Kaja Kallas: Cease-Fire Should Apply To Lebanon

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has rejected restrictions on uranium enrichment in Iran, saying, "Limiting the enrichment program is just wishful thinking that will go to the grave."

On the sidelines of a ceremony held in Tehran on April 10 to mark 40 days since late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's assassination, Mohammad Eslami emphasized that "no law or individual" can stop the enrichment program.

These statements come as talks are scheduled to be held between Iran and the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11.

The United States has said that the complete dismantling of Iran's uranium enrichment program is one of its key conditions for any agreement to end the war. For Iran, however, the right to enrich uranium remains a fundamental and non-negotiable demand.

Israeli police announced that a 22-year-old man from the northern Israeli city of Haifa has been arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Iranian government and carrying out activities against Israeli security forces.

According to a police statement on April 9, the man, who was arrested last month, had been in contact with an Iranian-linked agent since last summer and had carried out missions in exchange for money.

The man, according to the police statement, also received payments of $22,000 and photographed sensitive locations, including Haifa's port and the sites of rocket strikes in northern Israel. The man also reportedly rented a residential unit in Haifa and attempted to manufacture explosives at the direction of the Iranian handler.

Israeli police also announced that several other suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, but the details are only coming out now as the judicial restrictions have been lifted.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on April 9 that the cease-fire agreement between the United States and Iran must also apply to Lebanon and that the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah must disarm.

Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist group by the US.

"Israeli actions are putting the US-Iran cease-fire under severe strain. The Iran truce should extend ‌to Lebanon," Kallas said in a post on X.

There has been disagreement and confusion about whether the fragile US-Iran cease-fire included Lebanon as well.

The US has said it applies only to hostilities with Iran and doesn't include Israel's ongoing operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has said the cease-fire should include Lebanon.

"Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence," Kallas wrote.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer ⁠Qalibaf says part of the 10-point cease-fire proposal agreed to by the United States earlier this week includes "Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis" are included. In a post on X on April 9 by Qalibaf lists three points: "Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran's allies, form an inseparable part of the cease-fire," he notes adding that this was also the first point in the cease-fire proposal with the United States. The second point he lists is that Pakistani Prime Minister Shebahz Sharif "publicly and clearly stressed the Lebanon issue; there is no room for denial and backtracking." The final point of the post warns violations of the cease-fire "carry explicit and STRONG responses." A disagreement between Washington and Tehran over whether a temporary cease-fire agreed earlier this week also covers Lebanon is shaking the accord as Israel vows to continue to hit Iran-backed Hezbollah "wherever required." Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, says the Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad late on April 9, ahead of what he described as "serious talks" with the American side.

"Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated cease-fire violations by Israeli regime ... Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran," he wrote in a post on X.

UPDATE: Or maybe not. Moghadam's X post has been deleted.

US President Donald Trump said in a social media post late on April 8 that all US ships, aircraft, and military personnel would remain in and around Iran until "such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with."

"All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with," he wrote on Truth Social.

"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. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!"

Shortly before that, Trump wrote that published reports about Iran's 10-point peace plan were "totally fake."

"The Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN each reported a totally FAKE TEN POINT PLAN on the Iran negotiations which was meant to discredit the people involved in the peace process. All ten points were a made up HOAX - EVIL LOSERS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," he wrote in a separate post.

The Greek prime minister criticized Iran's efforts to charge a fee to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends, saying the world needs free and secure shipping through the crucial water.

"I don't think that the international community would be ready to accept Iran setting up a toll booth for every ship that crosses the strait," Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN on April 8. "It seems to me to be completely unacceptable."

Mitsotakis said an international agreement on the strait might be necessary, but he insisted that it must not involve fees.

"We would be setting a very, very dangerous precedent if that were to happen for the freedom of navigation," he warned.

Greece has one of the world's largest merchant vessel fleets.

Germany also said a toll for Hormuz passage was not acceptable. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the strait is not solely in Iranian waters and is governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

US President Donald Trump has also floated the idea of charging vessels a toll to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on April 9 announced alternative routes for ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, pointing to the risk of mines in the main zone of the waterway.

"All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines...they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," the IRGC was quoted by state media as saying in a statement that also provided instructions for an alternative entry and exit routes.

Washington and Tehran have agreed to a two-week cease-fire to allow further negotiations to take place for a potential peace deal.

One of the US administration's main demands is freedom of ship traffic through the strait, which Iran has largely blocked. Tehran has said it will begin allowing traffic, although it insists ships must coordinate with the Iranian military.

Some 20 percent of the world's crude oil and natural gas supplies are transported on ships through the strait.

US President Donald Trump again blasted NATO, saying alliance members weren't there "when we needed them," shortly after he met in Washington with ⁠Secretary-General Mark ⁠Rutte.

"NATO wasn't there when we needed them, and they won't be there if we need them again. Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run, piece of Ice!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social in all capital letters on April 8.

Trump has long complained about the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance -- of which the United States has been the dominant partner from the start -- saying it is outdated and that members do not pay their fair share for their defense.

He has intensified his criticism since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, saying the alliance did not help the United States when it was needed.

Many alliance members say they weren't consulted before the start of the war or weren't asked to contribute. Some countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Britain -- where US bases are located -- expressed reluctance to allow the military facilities on their territory to be used for offensive military operations against Iran.

Trump has also expressed demands to bring Greenland under American sovereignty and sought out NATO's help in having the island transferred from alliance member Denmark's ownership to that of the United States.

The demand has raised tensions within the alliance, with members criticizing Trump's remarks and standing behind Demark's ownership.

NATO chief Rutte told CNN after the meeting with Trump that the discussions were "frank and open" but that Trump expressed disappointment with US NATO allies.

Rutte said he told the US president that "a large majority" of European countries had been helpful to the US military effort in the war with Iran.

"Well, let me be absolutely clear, [Trump] is clearly disappointed and with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said.

"But at the same time, I was able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they live up to [their] commitments."

Rutte added that "there is also widespread support for the fact that degrading the nuclear- and...ballistic-missile capacity for Iran was really crucial, and that only the US was able at this point to do that."

Asked if Trump had repeated during the meeting his suggestion that the United States could leave NATO, Rutte said: "Well, as I said, there is a disappointment, clearly, but at the same time, he was also listening careful to my arguments of what's happening, and I also pointed him to the fact that it was his leadership which brought about the Hague spending commitment."

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On April 1, Trump told Reuters he was "absolutely" considering withdrawing the United States from NATO for what he considers the alliance's lack of support for US objectives in Iran.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph, he called the military alliance a “paper tiger” and said leaving NATO was “beyond reconsideration.”

Experts say it ‌is not clear whether Trump could unilaterally pull the United States out of the transatlantic alliance without congressional approval.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is considering a plan to punish some NATO members that he believes were unhelpful to US and Israeli forces during the Iran war.

Citing unnamed administration officials, the WSJ said proposals would involve moving US troops out of NATO member countries deemed unhelpful to the war effort and base them instead in countries that were more supportive of the US military campaign.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke separately with Iranian President Massud Pezeshkian and US leader Donald Trump, telling them both that "their decision to accept a cease-fire was the best one possible."

He also said he wanted the cease-fire to cover all areas of conflict, including Lebanon, where Israel has continued to strike at sites of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that has been deemed a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

"I expressed my hope that the cease-fire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon. This is a necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting," Macron wrote on X.

"Any agreement will have to address the concerns raised by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as its regional policy and its actions obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."

Macron said he also held discussions with the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Iraq.

A temporary truce between the United States and Iran wobbled less than a day after being agreed as Israel launched massive attacks on Iranian proxies in Lebanon, while Tehran launched strikes at oil centers in several Persian Gulf countries after claiming its energy facilities were targeted.