Iran War: US To Host Israel, Lebanon Peace Talks

Israel and Hezbollah have continued exchanging attacks, as the rift over Lebanon's inclusion in the ceasefire continues to grow Kuwait has accused Iran of targeting it with drones, which Tehran denies Washington is reportedly hosting Israel-Lebanon talks next week

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.

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.

Source: DW