Kaja Kallas: Cease-Fire Should Apply To Lebanon

RFE
09 Apr 2026, 10:50 GMT+10

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14:20

Israeli Man Arrested For Spying For Iran

Israeli police announced that a 22-year-old man from the northern Israeli city of Haifa has been arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Iranian government and carrying out activities against Israeli security forces.

According to a police statement on April 9, the man, who was arrested last month, had been in contact with an Iranian-linked agent since last summer and had carried out missions in exchange for money.

The man, according to the police statement, also received payments of $22,000 and photographed sensitive locations, including Haifa's port and the sites of rocket strikes in northern Israel. The man also reportedly rented a residential unit in Haifa and attempted to manufacture explosives at the direction of the Iranian handler.

Israeli police also announced that several other suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, but the details are only coming out now as the judicial restrictions have been lifted.

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14:01

Kaja Kallas: Cease-Fire Should Apply To Lebanon

Kaja Kallas

The EUs top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on April 9 that the cease-fire agreement between the United States and Iran must also apply to Lebanon and that the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah must disarm.

Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist group by the US.

"Israeli actions are putting the US-Iran cease-fire under severe strain. The Iran truce should extend to Lebanon," Kallas said in a post on X.

There has been disagreement and confusion about whether the fragile US-Iran cease-fire included Lebanon as well.

The US has said it applies only to hostilities with Iran and doesn't include Israel's ongoing operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has said the cease-fire should include Lebanon.

"Israeli strikes killed hundreds last night, making it hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence," Kallas wrote.

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13:55

Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf Says Lebanon Part Of Agreed Cease-Fire With US

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says part of the 10-point cease-fire proposal agreed to by the United States earlier this week includes "Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis" are included. In aposton X on April 9 by Qalibaf lists three points: "Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran's allies, form an inseparable part of the cease-fire," he notes adding that this was also the first point in the cease-fire proposal with the United States. The second point he lists is that Pakistani Prime Minister Shebahz Sharif "publicly and clearly stressed the Lebanon issue; there is no room for denial and backtracking." The final point of the post warns violations of the cease-fire "carry explicit and STRONG responses." A disagreement between Washington and Tehran over whether a temporarycease-fireagreed earlier this week also coversLebanonis shaking the accord as Israel vows to continue to hit Iran-backed Hezbollah "wherever required." Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

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07:55

Iranian Delegation To Arrive Today In Pakistan

Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, says the Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad late on April 9, ahead of what he described as "serious talks" with the American side.

"Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated cease-fire violations by Israeli regime ... Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran," he wrote in apost on X.

UPDATE: Or maybe not. Moghadam's X post has been deleted.

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06:02

Trump Says All Military Will Stay In Place Until 'Real Agreement' Reached

US President Donald Trump said in a social media post late on April 8 that all US ships, aircraft, and military personnel would remain in and around Iran until "such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with."

"All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with," he wrote onTruth Social.

"If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the Shootin Starts, bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!"

Shortly before that, Trump wrote that published reports about Iran's 10-point peace plan were "totally fake."

"The Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN each reported a totally FAKE TEN POINT PLAN on the Iran negotiations which was meant to discredit the people involved in the peace process. All ten points were a made up HOAX - EVIL LOSERS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,"he wrote in a separate post.

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04:01

Greek PM Says Iranian Toll For Hormuz Passage 'Unacceptable'

The Greek prime minister criticized Iran's efforts to charge a fee to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends, saying the world needs free and secure shipping through the crucial water.

"I don't think that the international community would be ready to accept Iran setting up a toll booth for every ship that crosses the strait," Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN on April 8. "It seems to me to be completely unacceptable."

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (file photo).

Mitsotakis said an international agreement on the strait might be necessary, but he insisted that it must not involve fees.

"We would be setting a very, very dangerous precedent if that were to happen for the freedom of navigation," he warned.

Greece has one of the world's largest merchant vessel fleets.

Germany also said a toll for Hormuz passage was not acceptable. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the strait is not solely in Iranian waters and is governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

US President Donald Trump has also floated the idea of charging vessels a toll to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

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03:02

IRGC Sets Alternative Hormuz Routes To Avoid Sea Mines

Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on April 9 announced alternative routes for ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, pointing to the risk of mines in the main zone of the waterway.

"All ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz are hereby notified that in order to comply with the principles of maritime safety and to be protected from possible collisions with sea mines...they should take alternative routes for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," the IRGC was quoted by state media as saying in a statement that also provided instructions for an alternative entry and exit routes.

A ship of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during a joint naval drill in 2021.

Washington and Tehran have agreed to a two-week cease-fire to allow further negotiations to take place for a potential peace deal.

One of the US administration's main demands is freedom of ship traffic through the strait, which Iran has largely blocked. Tehran has said it will begin allowing traffic, although it insists ships must coordinate with the Iranian military.

Some 20 percent of the world's crude oil and natural gas supplies are transported on ships through the strait.

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01:05

Trump Blasts NATO After Meeting With Alliance Chief Rutte

US President Donald Trump again blasted NATO, saying alliance members weren't there "when we needed them," shortly after he met in Washington with Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

"NATO wasn't there when we needed them, and they won't be there if we need them again. Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run, piece of Ice!!!" Trumppostedon Truth Social in all capital letters on April 8.

Trump has long complained about the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance -- of which the United States has been the dominant partner from the start -- saying it is outdated and that members do not pay their fair share for their defense.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (file photo)

He has intensified his criticism since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, saying the alliance did not help the United States when it was needed.

Many alliance members say they weren't consulted before the start of the war or weren't asked to contribute. Some countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Britain -- where US bases are located -- expressed reluctance to allow the military facilities on their territory to be used for offensive military operations against Iran.

Trump has also expressed demands to bring Greenland under American sovereignty and sought out NATO's help in having the island transferred from alliance member Denmark's ownership to that of the United States.

The demand has raised tensions within the alliance, with members criticizing Trump's remarks and standing behind Demark's ownership.

NATO chief Rutte told CNN after the meeting with Trump that the discussions were "frank and open" but that Trump expressed disappointment with US NATO allies.

Rutte said he told the US president that "a large majority" of European countries had been helpful to the US military effort in the war with Iran.

"Well, let me be absolutely clear, [Trump] is clearly disappointed and with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said.

"But at the same time, I was able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they live up to [their] commitments."

Rutte added that "there is also widespread support for the fact that degrading the nuclear- and...ballistic-missile capacity for Iran was really crucial, and that only the US was able at this point to do that."

Asked if Trump had repeated during the meeting his suggestion that the United States could leave NATO, Rutte said: "Well, as I said, there is a disappointment, clearly, but at the same time, he was also listening careful to my arguments of what's happening, and I also pointed him to the fact that it was his leadership which brought about the Hague spending commitment."

In Separate Calls, Macron Tells Trump, Pezeshkian Cease-Fire Must Include Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke separately with Iranian President Massud Pezeshkian and US leader Donald Trump, telling them both that "their decision to accept a cease-fire was the best one possible."

He also said he wanted the cease-fire to cover all areas of conflict, including Lebanon, where Israel has continued to strike at sites of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that has been deemed a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

French Emmanuel President Macron spoke separately with the presidents of the United States and Iran, along with leaders of other Persian Gulf states.

"I expressed my hope that the cease-fire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon. This is a necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting,"Macron wrote on X.

"Any agreement will have to address the concerns raised by Irans nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as its regional policy and its actions obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."

Macron said he also held discussions with the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Iraq.

A temporary truce between the United States and Iran wobbled less than a day after being agreed as Israel launched massive attacks on Iranian proxies in Lebanon, while Tehran launched strikes at oil centers in several Persian Gulf countries after claiming its energy facilities were targeted.

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22:26

8.4.2026

Vance Says Iran Misunderstood Truce Deal,

Israel Has Offered To Show Restraint In Lebanon

US Vice President JD Vance said he suspects Iran misunderstood the terms of the cease-fire deal reached with Pakistans mediation, believing that the truce included Lebanon when it did not.

In comments to reporters on an airport tarmac in Budapest before a flight back to the United States on April 8, Vance also repeated that Iran must open the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas transport artery, to shipping.

I urge the Iranians to come to the table seriously, said Vance, who is to lead the US delegation at planned talks in Islamabad on April 10, warning that if Tehran violates the agreement, it will see serious consequences.

US Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters on April 8 before departing Hungary.

Among the key aspects of the deal, he said, was that the United States agreed to a cease-fire and negotiations and Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz, that Tehran essentially blocked after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28.

Vance spoke amid questions over whether the agreement reached by the United States and Iran late on April 7 will hold, with signs that shipping through the strait is heavily restricted, amid Iranian claims that the deal has been violated, in part by major Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Irans Press TV reported late on April 8 that the waterway was fully closed.

"I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the cease-fire included Lebanon, and it just didn't," Vance said. "If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart... over Lebanonthat's ultimately their choice," he said.

Without providing details, he said: The Israelis, as I understand it...have actually offered to, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon, because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful."