suspicion and mistrust, and the exchange of messages is taking place in this atmosphere.

The other party is constantly changing its views and putting forward new or contradictory demands….It is natural that this situation will prolong negotiations.

He repeated, contrary to the Trump Administration’s claims, “No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file.”

Referring to American strikes on military sites in southern Iran overnight, Baghaei said “US aggressive action” is a violation of the ceasefire, with Iran targeting positions in Kuwait from which the attack originated. He said Tehran will “take whatever measures we deem necessary to defend Iran’s national security”.

UPDATE 0744 GMT:

The Netanyahu Government has ordered Israeli strikes on the Dahiyeh suburb, south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

Dahiyeh is Hezbollah’s political and administrative center in the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz cited Hezbollah’s rocket fire on northern Israel as justification for the strikes.

Civilians fleeing Dahiyeh:

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, “We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Iran has fired on an airbase used by the US after the American military struck Iranian military sites over the weekend.

US Central Command said its attacks on Iran’s southern coast were in response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters”.

American warplanes “responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two one-way attack drones”, CENTCOM posted.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that they targeted an airbase without identifying its location. Air defenses in Kuwait intercepted missile and drone attacks as sirens sounded.

Six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian attack on the Camp Arifjan base in Kuwait on March 1, two days after the start of the US-Israel War.

Lebanon President: We Face “Vicious Israeli Aggression”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said the country faces “a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression”, as Israel expands its ground and air attacks and occupation across southern Lebanon.

Over the weekend, Israel seized the medieval Beaufort Castle, near the city of Nabatieh. The Israelis occupied the strategic site from 1982 to 2000.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the expansion of attacks, as the toll in Lebanon rose to 3,412 people killed and 10,269 wounded since March 2.

The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading….We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts – in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon.

At France’s request, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday.

Overnight, an Israeli soldier was killed and three wounded by an Hezbollah drone attack on the town of Yohmor, near the Beaufort Castle.