WASHINGTON — A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday and President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end.
Trump said Iran offered not to have nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran's nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at talks in Islamabad last weekend.
"We're going to see what happens. But I think we're very close to making a deal with Iran," he told reporters outside the White House.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media Thursday as he departs the White House in Washington.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives backed Trump's military campaign against Iran on Thursday, narrowly defeating a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war until Congress authorizes hostilities.
The war powers resolution was defeated 214 to 213 in the Republican-majority chamber, a day after the Senate blocked a similar measure.
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The vote was almost exclusively along party lines, with every Republican except one opposing the resolution, and one voting present. One Democrat voted against it.
Democrats want the president to come to Congress for authorization for the use of military force, noting that the U.S. Constitution says that Congress, not the president, can declare war.
The war with Iran, which began Feb. 28 with a U.S.-Israeli attack, has killed thousands and sent oil prices surging, creating a major political headache for the U.S. president.
Damage is seen Thursday in the aftermath of Israeli strikes near Hiram Hospital in Tyre, south Lebanon.
If the Lebanon ceasefire clears the way for a broader peace deal with Iran, it would be a significant win for the Trump administration, which struggled so far to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and block Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.
Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut early Friday as the clock struck midnight, the time the ceasefire was set to go into effect. For about half an hour, the booms of rockets that were also fired in celebration could be heard.
Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported that Israeli artillery continued shelling areas in southern Lebanon about half an hour after the ceasefire took effect.
Trump said he wasn't sure a two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran last week would need to be extended beyond next week, and added that Tehran wanted to make a deal.
"We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe." he said. "And I think it's a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade."
Buildings stand Thursday in Tehran, Iran.
Negotiations
At last weekend's talks, the U.S. proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran — an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ban. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.
Washington pressed for any highly enriched uranium to be removed from Iran. Tehran has demanded that international sanctions against it be lifted.
Two Iranian sources said there were signs of a compromise emerging on the highly enriched uranium stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part, but not all, of it out of the country, something it had previously ruled out.
The Lebanon ceasefire was aimed at halting a conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah that was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Trump said he held "excellent conversations" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them both to the White House for "meaningful talks."
He said later that the White House meeting could take place over the next week or two, and that if an Iran deal was reached and signed in Islamabad, he might go for that.
Trump said he had directed U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting peace.
Iran welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it was part of an understanding reached with the United States and mediated by Pakistan, Iranian media reported, citing a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
The war with Iran spilled into Lebanon on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon 15 months after the last major conflict.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks Thursday during a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon in Washington.
'Locked and loaded'
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said troops were poised to restart combat operations if a deal was not reached with Iran.
"We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence," Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing. "We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We'd rather not have to do it."
But a security source told Reuters a deal was closing in and that the U.S. wants a breakthrough before the ceasefire expires next week. Washington offered to lift sanctions and unfreeze billions of dollars' worth of Iranian assets, he said.
Iran will open the strait only if a permanent ceasefire is reached and there are United Nations guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not attack again in future, he said.
"We hope that the field marshal will have a draft in his hand when he flies out of Tehran," the source said.
A separate government source said the talks would be held "soon" in Islamabad, though no date has been set.
