President Donald Trump has threatened to restart attacks against Iran as a fragile ceasefire struggles to take hold amid Israel’s continuing strikes on Lebanon.
The US leader said that all American military personnel would remain stationed around the region until the agreement is “fully complied with”.
“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” he added.
Confusion has ensued after a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire agreement was reached earlier this week that Iran and Pakistan says included Lebanon but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House say did not.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned they will deliver a “regret-inducing response” if attacks on Lebanon continue,
State-run Islamic Republic News Agency also quoted an IRGC official as saying: “Any attack on the proud Hezbollah is an attack on Iran.”
Hundreds were killed and injured in the strikes, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence. The Israeli military told The Independent that it had completed the “largest strike” on the country since the start of the conflict.
UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned the escalation from Israel as “deeply damaging” and called for Lebanon to be “urgently included” in the conditional ceasefire.
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Israeli military says right-hand man and nephew of Hezbollah chief killed
Israel’s military has said that it has killed the nephew of Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem.
It said it “struck in the Beirut area and eliminated Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem,” in a statement.
Hezbollah is yet to confirm the incident.
PM Starmer arrives in UAE to meet Gulf allies
Prime minister Keir Starmer has landed in the United Arab Emirates to meet with allies in the Gulf amid a fragile truce between the US and Iran.
Meeting with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the British leader said that work was needed to ensure the halt in fighting was “not a temporary ceasefire but a permanent ceasefire”.
He was welcomed by Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, at the airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
Australian prime minister says Lebanon should be included in ceasefire
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said Lebanon should be included in the US-Iran ceasefire.
Albanese said the two-week ceasefire is “fragile”, but Australia wants it to “lead to an agreement.”
“The Australian government also firmly believes that this has to apply to Lebanon as well”, he said in a video shared by SBS News. “We want to see peace in this region”.
Israel unleashed a heavy bombardment on Lebanon Wednesday. Israel has said the ceasefire doesn’t apply to Lebanon.
Rachel Dobkin9 April 2026 08:30
Trump rants ‘NATO wasn’t there’ as he reportedly weighs plans to punish allies unhelpful with Iran war
Trump rants ‘NATO wasn’t there’ as he reportedly weighs plans to punish allies
President Donald Trump said that NATO allies ‘were tested, and they failed’ during Iran warStuti Mishra9 April 2026 08:15
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Rachel Dobkin9 April 2026 08:00
Iran delegation heads to Islamabad for ‘serious talks’ as Trump warns of stronger strikes
An Iranian delegation is set to arrive in Islamabad for talks aimed at resolving the conflict with the US and Israel, as tensions remain high despite a fragile ceasefire.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said the team would reach the Pakistani capital tonight for negotiations based on proposals put forward by Tehran.
“Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime … Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran,” he said in a post on X.
The talks come as both sides test the limits of a recently announced ceasefire, with continued strikes in Lebanon fuelling uncertainty over whether it will hold.
Pakistan has shut down offices in its capital city ahead of the talks in what is being seen as a heightened security measure [see post below for details]
Hours earlier, Donald Trump said the US would maintain a military presence in the region until what he described as a “real agreement” is secured.
Posting on Truth Social, he said American forces would remain in place with additional “Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary”.
Stuti Mishra9 April 2026 07:35
UK foreign secretary says escalation from Israel 'deeply damaging'
Britain’s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has said that “escalation from Israel on Wednesday was deeply damaging” as confusion ensued following a US-Iran ceasefire agreed earlier this week.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have continued as both the White House and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that Lebanon was not included in a deal to stop strikes on Iran in exchange for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Pakistan, which brokered the deal independently, both said that the halting of strikes on Lebanon were a part of the agreement. Iran’s deputy foreign minister called the attacks a “grave violation”.
Ms Cooper insisted that Lebanon must be a part of the deal.
“We want to see Lebanon included in the ceasefire,” she told Times Radio on Thursday.
“We want it extended to cover Lebanon, because otherwise that will destabilise the whole region.
“That escalation that we saw from Israel yesterday was deeply damaging, and we want to see an end to hostilities.”
On Wednesday French president Emmanuel Macron also called for attacks on Lebanon to be stopped.
Trump 'clearly disappointed' with Nato, Rutte says after White House meeting
Nato chief Mark Rutte said Donald Trump was “clearly disappointed” with the alliance’s response to the Iran war after what he described as a “very frank, very open discussion” at the White House.
Speaking to CNN after the talks, Mr Rutte said: “Let me be absolutely clear, he is clearly disappointed and with many Nato allies, and I can see his point.”
“The large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they lived up to their commitments.”
But the meeting failed to calm Trump’s anger, with the US president later posting on Truth Social: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”
Stuti Mishra9 April 2026 07:00NewerOlder