Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that Israel will open direct negotiations with Lebanon focused on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations, even as Israeli forces remain inside Lebanese territory and both sides exchanged fire. "The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon," the prime minister said in a statement released by his office. He instructed his cabinet to begin the talks "as soon as possible," citing the active warfront with Hezbollah and the upcoming Iran-US peace discussions in Islamabad. The announcement came minutes before Hezbollah launched a fresh barrage of rockets toward northern Israel, triggering sirens across the Galilee. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the rocket fire. Who Will Negotiate and When Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz that the talks are expected to begin next week in Washington. Israel will ...
According to Iran's state-affiliated Press TV, a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire has been agreed after 40 days of conflict, with Washington reportedly accepting a comprehensive 10-point Iranian proposal. Iran's military and political establishment is framing the ceasefire reached this week as a decisive strategic victory, with senior officials insisting the United States failed to achieve any of its objectives in the 40-day conflict that began on February 28. Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia, spokesperson for Iran's Army, stated on Thursday, according to Press TV, that "the enemy failed to achieve any of these goals, including macro, operational, and covert [objectives], and suffered a multilayered defeat in practice." He described the US and Israel as having entered the war aiming at "overthrowing the establishment of the Islamic Republic, making a regime change, and preparing the ground for the country's disintegration" — none of which, he arg...