Transcript
Podcast Host (0:04)
You are listening to an art media podcast.
Deborah Pardes (0:13)
It's Thursday, april 9, 2026. This news update was recorded at 10:00pm new york time on Wednesday. I'm deborah pardes and this is arc news daily. Yesterday marked the first full day since Iran is Israel and the United States agreed to a ceasefire, but Israel kept up the fight against Iran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, testing the limits of the fragile truce. From the beginning, there was disagreement about whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. When the prime Minister of Pakistan announced that the deal had been reached, he said it extended to Lebanon. But Israel made clear yesterday that it sees things differently. In the morning, the military launched OPER operation eternal darkness. 50 fighter jets dropped bombs on more than 100 Hezbollah sites in just 10 minutes. The attacks resulted in at least 250 deaths and more than a thousand injuries, the Israeli military said. It was one of the largest assaults against Hezbollah since the beginning of the Iran war, according to Iranian officials. Israel's Lebanon campaign is a deal breaker. Iran's foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, posted on social media, the US Must choose ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel last night, sending residents back into the bomb shelters. World leaders called on Israel to halt its operations in Lebanon. The head of the Arab League accused Israel of trying to sabotage the ceasefire deal. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Turk, called the attacks horrific. The Trump administration quickly sided with Israel. Vice President J.D. vance called the dispute a legitimate misunderstanding, saying that the US Never intended for Lebanon to be part of the deal.
J.D. Vance (2:15)
If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice. We think that would be dumb, but. But that's their choice.
Deborah Pardes (2:29)
Vance also claimed that Israel had agreed to show some restraint in Lebanon in support of the ceasefire.
J.D. Vance (2:35)
The Israelis, as I understand it, have actually offered, frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful.
Deborah Pardes (2:45)
If this sounds confusing, perhaps it's by design. Was Vance gently pressuring Israel or using Israel's military campaign in Lebanon as leverage on Iran? Like many other things in this foggy ceasefire, the days ahead may provide some answers. It's not just Lebanon that's in question. Almost every part of this ceasefire appears to still be up for debate. For one thing, it's still unclear when it even begins. Iran has said Friday. Trump has said as soon as the regime allows shipping to fully resume through the Strait of Hormuz. After all, that was his main condition for the deal. But as of this recording, it's also unclear if Iran has reopened the strait. According to data provided by a global ship tracking firm, no oil or gas tankers have passed through since the deal was announced. Iranian state media said yesterday that the strait was fully closed and that some tankers had been turned away. Other Iranian reports said traffic was stopped because of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The White House press secretary, Caroline Levitt, disputed those reports.