The first reaction from Hezbollah after the announcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon. What condition does he put in order to respect him?
A leading Hezbollah lawmaker, Ibrahim al-Moussawi, told AFP on Thursday that the Lebanese Shiite group would respect the truce with Israel announced a little earlier by US President Donald Trump, provided that Israeli attacks on the militants stop.
“We in Hezbollah will cautiously respect the ceasefire, provided it means a complete cessation of hostilities against us and that Israel does not use it to carry out assassinations,” he said.
“We thank Iran for exerting pressure in favor of Lebanon,” Ibrahim al-Moussawi also stated, adding that “the truce would not have taken place if Iran had not considered it equivalent to closing the Strait of Hormuz.”
“As long as the Israeli occupation forces stop their aggression and do not violate the truce, we will commit to respect it,” Moussawi told CNN.
The truce “should include all Lebanese territories and a restriction of their movements (of Israeli troops, no) and should be a starting point for the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories,” the deputy also told the American television station.
US President Donald Trump has announced that a 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon will take effect on Thursday evening. Moussawi said Iran informed Hezbollah officials of the intended truce before the leader's White House announcement.
Iran has demanded that Israel end attacks on Lebanon as a precondition for an agreement to end the war with the United States. This angered the Lebanese government, which accused Iran of violating its sovereignty and negotiating “on its behalf”.
The Lebanese government, which has pledged to disarm the Iran-backed militant group, held top-level talks with Israeli officials on Tuesday but insists on a ceasefire as a precondition for continuing peace talks.
Hezbollah has previously said it opposes talks between Lebanon and Israel, which are technically at war since Israel was founded in 1948. “We have made it very clear that we reject any direct negotiations between the two sides,” Moussawi told CNN.
Trump's announcement
The US president announced in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that he had “excellent discussions” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
“These two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their countries, they will officially begin a ten-day Ceasefire at 05:00 PM Eastern,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding that he asked Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Army Chief Dan Caine to work with the two countries to achieve a lasting peace.
Reuters notes that Trump did not mention the day on which the truce would begin, but a US official confirmed to the international news agency that it is actually Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Donald Trump also announced that he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu and Joseph Aoun to the White House for “substantial discussions” between the two countries.
“Both countries want to see PEACE and I believe that will happen, fast!” the White House leader wrote in a new post on Truth Social.
