Washington announces the end of the offensive phase against Iran

After a day marked by incendiary statements from all sides, the United States, through the voice of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, assured late Tuesday evening (Beirut time) that the offensive phase of the conflict with Iran was “over”.

During a press conference at the White House, the US Secretary of State stated that Washington was now in a “defensive” phase, referring to the new operation announced by Donald Trump and dubbed “Project Liberty”. “Operation ‘Epic Fury’ is over, as the president signified to Congress. We have passed this stage,” he added.

Marco Rubio clarified that this operation aimed to rescue the crews of ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States will not open fire, but will retaliate “with deadly effectiveness” in the event of an attack.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed during another press briefing that the ceasefire was not over, despite recent exchanges of fire between the US and Iranian navies, as well as missiles targeting the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Iran has “categorically” denied any involvement in these strikes. 

US President Donald Trump refrained from directly accusing Iran of violating the truce in effect since April 8: “They know what they have to do (...) and what they must not do,” he stated.

“We are in a minor military skirmish. I say ‘skirmish’ because Iran has no chance,” he added, having previously referred to a “mini-war” and even a “little excursion”.

“Hezbollah, the main obstacle to peace”

Marco Rubio also stated that a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel was “imminent”. “The problem between Israel and Lebanon is neither Israel nor Lebanon, it is Hezbollah,” he affirmed.

“What must happen in Lebanon is the establishment of a government capable of taking on Hezbollah and dismantling it,” he added.

Tehran demands, for its part, that any agreement ending the war with Iran also include the cessation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon, a position Washington rejects, asserting that these issues are separate.

In Berlin, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated, after a meeting with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, that “Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon” and seeks to “protect its citizens” as long as “Hezbollah and other terrorist factions” are not dismantled. He recalled that Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon in 2000 and from Gaza in 2005.

Saar also criticized the Lebanese government for not having “cleared southern Lebanon of Hezbollah's weapons”, estimating that “efforts have been very limited”.

These remarks received nuanced support from Berlin: Johann Wadephul deemed the stationing of Israeli troops in the area “necessary” and condemned Hezbollah's attacks “in the strongest terms”, while emphasizing that “Lebanon must not become a theater of war where civilians pay the price”.

An Israeli source cited by CNN indicated that Israel would consider intensifying its strikes against Hezbollah if the truce with Iran collapsed.

According to the same source, Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly informed Donald Trump of Israel's willingness to resume high-intensity combat, while the army is pushing to lift certain American restrictions in order to resume its strikes north of the Litani River.

In Israel, the new air force chief, General Omer Tischler, said he was ready to deploy “the entire air force” against Iran “if necessary”, during his assumption of command ceremony.

A “Hezbollah-linked cell” dismantled in Syria

The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday the dismantling of a cell linked to Hezbollah, accused of plotting assassinations of officials. According to authorities, the cell was ready to take action, notably to carry out targeted assassinations. Eleven people were arrested, with no details provided on their nationality. Weapons, ammunition, grenades, explosives, and surveillance equipment were seized.

Hezbollah “categorically denied” these accusations, asserting that it conducts “no activity” in Syria, recalling that it had already rejected similar accusations on April 12 and 19.