Israel and Lebanon Reach a 10-Day Cease-Fire Deal

Jessica Mendoza (0:00)

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Sabrina Siddiqui (0:23)

President Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to attend a ceasefire that starts today.

Robbie Gramer (0:28)

But the 10-day ceasefire is meant to pave the way for a longer lasting peace deal here. What US officials are saying is that Lebanon now has this once-in-a-generation opportunity to break Hezbollah's stranglehold over its government.

Sabrina Siddiqui (0:40)

Plus, the president says the US could have discussions with Iran this weekend. At the same time, the US military is expanding its blockade. And how San Diego went from drought poster child to selling its water. It's Thursday, April 16th. I'm Sabrina Siddiqi for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Ossola. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

President Trump said Israel and Lebanon have reached a 10-day ceasefire agreement that begins this evening.

Trump added that he has invited leaders from both countries for peace talks at the White House. Robbie Gramer, a national security reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins us now to discuss, so Trump says the ceasefire is going into effect today. What do Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah say about it?

Robbie Gramer (1:29)

Well, this is an agreement that Trump, it sounds like, pushed both Israel and the Lebanese government into.

Both the Lebanese government and Israel has said that they abide by the ceasefire, but of course the big question here is Hezbollah. The whole through line of these peace talks against the backdrop of what's going on with Iran is that the Lebanese government isn't strong enough to confront Hezbollah. This Iran backed militant group that operates a lot both in Beirut and also southern Lebanon near the Israeli border. And so if two sides agree to it, but the third side, that is a belligerent, a well armed belligerent, says no, that's going to blow things up. So far, both Israel and Lebanon are agreeing to the ceasefire.

Sabrina Siddiqui (2:11)

You alluded to this, but what does this mean for the fighting in Lebanon and Hezbollah striking in Israel?

Robbie Gramer (2:18)

The 10 day ceasefire is meant to pave the way for a longer lasting peace deal here. What US officials are saying is that Lebanon now has this once in a generation opportunity to break Hezbollah's stranglehold over its government. After the October 7th, 2023 attacks that launched the Israel's war in Gaza, Israel has launched a wave of military strikes against Hezbollah too, and not fully defeated Hezbollah, but really diminished it and degraded it militarily. And so a lot of American officials, Israeli officials, and even some Lebanese officials are cautiously optimistic. It's going to be a long process. It's unclear if it will be successful, but there is a chance here and a window of opportunity.

Sabrina Siddiqui (2:58)

How could this development affect talks between Iran and the US.?

Robbie Gramer (3:02)

The Trump administration has repeatedly over the past few days said that these Israel-Lebanon talks are fully separate from U.S.-Iran talks. That they, of course, would welcome a peace deal. They're facilitating it between Israel and Lebanon here. But on the flip side, we have Iran really digging in its heels with the first round of failed peace talks with the US. And they're saying any sort of final peace deal has to include Lebanon. And so the US is trying to keep these totally separate. But at the same time, Iran, which has a lot of influence and is the main backer over Hezbollah, is saying these two things are completely interrelated. And so therefore, that means that if there is a U.S.-Iran peace deal, it could pave the way for an Israel-Lebanon peace deal and vice versa.

Sabrina Siddiqui (3:46)

That was The Wall Street Journal's Robbie Gramer. Robbie, thank you.

Robbie Gramer (3:49)

Thanks for having me.

Sabrina Siddiqui (3:50)

And President Trump said this afternoon that the US might hold discussions with Iran this weekend. He also said he wasn't sure the current two-week ceasefire would need to be extended.

Earlier today, the US government announced an expansion of its blockade of Iranian ports. General Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this morning that the US military will pursue any ships attempting to provide material support to Iran.

SPEAKER_4 (4:13)

This blockade applies to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports.

Sabrina Siddiqui (4:23)

Kaine added that US forces will also monitor and intercept ships beyond the Middle East.