TEHRAN – Hezbollah warns the Zionist regime that its “fighters will keep their fingers on the trigger” and are “ready to defend against the enemy’s treachery and betrayal.”

A senior Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera Arabic: “A ceasefire cannot include any freedom of movement for the (Zionist regime). That would take us back to before March 2.” 

The official added, "As long as the occupation (regime) remains on our land, Lebanon and its people have the right to resist by all means to force it to withdraw.”

The warnings come after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier boasted about securing a ten-day ceasefire in Lebanon, a claim that critics argue masks the real actors who made that achievement possible.

Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the Lebanese parliament from the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, stated that Hezbollah “was informed by the Iranian ambassador in Beirut that Iranian efforts have succeeded in imposing a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon.”

Fadlallah added that the Americans “have pledged to inform the [Israeli regime’s] Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of this decision, as well as to notify Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.”

He pointed out that officials in Iran “will monitor the extent to which the Americans side complies with its commitments,” noting that “Iran’s resumption of negotiations with the United States is contingent upon the fulfillment of this commitment.”

Fadlallah further stated that the matter “depends on the [Israeli regime’s] adherence to all the provisions of the ceasefire,” adding: “We have returned to the original agreement reached in Islamabad, where the Lebanese file was set on the right track.”

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, also received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Bagher  Ghalibaf, during which they affirmed that “a ceasefire must be applied to Lebanon before anything else.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, welcomed the ceasefire and emphasized that it was already part of the original Iran-U.S. agreement brokered by Pakistan. Baghaei also credited Pakistan’s efforts over the past 24 hours in securing the 10-day pause.
Trump’s announcement followed direct talks in Washington between officials representing the governments of Lebanon and the Zionist regime.
The war in Lebanon is between the aggressor, the Zionist regime, and the defender, Hezbollah. The Lebanese government is fundamentally not a defender in this war. The Lebanese army has not fired a single bullet against Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). For this reason, the claim of a ceasefire between the Israeli regime and the Lebanese government, as asserted by Trump, is meaningless, critics argue.

What was discussed in Washington was essentially unrelated to a ceasefire, because none of the three parties, the Americans, Israeli regime, or the Lebanese present, represented Hezbollah as a party to this war.

Observers say this is where the Iranian argument of applying pressure and achieving a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon holds validity. On one hand, the Islamic Republic has insisted that peace in Lebanon should be part of any broader deal with America; and on the other hand, it has been exerting pressure on the Americans through Pakistani mediators to force the Zionist regime into a ceasefire. Iran said its decision to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz came in line with the Lebanon ceasefire. 

Pakistan’s army chief traveled to Tehran and met senior Iranian military and security officials on the same day Trump announced the Lebanon ceasefire. Asim Munir held talks with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf and Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Major General Abdollahi.

Middle East Eye has reported that Saudi Arabia pushed the U.S. to prioritize securing a ceasefire in Lebanon to sustain talks with Iran, citing multiple American, Western, and Arab officials.

There won’t be any U.S.-Iran deal without a ceasefire in Lebanon, a foreign policy analyst, Trita Parsi, told Sky News. The ceasefire “may be either a step towards that or it may be trying to pacify that theatre during the Iran-U.S. talks.”

Parsi said Iran would view a more extended end to the Israeli regime’s bombardment of Lebanon as a “necessity,” adding that it was unlikely Iran would compromise on this position. 

Another key party that influenced the temporary truce is Hezbollah. In dozens of pre-ceasefire statements, the resistance movement said its forces carried out coordinated attacks on the Israeli regime’s military positions across southern Lebanon and northern settlements. Hezbollah has been waging dozens of operations every day since the regime escalated its aggression on Lebanon in early March. 

Heavy ground clashes between the IOF and Hezbollah continued along the Lebanese border till the last moment. Reporters on the ground said that forces from the Lebanese resistance movement had foiled the Israeli regime’s attempts to advance in the flashpoint town of Bint Jbeil, where violent clashes and intensive strikes inflicted losses on the IOF, who left with no field achievement.

The regime's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticized the ceasefire. “Not for the first time, all the promises of this government are crashing against the ground of reality,” he said online. Suggesting that Israel needs to eliminate Hezbollah, Lapid stated, “The confrontation in Lebanon can only end in one way: the permanent removal of the threat to the northern settlements.” He added that it would not happen under the current government but the next one.

The Hebrew newspaper Maariv admitted the outcome of the battle in southern Lebanon has become “more bitter,” and that the war the regime launched under the name “Lion’s Roar” now looks like a “Kitten’s Meow.” 

As the ceasefire took effect, criticism against the Netanyahu  government escalated in Hebrew media, which noted the war’s objectives had not been achieved and the results would become more bitter, especially for northern settlements.

Maariv’s military analyst, Avi Ashkenazi, said settlers in the north are being consumed by anger because their government pays them no attention and “does not even see them from half a meter away.” He said for Netanyahu northern settlers are “invisible” and not factored into “security considerations”. Ashkenazi said they can be sold empty promises countless times.

According to Ashkenazi, northern settlers and much of the public understand that what is happening “is nothing more than propaganda and a political trick by a leadership that does not know how to justify its failure.” 

Following the ceasefire, condemnation against the Netanyahu government has also intensified. The opponents say the truce demonstrates failure to achieve any war objectives. Settlement leaders have also described the pause in fighting as a “surrender document” and a public “betrayal” of settlers.