United States President Donald Trump has accused Iran of undermining the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, criticising Tehran’s handling of shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz and warning that its actions were “not the agreement we have.”
Speaking amid growing uncertainty over the scope of the ceasefire arrangement, Trump said Iran was doing a “very poor job” managing the passage of oil tankers through the narrow waterway, which carries about 20 per cent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the U.S. president also warned Iran against imposing fees on vessels using the route.
“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait,” Trump wrote. “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now.”
Trump’s remarks highlight the fragile state of the truce and the confusion surrounding its terms, particularly over whether it extends to the escalating confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would begin direct negotiations with Lebanon aimed at disarming Hezbollah and exploring the possibility of establishing peaceful relations between the two countries. A U.S. State Department official confirmed that Washington will host the talks next week.
Despite the planned diplomatic engagement, violence has continued on the ground. Lebanese officials had urged an immediate ceasefire ahead of the negotiations, but Netanyahu insisted that no such arrangement was in place.
“There is no ceasefire in Lebanon,” the Israeli leader said while addressing residents in northern Israel.
Israeli forces continued air strikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday, targeting what the military described as Hezbollah rocket launch sites. The attacks triggered fresh evacuation warnings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, including the Jnah district, which houses two major hospitals.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the evacuation order had placed hundreds of vulnerable patients at risk.
“At this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive approximately 450 patients from the two hospitals, including 40 patients in intensive care,” Tedros said in a post on X, noting that evacuation would be extremely difficult under the circumstances.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that at least 303 people were killed and more than 1,150 wounded in Wednesday’s wave of Israeli strikes, one of the deadliest days since the current phase of fighting began.
The latest escalation follows conflicting claims about the scope of the ceasefire. Iranian officials and mediators from Pakistan have suggested the truce included hostilities in Lebanon, while both U.S. and Israeli officials have insisted it applied only to the Israel-Iran confrontation.
In response to the heavy Israeli bombardment, Iran accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire terms and threatened retaliatory measures, including potentially halting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel’s military continues to occupy significant areas in southern Lebanon, where it says it has destroyed Hezbollah positions and infrastructure used for launching attacks.
Efforts to stabilise the situation are complicated by Hezbollah’s political and military role in Lebanon. While the group is represented in the Lebanese government, it operates independently and maintains strong ties to Iran.
In early March, the Lebanese government formally banned Hezbollah’s military activities shortly after the war began, but the organisation has continued to carry out operations.
On Thursday, Lebanon’s cabinet instructed security agencies to restrict the possession of weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, in a bid to strengthen government authority in the capital.
“The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate,” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said following a cabinet meeting.
Israel welcomed the move, with Netanyahu’s office saying it “appreciates today’s call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarise Beirut.”
According to Axios, Netanyahu’s announcement of direct negotiations followed discussions with Trump and White House envoy Steve Witkoff.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has maintained that a ceasefire remains the only viable path to de-escalation and previously called for direct talks with Israel as part of efforts to end the conflict with Hezbollah.
The current round of hostilities intensified after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the opening phase of the war, as well as in response to continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.
Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 1,800 people have been killed since the conflict escalated, including at least 130 children, though the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel, for its part, says it has killed around 1,100 Hezbollah fighters.
The war has also displaced more than 1.2 million people - nearly one in five of Lebanon’s population - most of them from Shia Muslim communities in the south of the country.
Leave a Reply