Trump's Two-Week Iran Ceasefire Leaves Lebanon Out in the Cold

A Manufactured Crisis Gets a Temporary Pause

President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that the United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the war his administration launched against Iran in February. The deal comes after Trump spent weeks threatening "devastating strikes" against Iranian targets, creating a crisis he now wants credit for temporarily pausing.

The ceasefire includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but with a catch that reveals just how much leverage Trump surrendered: both Iran and Oman will now charge fees on ships passing through what the world has always considered an international waterway. A regional official confirmed Wednesday that the toll scheme is part of the deal, marking a fundamental shift in how global shipping operates through one of the world's most critical chokepoints.

Trump's messaging on the ceasefire was characteristically incoherent. He initially praised a "workable" 10-point Iranian proposal, then called the same plan "fraudulent" hours later without explanation. Neither country has specified when the ceasefire actually begins.

Israel Keeps Bombing Lebanon Anyway

The confusion deepened when Pakistani mediators, who helped broker the deal, announced the ceasefire would include Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office immediately contradicted that claim, saying Israel "continues fighting and ground operations" against Hezbollah.

That whipsaw left Lebanese families displaced by Israeli bombing in limbo. At a displacement camp along Beirut's waterfront, 35-year-old Fadi Zaydan captured the desperation: "We're just stuck. We can't take this anymore, sleeping in a tent, not showering, the uncertainty."

Some families packed up anyway, hoping to return home. Others, like 47-year-old Shadi Chehadeh who has been sleeping in his car after fleeing the village of Zefta, weren't buying it. "Israel isn't going to give up," he said. "They want our land."

Netanyahu's office released a statement supporting Trump's decision to pause strikes on Iran for two weeks while making clear that support does not extend to Lebanon. The Israeli military separately acknowledged conducting strikes into Iran right up until the ceasefire took effect.

International Response Ranges from Relief to Skepticism

European leaders welcomed the pause but stopped short of celebrating Trump's role. French President Emmanuel Macron called it "a very good thing" and urged full regional compliance. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was blunter, writing on X: "The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket."

Sanchez, Europe's most vocal critic of U.S. and Israeli military actions in the Middle East, added that what's needed now is "diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE."

India's foreign ministry welcomed the ceasefire while emphasizing expectations for "unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce" through the Strait of Hormuz. That statement takes on new significance given the toll arrangement, which India did not explicitly address.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing welcomed the ceasefire and claimed China "did its own efforts" toward the deal, though she provided no details. Days earlier, China and Pakistan had jointly promoted a five-point peace proposal that included guaranteeing navigation safety through the Strait of Hormuz. That guarantee now comes with a price tag.

A War Trump Started, A Ceasefire That Changes Nothing

The fundamental question remains unanswered: why did this war happen at all? Trump launched military action against Iran in February with no clear provocation, no congressional authorization, and no coherent strategic objective beyond flexing military muscle and distracting from domestic scandals.

Now, after a month of fighting that disrupted global energy supplies and trade, displaced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians, and brought the region to the brink of wider war, Trump wants credit for a two-week pause that doesn't even stop the bombing in Lebanon.

The toll arrangement on Strait of Hormuz shipping represents a tangible concession to Iran that will cost global commerce for years to come. What was once free passage through international waters is now a revenue stream for Tehran and Muscat, all because Trump needed a war and then needed an exit ramp.

European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both praised Pakistani mediation efforts. Austria offered to host further negotiations. Turkey and Austria issued statements calling for continued talks.

But with Israel still bombing Lebanon, displaced families still sleeping in tents and cars, and no clarity on when or whether this two-week pause will lead to anything permanent, the ceasefire looks less like diplomacy and more like a photo op. Trump set the Middle East on fire, and now he is handing out buckets while claiming to be a firefighter.

The war Trump manufactured continues, just with a brief intermission and a new toll booth.