It is not another anonymously sourced report about a rift between the United States and Israel. This time, the administration of President Donald Trump appears genuinely frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war in Lebanon.

The opening of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran calls for the “permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, but the Israelis are not stopping their attacks in the country.

The Israeli military is continuing its deadly strikes in Lebanon and trying to advance further with its invasion, vowing to keep hold of the territory it has conquered, amounting to nearly 20 percent of the country.

The Trump administration is making it clear that it is irked by Israel’s behaviour.

“The United States is committed to PEACE, and we encourage everyone in the Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

“The Markets are loving what is happening with Oil Prices way down, and Stocks way up. We expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel.”

For their part, the Iranians have said repeatedly that they will not finalise a ceasefire deal while Lebanon is under fire. This condition appeared to come into play on Friday when talks between the United States and Iran to discuss the technical terms of their ceasefire deal were postponed after overnight Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed dozens of people.

While US officials have said that yet another ceasefire was agreed in Lebanon after the spike in violence on Friday, Israel has continued its attacks.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that he received assurances from President Masoud Pezeshkian about safeguarding the rights of “the Iranian nation and the resistance front” in talks with the US.

The resistance front, also known as the axis of resistance, is a network of regional Iranian allies that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said Tehran is “not joking” about its commitment to a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

“Lebanon has always been the greatest vulnerability to this deal because this is really crucial to the Iranians,” Parsi told Al Jazeera.

[Aljazeera]

Vinicius Junior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Selecao got the decisive performance they needed on Friday.

Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.

Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Philadelphia Stadium when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the over matched Haitians.

Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Selecao fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.

Haitian fans danced and sang “Grenadye Alaso” (“Grenadiers to the Attack”), the traditional battle cry of the national team. Brazilians chanted back, reminding them their country is the five-time World Cup champion and the home of the king of football: “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals! Only Pele, only Pele!”

Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.

Vinicius, whose 32nd-minute goal helped Brazil earn the tie against Morocco, helped Brazil get on the board when his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Johny Placide, and Cunha was there to slam home the rebound to make it 1-0. Cunha extended both arms as if trying to catch some tasty waves and was mobbed by his teammates.

Vinicius slid a pass through the defence to find Cunha, and he powered one high into the net that Placide never had a chance to stop to make it 2-0. Cunha slid on his stomach and mimicked a swimming motion that all but put Haiti in the drink — and validated the Brazilians’ fans’ decision not to tempt fate and dress the Rocky statue in team gear for bad luck.

Vinicius closed the half with a goal, and that was enough to keep Brazil — seeking its first World Cup title since 2002 — happy before it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Neymar was ruled out of Brazil’s second straight match because of a lingering calf injury.

[Aljazeera]

The ‌‌United States showed they could win without Christian Pulisic, ⁠⁠beating Australia 2-0 ⁠⁠to reach the World Cup round of 32, but coach Mauricio Pochettino is hoping his talisman will return for their next ⁠⁠match.

Pulisic missed Friday’s Group D clash in Seattle with a calf injury sustained in the USA’s opening win over Paraguay, leaving the cohosts without ⁠⁠their most influential attacking player.

The Americans still found a way through, taking the lead in the 11th minute through a Cameron Burgess own goal before Alex Freeman headed in shortly before half-time after a VAR review overturned an ‌‌initial offside decision.

“It’s always difficult because we want to have all the players,” Pochettino said. “Christian is an important player for us, but … it was impossible today for him to play. We hope that next game he will be available.”

The USA moved to six points and secured their place in the knockout rounds with one group-stage match still to play.

Pochettino ⁠⁠said Pulisic remained central to his plans but ⁠⁠added that any successful World Cup run would require contributions from the entire squad.

“If we want to win the competition, we need the whole team,” he said. “All the players need to ⁠⁠be important.

“Of course, Christian is one of the best players in the world. I hope that he can ⁠⁠recover as soon as possible and can ⁠⁠enjoy being on the pitch and helping the team.”

Weston McKennie praised the US team’s depth and said the squad showed on Friday that they could do it all.

“We can play the ‌‌physical game because we have guys on the field who are ready to step up for that, and we have guys with quality who can ‌‌play possession-based football,” he said.

USA close out Group D against Turkiye on Thursday at Los Angeles Stadium.

[Aljazeera]