Donald Trump suggested he had ended his tenth war on Thursday night after declaring a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
The President said the truce will go on for ten days as he appeared to lay the groundwork for a lasting settlement with Tehran next week.
The Islamic republic had been furious that Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) continued to pound its terror proxy in Lebanon despite the US and Israel agreeing to pause the Iran war.
It insisted that this included strikes against Hezbollah, something denied by Mr Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, who ramped up attacks.
But on Thursday the US leader went on his Truth Social network to announce a deal following ‘excellent conversations’ with President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Israel’s prime minister Mr Netanyahu.
He said: ‘The leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their countries, they will formally begin a ten-day CEASEFIRE.’
Mr Trump said the truce would come into force at 10pm UK time last night and that he had instructed his team to ‘work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a lasting PEACE’.
He added: ‘It has been my honour to solve nine wars across the world, and this will be my tenth, so let’s GET IT DONE!’
Mr Trump’s announcement provoked fury in Jerusalem as it came before the Israeli Security Cabinet was due to meet to approve the deal.
But the President appears keen to build momentum to end the Iran war, which has crashed the global economy.
On Thursday night he told reporters Iran had ‘agreed to almost everything’ including stopping nuclear ambitions and handing over its enriched uranium.
Mr Trump said: ‘I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran… And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust right now.’
The US ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon met in Washington on Monday – the first formal diplomatic meeting between the nations in 34 years.
Jerusalem and Beirut appear committed to working together to disarm Hezbollah, which has been weakened by the IDF.
But there are already sticking points as an Israeli official said there were no plans to withdraw forces from Lebanon during the ceasefire.
Earlier, Mr Aoun had said his army must be able to move into the south of the country and the IDF must pull out.
However, the scene now appears set for a historic summit in Islamabad between the US and Iran with both sides apparently eager for a lasting peace.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth yesterday warned the Islamic republic to ‘choose wisely’ when they meet, saying his military can return to war ‘at a moment’s notice’.
He said: ‘Remember, this is not a fair fight and we know what military assets you are moving and where you are moving them to.’
It came after Mr Hegseth appeared to paraphrase a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction at a prayer service on Wednesday.
He asked the audience at the Pentagon to join him in a prayer he said was used in combat missions. ‘They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,’ he explained.
But many who viewed the service online pointed out that, instead of scripture, the prayer was similar to the fictional Ezekiel 25:17 Samuel L Jackson’s character recites in the film.
