Hormuz Closed Again, Ceasefire Backfires

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that came into effect on Friday could not even last a day. Within hours, on Saturday, Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon killed seven people.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, Israeli warships and drones carried out heavy attacks in the Nabatieh region overnight. Several residential buildings and houses were completely destroyed.

Lebanese security sources said Israeli attacks continued even in the initial hours after the agreement came into force. On the other hand, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effi Defrin said their forces are fully free to respond to threats.

Iran has reacted strongly to the violation of the agreement. The country’s Joint Military Command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to ship traffic. Iran cited the US violation of the peace deal, Israel’s failure to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon, and repeated ceasefire violations as reasons.

Iran described this as the first step and warned that further actions will be taken if violations continue. The re-imposition of restrictions on Hormuz has deepened the crisis on the interim agreement between the US and Iran.

In a related development, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi made a surprise visit to Iran on Saturday. During his visit, he will monitor the ongoing talks between Iran and the US. The talks, which were scheduled to begin on June 19, were postponed.