Iran told mediators that truce with US must include halt to fighting between IDF and Hezbollah — sources

Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, six regional sources familiar with Iran’s position say, linking an end of the war to a halt to the fighting between Israel and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.

Iran’s Press TV cites an Iranian official saying Tehran wants any deal with the United States to secure an end to the war, both on Iran and other “resistance groups” in the region.

The six regional sources, who speak on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, say Tehran informed mediators as early as mid-March that it sought a deal that would also stop Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982 and is widely seen as the spearhead of Iran’s regional alliance of armed actors. It opened fire on Israel on March 2, which sparked the current fighting in Lebanon, by attacking in response to the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, leading to the Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon.

A senior Trump administration official says ending Iran’s “proxy activities” and disarming Hezbollah are “crucial to ensuring peace and stability in Lebanon and across the region.”