ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Ahead of the Pakistan-mediated talks with the US, Iranian officials on Friday stressed the need for the ceasefire to cover Lebanon as well, as Israel continues strikes in the country.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said two points agreed upon by both Washington and Tehran have yet to be implemented, which are a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he stressed.

The war in Lebanon began in early March, days after the United States and Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on February 28.

Since then, fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah has intensified, with more than 1,700 people killed in Lebanon in just over a month, according to official figures.

The Israeli military on Friday said it has “eliminated” 1,400 Hezbollah “terrorists” and “dismantled” over 4,300 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon since the attacks began.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also condemned Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in a phone call with Iran’s Ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani on Friday, emphasizing “the need for the United States to adhere to its commitments in this regard.”

While the Iranian 10-point peace plan, agreed to by US President Donald Trump, calls for a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the assertion, saying it will continue its ground military operation in the country.

US Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have also said that Lebanon is not a part of the agreement.

Israel's refusal to refrain from attacking its northern neighbor has sparked outrage following the commencement of a shaky US-Iran ceasefire earlier in the week, with Tehran saying that negotiations pegged for Friday may be scuppered should Israel continue its strikes.

The Iranian army’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Friday warned if Israeli attacks on Hezbollah continue in Lebanon, it will “respond with a crushing and painful reply.”