{"id":59901,"date":"2026-04-09T19:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/59901\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:36:19","slug":"the-latest-netanyahu-approves-talks-with-lebanon-after-israeli-strikes-imperil-iran-ceasefire-national-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/59901\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latest: Netanyahu approves talks with Lebanon after Israeli strikes imperil Iran ceasefire | National News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israeli strikes made Wednesday the deadliest day in Lebanon<\/a> since the war began, with more than 300 people killed. There are lingering disagreements over whether the ceasefire covers the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran is warning of \u201cSTRONG responses\u201d if attacks on its militant ally don\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected next week in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> said he had approved direct talks, while the Lebanese government did not immediately respond. Netanyahu said there is no ceasefire in Lebanon<\/a> and his country will keep striking Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Although the Strait of Hormuz is closed<\/a>, there were no reports of strikes inside Iran or attacks against Israel or neighboring Gulf Arab nations, leaving Lebanon as the only country where the conflict is still burning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Timeline of decades of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah<\/p>\n

The ongoing war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is far from the first conflict between them. The two have an enmity that goes back more than four decades, with outbursts of fighting or outright war punctuated by periods of tense calm.<\/p>\n

Here is a timeline of some significant events in the hostilities between the two:<\/p>\n

Well-timed bets on Polymarket tied to the Iran war draw calls for investigations from lawmakers<\/p>\n

A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.<\/p>\n

Calls are increasing in Congress for investigations into the prediction market platform Polymarket after the latest instance where groups of anonymous traders made strategic, well-timed bets on a major geopolitical event hours before it occurred.<\/p>\n

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York who sits on the House Financial Services Committee as well as the subcommittee on digital assets and financial technology, sent a letter Thursday to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission demanding the regulator review and investigate these well-timed trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pattern raises serious concerns that certain market participants may have had access to material nonpublic information regarding a market-moving geopolitical event,\u201d Torres wrote. The letter was shared exclusively with the AP.<\/p>\n

Trump says he asked Netanyahu to dial back strikes in Lebanon<\/p>\n

The U.S. president said Netanyahu agreed to dial back Israel\u2019s military campaign in Lebanon ahead of peace talks in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke with Bibi and he\u2019s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,\u201d Trump told NBC News in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

Wednesday was the deadliest day<\/a> of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the war began.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu on Thursday said there\u2019s no ceasefire in Lebanon, and Israel will keep striking Iran-backed Hezbollah militants there until security is restored in northern Israel. But he said he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon \u201cas soon as possible\u201d aimed at disarming Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military also said it had begun striking Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

Trump expresses optimism about peace talks<\/p>\n

Trump says Iranian leaders are more amendable to dealmaking in private conversations than they are in their public statements.<\/p>\n

The Iranians \u201ctalk much differently when you\u2019re at a meeting than they do to the press. They\u2019re much more reasonable,\u201d Trump told NBC News during a phone interview. \u201cThey\u2019re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they\u2019ve been conquered. They have no military.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIf they don\u2019t make a deal, it\u2019s going to be very painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president also said he\u2019s \u201cvery optimistic\u201d about the prospects of reaching a peace deal during talks in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s supreme leader declares victory over US and Israel<\/p>\n

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says the Iranian people are the \u201cdefinitive victors\u201d in the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, it is clear before everyone\u2019s eyes, the dawn of the Islamic Republic\u2019s emergence as a great power while the evil is facing the downhill slope of weakness,\u201d he said in a statement read by an anchor on state TV.<\/p>\n

Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since he replaced his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war.<\/p>\n

The younger Khamenei also mentioned the upcoming ceasefire talks with the U.S. and pledged there would be a \u201cnew era\u201d in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has demanded that Iran reopen the strategic waterway as part of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The head of Israel\u2019s military says the mission is to keep weakening Hezbollah<\/p>\n

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, speaking to troops inside Lebanon, said the army\u2019s mission is to \u201ccontinue deepening the damage and to continue weakening Hezbollah.\u201d He said the objective is to remove the direct threat to residents of northern Israel.<\/p>\n

UN health chief urges reversal of Israel\u2019s evacuation orders in Beirut<\/p>\n

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, issued a statement Thursday outlining the dire access issues for medical assistance in Beirut\u2019s Jnah area after a series of deadly Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours.<\/p>\n

He said that the Israeli military evacuation order covers two major hospitals including Rafik Hariri, the main public hospital in Beirut. These facilities, according to Ghebreyesus, have been crucial for the hundreds of civilians who need assistance. The order also includes five shelters that are currently accommodating more than 5,000 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive approximately 450 patients from the two hospitals (including 40 patients in the ICU), rendering their evacuation operationally unfeasible,\u201d he posted on X. \u201cBoth facilities are operating at full capacity, including treating the injured from the strikes of 8 April.\u201d<\/p>\n

UN warns that fighting in Lebanon poses a \u2018grave risk\u2019 to the ceasefire<\/p>\n

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and welcomed potential Israel-Lebanon talks, saying there is \u201cno military solution\u201d to the conflict, according to his spokesman.<\/p>\n

Ongoing Israeli military activity jeopardizes the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that Israeli evacuation orders in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs cover U.N. sites, refugee camps, aid hubs, a major public hospital, and 13 shelters hosting over 6,000 displaced people.<\/p>\n

Pakistani envoy says Lebanon’s inclusion in ceasefire agreement was clear to both sides<\/p>\n

Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Islamabad\u2019s representative at the U.N., told a group of reporters Thursday that he doesn\u2019t know why there was confusion about Lebanon being included in the ceasefire deal agreed to by U.S., Israel and Iran, when it was \u201cclearly\u201d cited in the prime minister\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this will be addressed also as part of these discussions, because there are many points on the agenda,\u201d Ahmad said about the planned talks in Islamabad this weekend. \u201cI think we should not let anything come in the way of these talks, which are very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran war may bite shipping sector harder than COVID, expert says<\/p>\n

Increased risks to shipping in the Mideast have forced vessels to change their routes, making trips 14 days longer on average, according to ALIS, an Italy-based logistics services association of 2,500 companies globally.<\/p>\n

The ordinary insurance costs related to a ship\u2019s value have also gone up by about 10% during the war, ALIS vice president Marcello Di Caterina told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

He warned that the Iran crisis could have a more devastating impact on the shipping industry than the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire with Lebanon<\/p>\n

In a video statement, the Israeli leader says his country will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that he is opening direct negotiations with Lebanon, the aim or which are Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament and a sustainable peace agreement.<\/p>\n

UN special envoy meets with top Iranian officials and humanitarian groups in Tehran<\/p>\n

Jean Arnault, the U.N. secretary-general\u2019s personal envoy for the Iran war, met Thursday with an Iranian deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, as the diplomat makes his way through countries impacted by the conflict.<\/p>\n

Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, said Arnault heard Iranian officials\u2019 \u201cviews on the way forward\u201d as a shaky day-old ceasefire holds. He also met with representatives from the Iranian Red Crescent, who took him on a tour of some of the sites damaged by weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, including a university that was destroyed and an apartment block.<\/p>\n

Asked if Arnault or any U.N. personnel will be playing a role in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan, Dujarric said that world body is currently discussing with all parties \u201cthe structural role that we can play\u201d in bringing an end to this conflict.<\/p>\n

Correction: This post has been updated to correct that the U.N. misidentified one of Iran\u2019s deputy foreign ministers. He is Kazem Gharibabadi, not Majid Takht-Ravanchi.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s president says the ceasefire was approved at the highest levels<\/p>\n

President Masoud Pezeshkian said the decision to accept a ceasefire was made unanimously by top officials and approved by the supreme leader.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted Thursday on the Telegram messaging app, he said the ceasefire \u201cis not a sign of weakness but a way to solidify Iran\u2019s proud victories,\u201d adding that the pause in fighting followed more than a month of Iranian public resilience and support.<\/p>\n

Democrats vow to keep trying to stop Trump\u2019s war with Iran<\/p>\n

House Democrats gathered at the U.S. Capitol and lambasted the Trump administration\u2019s ceasefire negotiations with Iran as chaotic and unworkable, and characterized the president\u2019s threats about wiping out a civilization as the musings of madness.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers warned they would keep proposing resolutions to end the war, and use their votes to block any requests from the administration for more money to fund it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that their ability to negotiate with Iran is nonexistent,\u201d said Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland.<\/p>\n

He called Trump\u2019s plans for tolls on the strait particularly outrageous.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did we end up at a point where he\u2019s talking about a joint venture with Iran with respect to charging tolls at the Strait of Hormuz?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Rep. Madeleine Dean from Pennsylvania, who supports efforts to force Trump to step aside under the Constitution\u2019s 25th Amendment, pointed back to the president\u2019s days of escalatory rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president brought the entire globe to watch his madness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Death toll from wave of heavy Israeli strikes in Lebanon rises above 300, health officials say<\/p>\n

Israel said it launched 100 strikes in 10 minutes across Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting what they said were Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure. The strikes hit busy residential and commercial areas without warning.<\/p>\n

The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue teams continue to find remains under the rubble, and as more people identify dozens of bodies at hospitals.<\/p>\n

It was the deadliest day in over a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Around 1,150 people were wounded.<\/p>\n

New details on expected talks between Israel and Lebanon<\/p>\n

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans.<\/p>\n

The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel\u2019s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.<\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear whom Lebanon was sending.<\/p>\n

Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.<\/p>\n

House Democrats fail to pass a resolution on Iran<\/p>\n

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives made a quick but unsuccessful effort Thursday to pass a bill that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n

The effort had no chance of passage during a short, minutes-long \u201cpro forma session\u201d of the House during which legislative business is rarely conducted.<\/p>\n

But that didn\u2019t stop Democrats from trying to make the point that they oppose the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland, tried to force a vote on the resolution, but Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, declared the House was adjourned.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us vote!\u201d yelled Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time has come. The time has come,\u201d Ivey said.<\/p>\n

Democrats will look to force a vote on the measure again next week, when the full House has returned from a two-week stint back in their congressional districts.<\/p>\n

NATO chief says Iran and Russia are \u2018absolutely cooperating\u2019<\/p>\n

The NATO secretary-general said Tehran and Moscow have been working together on military technology, and alleged Iran has been sowing chaos in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticularly when it comes to Iran and Russia, it is drone technology, it is other military technology,\u201d Rutte said while giving a talk at the Reagan Center in Washington. \u201cAnd the Russians are returning with money. And the money is being spent for Iran to create utter chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s top diplomat is upbeat about Iran peace talks<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey sees signs both sides are willing to compromise, including on Iran\u2019s nuclear program and uranium enrichment.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Ankara, he said there had been \u201ccertain changes\u201d in negotiating positions and cited a global consensus that attacks on Iran were a \u201cmistake\u201d as reason for cautious optimism.<\/p>\n

He warned that Israeli \u201cprovocations,\u201d including its invasion of Lebanon, could threaten talks that are due to start Saturday in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Fidan said the region is \u201ctired of occupations and wars,\u201d urged reconciliation between Iran and Gulf states and said \u201cinternational players\u201d should be ready to curb Israel\u2019s \u201cexpansionism.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggested the two-week ceasefire could be extended to allow talks to continue.<\/p>\n

Ahead of talks, Pakistan\u2019s prime minister meets with army chief credited in Iran-US ceasefire<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Thursday with the army chief, Asim Munir, ahead of further talks in Islamabad.<\/p>\n

Sharif\u2019s office said both men stressed the need for all parties to maintain the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

More than 80 countries strongly condemn \u2018persistent attacks\u2019 in Lebanon and killing of UN peacekeepers<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, the countries also condemned \u201cthe unacceptable aggressive behavior\u201d toward the soldiers and leaders of the U.N. force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.<\/p>\n

The statement was read by Indonesia\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Umar Hadi, whose country recently had three of its peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The statement said those responsible for attacks on peacekeepers must be held accountable, but did not identify any parties. A preliminary U.N. report blamed Israel for two of the killings and Hezbollah for one of them.<\/p>\n

Noticeably missing from the list of signatories to the statement was the United States, Israel\u2019s closest ally, which pushed for the U.N. Security Council to end the UNIFIL mission at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

The signatories reaffirmed support for UNIFIL, said attacks against peacekeepers may constitute war crimes, and called on the parties to urgently return to the 2024 ceasefire,<\/p>\n

NATO chief sensed Trump\u2019s \u2018disappointment\u2019 that allies didn\u2019t back Iran strikes<\/p>\n

The NATO secretary-general said his meeting with Trump a day earlier included a \u201cfrank\u201d and \u201ccandid\u201d exchange.<\/p>\n

Rutte acknowledged that European allies \u201cwere a bit slow\u201d to provide logistical support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fairness, they were also a bit surprised,\u201d Rutte said. \u201cTo maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform allies ahead of time, and I understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said some European countries have since provided support, including bases and logistics, to assist the U.S. military.<\/p>\n

NATO chief says allies aren\u2019t ignoring threats, and they accept the need for Trump\u2019s changes<\/p>\n

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies are not \u201cwhistling past the graveyard\u201d and understand the need for major changes demanded by Trump, amid his threats of a U.S. withdrawal from the alliance.<\/p>\n

Rutte, speaking at the Reagan Center a day after meeting Trump, said Europe is taking on a greater share of defense and moving toward a more balanced partnership.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged some allies were slow to assist in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and said they were caught off guard because Trump did not notify them in advance.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Netanyahu authorizes direct negotiations with Lebanon<\/p>\n

The Israeli prime minister says he gave the order in response to requests from Lebanon and that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the neighboring countries.<\/p>\n

He welcomed a call by Lebanon\u2019s prime minister to demilitarize Beirut.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate response from the Lebanese government to the announcement.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s foreign minister welcomes ceasefire announcement<\/p>\n

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the ministry said.<\/p>\n

Lavrov welcomed the news of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire and \u201cemphasized that Moscow firmly believes that these agreements, as announced by Pakistani mediators, have a regional dimension and, in particular, extend to Lebanon,\u201d according to the ministry\u2019s readout of the call.<\/p>\n

Lavrov also expressed hope for successful peace talks and reiterated \u201cRussia\u2019s readiness to assist in finding solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Araghchi \u201cthanked the Russian Federation for its principled position in the U.N. Security Council during the discussion of the situation in the Persian Gulf,\u201d the readout said.<\/p>\n

Relatives gather at Beirut hospitals to identify family members<\/p>\n

A day after Israel\u2019s deadliest strikes killed over 200 people in Lebanon, Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost family members in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafic Hariri Hospital morgue to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just waiting for the Syrian embassy procedures so I can take them back to Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said the facility had treated 45 people, including 10 critical cases in intensive care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is difficult and the numbers are large, but things are gradually taking the right path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli strikes made Wednesday the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, with more than 300 people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[197,1829,22783,196,93,463,782,1102,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-59901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lebanon","8":"tag-general-news","9":"tag-international-agreements","10":"tag-iran-israel-us-lebanon-latest-april-9-2026","11":"tag-iran-war","12":"tag-lebanon","13":"tag-religion","14":"tag-u-s-news","15":"tag-wire","16":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116376436160402965","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}