Two IDF soldiers were moderately wounded Saturday by shrapnel during an exchange of fire with terrorists in southern Lebanon, the military said.
The soldiers were taken to a hospital for treatment and their families were notified, the IDF added. Meanwhile, an alert warning of rocket and missile fire was also activated in the northern border town of Avivim after a six-hour lull.
The incident came as regional tensions remained high despite indirect U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad, where Pakistan has been trying to mediate an end to a six-week war that has disrupted oil supplies and raised fears of wider escalation. The talks brought together senior U.S. and Iranian officials, with Iran pressing demands that include a halt to hostilities across the region.
Speaking from Pakistan in an interview with Iranian state television, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said negotiations had effectively begun upon the Iranian delegation’s arrival Friday night and that Tehran had already conveyed its comments to the Pakistani side in multiple meetings with senior Pakistani officials.
“We are now at a sensitive historic moment, and Iranian diplomacy is waging an important battle,” Baghaei said, according to the Iranian broadcast. He said that in Saturday’s talks in Islamabad, Iran stressed the importance of adhering to the ceasefire in Lebanon. “The ceasefire includes all fronts, including Lebanon, and this was confirmed by Pakistan, the mediator,” he said.
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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wearing a pin bearing images of Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei
His remarks came after Iranian media reports on Tehran’s “red lines” in the Pakistan-mediated talks, including the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, the release of frozen assets and a regional ceasefire. Iran has insisted any ceasefire arrangement should also cover fighting in Lebanon, while the United States and Israel have rejected that position.
Against that backdrop, Iran’s Mehr news agency said Israel was again violating the ceasefire in Lebanon and argued that one of Tehran’s conditions for opening negotiations — a ceasefire in Lebanon — had not yet been met.
Images published from the talks also showed Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wearing a pin bearing images of Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei.