Just a day after a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran came into effect, Tehran on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's claim that Lebanon is not part of the ongoing two-week ceasefire agreement, and said that any attack on Lebanon is a flagrant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement.
In a post on X, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the repeated aggression by the Zionist entity against Lebanon is a flagrant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement and a dangerous indicator of deceit and lack of commitment to potential accords.
"The continuation of these aggressions will render negotiations meaningless; our hands will remain on the trigger, and Iran will never abandon its Lebanese brothers and sisters. Israel's renewed incursion into Lebanon is a blatant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement. This is a dangerous sign of deception and lack of commitment to potential agreements. The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless. Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers."
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also took X and and pointed out that Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran's allies, form an inseparable part of the ceasefire, adding it was point 1 of Iran's 10-point proposal.
"Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran's allies, form an inseparable part of the ceasefire. (Point 1, 10-point proposal). PM Shehbaz Sharif publicly and clearly stressed the Lebanon issue; there is no room for denial and backtracking."
Ghalibaf also noted that Ceasefire violations carry explicit costs and strong responses. "Extinguish the fire immediately."
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In another post, Ghalibaf alleged that three clauses of the 10-point plan had already been violated, continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the discovery of a drone in Iranian airspace, and attempts to bar Iran's uranium enrichment programme.
"Now, the very 'workable basis on which to negotiate' has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began," he wrote, adding: "In such a situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable."
Washington pushed back firmly. Reportedly, Vice President JD Vance said Ghalibaf's complaints "didn't make sense," and rejected Iran's claim that Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire, reiterating that a core US demand is for Iran to give up its enriched uranium. Vance also said: "Ceasefires are always messy," and maintained that negotiations were still progressing.
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The dispute goes to the heart of the disagreement between the two sides. Trump and Netanyahu have both said Lebanon was never included in the agreement, directly contradicting the position stated by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had announced the ceasefire covered "everywhere including Lebanon."
The Islamabad talks are still scheduled for April 10, but the gap between the two sides' interpretation of what was agreed has cast a shadow over the negotiations before they have started.
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