Israel has offered to restrain its strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to allow for the ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the US to be successful, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Wednesday night.
Vance noted that Israel's offer was not an indication of whether or not Hezbollah would be included in the Iran ceasefire deal.
"The Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't," he said. "We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case."
Iran's insistence on Lebanon being included in the ceasefire deal was, Vance believed, based on a "legitimate misunderstanding."
It was ultimately Iran's choice whether to allow the ceasefire to fall apart due to Israel's actions in Lebanon, Vance said.
"If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered, over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice," Vance said, adding, "We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice."
Pakistan PM claims Lebanon included in ceasefire
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had claimed that Lebanon would be included in the ceasefire deal in a post on X/Twitter earlier on Wednesday.
"With the greatest humility," he wrote, "I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump refuted Sharif's claims later that day.
Ariella Roitman contributed to this report.