—❗️🇮🇱/🇱🇧 Reporter: ‘Israel and Lebanon have tried to make peace before, what’s the difference this time?’

President Trump: ‘Me. I’m the difference. Big difference. Me.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

Lebanon ceasefire went into effect 15 minutes ago.

—❗️🇮🇷/🇱🇧 Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ismael Baqaei:

‘The cessation of war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire understanding between Iran and America.

From the very beginning, we emphasized the necessity of establishing a simultaneous ceasefire across the entire region, including Lebanon.

We commend the steadfastness of the Lebanese people and the resistance fighters in the face of aggression, and we thank Pakistan for its valuable efforts, especially during the past hours.

We express our solidarity with the Lebanese people and government and emphasize the necessity of the complete withdrawal of the Zionist entity from the occupied territories.

We stress the need for the release of prisoners, the return of the displaced, and the reconstruction of destroyed areas and infrastructure with the support of the international community.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

— NOTE: Israel said in its statement that they will still launch attacks against targets deemed ‘imminent threats’

In other words, they seek a return to the post-2024 situation, where there was an official ceasefire but the IDF still carried out assassination strikes and artillery bombardments daily.

It remains to be seen whether Hezbollah (or Iran) will respond to such violations, as Hezbollah’s objective in entering this war was preventing the repetition of this scenario.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇱/🇱🇧 NEW: Less than 30 minutes after the ceasefire took effect, Israel targeted Bint Jbeil and surroundings with artillery

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇱/🇱🇧 NEW: Israeli artillery shelling against Khiam and Debbine, southern Lebanon

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸 Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas): ‘I think Donald Trump is almost the second coming of Jesus Christ, in my humble opinion’

@Middle_East_Spectator

Real?

(Fyi, this is all jokes, does not reflect our actual views towards groups or denominations)

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 President Trump: ‘Iran is a strong and smart country, and they’re very tough fighters’

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇱/🇵🇸 NEW: Following the ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF carried out a wave of artillery bombardments in Gaza

@Middl_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇷 NEW: Brave fishermen from Bushehr Province retell their story of how they sailed 8-9 hours through open sea towards Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, to rescue dozens of Iranian air defense personnel that had been severely wounded by U.S. strikes on the Island

The fishermen ignored multiple warnings from U.S. Navy vessels and the U.S. Air Force, which threatened to strike their boats.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇷/🇸🇾 Syrian President, Ahmad Al-Sharaa:

‘Despite having negative experiences with Iran during its past 14 years of supporting the previous regime (Assad), we were not a party to any side during this conflict against Iran and the current war.

We were pushing for this war not to break out in the first place, because Iran is a country of almost 85 million people and any harm that befalls Iran from the inside would also have an effect on the region as a whole.

We are pushing for this to be a stable and peaceful region, and to solve issues through diplomacy, and not fall into major conflicts and wars.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇸🇾/🇮🇱 Syrian President, Ahmad Al-Sharaa:

‘Any country's recognition of Israel's claim to the occupied Golan Heights is invalid and illegal because this is a right belonging to the Syrian people.

The Golan is Syrian land. It is not for any state to give away or recognize.

More than 134 countries from around the world recognize that the Golan Heights are unequivocally Syrian territory, occupied by Israel.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 NEW: Israel’s official government plane, ‘Wings of Zion’, returns to Israel after taking shelter in Germany since the outbreak of the war with Iran

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: There are reports, especially from Pakistani sources, that a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the U.S. is close

It could be true, but I would urge caution when dealing with such reports. Pakistan, as the mediator, has a direct interest in giving negotiations a positive spin. We’ve seen before that skepticism in Tehran persists.

Some (semi-reliable) sources even claimed that the ceasefire in Lebanon was declared after Iran issued an ultimatum to the U.S., revealing more tension underneath the surface than meets the eye.

In any case, there is no issue with a diplomatic solution or an MoU — but it should be according to Iran’s 10-points and preserve Iran’s national interests, as the SNSC has explicitly stated.

@Middle_East_Spectator