Israel’s war with Hezbollah casts a cloud over prospects for a US-Iran peace deal

The Iranian Navy fired a missile and a drone as a warning shot at two American destroyers in the Sea of ​​Oman, according to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday.

The IRGC said this was in retaliation for the “hostility” and “capture of commercial vessels” by the US Navy in the region.

During the night, American soldiers boarded the MT Davina tanker in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command.

In a letter on social media, INDOPACOM said: “We will continue the use of international maritime law to disrupt illegal networks and blockade vessels that provide material support to Iran.”

Lebanese parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said on Friday that the Iran-backed group would withdraw from the area south of the Litani River in Lebanon if Israel withdraws and a broad ceasefire is reached.

“I agree … with Hezbollah’s withdrawal south of the Litani River accompanied by Israel’s withdrawal from its territories” and “a complete and comprehensive ceasefire without conditions,” said Berri, who is Hezbollah’s negotiator, in a statement.

However, Berri criticized the current Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, saying it was “stuck” and should have included an “unconditional ceasefire on land, sea and air.”

The ongoing war in the Middle East is pushing millions of people in other countries at risk of starvation, according to figures from the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP).

A WFP report warned in March that if the regional conflict continues and the price of oil remains around $100 per barrel, 45 million people could fall into food insecurity. An updated report now confirms that the situation is unfolding.

Countries already facing chaos and economic difficulties are the ones facing the worst because they rely heavily on imports as the prices of fuel, food, fertilizers and humanitarian aid continue to rise, the agency said.

The report also states that as a result of this crisis, an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet their basic food needs.

The Israeli air force raided the Lebanese village on Friday following warnings of several imminent attacks by Hezbollah, after the Iran-backed militia rejected a deal brokered by the United States.

Arabic-speaking Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Friday warned residents of six towns and villages including Sarafand in southern Lebanon, a town on the coastal road between Tire and Sidon, to evacuate immediately.

Earlier, he warned residents of three villages north of the Litani river in southern Lebanon to leave their homes.

The National News Agency under the government of Lebanon reported that many people were expelled from the three villages mentioned in the warning, and then reported a strike in one of the villages, Arqoun.

Overnight, Israeli strikes killed seven people in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, a Lebanese security source told AFP.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, told Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that any agreement with the United States must fully protect the country’s interests, stressing that Tehran will not sign or accept any understanding unless all concerns are resolved.

Gharibabadi emphasized Iran’s independence in decision-making, saying the Islamic Republic “does not wait for the green light of any country” and acts strictly according to what it sees as its interests. He also pointed to Iran’s recent military response to the US and Israel, describing it as a strong show of force.

In a recorded phone call from inside Iran’s Evin Prison, Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh made a plea to the US government to get medical help for him and other Americans imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious prison.

“Even if treating our diseases is a great need, it would not at least ask the Iranian authorities not to reduce all the physical pressure and mental torture we are subjected to in captivity, but at least some of it,” Valizadeh said in a recording recently obtained by CBS News.

Since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran three months ago, the country has been under a total internet blackout, imposed by the regime, with little to no communication between the detained American and his lawyers. Valizadeh’s message came after the government relaxed those restrictions last week.

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Despite a statement from Hezbollah saying it rejected the terms of a cease-fire in Lebanon, President Trump insisted Thursday, “Hezbollah has called us and said, ‘How about we stop?’

“I think you’re going to see things happen there,” said Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office. “That’s like a separate little country, but it’s connected to Iran. And it would be really nice if Lebanon could have peace. Lebanon has been attacked for so many years. They’re always like the underdog. And it would be really nice if it could end.”

Iran has said that any lasting peace deal with the US and Israel would also have to include an end to the conflict in Lebanon.

Mr Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Lebanese leadership and the leadership of Hezbollah about ending the conflict there.

If Iran does not voluntarily give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, President Trump appeared to question Thursday the idea of ​​sending troops to Iran to remove it.

Iran’s near-weapons-grade uranium is a major point of contention in its negotiations with the US, and Mr.

Asked by a reporter if he had considered sending in Navy SEALs or Army Rangers to remove the uranium, Mr. Trump replied: “Yeah, but I didn’t want to be Jimmy Carter,” likely referring to the failed Carter-era mission to rescue American hostages from Iran.

Mr. Trump said his administration was looking at a special operation to seize Iran’s uranium at the start of the war, but decided that Iran “would have gotten it,” and that such an operation would have taken weeks and required the destruction of major equipment in Iran.

He also said “there is no reason” to carry out such a task.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump reiterated the claim he has made several times that the US has “completely eliminated” the Iranian military.

“There are still missiles left, but they are very small compared to what they had,” he said.

Mr. Trump said that if Iran were to kill US soldiers, he would consider that a “good reason” for a resumption of war, which the US says is continuing the ceasefire despite recent missile attacks from Iran and US forces. “If they kill US soldiers, I think I can kill them [restart the war] very quickly,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with the Lebanese news agency Al Mayadeen, said the war “has been a source of strength for Iran.”

“Yes, we lost a lot, but from a strategic point of view, we gained a lot,” he said, according to a statement from the company.

Araghchi also said that Iran’s response to the initial US-Israel strikes in late February surprised many.

“Nobody expected us to be able to endure and resist for 40 days,” he said, adding that it was “no small thing” that Iran “forced it to seek talks and ask for a ceasefire.”

The House rejected a military power resolution Thursday to force President Trump into Lebanon after Democratic leaders came out against it.

The decision, introduced by Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, we order the president to remove the American troops from “Lebanon” within seven days of the adoption of this measure. It failed by 92 votes out of 324, with two votes.

“Currently, no members of the US are involved in hostilities or hostilities in Lebanon,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement before the vote.

Democratic leaders said another war resolution introduced Wednesday by Tlaib in new language was “the best legislative vehicle to prevent American troops from leaving Lebanon” and they would work with him to “build consensus” on it. They noted that this new version is supported by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee who led the push in the lower chamber to strengthen Mr.

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