Iran has reportedly closed the Strait of Hormuz following Israeli strikes on Lebanon, according to Iranian state media reports, escalating tensions in West Asia despite fresh diplomatic efforts to pause the conflict.
The move comes less than 24 hours after the US, Israel and Iran signalled a halt in hostilities. A two-week ceasefire was agreed between Iran and the US earlier today, with the first in-person direct negotiations expected to take place in Islamabad.
At least 112 people were killed and 837 others were wounded in Lebanon on Wednesday after Israel launched an unprecedented wave of strikes, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
"The Israeli enemy's airstrikes on numerous Lebanese areas, reaching the capital Beirut, have led, in an updated non-final toll, to 112 martyrs and 837 wounded," the ministry said in a statement.
Following the attacks, Hezbollah asserted its right to retaliate.
"We affirm that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today's massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression," the Iran-backed group said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also issued a warning, saying they would respond if Israeli strikes on Lebanon continue.
"We issue a firm warning to the United States, which violates treaties, and to its Zionist ally, its executioner: if the aggression against beloved Lebanon does not cease immediately, we will fulfil our duty and deliver a response," the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried on state TV.
Israel, however, clarified that the US-Iran ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon, which has been drawn into the conflict following Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
US President Donald Trump echoed this position, stating that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict is not covered under the temporary truce.
"They were not included in the deal," Trump said, according to a social media post by PBS News Hour correspondent Liz Landers. He added that it was "because of Hezbollah," the Iran-backed group.
"That'll get taken care of too," he reportedly said, adding: "That's a separate skirmish."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also cast doubt on the sustainability of the ceasefire, pointing to deep differences between Washington and Tehran.
"Nothing is over yet," he said in an interview, adding, "I don't see how it is possible to bridge the positions of the US and Iran."
Meanwhile, the United Nations strongly condemned the Israeli strikes, highlighting the civilian toll.
"The United Nations strongly condemns the strikes by Israel across Lebanon that resulted in significant civilian casualties," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"We continue to call on all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels, cease hostilities" and use the new US-Iran ceasefire as an opportunity to prevent further loss of life, he added.
Meanwhile, confusion persists over the terms of the ceasefire. A US official said a 10-point plan published by Iran does not reflect what was agreed with the White House.
"The document being reported by media outlets is not the working framework," the official said, adding, "We're not going to negotiate in public out of respect for the process."
Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that Iran “begged” for the ceasefire, alleging that the country’s supreme leader Mojtaba Ali Khamenei is “wounded and disfigured”.
(With inputs from AFP)