Fresh uncertainty has emerged over efforts to ease tensions in the ongoing Middle East conflict after Hezbollah rejected a United States-backed ceasefire proposal with Israel.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem announced on Thursday that the group demands a comprehensive truce that includes an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. In a message broadcast on the group’s Al-Manar television channel, Qassem stated that the ceasefire “must be comprehensive, without a separation between the south and the rest of Lebanon.”
The rejection came despite Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s announcement earlier this week that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a ceasefire. Aoun warned that the agreement “could be the last opportunity” for ending hostilities and said it could take effect within 24 hours of all parties approving.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded that the military would continue strikes in Lebanon for the time being and would not withdraw from the south, casting doubt on the robustness of any truce.
Meanwhile, military activity continued across the region. Iranian forces struck Kuwait on Wednesday, damaging airport facilities and injuring more than 60 people, according to Kuwaiti authorities. One person was killed in the attack on Kuwait International Airport. Flights were suspended before resuming after security measures were implemented.
Iranian state media reported that the Revolutionary Guards attacked the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a US airbase, though US Central Command denied its bases had been hit and said Iranian ballistic missiles failed to strike their targets.
The US military said it carried out a new round of defensive strikes in southern Iran, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats seeking to lay mines near the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices climbed nearly 2 percent following reports of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow. The strait has remained largely closed for more than three months since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in early April.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that there has been “no tangible progress” in negotiations with the United States, contradicting recent comments from President Donald Trump, who suggested a breakthrough could be achieved “over the weekend.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called for unity among Iranians to confront what he described as enemies seeking to sow internal divisions. Analysts note that Tehran has conditioned any peace deal on an end to fighting in Lebanon, access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, sanctions relief, and a lifting of the US port blockade.
The developments have raised concerns about a wider regional conflict involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, and the United States.