'Legitimate Misunderstanding': JD Vance Says Iran Wrong To Assume Ceasefire Extends To Lebanon

US Vice President JD Vance said that the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran does not extend to Lebanon, attributing the confusion to a “legitimate misunderstanding” during negotiations.

“I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t,” JD Vance told reporters in Budapest.

JD Vance said the agreement is limited to Iran, the United States and its allies- including Israel and Gulf states- and warned Tehran against jeopardising the deal over Lebanon. He noted that Israel had offered to show some restraint in Lebanon to support the negotiations but stressed that no formal commitment on Lebanon was part of the truce.

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“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart, in a conflict where they were getting hammered, over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” JD Vance said.

He asserted, “We think that would be dumb, but that’s their choice.”

The disagreement has emerged as an early challenge to efforts to formalise a longer-term agreement. It also puts Washington at odds with Pakistani mediators and Iranian officials, both of whom had indicated the truce would cover broader regional hostilities.

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Despite the tensions, JD Vance confirmed that a US delegation will travel to Pakistan for further talks, even as Israel continues operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.