Trump Pushes Israel-Hezbollah Halt as Iran Talks Stall

President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to stop shooting after urgent calls aimed at preventing an Israeli raid on Beirut, but clashes continued overnight in southern Lebanon as Iran signaled that renewed war with the United States may be unavoidable.

A senior Iranian military officer said Tuesday that a return to hostilities with the U.S. was “inevitable” if Washington demands Tehran’s surrender. “The United States demands our total surrender, and the Iranian nation will never surrender,” said Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy head of Iran’s central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya. “Without surrender, war is inevitable.”

The warning came as negotiations between Tehran and Washington appeared to stall. A source close to Iran’s negotiating team told a state news agency Tuesday that Iran was still considering the latest U.S. draft of a potential agreement and had not yet responded. Another state outlet said Monday that Iran had suspended indirect negotiations with Washington. Trump said Monday on Truth Social that talks with Iran “are continuing, at a rapid pace,” without giving details.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington applies across the region, including Lebanon, and warned that any violation would undermine the broader agreement and carry consequences for the U.S. and Israel, according to Al Jazeera. Tehran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Iran could halt negotiations with the U.S. if Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon continues.

Trump announced Monday that “all shooting will stop” between Israel and Hezbollah after separate contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what he called “highly placed Representatives” of Hezbollah. “They agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump wrote.

He later said he had asked Netanyahu “not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon.” Trump added: “He turned his Troops around.” The president said Hezbollah representatives also “agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers,” while Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. “Let’s see how long that lasts — Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!” he wrote.

Netanyahu said earlier that he told Trump Israel would strike Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israel, while Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon would continue as planned. Axios reported that the call between Trump and Netanyahu was expletive-laden. A U.S. official told the outlet Trump said, “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” A second source briefed on the call said Trump yelled, “What the fuck are you doing?” An Israeli official told Axios that Israel no longer plans to strike Beirut.

Lebanon’s Embassy in Washington said Hezbollah had accepted a U.S. proposal to stop attacking Israel in exchange for Israel halting attacks on Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs. The statement, shared by the Lebanese presidency, said Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh would cease if Hezbollah refrained from launching attacks against Israel.

Fighting nevertheless continued. Hezbollah claimed multiple attacks on Israeli targets, mainly in southern Lebanon, including some after Trump’s announcement. The group said it fired a rocket at an Israeli tank early Tuesday in Hadatha while fighting “the advance of Israeli forces.” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes late Monday on several southern villages and towns. The Israeli military said Tuesday it intercepted two projectiles from Lebanon and reported no casualties.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli air attacks continued overnight and into early morning in southern Lebanon, with two injured people pulled from rubble after a strike in Tyre. Hezbollah said it carried out 41 operations Monday, including rocket and drone attacks, ambushes and clashes with advancing Israeli forces, describing them as responses to continued attacks on civilians and ceasefire violations.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that Israel should not remain deep inside Lebanon. “Nothing can justify the continuation of military operations and Israel’s prolonged occupation deep inside Lebanese territory,” he told France TV.