LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The U.S. and Iran have reached a ceasefire deal shortly before President Trump's self-imposed deadline for Iran to meet his demands or face annihilation. Now negotiations will begin on a longer-term deal. Trump said a 10-point plan from Iran will be the basis of those talks. But since the announcement, Iran has fired missiles and Israel has carried out a series of deadly attacks, including in central Beirut. For the latest, we're joined by NPR's D. Parvaz, who is reporting from Turkey's border with Iran. Good morning, D.
D PARVAZ, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So this is supposed to be a pause in the fighting, but this morning, we're still seeing attacks. What's going on?
PARVAZ: Right. Well, there were missiles flying into Israel in several Gulf Arab states after the agreement was announced last night, and the Israeli military is continuing to strike Lebanon today. Massive explosions were just heard in Beirut and beyond. And Lebanon was supposed to be part of this ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement this morning saying that while Israel supports the ceasefire, that this two-week deal does not include Lebanon. And we're really seeing that today in what the Israelis are calling their largest strikes there. And they've been fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces primarily in southern Lebanon, with hostilities really escalating in recent weeks.
Now, Hezbollah announced this morning that it is abiding by the terms of that ceasefire, and Iran says the exclusion of Lebanon in this deal is unacceptable. But an Israeli source not authorized to speak to the media told NPR that President Trump had a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the ceasefire was announced. And this is domestically problematic for Netanyahu. Opposition leader Yair Lapid on X said that Netanyahu wasn't even included in the negotiations and called it a political and strategic failure.
FADEL: Yeah. And I'll point out that it's a fight between Israel and Hezbollah, but the effect on civilians cannot be underscored enough.
OK. So fighting continues, but both the U.S. and Iran have agreed to this pause. We are hearing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth saying now that U.S. - that the U.S. had a decisive military victory and Iran begged for the ceasefire. What are Iranian officials saying?
PARVAZ: Well, Iranian state media is spinning this as a big victory for Iran. And Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted a statement on X expressing his gratitude to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, you know, for brokering this ceasefire. But his statement also makes one thing really clear - Iran will continue to control the Strait of Hormuz, and any ships that are granted passage over the next two weeks will do so on Iran's terms. And President Masoud Pezeshkian also posted on X that the country stands together.
So in Iran, there's some relief, but people are also wary. You know, the former minister of communication, Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, was quoted on state media saying, quote, "experience has shown that the start of negotiation does not mean the end of hostilities," and he urged people to remain ready and vigilant.
FADEL: And how are ordinary Iranians feeling about this?
PARVAZ: Well, as I said, state media is really showing this as a win. They're showing images of people jubilantly waving flags in the streets, and that's obviously the image the government wants to project. But, you know, Leila, for many, the ceasefire effectively means the end of any hope they had of real regime change. I spoke to a woman from Tehran who'd just crossed the border into Turkey a couple of days ago about the potential for a ceasefire. And she didn't want to be named, fearing reprisal for when she returns home. And here's what she said.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
PARVAZ: She's addressing Trump directly, saying, you came and killed so many of our people. You damaged our infrastructure. And then she goes on to say this.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
PARVAZ: She says that what this war effectively triggered in Iran was a military coup. And now the country is entirely under the control of the Revolutionary Guard, which is far more hard-line than the previous supreme leader.
FADEL: So what's next?
PARVAZ: Well, first, let's see if everyone sticks to the terms of this agreement. But U.S. and Iran are to meet in Islamabad on Friday to continue negotiations, but they're very far apart on some key points, including uranium enrichment. Iran wants to, you know, continue doing that. That is strictly against Israel and U.S. demands. And they also want to continue to control the Strait of Hormuz. So we'll see what comes out of the next round of talks on Friday.
FADEL: That's NPR's D. Parvaz in Van, Turkey. Thank you, D.
PARVAZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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