As desperate US President Donald Trump continues to laud his globally ridiculed and controversial Iran peace negotiations talks are cancelled because Israel defied him and hammered Lebanon
US President Donald Trump’s chaos-hit Iran peace bid has been shattered on day one after Israel defied one of the major points and launched major attacks on Lebanon At least 18 people have been killed by waves of air-strikes and artillery firing on Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, forcing the cancellation of today’s peace talks in Switzerland.
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed, one of them a Lieutenant Colonel, in fierce fighting as strikes also hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s eastern region the Beqaa Valley. A further five Israeli soldiers have been injured by a drone attack on their position. The Israeli and Hezbollah attacks and ensuing intense fighting is some of the most violent and deadly the region has seen in weeks, despite Trump vowing peace in Lebanon.
Israel sees its exclusion from peace negotiations with Iran as a betrayal since Operation Epic Fury was a joint assault on Iran’s military, nuclear programme and its regime. And many Israelis are furious Trump’s negotiators have agreed to include a no-fighting in Lebanon clause in the talks with Iran – which had been a red-line for Tehran. President Donald Trump ’s signing at Versailles put the 60-day ceasefire and negotiation framework into effect, though key issues remain unresolved.
The disagreement with Israel has led to growing tension between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has been openly critical of Netanyahu’s recent moves, saying the day before the agreement with Iran was signed that “without the U.S. there would be no Israel.” He said, using the common nickname for Netanyhau: “I have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
But his MOU is supposed to include Lebanon as one of its main points. Israel is lobbying Washington heavily about keeping troops in Lebanon, which would be a clear breach of Trump’s Iran memorandum of understanding. Most Israelis see keeping a troop presence in southern Lebanon as an essential buffer to protect northern communities against Hezbollah cross-border attacks.
The 14 point MOU is meant to re-open the Strait of Hormuz but is already looking fragile within hours of being signed electronically at the France G7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump during a phone call yesterday that Israel will not leave southern Lebanon “as long as Israel’s security needs require it.” Further talks were expected between both sides in Burgenstock, Switzerland today but have already been cancelled over the latest flare-up in Lebanon.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it has lifted its blockade on Iranian ports as Tehran says its Persian Gulf Strait Authority has been charged with issuing permits for commercial vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz. In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei appears to have endorsed negotiations, saying in a statement on state media that “it is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion.”
Vice President JD Vance, who disliked the idea of the war with Iran, has increasingly become the administration’s face of the conflict and has been outspoken in defending the deal. He issued a blunt warning to Israel, saying Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
