Lebanon says Hezbollah agrees reciprocal halt to attacks on Israel

Lebanon says Hezbollah has accepted a US plan for it to halt attacks on Israel and for Israel not to attack the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Lebanese embassy in the US said it had "received confirmation of Hezbollah's acceptance of the US proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement, but warned strikes on Beirut would go ahead "if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians".

The statements came after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to both Netanyahu and Hezbollah representatives and "they agreed that all shooting will stop", after Iran warned that Israeli military actions in Lebanon were a threat to the current US-Iran ceasefire.

In a statement late on Monday, the Lebanese embassy said that "under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from attacks against Israel". It added that the ceasefire was "to be extended to encompass all Lebanese territory".

However Netanyahu said: "At the same time, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to operate in southern Lebanon as planned."

Earlier the Israeli leader had ordered strikes on "terror targets" in Beirut's southern suburbs in response to rocket and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

That prompted a slew of warnings from Iranian officials, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the US-Iran truce was "unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon" and that "its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts".

Separately, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran could suspend indirect negotiations with the US over Israeli military actions in Lebanon.

The news agency - which is affiliated with Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - also said Iran and its allies could "activate other fronts, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait" at the entrance of the Red Sea.

But in later posts on Truth Social, Trump insisted that talks with Iran were continuing at a "rapid pace" and said he had spoken to both Netanyahu and representatives from Hezbollah.

"I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," the US president wrote.

"Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop - That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.