LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Israel and Lebanon agreed to renew a ceasefire that never really took hold.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Yeah. Their diplomats worked out new terms while meeting in Washington. President Trump also spoke the other day with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and has said that he called Netanyahu crazy for his plan to expand attacks in Lebanon. In a moment, we'll ask how Israel's interests may differ from those of the United States. We begin with facts on the ground.
FADEL: We're joined by NPR's Greg Myre in Tel Aviv. Hi, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: So what exactly have Israel and Lebanon agreed to this time?
MYRE: Yeah, the Israeli and Lebanese government delegations met at the State Department and agreed to try again on a ceasefire after the last one just collapsed. Now, this is significant if it works, but lots of reasons to be skeptical. And we're already seeing some evidence of that. Obviously, it would be good for Israel and Lebanon. And it would also remove a key obstacle to a possible agreement in the Iran war. Iran is the big backer of the militant group Hezbollah, and it said it would stop the indirect negotiations with the U.S. if Israel keeps waging this military operation in Lebanon. It says there must be ceasefires in both countries. So this agreement holds some promise but with lots of caveats.
FADEL: What are the caveats?
MYRE: Yeah, the Israeli and Lebanese governments reached this agreement. Hezbollah was not part of the talks. Hezbollah is supposed to halt attacks and its forces are supposed to leave southern Lebanon under the deal. Now, Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, has already said that for now, Israel will remain on Lebanese territory and continue its operational activity on the ground. Also, the Lebanese media is reporting new Israeli attacks today. And a Hezbollah official, speaking to NPR on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak publicly, said the group has informed Lebanon's president that it won't agree to the ceasefire unless Israeli forces leave southern Lebanon.
FADEL: Yeah. And the last ceasefire really never took hold. The south has been hit hard, with dozens of villages flattened, so many dead. So we'll have to see how this plays out on the ground. Right now, has the focus shifted to diplomacy, compared to just a few days ago?
MYRE: Yeah, it has, at least for the moment. I mean, at the beginning of the week, the Israeli military operation was expanding rapidly. Netanyahu also said he'd ordered the air force to bomb Hezbollah strongholds in the capital, Beirut. And this is when Iran stepped in and said it would stop negotiations with the U.S. And Trump really seems to want a deal with Iran, so this grabbed his attention. And he then got on the phone and had a heated call with Netanyahu. Trump reportedly used an expletive and called Netanyahu crazy. Trump was asked about this yesterday in the New York Post "Pod Force One" podcast with Miranda Devine.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "POD FORCE ONE")
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I did. I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know? At some point, I said, Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it.
MYRE: So for his part, Netanyahu told CNBC that he and Trump have differences but, quote, "we can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common action."
FADEL: And what's going on with the ceasefire in Iran? It seems increasingly shaky.
MYRE: Yeah. Iran unleashed a large salvo yesterday, and the main target was Kuwait, including the country's airport. Video shows a drone slamming into the main passenger terminal, part of a wider attack that killed one person and injured more than 60. Kuwait says Iran fired more than a dozen missiles and more than a dozen drones. Now, the U.S. has hit a number of Iranian targets over the past week. But yesterday was one of the most intense exchanges of fire since that ceasefire took effect almost two months ago.
FADEL: That was NPR's Greg Myre. Thank you, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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