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Iran war: Vance heads to Pakistan for talks with Tehran

Donald Trump has tasked his vice president JD Vance with shoring up a shaky ceasefire at the high-level talks with Iran in Islamabad. Iran has threatened to break the truce over Israel's strikes on Lebanon. DW has more.

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Iran war: Vance heads to Pakistan for talks with Tehran
DW News Source: DW News

Welcome to DW's coverage of the US-Israel war with Iran and the wider conflicts in the Middle East on Friday, April 10:

Vance heads to Pakistan for Iran talks as ceasefire strains

US Vice President JD Vance is heading to Pakistan to lead high-level talks with Iran as a fragile ceasefire risks collapsing.

President Donald Trump tasked Vance — long skeptical of foreign interventions — with seeking a resolution to the six-week war.

Vance is set to arrive in Islamabad alongside envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, who previously engaged in indirect negotiations with Iranian officials over nuclear and regional security concerns.

The White House has offered few details on whether the talks in Pakistan will be direct or indirect. The meeting marks one of the highest-level US engagements with Iran in decades, with limited direct contact since Barack Obama spoke by phone with Hassan Rouhani in 2013.

Negotiators face major hurdles, with disagreements emerging almost immediately after the ceasefire announcement. Iran has said the truce should include an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon, while Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump have rejected that interpretation.

Is the Iran truce already unraveling?

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Washington to host Israel, Lebanon talks next week — reports

Israel and Lebanon will hold talks in Washington next week, the French AFP news agency reported, quoting an unnamed US State Department official.

"We can confirm that the Department will host a meeting next week to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon," the US official said.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had instructed his Cabinet to seek direct talks with Lebanon, pushing for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

AFP cited an unnamed Lebanese government official as saying Beirut required a truce before any negotiations with Israel.

Will Israel-Lebanon talks make a difference?

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Kuwait accuses Iran of striking it amid ceasefire

Kuwait said on Thursday evening that it was targeted by drone attacks despite the ceasefire in place between Iran, the US and Israel, blaming Tehran.

A statement by Kuwait's Foreign Ministry carried by the state-run KUNA news agency said the attacks "targeted some vital Kuwaiti facilities." It reportedly caused significant material damage but no injuries.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard denied launching any attacks on Gulf countries during the ceasefire. In a statement on state media, the Guard said that should it carry out any strike, it would publicly announce it in an official statement.

Kuwait was among the Gulf countries routinely targeted by Iran throughout the war in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. 

Israel says struck Hezbollah positions in Lebanon

Israel continued its strikes on Lebanon, announcing early on Friday striking positions it said belong to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

The Israeli military said it hit some 10 launch sites that it said were used to fire projectiles at northern Israel.

Meanwhile in Israel, air raid sirens were activated amid media reports of overnight rocket fire from Lebanon. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets toward Israel in response to what it said was a violation of the ceasefire.

Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon as the ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday, killing over 300 people in a single day. Israel and the US deny that Lebanon is included in the ceasefire, which Iran and mediator Pakistan have strongly contradicted.

Several US allies condemned the Israeli strikes on Lebanon, wary that they might undo the already fragile ceasefire.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill, injure hundreds

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A shaky two-week ceasefire between Iran, the US and Israel seems to be holding for the most part, despite multiple violations and a growing rift over whether Lebanon was included in the truce.

Here are the main headlines on the ceasefire from Thursday:

Israel bombed Beirut and southern Lebanon, killing over 300 people

The bombings came despite the US and Iran agreeing to a ceasefire on Wednesday

Iran has said negotiations with the US are 'meaningless' if Israel continues to attack Lebanon

UN, several US allies have warned the Israeli attacks on Lebanon threaten the ceasefire with Iran

Pakistan, France, Russia, the UK and other countries have called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire deal

Germany has said it will restart talks with Iran, while Spain is set to reopen its Tehran embassy

Israel's Netanyahu said he told his Cabinet to start talks with Lebanon 'as soon as possible'

Trump has warned Iran not to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz

You can read our live blog for all the biggest headlines on the war and the ceasefire from Thursday.

Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest today.

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