US President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social at 4.02 am (IST) Wednesday that US and Iran have agreed to a ‘two-week’ ceasefire, adding that Tehran has committed to ‘complete, immediate and safe’ re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The declaration came a little less than 90 minutes before the deadline Trump dictated Monday, and hours after he issued a final ultimatum to Iran, threatening that “a whole civilisation will die” if Tehran does not agree to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan has invited both US and Iran to Islamabad for further talks Friday.
However, while Israel backed US’ decision to suspend strikes against Iran, it continues to target Lebanon amid its conflict with Hezbollah.
Even Trump said said Wednesday that Lebanon is “not included” in the two-week ceasefire.
Asked about Israeli strikes on Lebanon on the day he declared the ceasefire, Trump reportedly referred to it as a “separate skirmish” and said Iran-backed Hezbollah would “get taken care of”.
US-Iran ‘ceasefire’ | LIVE UPDATES
7 pm: Clarify position, Lebanon’s PM asks Shehbaz
In a statement issued Thursday, Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam has asked his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif to clarify whether the two-week ceasefire deal agreed upon by the US and Iran includes Lebanon.
Israeli strikes the previous day in Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon killed more than 200 people, with US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu maintaining that the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon—in contradiction with Shehbaz’s remarks.
Salam, in the statement, said he held a telephonic conversation with Shehbaz during which he asked Islamabad to “confirm that the ceasefire includes Lebanon to prevent a recurrence of the Israeli attacks witnessed yesterday”.
6 pm: Iran’s parliament speaker says Lebanon ‘inseparable part’ of deal
Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Lebanon is an “inseparable part” of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Referring to Israeli strikes in Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon without mentioning it explicitly, Ghalibaf said any violations of the ceasefire will invite “explicit costs”.
“Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran’s allies, form an inseparable part of the ceasefire,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X, adding, “Ceasefire violations carry explicit costs and STRONG responses.”
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 9, 2026
5.30 pm: ‘Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters & brothers’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says in a fresh statement that Israel’s renewed attacks on Lebanon are “a blatant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement”.
“This is a dangerous sign of deception and lack of commitment to potential agreements. The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless. Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers,” the statement on X reads.
3.35 pm: Oil minister Hardeep Puri’s Qatar visit
Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Hardeep Puri will be on an official visit to Qatar from 9 to 10 April, the ministry said earlier today.
3.30 pm: ‘Whoever acts against Israeli civilians will be struck,’ says Netanyahu
In a fresh statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country continues to strike Hezbollah “with force, precision, and determination”.
“In Beirut, we eliminated Ali Youssef Kharshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah terror organization Secretary-General Naim Qassem and one of the people closest to him. At the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers, and Hezbollah headquarters,” reads the statement.
“Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israeli civilians—will be struck. We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever required, until we restore full security to the residents of the north.”
אנחנו ממשיכים להכות בחיזבאללה בעוצמה, בדיוק ובנחישות.
בביירות חיסלנו את עלי יוסף חרשי, מזכירו האישי של מזכ״ל ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה נעים קאסם ואחד האנשים הקרובים אליו ביותר.
במקביל, הלילה תקף צה״ל שורת תשתיות טרור בדרום לבנון: מעברים ששימשו להעברת אלפי אמצעי לחימה, רקטות… pic.twitter.com/tKGuRJKBIE
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 9, 2026
1.55 pm: IDF says Hezbollah chief’s nephew ‘eliminated’
Israeli military says it has Hezbollah chief’s personal secretary and nephew in Beirut.
In a statement, IDF adds, “The IDF also struck two key crossings used by Hezbollah to move weapons south of the Litani River, along with ~10 weapons storage sites, launchers and command centers in southern Lebanon.”
🔴ELIMINATED: Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in Beirut.
A close associate and personal advisor, Harshi played a key role in managing and securing Qassem’s office.
The IDF also struck two key crossings used by Hezbollah to…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 9, 2026
1.15 pm: Iran’s envoy deletes post announcing arrival of delegation in Islamabad tonight
Iranian envoy to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam appears to have deleted X post, where he had written that a delegation was on the way to Pakistan for peace talks.
11.50 am: Albanese says Lebanon should be part of ceasefire
Australian PM Anthony Albanese has said that his government “firmly believes” the ceasefire “has to apply to Lebanon as well”.
“I know that many Australians are concerned about the events that are occurring in Lebanon. This is a matter of not just the impact there, but the impact that it’s having right around the world,” he added.
11.30 am: Israel continues to pound Lebanon
Israeli forces continue to launch strikes on parts of southern Lebanon, reports Al Jazeera.
11.10 am: Iranian delegation to arrive in Islamabad tonight
Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam says an Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad tonight for talks on Iran’s 10-point peace plan.
Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime to sabotage the diplomatic initiative, invited by Hon. PM Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran.
— Reza Amiri Moghadam (@IranAmbPak) April 9, 2026
10.30 am: Trump warns of consequences if Iran does not comply with ‘real agreement’
In a fresh post on Truth Social, Trump writes, “All US Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with. If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts’, bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”
He adds, “It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!”
09.30 am: Over 250 dead in Lebanon in Wednesday’s strikes
Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing more than 250 people Wednesday, as the Iran-aligned group resumed rocket attacks on northern Israel after a brief pause under the two-week US-Iran ceasefire.
The strikes raised questions about regional truce efforts, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian saying a ceasefire in Lebanon was an essential condition of his country’s agreement with the US.
On Wednesday afternoon, at least five consecutive strikes rocked the capital Beirut, sending columns of smoke into the sky as Israel’s military said it had launched the largest coordinated strike of the war. More than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites were targeted in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon within ten minutes, it said.
A total of 254 people were killed and over 1,100 wounded across Lebanon, the country’s civil defence service said. The highest toll was in Beirut, where 91 people were killed. The health ministry gave a toll of 182 dead across the country and said it was not a final figure.
Hezbollah said early Thursday it fired rockets at the small kibbutz of Manara, citing what it described as Israel’s ceasefire violations.
“This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases,” the group said in a statement.