US did not agree that ceasefire would cover Lebanon, says JD Vance

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said Tehran’s negotiators thought the US-Iran ceasefire agreed to on Tuesday included Lebanon, but the US had in fact not agreed to that.

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

The US position was that the ceasefire would focus on Iran and US allies, including Israel and the Gulf Arab states, he added. That position contradicts comments by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in the US -Iran ceasefire talks, who had said the truce would include Lebanon.

Vance said Israel had agreed to show restraint in Lebanon, without providing details.

“The Israelis, as I understand it … have actually offered to, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon, because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said.

The US Vice President, who has reportedly not been very keen on the war, and is part of the non-interventionist part of the cabinet, will lead the US side in the talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.