Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the BBC that Israeli airstrikes carried out in Lebanon on Wednesday amounted to what Tehran characterised as a “grave violation” of the ceasefire deal brokered by the United States between Iran and Israel — a characterisation the US and Israel have disputed, each contending that Lebanon was not included within the scope of the two-week agreement reached on Tuesday. The strikes, which the Lebanese health ministry says killed at least 303 people in a single day, targeted what Israel described as Hezbollah command centres and military facilities, while simultaneously drawing renewed threats from the Iranian-backed militant group and drawing calls from the United Nations Secretary General for restraint ahead of scheduled diplomatic talks in Pakistan.

Khatibzadeh, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, argued that Lebanon was explicitly named within the ceasefire framework and that the United States faced a clear choice. He characterised Tehran’s message to the White House — sent late Wednesday — as unambiguous: Washington could not simultaneously claim to support a ceasefire while permitting its ally to conduct what he described as a “massacre.” Khatibzadeh stated that Iran had sent a “crystal clear” message that the US could not “ask for a ceasefire and then accept terms and conditions, accept all the areas that a ceasefire is applied to, and name Lebanon, exactly Lebanon in that, and then your ally just starts a massacre.”

The minister also characterised Tehran’s posture regarding the Strait of Hormuz in measured terms, saying Iran intended to abide by international law, while arguing that the strait traverses the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran, and that both nations had historically permitted passage as an act of “goodwill.” He said Iran would restore security for shipping if the US withdrew what he called its “aggression,” and suggested that any long-term arrangement for safe passage would need to be developed through a protocol agreed with Oman and the international community to prevent the waterway from being “misused by warships.”

Israel and the United States have maintained that Lebanon was not covered by the ceasefire agreement with Iran, framing the strikes against Hezbollah targets as distinct from any diplomatic arrangement involving Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently stated that he had instructed his cabinet to “open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” with his office clarifying that such talks would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. Beirut indicated it was prepared to engage in those discussions.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, speaking late Wednesday, disputed reports that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, telling reporters that such accounts were false and that there had been an “uptick” in vessels transiting the waterway. President Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social overnight that US forces would remain in the region until a “real agreement” with Iran was honoured, underscoring that the deal required the strait to be “open and safe.” The Israeli military also issued fresh evacuation orders for residents of parts of southern Beirut following the strikes.

The current escalation traces its origins to a sequence of events stretching across recent months. The wider conflict erupted on 28 February when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the early stages of the war. Near-daily Israeli strikes on Lebanon that reportedly continued despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024 further inflamed hostilities. Hezbollah declared on Thursday that it had fired toward Israel overnight, characterising its actions as a response to what the group described as ongoing ceasefire violations by Israel, and threatened to sustain its attacks until what it called “Israeli-American aggression” against Lebanon came to an end.

As of the latest available figures cited by the Lebanese health ministry, more than 1,700 people have been killed since the current phase of fighting began, including at least 130 children, though the ministry does not distinguish combatant deaths from civilian ones. Israel, separately, has stated that it has killed approximately 1,100 Hezbollah fighters. More than 1.2 million people — roughly one in five of Lebanon’s total population — have been displaced, with the displacement burden falling most heavily on Shia Muslim communities in southern Beirut and southern Lebanon.

The Strait of Hormuz dimension adds further complexity. Since hostilities intensified in late February, Tehran has effectively restricted the shipping lane through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas ordinarily flows, generating measurable disruption to global energy markets. The two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran was agreed on the condition that the strait would reopen, but whether this has occurred is itself disputed. Iranian state media reported that the channel remained closed following continued Israeli operations against Hezbollah. The conflicting accounts — Tehran citing ongoing aggression, Washington claiming passage has resumed — reflect the broader dispute over what the ceasefire does and does not cover.

The prospects for the US-Iran talks in Pakistan — due to take place on Friday — now hang in a state of acknowledged uncertainty. UN Secretary General António Guterres has said the continued fighting in Lebanon risks undermining the discussions, while Khatibzadeh himself was equivocal, saying Iran would “closely monitor” developments before committing fully, though he added that as “a diplomat, I’m very much hopeful that finally we reach an understanding and settle this within our national interest and within the regional interest.” He simultaneously expressed deep scepticism, saying he was “very doubtful” about arriving at a permanent understanding with Washington, and accused the US of having used prior negotiations as a cover for military action.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has used the platform of the current crisis to call publicly for a formalised ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, framing that as the necessary precondition for any meaningful bilateral negotiations. Netanyahu’s office has signalled openness to precisely such talks, on the condition that they address Hezbollah disarmament and a normalisation of Israeli-Lebanese relations — terms that Hezbollah and its Iranian backer have not publicly accepted. The gap between these stated positions, against a backdrop of continued military activity, remains the central obstacle to any stable arrangement.

The Strait of Hormuz — through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas ordinarily passes — has emerged as a secondary but significant point of contention. Iran has, in practice, restricted passage through the waterway since the intensification of fighting in late February, a development that has caused measurable disruption to global energy supply chains. The ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran was explicitly conditioned on the strait reopening, but whether this has occurred is itself disputed. Iranian state media reported the channel remained closed following continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah; the White House flatly denied this, with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt saying there had been an “uptick” in ship transits. President Trump reinforced the US position on Truth Social, warning that American forces would remain in the region until the terms of the agreement — including an open and safe strait — were fully honoured.

Khatibzadeh, when pressed on earlier Iranian warnings that ships passing through the strait without Tehran’s permission “would be targeted and destroyed,” declined to describe those statements as an act of war, saying Iran would abide by international law and framing the waterway as joint territorial water shared between Oman and Iran. He said both countries had historically permitted passage out of “goodwill,” and that any formal safe-passage arrangement would need to be developed in coordination with Oman and the international community to ensure the strait was not “misused by warships.”