A fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire shows cracks as attacks continue across the region

NPR | By NPR Staff

Published April 8, 2026 at 3:55 AM EDT

Smoke rises over Lebanon's capital of Beirut following Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday. Israel said it was targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, despite a U.S. ceasefire with Iran.

Updated April 8, 2026 at 1:30 PM EDT

The U.S. and Iran reached a temporary ceasefire, with Israel saying it supports the agreement but is continuing its assault on Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon. Iran and several Gulf Arab countries also reported some attacks, in an early test of the fragile truce.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government has acted as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, called out violations of the agreement and urged "all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict."

The ceasefire announcement marked a breathtaking comedown from President Trump's pledge that a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran did not reach a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday night. His threat had drawn rebukes from other countries and from Pope Leo XIV, who called it "truly unacceptable" and appealed for dialogue.

Trump hailed the ceasefire agreement early Wednesday as "a big day for World Peace!"

As Trump pledged the U.S. would help free up the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the world's fuel and goods that Iran has largely blocked during the war, global investors breathed a sigh of relief, markets surged and crude oil prices plunged.

Protesters in opposition to the war with Iran gather outside of Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

In another morning social media post, Trump said the U.S. will work with Iran to "dig up and remove" Iranian nuclear material he said is buried after U.S. bombings.

The president also warned the U.S. would slap an immediate 50% tariff on imports from any country supplying weapons to Iran.

Here are more updates from the region:

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Israel pounds Beirut | Iran hails ceasefire win | Israel reaction| Shelly Kittleson freed

Israel carries out its largest strikes in Beirut

Israel carried out its largest attack in Lebanon since the start of the war last month, after asserting that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal did not include its fight against Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

A series of Israeli airstrikes hit multiple neighborhoods in the heart of Beirut during morning rush hour, causing panic around the capital.

Lebanon's health minister said 89 people were killed and 722 wounded, as they continued pulling people out of the rubble.

Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani explained why Israel made a surprise attack. "Leading up to this operation, we've seen Hezbollah disperse over different areas, taking advantage of the warnings that we provide for civilians to also hide for themselves among the civilians, moving, trying to scatter their operations in different locations and to hide behind civilian locations," he said.

Since Hezbollah entered the fray last month in support of Iran, Shoshani said, the group was firing more than 100 rockets at Israel on most days.

The death toll after more than a month of Israeli attacks in Lebanon has surpassed 1,500, and more than 1 million people are displaced by the fighting, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Wednesday morning that it supports Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that the ceasefire doesn't include Lebanon.

That's despite the fact that when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, acting as mediator, announced the Iran-U.S. ceasefire, he specifically mentioned it would take effect across the region "including Lebanon."

But President Trump echoed Netanyahu's understanding of it. Asked by a PBS reporter why Lebanon was not included, he said, "Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That'll get taken care of too."

Hezbollah said in a statement that it insists the U.S.-Iran ceasefire includes Lebanon. But it said "if the Israeli enemy does not adhere" to it, then "no party will commit to it, and there will be a response from the region, including Iran."

The English arm of Iran's state broadcaster quoted an Iranian security official as saying that Israel was violating the ceasefire and would be punished.

Many displaced Lebanese, when they initially heard the ceasefire news, rejoiced, packed up and started driving home to areas they had evacuated.

A man flashes the V-sign while driving a vehicle loaded with belongings through the al-Qassimyah area en route to southern Lebanon early on Wednesday, after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Israel continued its strikes in Lebanon saying it was not part of the truce.

But then Israeli attacks continued. Lebanese news reports showed a car in flames hit by an Israeli strike on the seafront in Sidon, a city in southern Lebanon that's not one of the areas the Israeli military had warned it would attack. Israeli artillery shelling also continued. Lebanon's state media said there were airstrikes in the southern port city of Tyre and on a unit of paramedics affiliated with Hezbollah.

Lebanon's government asked displaced people to stay put saying that it's still dangerous.

Iranian leaders hail ceasefire as victory

Iranian leaders touted the ceasefire as a victory, noting they believed the "criminal U.S." agreed to "the general framework" of Iran's 10-point proposal.

"Good news to the dear nation of Iran! Nearly all the objectives of the war have been achieved," the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.

But the statement warned any deviation from the agreement could lead to future violence. "Our hands are on the trigger, and the moment the enemy makes the slightest mistake, it will be met with full force," the Supreme National Security Council said.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif for his role in the negotiations.

A vendor displays morning newspapers at his roadside stall in Islamabad on Wednesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the United States, Iran and their allies had agreed to a ceasefire "everywhere," including Lebanon, following mediation by his government to stop weeks of fighting.

"If attacks against Iran are halted our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations," Araghchi said in a statement. "For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."

Israeli opposition slams Netanyahu

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the ceasefire on social media, saying, "there has never been such a political disaster in our entire history." He criticized Netanyahu for not being a party to the ceasefire agreement, adding that Netanyahu "failed to meet a single one of the goals he set for himself."

Netanyahu and Trump spoke on the phone before Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A projectile is seen moments before hitting a building during an Israeli airstrike in the area of Abbasiyeh, on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, on Wednesday.

It's still unclear where negotiations stand regarding Iran's assertion that it can continue its enrichment of uranium. In his statement, Netanyahu said Israel "supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat."

A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters in a statement that the U.S. has assured Israel that it will insist on the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, an end to further enrichment, and "the elimination of the ballistic missile threat" during future negotiations.

American journalist Kittleson is freed

Freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released a week after she was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militant group.

"We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on X on Tuesday evening.

Kittleson, 49, has spent over a decade covering the Middle East, according to Columbia Journalism Review. She was captured by the militia group on March 31, in broad daylight on a Baghdad street corner. Her release was a multi-agency effort, according to Rubio.

U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 30.

"The U.S. Department of State extends its appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of War, U.S. personnel across multiple agencies, and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and our Iraqi partners, for their assistance in securing her release," Rubio said.

He added: "Under President Trump, the wrongful detention or kidnapping of U.S. nationals will not be tolerated. We will continue to use every tool to bring Americans home and to hold accountable those responsible."

Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Shia paramilitaries, announced earlier on Tuesday that it was releasing Kittleson in appreciation of "the patriotic positions" of Iraq's prime minister, who helped negotiate her release. It said she had to leave the country immediately.

The group in Iraq is not related to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It's part of a coalition of Iran-backed militias that have been attacking U.S. military and government targets in Iraq. The U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes in response.

When Kittleson was kidnapped last week, the U.S. State Department said it had warned her of threats against her beforehand, and that it was working with the FBI to secure her release. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has said all American citizens should leave Iraq because of attacks.

Lauren Frayer in Beirut, Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.