Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holds in first hours, Lebanese civilians start to return home

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Friday that there should not be negotiations with the US, days after US President Donald Trump called for a new nuclear deal.
“You should not negotiate with such a government. It is unwise, it is not intelligent, it is not honorable to negotiate,” Khamenei said during a meeting with army commanders. The US had previously “ruined, violated, and tore up” a 2015 nuclear deal, he said, adding that “the same person who is in power now tore up the treaty.”
On Wednesday, Trump suggested striking a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, adding in his social media post that Tehran “cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump, who returned to the White House on Jan. 20, reinstated on Tuesday his “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran over allegations the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.
Following the policy’s reinstatement, Washington on Thursday announced financial sanctions on entities and individuals accused of shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian crude oil to China.
Tehran on Friday condemned the sanctions as “illegal,” saying they were “categorically unjustified and contrary to international rules.”
“We must understand this correctly: they should not pretend that if we sit down at the negotiating table with that government (the US administration), problems will be solved,” Khamenei said.
“No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” he said, citing previous “experience.”
Khamenei also warned of reciprocal measures if the US threatened or acted against Iran.
“If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they carry out this threat, we will carry out our threat. If they attack the security of our nation, we will attack their security without hesitation,” he said.
During President Trump’s first term, which ended in 2021, Washington withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal that had imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Tehran adhered to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal until a year after Washington pulled out but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the agreement have since faltered.
Khamenei said Iran was “very generous” during the negotiations culminating in the deal, but it “did not achieve the intended results.”
Iranian political expert Afifeh Abedi said Khamenei’s remarks highlight “a serious concern” that negotiations “will result in the US breaching its commitments.”
“Iran understands that Trump’s willingness to negotiate is a disingenuous, reactionary move driven by other objectives rather than a genuine commitment to reaching an agreement,” she said.
Iran has repeatedly expressed a willingness to revive the nuclear deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for an end to the country’s isolation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said that the new US administration should work to regain Tehran’s trust if it wants a new round of nuclear talks.
Western sanctions, especially since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, have taken a toll on millions of Iranians struggling to make ends meet amid high inflation and a plunging currency.
Khamenei acknowledged this on Friday, saying, “almost most segments of the population have some problems,” but adding they could be solved internally.
The current “respected government can reduce the people’s livelihood problems,” he said.
Without directly mentioning Gaza, Khamenei said on Friday the US administration was trying “to change the map of the world.”
“Of course, it is only on paper, it has no basis in reality,” he said.

NICOSIA: A Cypriot court sentenced a Syrian man who captained a migrant boat from Lebanon to three years in prison over causing the death of a young girl from dehydration, authorities said on Friday.
A statement by the Cypriot prosecution service said the Famagusta Criminal Court sentenced the Syrian national, 47, after finding him guilty of negligence resulting in the death of a three-year-old Syrian girl, who died from dehydration.
The young girl was among 60 “distressed and dehydrated” Syrians rescued from a crowded wooden boat off the coast of the Mediterranean island on Jan. 24, 2024.
According to the prosecution service, which did not name either the victim or the perpetrator, the “convicted individual had taken on the role of captain of the wooden boat that transported the Syrian migrants.”
Under Cypriot law, the maximum penalty provided for causing death through negligence is four years in prison.
The child, accompanied by her mother, was one of three girls aged three to five who were airlifted to a hospital in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, after being found unconscious during a major rescue operation. She died the following day.
The court said the accused failed to ensure the vessel’s safe navigation and take necessary safety measures for the passengers against potential dangers at sea.
It added that he lacked the qualifications for such a journey, as he attempted to navigate an overloaded boat that did not meet the minimum technical and structural specifications.
“When the boat’s engine broke down, it drifted for six days in open waters, exposed to harsh weather conditions, lacking direction, food, and drinking water.
There were 15 children on the boat, including five unaccompanied minors.
The migrants took off from Lebanon — about 168 km from Cyprus — on Jan. 18, 2024.
Cyprus had for years said it had the highest number of asylum seekers per capita in the EU, but the government has recently reported a drastic drop in migrant arrivals.