Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration said on Wednesday, in a boost to hopes for a broader deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Tehran, which had conditioned any deal with the U.S. in part on an end to fighting between Israel and Lebanon, earlier struck Kuwait, damaging its airport and injuring dozens while the U.S. military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.
The two sides had agreed last month to a ceasefire but hostilities had continued. Israel invaded Lebanon in March in pursuit of Lebanese group Hezbollah, which fired across the border in support of Tehran.
The attacks on Kuwait and in the strait are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran, sending oil prices up neal 2%, as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended after an Iranian drone and missile attack damaged airport facilities and diplomatic missions, killing one person and injuring more than 60 others, Kuwaiti authorities and state media said.
Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways later resumed flights after taking safety measures, the civil aviation authority said.
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they did not fire at Kuwait’s airport and blamed the destruction on U.S. interceptor missiles that failed to hit their targets, according to Iranian state media.
The U.S. military said that was not accurate, and that Iranian drones targeted the airport deliberately.
Lebanon says Israel strikes near Beirut and across south
Earlier, Iranian media reported the Revolutionary Guards had attacked the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a U.S. airbase, as well as a vessel identified as Panaya. U.S. Central Command denied its bases had been hit and said Iranian ballistic missiles failed to strike their targets in the region.
CENTCOM said it had carried out a new round of “defensive strikes” in southern Iran, targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats seeking to lay mines, and conducted strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz after attempted Iranian attacks.
ISRAEL KEEPS UP STRIKES ON LEBANON
The war has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, while causing global economic pain by severely disrupting energy supplies and other shipping.
It also sparked the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon and targeted a car just south of Beirut, Lebanese security sources said, while Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.
Araqchi said Iran would respond decisively if Israel attacks Beirut.
In his podcast comments, Trump acknowledged having called Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a reportedly expletive-filled phone exchange over the fighting in Lebanon as he sought a deal over the wider war.
“At some point I said, Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
Netanyahu told CNBC in an interview that he and Trump sometimes had “tactical disagreements” but that they agreed on the main issues concerning Iran.