Trump confirms extension of Lebanon ceasefire, warns of Iran's internal collapse

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a three-week extension of the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon after what he called a "historic meeting" in the Oval Office.

Ambassadors from both nations and the U.S. national security team attended the meeting.

Through his Truth Social account, the president detailed the composition of the working group. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ambassadors Mike Huckabee (Israel) and Michel Issa (Lebanon) participated.

"The meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump affirmed. The president added that the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended for three more weeks.

The president also announced that he will soon receive the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun. "It was a great honor to be part of this historic meeting!" he concluded.

Economic suffocation and power vacuum in Tehran

Beyond the conflict in Lebanon, Trump referred to the critical situation that the Iranian regime is going through. According to the president, the policy of maximum pressure and the economic blockade have led Iran to a position of desperation.

"They're not doing well economically or financially, and they're not doing any business because of the blockade. They want to make a deal," Trump said during an event on drug pricing at the White House.

The president emphasized that the conventional military campaign has been devastating to Iranian forces. "We've taken out their military. We've hit about 75 percent of our targets," he noted, justifying that operations were halted early because of the desire to achieve peace.

Trump also launched harsh assertions about instability at the top of Iranian power. "We don't know who the leader is in Iran because Khamenei is gone. He's gone to greener pastures. He's gone, and his whole team is gone," the president maintained, referring to the constant purges and changes in Tehran's leadership.

Nuclear firmness and regime response

The president was blunt in ruling out the use of nuclear weaponry by the United States, while assuring that Iran will never possess such technology.

"Why would they use a nuclear weapon? We've totally decimated them conventionally without it," Trump explained to reporters. "A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anyone," he added, stressing that Iran "is not going to have the nuclear bomb."

For its part, the Iranian regime attempted to project an image of unity through Mojtaba Khamenei, who responded to Trump's claims of infighting between "hardliners" and "moderates."

In a post on X, the Iranian leader attributed reports of fractures to external media operations. "Due to the strange unity created among compatriots, a fracture has occurred in the enemy," Khamenei said.

Trump, however, maintained his stance on the internal chaos in Iran, describing a bitter struggle between factions who fear being wiped out. "The internal struggle is between the 'hardliners,' who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the 'moderates' (who are not very moderate), and it's CRAZY!" he posted on his social media.