A newly brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect Friday, potentially rescuing a fragile regional peace agreement hours after heavy border fighting derailed diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.
Background
According to a senior U.S. official, negotiators from the U.S. and Qatar worked alongside Iran to hammer out the deal. The truce reportedly took effect at 4 p.m. local time.
The diplomatic breakthrough followed a chaotic morning that threatened to unravel months of international diplomacy. Overnight, Israel’s military struck targets across southern and eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah reported intense fighting.
Reaction
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to defend his administration’s leverage and strike back at political opponents. “The War has diminished Iran!” Trump wrote. “It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Democrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago.
In a subsequent post, Trump added, “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
