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President Trump has asked that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scale back the strikes in Lebanon that are threatening to undo the fragile cease-fire with Iran — with the Jewish state agreeing to negotiate with Beirut next week, according to reports.
While both Trump and Netanyahu have insisted that Israel’s fight against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group, is not covered in the cease-fire, Trump reportedly called Netanyahu to “be a helpful partner” ahead of negotiations with Iran, a senior administration official told NBC News.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, said Wednesday that Israel had agreed to rein in their attacks following one of the most intense bombings of the war on Wednesday that left more than 250 people dead in just 10 minutes.
“The Israelis as I understand it have actually offered to… check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance told reporters during a trip to Budapest.
Following the talks with the US, Netanyahu said Israel would now open the channels for cease-fire talks with Lebanon.
“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, yesterday I instructed the cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
The talks would center on “disarming” Hezbollah and establishing renewed peace between Israel and Lebanon, Netanyahu added.
The meeting is expected to begin next week in Washington, with the US side led by Michel Issa, the American ambassador to Lebanon, according to Axios.
It comes after Israel’s military issued a fresh evacuation order on Thursday for southern Beirut, including for areas that have yet to be hit during the war.
“The Defense Army continues its operations and strikes against military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah in various parts of the Southern Suburbs,” the Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
“Out of concern for your safety, you must evacuate immediately,” he added.
The warning triggered a mass exodus, with roads snarled by civilians trying to flee the conflict zone. Israel’s evacuation warnings have often been followed by airstrikes.
Iran has slammed Israel’s actions in Lebanon as a clear violation of the two-week cease-fire agreement, with Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning of retaliatory action if the fighting continues.
“Ceasefire violations carry explicit and STRONG responses,” Ghalibaf said in a statement.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed Wednesday’s attack would have pushed the Islamic Republic to resume the war if not for mediators in Pakistan, who agreed that Lebanon is included in the cease-fire agreement.
“Iran was on the verge of responding to the ceasefire violation last night,” he said, according to Mizan, the Iranian judiciary’s official news agency.
“Pakistan intervened and conveyed messages indicating that the United States would control Israel,” Khatibzadeh added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Berlin that he and other European leaders have also been pushing Netanyahu to end the attacks in Lebanon, saying the conflict with Hezbollah could “cause the peace process as a whole to fail.”
The tension in Lebanon comes as US and Iranian delegates look to meet in Islamabad this week for diplomatic talks aimed at ending the war.
English (US)