Ball in US court to choose ceasefire or continue war

TABNAK, Apr. 09 - Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the ball is in the US court to choose a ceasefire or continue the war via Israel.

News ID: 7305

Date: 09 April 2026 - 13:57

Araghchi made the remark in a post on his X account on Wednesday night following heavy Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, which took place despite a ceasefire agreed upon by the United States and Iran earlier in the day. The two-week ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan based on a 10-point Iranian plan, includes Lebanon as well.

“The Iran–US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the US must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” Araghchi said in his post, to which he attached a screenshot of an X post from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif, in his post announcing the ceasefire, said “the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMIDIATELY.”

US, Israel responsible for ceasefire violations

Referencing Sharif’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told IRNA that the United States and Israel are both responsible for ceasefire violations.

“As explicitly stated in the Pakistani Prime Minister’s initial tweet, the US commitment includes a ceasefire on all fronts. The United States has pledged that both it and its allies will observe the ceasefire across all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Baqaei said.

“The responsibility for any violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime will rest not only with that regime, but also with the United States,” he added.

Following the violent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which were carried out only hours into the ceasefire, Israel and the US claimed that the truce does not include Lebanon.

The Iranian spokesperson reacted to the claim, describing it as an attempt by the US to renege on its promise to pause the fighting.

“If this isn’t yet another case of the US early reneging, then what is it?!” Baghaei said on Wednesday night on X.