Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he was seeking direct talks with Beirut, as Western allies press Israel to rein in continued strikes on Lebanon amid concerns they could jeopardize a fragile US-Iran ceasefire.

This comes a day after the worst bombardment of the war killed more than 300 people in Lebanon, triggering Iranian threats to pull back from diplomacy and drawing sharp condemnation from countries worldwide.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday if the US lets Netanyahu "kill diplomacy, that would ultimately be its choice. We think that would be dumb but are prepared for it." 

US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in the six-week Iran conflict late on Tuesday, but the US and Israel say it does not extend to Lebanon, while Iran and Pakistan, which mediated the deal, insist that it does. 

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that "time is running out," stressing that Lebanon and the "resistance axis" are "inseparable" parts of the ceasefire.

Tehran's warnings appear to have gained traction in Washington, with Trump reportedly pressing Netanyahu to dial down strikes on Lebanon to help ensure the success of future talks with Iran. 

"I spoke with Bibi and he's going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key," Trump said in an interview with NBC News. Vice President JD Vance also said the Israelis "may check themselves a little bit" on attacking Lebanon.

UK, another key Western ally, was more explicit in its disapproval. "That shouldn't be happening. That should stop. That's my strong view," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said when asked whether Israel's attacks constitute a breach of the understanding between the United States and Iran.

"The question isn't a technical one of whether it's a breach of the agreement or not. It is actually a matter of principle as far as I'm concerned," he added.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a sharp critic of the US-Israeli war against Iran, said Netanyahu's "contempt for life and international law ​is intolerable" following Israel's Wednesday strikes on Lebanon.

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'Nothing short of horrific': World reacts to Israeli attacks on Lebanon hours after US-Iran ceasefire

Direct talks

Netanyahu, whose government rebuffed an offer for direct talks with Lebanon ​last month, said in a statement he had given instructions to start peace talks as soon as possible, which would include disarming Iran-aligned armed group Hezbollah.

"The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and ​Lebanon," he said.

An hour before Netanyahu's statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was working on a diplomatic track that was starting to be seen "positively" by international actors.

A senior Lebanese official told Reuters Lebanon had spent the last day pushing for a temporary ceasefire to ‌allow for ⁠broader talks with Israel, describing the effort as a "separate track but the same model" as the US-Iran truce.

Israel was preparing to scale down its attacks in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday.

Another Israeli official said talks with Lebanon were expected to begin in Washington next week. A US State Department official confirmed the US would host next week's meeting to "discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations."

Under a November 2024 US-brokered ceasefire accord that halted more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon agreed that only state security forces should bear arms, which means Hezbollah must be fully disarmed.

But an attempt the following year by the Lebanese army to disarm the group fell short, Israel said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad ​said in a statement on Thursday that the group ​rejected direct negotiations with Israel and the Lebanese government ⁠should demand a ceasefire as a precondition to further steps.

'Avenging' the deaths

In Pakistan, authorities were preparing for the first round of US-Iran talks, locking down parts of the capital Islamabad.

But there was no sign Iran was lifting its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst-ever disruption to global energy supplies. It cited Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon as a key sticking point.

In a defiant statement, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ​said Iran would be "resolute in avenging" the deaths of his father, Ali Khamenei, and the country's "martyrs," and "will take management of the Strait of Hormuz into a new phase."

The statement, attributed to Khamenei, was read ​on state TV. He has not been seen in public since he took over from his father, who was killed on the first day of the war.

"We will certainly ⁠not leave unpunished the criminal aggressors who attacked our country. We will undoubtedly demand compensation for every single damage inflicted," he said in the statement.

Few signs of increased traffic

In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, just a ​single oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers sailed through the strait, which typically accommodated 140 ships a day before the war and accounted for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Trump said in a social media ​post that oil would start flowing again, although he gave no indication of what actions the US might take.

"Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you'll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way," he said.

In a separate post, Trump said Iran should not charge fees to tankers going through the strait. "They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now," he said.

(With input from agencies)