WASHINGTON — A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday and President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end.

Mr. Trump said Iran had offered not to possess nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at talks in Islamabad last weekend.

“We’re going to see what happens. But I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” he told reporters outside the White House.

Hours later at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mr. Trump went further, saying the war “should be ending pretty soon.”

The war with Iran, which began on February 28 with a US-Israeli attack, has killed thousands and sent oil prices surging, creating a major political headache for the US president.

If the Lebanon ceasefire clears the way for a broader peace deal with Iran, it would be a significant win for the Trump administration, which has struggled so far to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.

Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut as the clock struck midnight on Thursday, the time the ceasefire was set to go into effect. For around half an hour, the sound of explosions from rockets fired in celebration could also be heard, witnesses said.

But the pause in hostilities remained fragile.

The Lebanese Army said early on Friday that Israel committed violations of the ceasefire after it took effect, including the intermittent shelling of several southern Lebanese villages.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which had said earlier that its forces remained deployed in the area. In a post on X, Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the deployment was in response to what he described as continued Hezbollah militant activity.

Hezbollah released a lengthy statement detailing what it described as its military operations against Israel throughout Thursday, which showed that its last attack came at 11:50 p.m. local time, 10 minutes before the ceasefire took effect.

Mr. Trump later issued a social media post urging Hezbollah to respect the ceasefire.

“I hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE!” he said.

FURTHER ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS PLANNED
Mr. Trump said in his earlier remarks to reporters that he thought the US had a chance of a deal with Iran.

“And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust,” he said.

The president said he was not sure a two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran last week would need to be extended beyond next week, adding that Tehran wanted to make a deal.

“We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe. And I think it’s a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade.”

Conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah was reignited by the US-Israeli war with Iran. Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon 15 months after their last major conflict.

Mr. Trump said he had held “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them both to the White House for “meaningful talks”.

He said later that the White House meeting could take place over the next week or two, and that if an Iran deal was reached and signed in Islamabad, he might travel there for the occasion.

Mr. Trump said he had directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting peace.

Iran welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it was part of an understanding reached with the United States and mediated by Pakistan, Iranian media reported, citing a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

SIGNS OF POSSIBLE COMPROMISE ON NUCLEAR ISSUES
Closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flows, has caused the worst oil price shock in history and forced the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its outlook for the global economy, warning prolonged conflict could push the world to the brink of recession.

At last weekend’s talks, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran – an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ban. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be removed from Iran. Tehran has demanded that international sanctions against it be lifted.

Two Iranian sources said there were signs of a compromise emerging on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part, but not all, of it out of the country, something it had previously ruled out.

A diplomatic source said the key Pakistani mediator, Army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and had made a breakthrough on “sticky issues”, although Tehran said the fate of its nuclear program had not been resolved. Mr. Trump has said the accord would open the Strait of Hormuz.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Mr. Munir’s trip had led to greater hopes for a second round of talks and an extension of the ceasefire, but said fundamental differences remain over the nuclear program.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said troops were poised to restart combat operations if a deal was not reached.

A Pakistani security source told Reuters that Washington was offering to lift sanctions and unfreeze billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets to secure a deal.

However, the source added that Iran would open the strait only if a permanent ceasefire is reached and there are United Nations guarantees that the US and Israel will not attack again in the future. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Thursday each said they had resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019 due to government recognition issues.

The move paves the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years and could eventually unlock billions of dollars in funding via frozen special drawing rights.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement that the Fund, guided by the views of a majority of its members, was now dealing with Venezuela’s government under the administration of the South American nation’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez.

The World Bank Group also issued a statement announcing it was resuming dealings with Venezuela’s government under Ms. Rodríguez. Its last loan, the statement said, was in 2005.

Neither Venezuela’s information ministry nor its central bank immediately responded to requests for comment.

The resumption of a formal relationship comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration in January ousted President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas. Since then, Washington has been working with Ms. Rodríguez and is looking to expand the US presence in Venezuela’s oil and mining sectors.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING AND SHORT-TERM FUNDING HOPES
JPMorgan has estimated that Venezuela’s special drawing rights, assets that are available to countries with engagement with the IMF, are worth $5 billion.

Investors have bet big on Venezuela’s bonds in hopes that the change in government can enable a debt restructuring. Analysts estimate that Venezuela has about $60 billion of defaulted bonds outstanding, but total external debt is pegged at roughly $150 billion to $170 billion.

The IMF last month said it was beginning to re-engage with Venezuela, starting by collecting basic data and assessing the economy after years of gaps. But a full sovereign restructuring is typically underpinned by a new IMF lending program – and the data that comes with it regarding what level of debt is sustainable for a country. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — Finance chiefs of the Group of Seven nations on Thursday agreed it was urgent to limit the cost to the global economy of the war in the Middle East and “reaffirmed the pressing need to move toward a lasting peace,” according to a statement from France, which holds the G7 presidency this year.

The war was the biggest of three key topics discussed by the finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s richest democracies on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.

They also discussed continued support for Ukraine and developing alternative supply chains to China for rare earths and critical minerals.

“The conclusion was unanimous: it is urgent to limit the cost to the global economy of an enduring conflict. G7 members reaffirmed the pressing need to move toward a lasting peace,” the statement said.

“More than ever, coordination among G7 members remains key to addressing the economic and energy impacts of the crisis. G7 members are particularly vigilant about the direct and indirect effects on the most vulnerable states.”

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters earlier on Thursday that G7 countries had to be ready to act to mitigate the economic and inflation risks caused by the war’s energy and supply shocks.

With G7 backing, the International Energy Agency last month released a record amount of oil from strategic reserves to help counter the cut-off in supplies from Gulf countries through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We need to make sure that we understand where the balance of risks is tilting in the next few weeks,” Mr. Lescure said after the meetings of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We are meeting again in a month’s time in Paris and we want to make sure that we monitor the situation, we evaluate the impact and that if we need to act, as we did with releasing inventories a few weeks back, we will,” Mr. Lescure added.

He also said it was important to ensure free transit for ships through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that G7 ministers agreed that vessels should not have to “pay one dollar” to Iran to pass through the international waterway.

France holds this year’s presidency of the G7, which also includes the US, Canada, Japan, Britain, Germany, and Italy.

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau added that G7 central banks also pledged to take steps necessary to prevent the Iran war’s energy and commodity shock from becoming embedded into core inflation second- and third-round price impacts.

“We will act, without hesitation, if and when necessary, but we are not in a rush mode. We need to have more data” about the impact of the price shocks.

AID FOR UKRAINE
Mr. Lescure said the G7 finance leaders, meeting for the first time in person this year, also vowed to continue to aid Ukraine, including helping it prepare for next winter after a difficult winter this year with constant Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

“Ukraine should never be a collateral damage of the current war in Iran,” Mr. Lescure said. “Russia mustn’t be getting benefits from what’s happening in Iran.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who skipped the G7 meeting on critical minerals on Thursday, said on Wednesday that he would not renew a 30-day temporary waiver of sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea. The waiver, which expired on April 11, was meant to ease price pressures by releasing more oil into global markets.

The French statement said the discussion focused on Ukraine’s economic reforms under its $8 billion IMF program, the need to keep up economic pressure on Russia, meeting Ukraine’s energy needs, and actively contributing to the repair of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s confinement arch.

The G7 finance leaders also discussed joint efforts to create alternative supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals to reduce their countries’ dependency on China, the world’s dominant supplier. Mr. Lescure said the group would keep working on “very concrete steps” that could be presented to a G7 leaders meeting in June in the French Alpine spa town of Evian-les-Bains. — Reuters