TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The fragile two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States is on the brink of collapse on Wednesday after Israel's massive strikes on Lebanon. As reported by France24, Tehran threatened to resume hostilities after the massacre that killed hundreds of Lebanese citizens in a single day.
Both Washington and Tehran claimed victory after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire.
Negotiations between the US and Iran were scheduled to take place in Pakistan starting on Friday, April 10, 2026, aimed at ending the war that has claimed thousands of lives across the Middle East and triggered global economic turmoil.
The Lebanon Massacre
But the hope for peace fractured when Israel launched its heaviest attacks yet on neighboring Lebanon, including in the densely populated city of Beirut, since the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah joined the war in early March.
At least 254 people were killed and over 1,000 were injured on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israel claimed such attacks were not part of the US-Iran ceasefire agreed upon late Tuesday, an argument shared by US VP JD Vance, days before he was scheduled to lead the talks with Tehran in Pakistan.
"If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart... over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice," he said.
Mediator Pakistan had previously emphasized that the truce agreed upon by the US and Iran applied "everywhere, including Lebanon," which Israel rejected.
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on a post on X, stated that the "workable basis on which to negotiate" had already been violated, making further talks "unreasonable."
Exacerbating the fragility of the ceasefire—which was agreed upon a few hours before a Hormuz deadline set by President Donald Trump—a senior US official stated that Iran's 10-point plan was not a set of the same conditions that the White House had agreed to stop the war. Iran consistently referred to the 10 points put forth as a prerequisite for negotiations with the US.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called the scale of the killings in Lebanon "horrific." Israel's airstrikes across the capital city of Beirut without warning triggered harrowing and panic-stricken scenes.
"People started running left and right, and smoke was billowing," said Ali Younes, who was waiting for his wife near Corniche al-Mazraa, one of the targeted areas.
More than 1,700 people have died in Lebanon since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion last month, according to local officials.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that they would "fulfil our duty and deliver a response" if Israel did not stop its assault. While Hezbollah, which has not carried out any attacks since the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, asserted that they have the "right" to respond.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country remains prepared to confront Iran if necessary, while Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth also vowed that US forces remain alert if the conflict flared up again.
High-Stakes Negotiation
The aggressive rhetoric emerged ahead of high-stake talks in Pakistan expected to take place on Friday. This came after Iran temporarily agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under Trump's genocidal threat.
But reports suggested that the waterway was closed again on the same day despite the ceasefire. This, according to Iran, was prompted by Israel's brutal attack on Lebanon.
The White House urged Iran to reopen the Hormuz "immediately, quickly, and safely." Any closure is "completely unacceptable," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to reporters.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country serves as the mediator for the ceasefire, urged all parties in X to "exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks," to allow for diplomacy to proceed.
Casting further doubt on the sustainability of the ceasefire, Iran's state media announced new "missile and drone" strikes on Wednesday against Gulf countries allied with the US in retaliation for the airstrikes on its oil facilities.
Kuwait stated that its oil facilities, power plants, and desalination factories were damaged by an "intense wave of attacks" that lasted for several hours.
The UAE said it had been targeted by 17 Iranian missiles and 35 drones since the ceasefire was enforced, while Saudi Arabia intercepted nine drones, and Bahrain said its capital, Manama, was attacked.
'Real Hope'
On Wednesday, leaders of several European countries, Canada, and the UK stated that "a swift and lasting end to the war" must be negotiated, as Pope Leo hailed a moment of "real hope."
However, Tehran's demands for uranium enrichment, economic sanctions, and control over the future of the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow waterway that one-fifth of the world's oil passes through—remain severely at odds with the United States' demands.
The United States and Israel stated that they attacked Iran to diminish its military capability, the latest reason after US officials repeatedly altered the reasons for the war's initiation.
Following weeks of economic turmoil, the announcement of the ceasefire caused oil prices to plummet by 15 percent, while European natural gas prices fell by 20 percent.
Trump stated that the United States is "very far along" in negotiating a long-term deal with Iran, which has presented a 10-point plan that he described as "workable."
However, Ghalibaf mentioned three alleged violations by the US of the proposal: ongoing attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace, and the denial of the country's right to enrich uranium, making the sustainability of the ceasefire uncertain.
In Tehran, the streets were quieter than usual on Wednesday, with many shops closed after a long and anxious night for residents fearing a large-scale US attack.
Read: JD Vance Calls Lebanon Ceasefire Exclusion a 'Misunderstanding'
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
