Israeli strikes in Lebanon 'grave violation' of ceasefire, Iran minister tells BBC

An Iranian minister has told the BBC that Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday constituted a "grave violation" of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Lebanon was covered by the two-week deal agreed on Tuesday - something the US and Israel dispute - and said the US must choose "between war and ceasefire".

At least 303 people were killed on Wednesday in air strikes on what Israel called Hezbollah command centres and military sites, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since said he has instructed his cabinet to "open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible". Beirut has also said it is ready for talks.

"The only solution to the situation Lebanon is experiencing is to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by direct negotiations between them," Lebanese President Joeseph Aoun said on X.

Netanyahu's office has said the negotiations with Lebanon "will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishing of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon".

Khatibzadeh, pressed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on whether Tehran would likewise ask its ally, Hezbollah, to stop firing rockets towards Israel, said the Iranian-backed militant group had "abided" by the ceasefire.

Hezbollah said on Thursday that it had fired at Israel overnight in response to what it called ceasefire violations. It has also threatened to keep up its attacks until "Israeli-American aggression" against Lebanon comes to an end.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, issued fresh evacuation orders for residents in southern Beirut.

Khatibzadeh said Tehran had sent a "crystal clear" message to the White House late on Wednesday which could be summarised as "you cannot have cake and eat it at the same time".

"You cannot ask for a ceasefire and then accept terms and conditions, accept all the areas that a ceasefire is applied to, and name Lebanon, exactly Lebanon in that, and then your ally just starts a massacre."

UN Secretary General António Guterres is among those who have said that the ongoing fighting in Lebanon could undermine talks between the US and Iran that are due to happen on Friday in Pakistan, which negotiated the ceasefire.

The latest escalation in the decades-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel erupted when the group fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening stages of the war, and in response to the near-daily Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have continued despite a ceasefire, which was agreed in November 2024.

More than 1,700 people have been killed, including at least 130 children, so far as a result of the war, the Lebanese health ministry says, without distinguishing combatants from civilians.

Israel says it has killed around 1,100 Hezbollah fighters.

Over 1.2 million people have been displaced, or one in five of the population, most of them from Shia Muslim communities.

Khatibzadeh was also asked about Tehran's warning that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission "would be targeted and destroyed" despite the ceasefire, during which ships are meant to be allowed through the vital waterway - and whether this could be considered an act of war.

He said Iran would abide by international law, while arguing that the international shipping channel comprised the territorial water of Oman and Iran, and that both countries had in the past allowed safe passage through it out of "goodwill".

He said that, if the US withdrew its "aggression", Iran would "provide security for safe passage".

Asked if this meant Iran would not be charging ships for passage or threatening them, the minister said Iran wanted the Strait to be "peaceful".

But he added that Iran would need to work with Oman and the international community on a protocol for safe passage to ensure it was not "misused by warships".

Since the war began on 28 February, Tehran has effectively blocked the shipping lane through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes, causing disruption to the global economy.

Although the two-week ceasefire was agreed on the condition that the Strait reopen, Iranian state media reported it remained closed after continued Israeli attacks against Hezbollah.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, however, told reporters late on Wednesday that any reports suggesting the Strait was closed were false, and said there had been an "uptick" in ships passing through.

President Trump meanwhile warned overnight that US forces would remain in the region until the "real agreement" with Iran was adhered to, emphasising on Truth Social that the deal required the strait be "open and safe".

Khatibzadeh said he was "very doubtful" about reaching a permanent understanding with the US, accusing Washington of having used negotiation as a cover for military action.

Asked whether scheduled talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan would still go ahead, he said: "We are going to closely monitor what is happening from now on."

Khatibzadeh added: "But as a diplomat, I'm very much hopeful that finally we reach an understanding and settle this within our national interest and within the regional interest."