The White House on Tuesday directly contradicted claims that a newly announced U.S.-Iran ceasefire extends to Lebanon, setting off a diplomatic firestorm over whether the agreement actually covers Israeli military operations against Hezbollah.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios that the ceasefire applies only to U.S. and Iranian forces, not to Israel's ongoing campaign in Lebanese territory. The statement came hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the ceasefire would cover the region broadly, including "everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly issued his own statement claiming the ceasefire excluded Lebanon. But the U.S. had remained silent on the question until Leavitt's clarification.
How the deal was cut
Behind closed doors, Netanyahu raised the Lebanon issue with President Trump by phone shortly before the ceasefire announcement, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. The two agreed the fighting there could continue. It remains unclear whether the U.S. explicitly committed during negotiations to carving out Lebanon from any ceasefire terms.
The timing proved consequential. Within hours of the ceasefire announcement, the Israeli Defense Forces launched what the IDF called "the largest coordinated wave of strikes in Lebanon" since the war began. Fifty fighter jets struck 100 Hezbollah command centers across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon using approximately 160 munitions. Lebanese health officials reported more than 80 killed and 200 wounded.
Israel currently occupies large portions of southern Lebanon up to six miles into the country, with thousands of troops on the ground. The government has said it will not withdraw or allow displaced Lebanese civilians to return home until Hezbollah is completely disarmed.
Iran had made dismantling Israeli operations against Hezbollah a centerpiece of ceasefire demands. The Lebanese militant group, an Iranian proxy, opened fire on Israel five weeks ago after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, creating a new theater of conflict.
Now Tehran is threatening consequences. Iranian news agencies reported that if the Lebanese strikes continue, Iran will withdraw from the ceasefire and close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping lane. State media also indicated that oil tankers in the strait were stopped Wednesday following the massive Israeli bombardment.
Lebanon's government joined the protest. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of breaching the agreement, and the Lebanese presidency labeled the strikes "a new massacre." Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, made phone calls to counterparts worldwide characterizing the Israeli operation as a ceasefire violation.
Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif appealed for calm, urging all parties to respect a two-week ceasefire period to allow diplomacy room to work. He acknowledged reports of violations "at few places across the conflict zone."
A U.S. official told reporters the White House is not currently concerned that developments in Lebanon will cause the broader U.S.-Iran ceasefire to collapse. The statement suggested Washington is willing to tolerate Iranian frustration to keep that agreement intact, even as it green-lights continued Israeli military action in a neighboring country.
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