Extract from ABC News
A man sits next to wreckage where a building was destroyed by an Israeli air strike last weekin Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Hello, ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran here in Riyadh.
It's the end of day 46 of the war, day seven of the ceasefire (except in Lebanon) and day two of what the US is describing as its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Here's what you need to know today:
- The first round of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States has happened in Washington, D.C. — the US State Department is describing them as the first talks of their kind between the two nations in three decades. Israel continued strikes on southern Lebanon, hours before the negotiations began.
- Israel offered to hold talks with Lebanon last week, seemingly buckling to pressure from the Trump administration after hundreds were killed in intense attacks on the country, many of them civilians, as opposed to fighters from the Lebanese militants Hezbollah.
- The Iranian-backed group has demanded the Lebanese government suspend the negotiations, insisting it won't be held to any deal. Israel is also saying the focus is on the disarming of Hezbollah first, before any talks on a ceasefire in Lebanon can be considered.
- China has labelled the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as "dangerous and irresponsible". Beijing is Iran's biggest customer for its oil industry and will be feeling the pinch if any attempt to stop ships moving through the vital channel. It comes as Bloomberg reported Iran was considering a "short-term pause" in shipments through the Strait, in a bid to avoid any confrontation between ships and the US Navy.
- Pakistan's defence minister has been talking up the prospect of further talks between the US and Iran, perhaps as soon as the end of the week. Representatives from both countries remained in Islamabad, after leaders such as US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf left the first round of talks, trying to make progress on the negotiations.
Here's what all that means
Just last week, more than 300 people in Lebanon were killed when Israel said it attacked 100 different sites across the country in the space of just 10 minutes.
Israel insisted it was pursuing Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that had opened fire on Israel in solidarity with Tehran five weeks earlier.
The number of civilians filling morgues and hospital emergency departments, particularly children killed and maimed in the strikes, marked another shocking point in the conflict.
And, it seemed to even rattle the White House, with Donald Trump telling the Israeli Prime Minister to "low-key it" — in other words, show some restraint.
A day later, Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would be prepared for his country to hold peace talks with the Lebanese government. That was something which Israel had not only rejected but flatly ridiculed weeks earlier.
Its foreign ministry had spent the days prior posting memes on its social media accounts criticising the Lebanese government's weakness and inability to stand up to Hezbollah.
But the pressure from the US president was too much to ignore. And that's why talks between Israel and Lebanon, two countries which have technically been at war for decades, got underway in Washington DC — chaired by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
As with the talks on the broader Middle East conflict between the US and Iran, anyone expecting a sudden breakthrough and resolution of deep enmity will be sorely disappointed.
There is too much to wade through for that to happen. And there was no tangible outcome, other than a commitment to talk further.
And this is the impact on Australia
- ABC News Daily: The government is urging Australians to do what they can to use less fuel, but when will more severe restrictions kick in? Saul Kavonic, energy analyst at MST Financial on why we're facing a 'doomsday' scenario that's been war gamed for decades. (16m 13s 🎧)
And here's how to stay up to date:
You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.
Thanks for joining me. I'll see you at the same time tomorrow.
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