Israel backs Trump's two-week pause on Iran strikes, says Lebanon excluded

By Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba

April 8 (Reuters) - Israel supports U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday.

The premier's office said Israel backed the U.S. move provided Tehran immediately opened the strait and stopped attacks against the United States, Israel and countries in the region.

The remarks came after Washington announced a two-week suspension of attacks against Iran as part of efforts to de-escalate the conflict and open a window for negotiations.

Israel also said it supported U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer posed a nuclear, missile or "terror" threat to the U.S., Israel and Iran's Arab neighbours, adding that Washington had told Israel it was committed to achieving their shared goals in upcoming negotiations.

Iran said on Wednesday negotiations with the U.S. would begin on Friday, April 10 in Islamabad.

Two White House officials confirmed earlier that Israel had agreed to the two-week ceasefire and to suspend its bombing campaign on Iran, while Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate the deal, said in a post on X that the agreement included a cessation of Israel's campaign in Lebanon.

The Israeli offensive in Lebanon has killed at least 1,500 people and displaced 1.2 million others. Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Tehran, two days after Iran was attacked by Israel and the U.S. Hezbollah's attack prompted a new Israeli ground and air offensive.