An American official said Thursday that the U.S.-brokered framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon soon will shift to technical discussions in Rome. The deal had been stagnant for several weeks. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic details.
The U.S. launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn’t stop. Iran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.
Back-and-forth attacks, including on Wednesday, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around. And Trump’s mixed messaging — approving back-to-back military strikes while insisting they don’t mean a return to full-scale war — is fueling uncertainty about what comes next.
Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of further escalation, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal. The inflamed tensions could also spell trouble for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.
Here’s the latest:
South Florida’s Palm Beach airport renamed President Donald J. Trump International
A South Florida airport has officially changed its name to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signs were unveiled Thursday.
“Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president’s son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers.
The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.
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Deal between Israel and Lebanon is moving forward, US official says
After weeks of stagnation, an American official said Thursday that the U.S.-brokered framework agreement soon will shift to technical discussions in Rome.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic details, said “pilot zones” that both sides had agreed to will launch in the coming days while additional zones are mapped out and planned.
The zones will be where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army after clearing the areas of any Hezbollah presence. U.S. Central Command is coordinating with Israel and Lebanon on the zones, the official said.
The dates of the meetings and the location of the zones were not yet clear. A State Department spokesperson said they were not previewing those details yet.
Iran’s foreign minister speaks to regional leaders about the escalating tensions with the US
Abbas Araghchi said on his Telegram channel on Thursday that he spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman. He also spoke with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war.
Araghchi repeated Iran’s assertion that the U.S. has violated the interim peace deal reached last month. The U.S. says Iran violated the deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The diplomatic outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.
Tarps go up as part of Trump’s restoration project to the front of the White House
Crews have draped tarps over the towering stone columns on the north side of the White House, where work is underway to scrape away decades of paint.
The new tarps on the building’s façade are partially see-through. They feature images of columns designed to cover the actual ornate stone columns beneath.
Scaffolding went up several days ago for work on the columns. It is the latest in dozens of projects Trump has led to remake the White House to his own tastes – including a massive ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn.
The White House hasn’t provided details on what is being done to the columns or how much it will cost. But Trump said on Monday: “We’ve taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns” and added that, “If you don’t strip the paint off, it gets worse and worse and worse.”