US President Donald Trump has said that "all shooting" between Israel and Hezbollah would be halted following a series of phone calls involving both sides.
Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday that he had "a very productive call" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and received assurances that Tel Aviv would not send troops to the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
"There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way have already been turned back," Trump said.
The US president said that through “highly placed representatives”, he had communicated with Hezbollah and secured a commitment to bring hostilities to a halt.
"Likewise, through highly placed representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop, that Israel will not attack them, and that they will not attack Israel," he added.
In a separate post a few minutes later, Trump said that talks with Iran were moving ahead rapidly.
"Talks are continuing at a rapid pace with Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said on his Truth Social account.
Earlier, Trump said that he would welcome a period of silence if Iran suspends indirect peace talks with Washington.
He clarified that a pause in dialogue does not necessarily mean an immediate resumption of strikes, but he vowed to "keep the blockade", describing it as a "piece of steel".
The remarks followed reports from the semi-official Tasnim news agency that Iran halted exchanges via mediators to protest Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Tasnim said the Iranian negotiating team would halt "talks and exchanges of texts through mediators" until its demands regarding Gaza and Lebanon are met.
One of Iran's conditions for a deal to permanently end the war with the US is the end of fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Separately, Trump also told CNBC that “I don’t care” if peace negotiations with Iran are over.
“I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less,” Trump was quoted as saying when asked about reports that Iranian negotiators will stop communications with the US due to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon.
Trump, at that time, said he was “going to ask” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu what’s going on with Lebanon.”
