Iran hints at UAE role in post-truce attack on Lavan Island

Qatar’s foreign minister spoke by phone with his Saudi counterpart to discuss regional developments following the announcement of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

Doha welcomed the truce and stressed “the necessity of building on it urgently to prevent the expansion of the scope of tension in the region,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.

The ministry said the Qatari minister also emphasized the importance of “ensuring the security of maritime passages and the freedom of navigation” in order to preserve regional stability and global supply chains.

“We are prepared to return to combat at any moment required. Our finger is on the trigger,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

He said the pause in fighting does not mark the end of Israel’s campaign against Iran.

“This is preparation on the way to achieving all of our objectives. Iran is entering these negotiations beaten, weaker than ever,” he said.

He added that the ceasefire came into effect “in full coordination with Israel” and said it does not include operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“We are continuing to strike forcefully. Hezbollah suffered the most severe strike today since the beeper operation,” he said.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said several key clauses of Tehran’s proposed framework for negotiations with the United States have already been violated, casting doubt on the basis for talks expected to begin in Pakistan.

In a statement published on X, Ghalibaf said three provisions of Iran’s 10-point proposal had been breached even before negotiations began.

He cited continued attacks in Lebanon despite what he said was a commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace that was later destroyed in the southern city of Lar, and what he described as the denial of Iran’s right to uranium enrichment.

“The very workable basis on which to negotiate has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began,” Ghalibaf wrote.

He added that under such circumstances “a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable.”

By Wednesday morning, several senior figures were already positioning themselves as the architects of the truce, and their competition quickly spilled into the Iranian media.

The pro-government ISNA news agency reported that parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf would lead Iran’s delegation to the talks scheduled to begin Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Within half an hour, the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency contradicted the report, saying the composition of the delegation had not yet been finalized by the “relevant institutions.”

The conflicting reports highlighted uncertainty over who would lead the delegation and underscored the rivalries that often shape decision-making in Tehran.

The first official statement on the ceasefire came from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a longtime diplomat with close ties to Iran’s security establishment.

In a post on X, he emphasized that he was speaking “on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and thanked Pakistani officials “on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” language that appeared to project broad institutional authority.

President Massoud Pezeshkian, who cannot join the negotiating team for protocol reasons, issued a largely symbolic statement—seemingly intended to remind the public that the country still has a president expected to lead the government. Like several other officials who had advocated a ceasefire from the outset, Pezeshkian framed the temporary truce as a “victory for Iran.”

Moments after Iran signaled its reluctant acceptance of the ceasefire, Nasim Online, an outlet close to the IRGC, published a statement from the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council.

The statement suggested that Security Chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was also seeking to frame the agreement as a decisive achievement. It declared that “the enemy… has suffered an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat,” and repeatedly urged the public to “celebrate the victory.”

Yet within minutes of the statement, Israel and Jordan reported intercepting Iranian missiles. Later on Wednesday, Kuwait came under drone and missile attack. The incidents highlighted the fragile nature of the ceasefire and the difficulty of enforcing it across multiple actors involved in the conflict.

Israel’s heavy strikes on Beirut later that day further underscored the instability of the truce. US Vice President JD Vance publicly described the ceasefire as “fragile.”

In the early hours of Wednesday, Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq initially appeared unwilling to honor the ceasefire. But when they released a female US journalist they had taken hostage earlier in the week, the move suggested Tehran still retains influence over some allied militias and could signal a willingness to ease tensions.

From the tone of several officials in Tehran, particularly those aligned with more pragmatic political currents, it appears that many believe President Trump has concluded the conflict has reached its limit and that he does not want further escalation.

Tehran appears to share that assessment. Both sides have claimed victory, a framing some politicians describe as a “win-win agreement.”

The United States and Iran will hold talks in Pakistan on Saturday, the White House confirmed, as diplomacy gathers pace following the two-week ceasefire announced earlier this week.

“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt t told reporters.

She also said Tehran had indicated it would be willing to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Leavitt confirmed that US Vice President JD Vance will lead the American delegation, accompanied by presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.