Meziesblog

Away from the Strait of Hormuz, the ceasefire appeasing the war’s second front in Lebanon has entered its second day today.

But Phil Abou Zeid, a journalist in Beirut, says he feels the truce “is fragile”.

Thousands of people in Lebanon started heading towards the Israeli-occupied south for their homes, despite warnings from Israel not to.

But since the ceasefire came into force, “multiple bombings were reported across southern areas alongside raids and drone strikes, raising serious concerns about the continued violations by Israel”, Zeid told Sky News.

Despite that, he says the talks between Lebanon and Israel are “historical moments”.

An Iranian test?

The ceasefire has been described as a cornerstone of peace talks between Iran and the US.

Iran appears to have made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition in peace negotiations, “testing” whether the US could rein in Israel before making concessions, Omar Rahman, an analyst at the Middle East Council, told Sky News.

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, cited the ceasefire as a reason for the brief reopening of the strait.

Donald Trump yesterday insisted afterwards that Israel is “prohibited” from bombing Lebanon, saying “enough is enough”.

Iran to reopen six airports

Iran will reopen six airports as the ceasefire with the US – slated to last until Wednesday – continues to hold.

The Imam Khomeini International Airport and the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran will resume operations as well as airports in Mashhad, Birjand, Gorgan and Zahedan, the Association of Iranian Airlines said, according to state media.

This came after reports that Iran reopened parts of its airspace in the east of the country.

For context: Iran closed its airspace to civilian flights in response to the start of the US attack on 28 February. 

But the threat level now appears to be deemed sufficiently low as the two-week ceasefire has been in place since 8 April.