The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, boosting hopes for a broader deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The agreement comes after Iran, which had conditioned any deal with the U.S. on an end to fighting between Israel and Lebanon, struck Kuwait, damaging its airport and injuring dozens. The U.S. military also carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.
Ceasefire Terms and Conditions
The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the evacuation of all its operatives from the South Litani Sector, according to a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department following negotiations in Washington. The two sides had agreed last month to a ceasefire, but hostilities had continued. Israel invaded Lebanon in March in pursuit of Hezbollah, which fired across the border in support of Tehran.
Attacks on Kuwait and the Strait of Hormuz
The attacks on Kuwait and in the strait are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, sending oil prices up nearly 2%. The strait remains largely closed more than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended after an Iranian drone and missile attack damaged airport facilities and diplomatic missions, killing one person and injuring more than 60 others. Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways later resumed flights after taking safety measures.
Conflicting Accounts of the Attack
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards denied firing at Kuwait's airport, blaming the destruction on U.S. interceptor missiles that failed to hit their targets. The U.S. military said that was not accurate, stating that Iranian drones targeted the airport deliberately. Earlier, Iranian media reported that the Revolutionary Guards had attacked the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a U.S. airbase, as well as a vessel identified as Panaya. U.S. Central Command denied its bases had been hit and said Iranian ballistic missiles failed to strike their targets.
Ongoing Hostilities and Negotiations
Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region, home to U.S. military bases. Hostilities have periodically flared up despite a ceasefire agreed in early April, as the U.S. has pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war. Last week, Iran and the U.S. signalled progress towards a tentative initial agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait, but the two sides have yet to sign off on the deal.
Iran's Conditions for a Deal
In addition to conditioning a deal on an end to fighting in Lebanon, Iran also wants access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, waivers on sanctions on crude exports, a lifting of a U.S. blockade on its ports, and continued leverage over the strait. U.S. President Donald Trump has said his top priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while Iran maintains its atomic program is for peaceful purposes. Trump suggested there could be progress in negotiations with Iran as soon as this weekend, saying that parties were working to separate the issue of reopening the strait from the conflict in Lebanon.
Continued Strikes in Lebanon
The war has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, while causing global economic pain by severely disrupting energy supplies and other shipping. On Wednesday, Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon and targeted a car just south of Beirut. Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran would respond decisively if Israel attacks Beirut. Trump acknowledged having called Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the fighting in Lebanon, saying, "We got to stop it." Netanyahu said he and Trump sometimes had tactical disagreements but agreed on the main issues concerning Iran.
