Continued Attacks on Lebanon Make Ceasefire Negotiations Meaningless

JAKARTA - Iran warned that continued attacks on Lebanon would make the ceasefire negotiations with the United States meaningless, stressing that Paris from the East was an integral part of the ceasefire.

More than a thousand people were killed and injured in Israeli attacks on several Lebanese cities on Wednesday, hours after a US-Iranian ceasefire deal was announced.

"Continued attacks will make negotiations meaningless; our hands will remain on the trigger, and Iran will never abandon its Lebanese brothers and sisters," President Pezeshkian wrote on the social media X, launching Anadolu (9/4).

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, in a separate post on X, said Lebanon and what he called the "Axis of Resistance" were integral parts of the ceasefire framework, citing a statement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"Lebanon and the entire Axis of Resistance, as Iran's allies, are an integral part of the ceasefire," Qalibaf said.

He added that the Prime Minister of Pakistan had "openly and clearly" emphasized the Lebanese issue, warning that "there is no room for denial and retraction of statements."

Qalibaf also warned that violations of the ceasefire would result in a "strong response."

"Violations of the ceasefire carry real consequences and a strong response," he warned.

"Stop the attack immediately," he said.

Israel has stepped up its attacks across Lebanon since Wednesday despite a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan between the US and Iran, as a step towards a final deal to end the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against Tehran on February 28.

Although Islamabad and Tehran said the ceasefire included Lebanon, Washington and Tel Aviv denied it.

According to the Lebanese Civil Defense, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 254 people and injured 1,165 others on Wednesday.

A Pakistani government source told Anadolu on Thursday that a US and Iranian delegation would hold "direct" talks in Islamabad aimed at reaching a "permanent ceasefire."

Negotiations, which are scheduled to begin Saturday, according to the sources, are likely to last more than one day.