BEIRUT/TEL AVIV, April 16 (Reuters) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to help secure a ceasefire for his country in the first call ever between the two leaders, as Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was vital to ending the Iran war.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran spilt into Lebanon on March 2, when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict.
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“Peace in Lebanon is essential for (Iran) peace talks,” Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, said.
An Israeli source told Reuters that a ceasefire in Lebanon could be announced as soon as Thursday night. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials.
In a Truth Social post published late on Wednesday in Washington, Trump said he was seeking to create “a little breathing room” between Israel and Lebanon.
Aoun’s office said he spoke to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately on Thursday afternoon and thanked them for their efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon. There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Trump had also said the two leaders of Lebanon and Israel had not spoken for some 34 years and “it will happen tomorrow.”
But three Lebanese officials told Reuters on Thursday that Aoun would not hold a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future.
Two of the Lebanese officials said the Lebanese embassy in Washington had informed the U.S. administration of the position before Aoun’s call with Rubio.
LEBANON SEEKS CEASEFIRE BEFORE TALKS
The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the war, having spent the last year seeking to secure the peaceful disarmament of the group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Beirut banned Hezbollah’s military activities on March 2.
