President Joseph Aoun refused to call Israeli PM Netanyahu to ask for a truce in Lebanon. US President Donald Trump pressured Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon
During a security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was asked what led to the sudden change and Israel’s decision to agree to a ceasefire. “It’s a Trump request,” he answered.
US President Donald Trump pressured Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon after Lebanon’s president clarified to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior American officials that such a call would not take place without progress in negotiations between the two countries, according to two sources familiar with the details.
Although the US president posted on Truth Social on Thursday morning that a call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would take place, Aoun refused.
“There is only value in such a phone call between leaders when there is significant progress on the ground. Without real negotiations underway, and certainly without a ceasefire, I will not hold a call with Netanyahu at this time,” Aoun said.
He emphasized that he is not ruling out a future call with the prime minister, but that something meaningful must happen first.
These remarks by Aoun on Thursday, including those made to Rubio, led to a conversation between Aoun and Trump, during which the American president promised his Lebanese counterpart that “there will be a ceasefire.”
An Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that Trump and Netanyahu held at least one phone call during the day.
Following the ceasefire with Iran, Netanyahu and Trump clarified that it is not connected to Lebanon. In recent days, there has been no pressure from Israel for a ceasefire, only requests by Trump and other officials to minimize Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
During a security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was asked what led to the sudden change and Israel’s decision to agree to a ceasefire. “It’s a Trump request,” he answered.
In addition, Iran has been pressuring the United States to advance a ceasefire in Lebanon. In recent days, senior Iranian officials have made it clear to mediators that without a ceasefire in Lebanon, there is no chance of progress in talks between Iran and the United States.
Among others, Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir, who is currently in Iran and in direct contact with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, conveyed this message to Washington.
An Israeli source told the Post: “This is what should really concern us, the fact that Iran has managed to link the negotiations over Lebanon with the negotiations over Iran.”
Jerusalem Post / Al Jazeera
