Iran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire, sources say

Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement with ​the United States and Israel, six regional sources familiar with Iran's position said, linking an end of the war to ‌a halt to Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, Report informs via Reuters.

Iran's Press TV on Wednesday cited an Iranian official saying Tehran wanted any deal with the United States to secure an end to the war, both on Iran and other "resistance groups" in the region.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran was still reviewing a US proposal to ​end the regional war raging for nearly a month, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

The ​six regional sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Tehran ⁠had informed mediators as early as mid-March that it sought a deal that would also stop Israel's attacks on the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah ​was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 and is widely seen as the spearhead of Iran's regional alliance of armed actors. It opened fire ​on Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Tehran, triggering an Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon.

A senior Trump administration official said ending Iran's "proxy activities" and disarming Hezbollah were "crucial to ensuring ​peace and stability in Lebanon and across the region."