WANA (Apr 08) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson described the United States’ swift retreat from the terms of a ceasefire understanding with Tehran regarding Lebanon as a sign of “early backtracking,” reacting to what he called a clear contradiction in Washington’s position just hours after the agreement was announced.

 

Esmaeil Baghaei responded to recent remarks by the White House spokesperson by sharing an image of a message from Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on the social media platform X. In those remarks, it was claimed that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States.

 

Referring to this apparent contradiction, Baghaei wrote: “If this is not another example of early backtracking by the United States, then what is it?”

 

According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Shehbaz Sharif—who played a mediating role in the ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States—had explicitly stated in his message that halting the war and Israeli military aggression in Lebanon was part of the agreement.

 

This statement comes as U.S. officials, just hours after reports of the ceasefire understanding with Iran—an understanding that, according to the Iranian side, was meant to cover all fronts, including Lebanon—appeared to reverse course, stating that Lebanon had not been part of the deal at all.

 

Tehran views this shift as a sign of inconsistency in Washington’s commitments and a repetition of what it sees as a familiar pattern of the United States stepping back from initial understandings—an issue that has gained added sensitivity amid escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

 

In this context, Iranian sources reported that today’s attacks by Israel on residential areas in Lebanon have left more than a thousand Lebanese citizens dead or injured.