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Iran live updates: Oil tankers passage halted in Hormuz after Israeli strikes on Lebanon: Fars

The deal came before a deadline Trump set, threatening a "whole civilization."

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Last updated: Thursday, April 9, 2026 3:50AM GMT
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President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Trump set a Tuesday evening deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure.

Oil tankers' passage has been halted in the Strait of Hormuz after the Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

Hours before the deadline expired, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

ByIsabella Murray and Hannah DemissieABCNews logo
Apr 08, 2026, 9:47 PM GMT

Vance says US 'never once' said Lebanon was part of ceasefire deal

Vice President J.D. Vance said that the United States has "never once" said that Lebanon was part of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal as Israel launched on Wednesday a barrage of attacks on the country.

"Look, if Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire ... that's ultimately their choice. We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice," Vance said, speaking to reporters in Hungary.

Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

"Neither us nor the Israelis said that that was going to be part of the ceasefire," Vance said later.

Vance said that any confusion about whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire proposal comes from "a legitimate misunderstanding" from all sides.

"I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't. We never made that promise," Vance said. "We never indicated that was going to be the case. What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran, and the ceasefire would be focused on America's allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states."

Vance also repeated his claim that ceasefires are "messy," but that the White House has been clear to allies that bombing should stop.

"What we have been very clear about is that we want to stop the bombing. We want our allies to stop the bombing, and with the Iranians to do the same thing. We're seeing evidence that things are going in the right direction, but it's going to take a little time," Vance said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said on Wednesday that Lebanon was not part of any ceasefire agreement.

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Apr 08, 2026, 8:02 PM GMT

Iran parliament speaker claims 'US violations'

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf laid out what he claims are U.S. "violations" of the ceasefire since the agreement went into effect Tuesday night.

The speaker said Lebanon is included in the ceasefire agreement reached, but Israel has continued strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday.

The speaker claimed the framework allowed Iran the right to enrich uranium which Trump has denied.

He also claimed "an intruding drone" entered into Iranian airspace, which was destroyed in the city of Lar in Fars Province.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it intercepted and destroyed a Hermes 900 drone over the central province of Fars earlier Wednesday, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency.

This was reported after Iran's oil ministry's news outlet said the country's Lavan oil refinery was hit by a strike. Israel denied involvement in the Lavan explosion.

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Apr 08, 2026, 8:00 PM GMT

Israeli attacks kill 254 across Lebanon Wednesday, Lebanese Civil Defense says

At least 254 people have been killed and another 1,165 have been injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanese Civil Defense spokesperson Elie Khairallah confirmed to ABC News.

Of those killed, 92 people were in Beirut, Lebanese Civil Defense said. Another 61 were killed were in Beirut's southern suburbs, according to a breakdown of the casualties in a press release from the Lebanese Civil Defense.

-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz

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Apr 08, 2026, 7:25 PM GMT

Israel 'prepared to return to fighting at any moment necessary,' Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benhamin Netanyahu said despite Iran being "weaker than ever," Israel still has "more goals to complete and we will achieve them, either by an agreement or by a return to fighting."

"We are prepared to return to fighting at any moment necessary. Our finger is on the trigger," Netanyahu said in Hebrew at a press conference Wednesday.

Netanyahu said of the ceasefire, "this is not the end, but a station on the way to reaching our aims."

Netanyahu also said that the ceasefire agreement does not include Hezbollah, saying: "We will continue to go after them." He also said Israeli strikes on Lebanon today were the "hardest since the beeper attack," referencing the 2024 attack on Hezbollah members using exploding electronic devices.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller