Iran's Ultimatum to US: Choose Ceasefire or Continued War via Israel?

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEHERAN – The ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran, announced on Wednesday (8 April 2026), has become extremely fragile following Israel’s brutal actions against Lebanon on the same day. Iran has warned the US to choose between the ceasefire or continued war through Israel, and that it cannot have both.

“The conditions of the Iran-US ceasefire are clear and explicit; America must choose between the ceasefire or continued war through Israel. The US cannot have both,” wrote Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on platform X on Wednesday.

Araghchi added that the world is witnessing the massacre in Lebanon. “The ball is in America’s court, and the world is watching whether the US will act according to its commitments,” he said.

Citing trusted sources, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran will withdraw from the ceasefire agreement with the US if Israel continues to violate it through attacks on Lebanon.

The Israeli military stated that they attacked more than 100 locations within 10 minutes in various areas of Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon, in the “largest” coordinated attack since the latest strikes on Lebanon began. The number of deaths from the Israeli attacks was reported to be at least 254, including 92 in Beirut.

“We are facing a dangerous escalation occurring in Lebanon; Israel’s aggression with more than 100 airstrikes targeting innocent civilians in Beirut, Dahiyeh, Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, and the south,” Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told Al Jazeera.