Did Pakistan create Lebanon confusion in ceasefire deal? Iran speaker cites Shehbaz tweet

Ever since the two-week ceasefire was announced between the US, Israel, and Iran, the two sides have been busy contradicting each other, especially over Lebanon, putting the mediator Pakistan at the centre of the storm. Just a day after Pakistan secured its biggest diplomatic win, the ceasefire came under strain as Israel carried out its largest, devastating strike across Lebanon. While Iran claimed that the Israeli attack was a violation of ceasefire terms, the US and Israel said Lebanon was never a part of it.

Pakistan is now under the clouds as it was responsible for interpreting the agreement to both sides.

When Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the ceasefire between the US and Iran on Wednesday, he explicitly mentioned that it applied “everywhere”, including Lebanon.

“Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,” Sharif tweeted.

Israel asserted that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire and unleashed a barrage of strikes on Lebanon.

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On Thursday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran’s allies, form an inseparable part of the ceasefire and cited Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif as saying that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said, “Lebanon and the entire Resistance Axis, as Iran’s allies, form an inseparable part of the ceasefire. (Point 1, 10-point proposal).”

“PM Shehbaz Sharif publicly and clearly stressed the Lebanon issue; there is no room for denial and backtracking,” he added.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, also told CNN in an interview that Lebanon was included in the ceasefire framework and the announcement by Sharif “could not have been more authentic,” but cautioned that ceasefires in the region have historically been fragile.

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However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied Pakistan’s assertion that the ceasefire covered the conflict in Lebanon.

Lebanon got embroiled in the war after Hezbollah, a proxy of Iran, attacked Israel. Israel retaliated by pounding Beirut and key Lebanese cities, killing over 1,500 people since March 2.

In retaliation, Iran and stopped the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz which it had opened briefly after the ceasefire.

Did Pakistan really mess up things?

Iranian media reported that Pakistan might have handed the US a version different from the one it received from Iran. Similarly, Pakistan might have provided a different version from what it received from Washington to Iran, said a report in The Middle East.

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Moreover, even US Vice President JD Vance suggested that Iran’s negotiators were made to believe that the two-week ceasefire deal included Lebanon, though he did not name Pakistan.

“This comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise,” said Vance, who will lead the US delegation for talks in Islamabad.

The developments have led to Pakistan’s scrutiny. Experts blame Pakistan for not properly communicating the terms of the ceasefire.

The confusion has exposed gaping holes in Islamabad’s mediation.