The Pakistan-brokered ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran began to unravel on Wednesday afternoon after Israel launched its largest bombing campaign yet against Lebanon, causing Iran verbally to withdraw from their agreement before negotiations could begin in Islamabad.
Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, posted a statement on X arguing that the U.S. had already violated three clauses of the 10-point plan: the ceasefire in Lebanon, for which he cited Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of “an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and other regions, effective immediately”; the reported entry of an Israeli drone into Iranian airspace; and the denial of Iran’s right to uranium enrichment, which Ghalibaf said was included in the sixth clause of the 10-point plan.
“Now, the very ‘workable basis on which to negotiate’ has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began,” Ghalibaf wrote. “In such a situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable.”
Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters on Wednesday that he believes the potential breakdown “comes from a legitimate misunderstanding.”
“I think the Iranians thought the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise, we never indicated that was gonna be the case,” Vance said.
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