Police officers walk towards the President house, as Pakistan prepares to host the U.S. and Iran for peace talks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 10, 2026. (Credit: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)
Talks in Pakistan: uncertainty over Iranian attendance due to strikes in Lebanon
Pakistan is preparing Friday to host Iranian and American delegations for talks, even though the participation of the Iranians remains uncertain after Israeli strikes that killed more than 300 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, on Wednesday and put the truce in jeopardy. These Israeli strikes, the deadliest in Lebanon since the start of the war at the end of February, render "the negotiations meaningless," Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said Thursday.
“The holding of talks aimed at ending the war depends on the United States respecting its cease-fire commitments on all fronts, especially in Lebanon,” added Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iranian diplomacy, as reported by the Isna agency.
At the time of the announcement of the cease-fire between “Iran, the United States, and their allies”— which enters its third day Friday — Pakistan had asserted that the truce applied “everywhere, including Lebanon.” This was later denied by Israelis and Americans.
Under heavy security, Islamabad has turned into a ghost town, with Thursday and Friday declared public holidays. The luxury hotel set to host the delegations has been cleared of its usual clientele. Vice President JD Vance is leading the American delegation to Pakistan for discussions Saturday on Iran, alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the White House announced.
Speaking to NBC News, the U.S. president said he was “very optimistic” about the possibility of reaching a peace agreement, despite the gap between the positions of the two countries.
Sirens in Israel after rocket fire from Lebanon
Warning sirens sounded early Friday morning throughout Israel, including in Tel Aviv and the coastal city of Ashdod, the Israeli army said, after rockets were fired from Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed responsibility on the Telegram for several separate strikes with rockets and drones after midnight Friday, notably two targeting “assemblies of soldiers” on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border and another on a border town in Israel.
“Yesterday, we delivered a hard and powerful blow to Hezbollah,” Israeli army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said to troops deployed on the ground in southern Lebanon Thursday night. In the evening, the Israeli army announced it had begun striking Hezbollah “launching sites.”
Talks between Lebanon and Israel next week in Washington
Talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled next week at the State Department in Washington. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States will hold a first preparatory meeting next Tuesday in Washington, L'Orient Today learned revealing how contacts developed behind-the-scenes.
"In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday [Wednesday] to initiate direct talks with Lebanon as soon as possible," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, as cited by his office. "The negotiations will focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah and on the formalization of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon," he added
The Lebanese government wants a cease-fire before beginning negotiations with Israel. Hezbollah, through one of its deputies, said it rejects “any direct negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy.”
Over 300 killed in Wednesday’s strikes in Lebanon
Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes killed, according to a provisional toll, 303 people and wounded 1,150, including 71 women, 30 children and nine elderly people, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. It noted that since the start of the war on March 2, Israel killed at least 1,888 people and injured 6,092 others.
Trump warns Iran against imposing tolls in the Strait of Hormuz
Trump warned Iran against any tolls for ships wishing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In a message on his platform Truth Social, the U.S. president spoke of “reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait.” “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” he added. In another message in the evening, he said: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!”
A first non-Iranian tanker, the “MSG” sailing under the Gabonese flag, crossed the Strait of Hormuz to leave the Gulf since the fragile truce between the United States and Iran came into effect, according to MarineTraffic online maritime tracking data.
Kuwait says it faces a drone attack
Kuwait reported a drone attack, the first Thursday in the Gulf. “The armed forces’ air defenses are currently facing hostile drone attacks that have violated the country’s airspace, targeting several vital facilities,” the Kuwaiti army said on X. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assured Friday they had not fired any missiles since the cease-fire.
Starmer says Israeli attacks on Lebanon ‘must stop’
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the continuation of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon “unacceptable” during a tour to meet Gulf leaders with whom he wants to work to enforce the fragile cease-fire. “This should not be happening, this must stop,” he told British television channel ITV.
Markets moderately optimistic, oil below $100
Oil prices rose slightly Friday after the announcement of talks between Lebanon and Israel next week, but remained below the $100 threshold, while Asian stock markets showed cautious optimism.
Around 03:30 GMT, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. crude benchmark, rose 0.86% to $98.71. Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 0.66% to $96.55.
At the same time on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei rose 1.49%. In Seoul, the Kospi index rose 1.71%. The Taipei Stock Exchange was up 1.16%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.62%.
EBRD will deploy 5 billion euros for economies affected by the war in the Middle East
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced Thursday its intention to deploy 5 billion euros in 2026 in countries and territories affected by the war in the Middle East, including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. “The economic and social impact of the conflict is already being felt” in many economies, the institution said in a statement, citing “disruptions in trade routes, energy and commodity shocks, weakening investor confidence and broader costs to the population.”
