Israel-Lebanon talks expected to start next week in Washington
Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.
It was not immediately clear whom Lebanon was sending. Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.
Toll from Israeli attacks has risen to 303: Lebanon's health ministry
Lebanon's health ministry said on Thursday that the toll from Israel's strikes the previous day across Lebanon had risen to 303 killed. It said the toll was not final and was expected to rise further as rescue teams were still removing bodies from under the rubble.
The ministry added that the total toll since March 2 was 1,888 dead and more than 6,000 wounded.
IMF chief warns Iran war will slow global economic growth
The Iran war is darkening the outlook for the world economy - whether or not a fragile ceasefire holds, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund will downgrade its forecast for the world economy next week.
"Had it not been for this shock, we would have been upgrading global growth," Georgieva said in remarks ahead of next week's IMF-World Bank spring meetings. "But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade.''
The IMF's Georgieva said Thursday, "growth will be slower-even if the new peace is durable.''
Sub-Saharan Africa and small island countries are most vulnerable to the energy shock, Georgieva said. Around the world, governments have only a limited ability to support their economies with spending increases and tax cuts because their debts are already so high.
Netanyahu authorises direct talks with Lebanon 'as soon as possible'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has authorised direct negotiations with Lebanon "as soon as possible," as a tentative ceasefire in the Iran war staggered under the weight of Israel's bombardment of Beirut.
Netanyahu said he gave the order in response to requests from Lebanon and that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the neighbouring countries.
He welcomed a call by Lebanon's prime minister to demilitarise Beirut. There was no immediate response from Lebanon.
The ceasefire was also hampered by Tehran's continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether planned peace talks can find common ground.
Iran and the US - which both declared victory after the ceasefire announcement - appeared to apply pressure. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, warned that US forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfil the agreement.
Houthi leader calls ceasefire a big victory for Iran
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, described the announced ceasefire between the US and Iran as a "big victory" for Iran.
In a video statement on Telegram on Thursday, he said Iran ultimately was able to "defeat the enemy". He also praised the militant Hezbollah group, saying that they are leading one of their biggest battles in Lebanon.
Al-Houthi added that his group was able to prevent Israel and the US from using the Red Sea to attack Iran and confirmed launching strikes at Israel.
He also said that Iran's decision to close the Strait of Hormuz was a major pressure tactic against the US and its allies.
Israeli defence minister claims Hezbollah seeking ceasefire after heavy strikes
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz claimed Hezbollah is seeking a ceasefire and said Israeli strikes killed more than 200 militants in the past day, bringing the total to over 1,400 in the current fighting. The claims could not be independently verified.
Katz said Israel is prepared to respond forcefully if Iran launches attacks and will continue striking targets across Lebanon, including in the Litani area.
Merz vows effort to preserve Nato with US on board
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that the Iran war has become a "stress test" for Nato and said he doesn't want it to burden trans-Atlantic relations further.
Merz said he and Trump discussed the alliance's future in a phone call Wednesday and that he offered to discuss it again before a Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July.
Merz said that "it is my firm intention to do everything to preserve the protection of Nato, including the United States of America, for Europe."
He added that "this alliance, at least at present, cannot be replaced by anything, so I have a great interest in preserving it and developing it further with the American president".
Lebanon's army reopens key bridge struck by Israel
The Lebanese army said Thursday it cleared the Qasmieh bridge after Israel hit it on Wednesday, and deployed a unit nearby.
The bridge is the last direct crossing for most traffic into the coastal city of Tyre over the Litani River, the strategic line separating southern Lebanon from the rest of the country.
Israel has struck several bridges in the area, accusing Hezbollah of moving fighters and equipment, but the crossings are also vital for civilians and humanitarian aid. The strikes come as Israel seeks a "buffer zone" to protect its northern towns, raising fears of long-term occupation and displacement.
South Korea foreign minister to send special envoy to Iran
South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun will send a special envoy to Iran to discuss the Middle East situation and bilateral issues, the ministry said on Thursday.
In a phone call with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, Cho welcomed Iran's ceasefire agreement with the US and emphasised the importance of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the ministry said in a statement.
Araqchi also welcomed Cho's decision to send a special envoy and agreed to continue communication on related matters, according to the South Korean ministry.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon render negotiations meaningless: Pezeshkian
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Israeli strikes on Lebanon violate the ceasefire agreement and would render negotiations meaningless. Pezeshkian said Iran would not abandon the Lebanese people.
His comments come after Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing more than 250 people on Wednesday.
Iran warns attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon will bring 'explicit costs'
Iran's parliament speaker warned Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would bring "explicit costs and STRONG responses."
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued the warning in a message on X. He insisted, like other Iranian officials, the two-week ceasefire extended to Lebanon, something denied by both Israel and the US.
"Ceasefire violations carry explicit and STRONG responses," he wrote. "Extinguish the fire immediately."
Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet US Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Israel launches fresh strikes on Lebanon after huge attacks jeopardise truce
Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, putting the Middle East ceasefire in further jeopardy after its biggest attacks of the war on its neighbour killed more than 250 people and threatened to torpedo Donald Trump's truce from the outset.
Iranian negotiators were expected to set off later on Thursday for Pakistan for the first peace talks of the war, where they are due to meet a delegation led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Saturday. But there was no sign Iran had lifted its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history, and Tehran said there would be no deal as long as Israel was striking Lebanon. The supply shortage drove the price that European and Asian refineries were paying for a physical barrel of oil to record levels near $150 a barrel, with even higher prices for some products such as jet fuel.
Israel, which invaded Lebanon last month in parallel with the war on Iran to root out the armed group Hezbollah, Tehran's ally, says its actions there are not covered by the ceasefire announced late on Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Washington has also said Lebanon is not covered by the truce, but Iran and Pakistan, which acted as mediator, say it was explicitly part of the deal.
A host of countries, including prominent U.S. allies Britain and France, said the truce should extend to Lebanon and condemned Israel's attacks on the country.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon threaten the ceasefire
At least 182 people were killed in Lebanon on Wednesday when Israel intensified its attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which joined the war in support of Tehran.
First responders searched overnight for missing people still under the rubble after the strikes, which hit commercial and residential areas of Beirut.
Israel said Thursday it killed Ali Yusuf Harshi, an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said it was not.
A New York-based think tank warned the deal "hovers on the verge of collapse".
"Even if Lebanon was formally outside the deal, the scale of Israel's strikes was likely to be viewed as escalatory, nonetheless," the Soufan Centre wrote in an analysis.
"Israel's strikes can be understood both as an effort to drive a wedge between Iran and its proxies and as a response to being allegedly sidelined in the original ceasefire discussions."
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Thursday that an Israeli strike overnight had killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.
Iran's nuclear agency chief says its right to enrich uranium is necessary for US talks
The chief of Iran's nuclear agency said Thursday that protecting Tehran's right to enrich uranium is "necessary" for any ceasefire talks with the United States.
Mohammad Eslami, who leads the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, made the remarks to journalists including one from The Associated Press in Tehran, Iran, during commemorations for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"It is a part of the necessary (things) that nobody speaks about," Eslami said, referring to the US refusal to acknowledge enrichment as one part of Iran's 10-point plan for a permanent ceasefire.
The US and Iran are due to meet in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for talks this weekend.
US-Iran truce should extend to Lebanon, EU's top diplomat Kallas says
The ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran should extend to Lebanon, EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Thursday, adding that Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah must disarm.
"Israeli actions are putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under severe strain. The Iran truce should extend to Lebanon," Kallas said in a post on X.
"Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence," she also said.
More than 3,000 Iranians killed during war, medical body says
More than 3,000 people were killed throughout Iran during the war that began on February 28, Iran's forensic chief told state media on Thursday, adding that 40% of the dead needed forensic work to be identified and returned to families.
Israeli military says it has killed nephew of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem
Israel said on Thursday it had killed the nephew of Naim Qassem, the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, in a strike on Beirut overnight.
"The IDF struck in the Beirut area and eliminated Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem," the military said.
Italy PM Meloni says reopening of strait of Hormuz is vital
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday that restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a vital interest for her county and the whole of the European Union.
"We have come within a step of the point of no return, but we now face a fragile prospect of peace that must be pursued with determination,” Meloni told parliament, adding that Italy condemned any violation of the ceasefire and is calling for a permanent halt to hostilities.
Spain to reopen its embassy in Tehran
Spain is reopening its embassy in Tehran in hopes of achieving peace in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters on Thursday.
"I've instructed our ambassador in Tehran to return, to take up his post again and reopen our embassy, and for us to join in this effort for peace from every possible quarter, including from the Iranian capital itself," Albares said.
Israel to reopen Karish offshore natgas platform following ceasefire
Israel's energy ministry said on Thursday that it had instructed Energean to begin resuming operations at the Karish natural gas platform off Israel's Mediterranean coast following the U.S. ceasefire with Iran.
The platform has been closed since February 28, when the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began, due to safety concerns.
Energean confirmed it had received notice from the energy ministry that would permit the safe restart and resumption of production and operations at its Karish site.
"Energean is working to safely restart production and resume normal operations in line with its operating procedures," it said.
Energean's London-listed shares rose 2.4% to 851 pence.
Last week, Israel's offshore Leviathan gas field also resumed operations after a month-long war shutdown.
