Middle East crisis live: Israel says Iran war ceasefire doesn’t include Lebanon as air strikes continue
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- The US and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire, temporarily reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with talks scheduled to begin in Islamabad on April 10 to negotiate a lasting agreement.
- Despite the ceasefire announcement, missile alerts and military activity continued in Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, and Israel, indicating ongoing regional tensions and uncertainty about the ceasefire's immediate effect.
- The ceasefire is seen as a strategic failure for the US, as Iran’s regime remains intact and more hardline, contrary to initial US and Israeli expectations of regime change following targeted killings.
- International reactions were mixed, with some countries welcoming the ceasefire as a step toward peace, while others, including Israel, clarified that fighting in Lebanon is excluded from the truce.
- Market responses were cautiously optimistic, with Asian stock markets rising and crude oil prices easing, though analysts warned that a full return to pre-conflict conditions and oil supply stability remains uncertain.
