By Humeyra Pamuk and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday and President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end.
Trump said Iran had offered not to have nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at talks in Islamabad last weekend.
“We’re going to see what happens. But I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” he told reporters outside the White House.
The war with Iran, which began on February 28 with a U.S.-Israeli attack, has killed thousands and sent oil prices surging, creating a major political headache for the U.S. president.
If the Lebanon ceasefire clears the way for a broader peace deal with Iran, it would be a significant win for the Trump administration, which has struggled so far to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut early on Friday as the clock struck midnight, the time the ceasefire was set to go into effect. For around half an hour, the booms of rockets that were also fired in celebration could be heard.
“I think we have a chance,” Trump said, referring to a potential deal with Iran. “And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust.”
The president said he was not sure a two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran last week would need to be extended beyond next week, and added that Tehran wanted to make a deal.
“We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe. And I think it’s a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade.”
At last weekend’s talks, the U.S. proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran – an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ban. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.
Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be removed from Iran. Tehran has demanded that international sanctions against it be lifted.
Two Iranian sources said there were signs of a compromise emerging on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part, but not all, of it out of the country, something it had previously ruled out.
The Lebanon ceasefire was aimed at halting a conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah that was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Trump said he had held “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them both to the White House for “meaningful talks”.
He said later that the White House meeting could take place over the next week or two, and that if an Iran deal was reached and signed in Islamabad, he might go for that.
Trump said he had directed U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting peace.
Iran welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it was part of an understanding reached with the United States and mediated by Pakistan, Iranian media reported, citing a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
The war with Iran spilt into Lebanon on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon 15 months after the last major conflict.
STICKY ISSUES
Closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flows, has caused the worst oil price shock in history and forced the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its outlook for the global economy, warning prolonged conflict could push the world to the brink of recession.
A diplomatic source said the key Pakistani mediator, Army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and had made a breakthrough on “sticky issues”, although Tehran said the fate of its nuclear program had not been resolved. Trump has said the accord would open the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Munir’s trip had led to greater hopes for a second round of talks and an extension of the ceasefire, but said fundamental differences remain over the nuclear program.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said troops were poised to restart combat operations if a deal was not reached.
A Pakistani security source told Reuters Washington was offering to lift sanctions and unfreeze billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets to secure a deal.
However, the source added that Iran would open the strait only if a permanent ceasefire is reached and there are United Nations guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not attack again in future.
“We hope that the field marshal will have a draft in his hand when he flies out of Tehran,” the source said.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Lincoln Feast, Sharon Singleton, Timothy Heritage, David Brunnstrom and David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens and Nia Williams)
