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Shafaq News- Paris\/ London<\/p>\n
French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl
\nBarrot on Thursday called for Lebanon to be included in the United States\u2013Iran
\nceasefire, warning that continued Israeli strikes risk undermining an already \u201cfragile\u201d
\ntruce.<\/p>\n
In an interview with France Inter
\nradio, Barrot condemned Israeli \u201cmassive\u201d strikes on Lebanon carried out on
\nApril 8 \u2014the same day the US\u2013Iran ceasefire was announced\u2014 which, according to
\nthe Lebanese Health Ministry, killed 182 people and wounded 890. He described
\nthe attacks as \u201cunacceptable,\u201d stressing that the agreement \u201cmust also cover
\nmilitary actions in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called the ceasefire \u201ctemporary,\u201d
\ncautioning that escalating attacks could prove counterproductive. \u201cThe
\ndestruction of Lebanon, of the Lebanese state, will not destroy Hezbollah; on
\nthe contrary, it would strengthen it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Barrot also outlined \u201ca series of
\nconcessions\u201d from Iran ahead of anticipated talks in Pakistan, urging it to
\nabandon efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, halt the use of missiles and drones
\nagainst regional countries, and end support for armed groups including
\nHezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen\u2019s Houthis. <\/p>\n
Tehran must also open all traffic in
\nthe Strait of Hormuz, he added, noting that the passage will not flow freely
\nuntil an agreement is reached between the “belligerents.”<\/p>\n
In London, UK Home Secretary Yvette
\nCooper told Times Radio that Israel\u2019s continued strikes were \u201cdeeply damaging\u201d
\nand risk destabilizing the ceasefire, urging that Lebanon be explicitly
\nincluded to prevent wider escalation. \u201cWe want it extended to cover Lebanon,
\nbecause otherwise that will destabilise the whole region\u2026We want to see an end
\nto hostilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump
\nannounced a two-week truce with Iran following talks involving Pakistan and a
\n10-point Iranian proposal he described as a basis for a broader agreement.
\nPakistani officials indicated Lebanon was part of the arrangement, while Trump
\ncharacterized Israeli operations there as a separate \u201cskirmish\u201d linked to
\nHezbollah and outside the deal.<\/p>\n