LIVE | US threatens more bombings if Iran 'chooses poorly'

The United States will bomb Iran again if Tehran “chooses poorly,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Thursday, while also promising to keep Iranian ports blocked for “as long as it takes.”

In parallel to these threats, Pakistan is mediating to secure a second round of talks between Iran and the United States, while U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.

The conflict in the Middle East, which erupted on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has left thousands dead, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and has disrupted the global economy.

The world is now watching whether a two-week ceasefire on the Iranian front, which came into force on April 8 and is set to expire next week, will be extended.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he “welcomes” the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump of a 10-day ceasefire with Israel, which was set to begin at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday.

Salam said he welcomes the halt in hostilities and described it as a “key demand” that Lebanon has sought since the first day of the war between Hezbollah and Israel, after Trump announced the truce following phone calls with the leaders of both countries.

JNS

Israel, Lebanon agree to 10-day truce, Trump says

Andrew Bernard

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House, after announcing a ceasefire earlier on Truth Social.

The United States will blockade Iranian ports "as long as it takes," U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday, threatening further attacks if Tehran fails to reach an agreement.

"If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy," the Pentagon chief said during a news conference in Washington.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, clarified that the "blockade applies to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports."

The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly higher Thursday after hitting a double all-time high the previous day, betting on a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations, and amid corporate results.

The technology index Nasdaq and the S&P 500 maintained their uptrend from Wednesday, with gains of 0.19% and 0.17%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was in turn up 0.12%.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan told AFP Thursday that the Lebanese government's decision to enter direct negotiations with Israel was a "grave mistake," and urged Beirut to stop making concessions.

"Direct negotiations with the enemy are ua huge disgrace and a grave mistake ... and do not serve any interest of the country," Hajj Hassan said from his parliamentary office. The MP also urged the Lebanese authorities to put an end to "this series of useless concessions."

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that if Iran rejects a U.S. proposal requiring it to, among other things, renounce "nuclear weaponry," Israel will launch "even more painful" strikes against new targets.

"Iran is at a historic crossroads: one path consists of renouncing terrorism and nuclear armament, in conformity with the U.S. proposal; the other leads to an abyss," the minister said during a ceremony.

"If the Iranian regime chooses the second option," it will discover very quickly that Israel can bomb targets that prove "even more painful" than those it has already attacked, he added.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, leader of the Anglican Church, on Thursday praised the "courageous call" by Pope Leo XIV, the target in recent days of attacks by Donald Trump, after delivering a tough anti-war speech.

"I stand with my brother in Christ, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace," Sarah Mullally, who will meet with the pope in late April in Rome, said in a statement. Mullally also stressed the importance of the pope's message "in a time marked by hatred, division, and violence" in response to the U.S. president, who said Sunday he is "not a fan of Pope Leo."

The speaker of the Iranian parliament, a rising figure within the Islamic republic, said Thursday that a "ceasefire in Lebanon [is] as important" as in Iran, in a message posted on Telegram.

"I closely follow the situation in Lebanon and the establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon, an issue we consider paramount," specified Mohama Bagher Ghalibaf, reporting on a conversation with her Lebanese counterpart, Nabih Berri.

"We strive to force our enemies to establish a permanent cease-firein all areas of conflict, in accordance with the agreement" on a truce reached April 8 with the United States, he added.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed the importance of a ceasefire with Israel before engaging in direct negotiations with the Jewish state, the holding of which he has not confirmed, after Donald Trump announced a meeting that same day between the "leaders" of the two countries.

According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun thanked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his "efforts for a ceasefire" with Israel.