The Israeli government has backed down from a planned military assault on Beirut, US President Donald Trump said on Monday, after Iran warned it would not tolerate a new wave of aggression against Lebanon’s capital in breach of a ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump said he had a “very productive” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said earlier in the day that he had instructed the Israeli military to carry out strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, including the Dahiyeh district.
“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” Trump said in his statement.
The US president also claimed to have brokered a parallel understanding with the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
“Likewise, through highly placed representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — that Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” he said.
The development comes just hours after Iranian military commanders issued stark warnings to Israel and its allies, declaring that the armed forces would respond to the occupying regime’s continued aggression in Lebanon.
Iran’s central military command warned Israeli settlers in northern occupied territories to prepare for evacuation should Israel carry out its threats to bomb southern Beirut under the pretext of targeting Hezbollah.
“Given the [Israeli] regime’s repeated violations of the ceasefire, if this threat is implemented, we warn residents of the northern parts and military settlements in the occupied territories to leave the area if they do not want to be harmed,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement.
Iran insists that the ceasefire agreement with the United States, brokered by Pakistan on April 8, includes a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned again on Monday that the ceasefire covers “all fronts, including Lebanon.” He warned that any violation on one front will constitute a breach of the broader ceasefire arrangement.
