Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry insisted on Thursday that Lebanon remains part of the current ceasefire in the Middle East, despite earlier statements from the US and Israel that this is not the case.
The ministry added that peace in Lebanon was essential to broader peace talks in the region. Separately, in a press statement, the ministry’s spokesperson said that both the US and Iran have “agreed on the need for coordinated international efforts to prevent further attacks against that country.”
However, US Vice President JD Vance stated last week that Lebanon was never considered to be part of the Iran ceasefire deal.
"The Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't," he told reporters. "We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case."
Iran's insistence on Lebanon being included in the ceasefire deal was, Vance believed, based on a "legitimate misunderstanding."
"If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered, over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice," Vance said, adding, "We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice."
Pakistani PM insists Lebanon included in ceasefire, Trump, Netanyahu deny
Representatives from Pakistan, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, have continued to push for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.
"With the greatest humility," he wrote last week, "I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY."
Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have refuted Sharif's claims.