The US and Iran reached a secret peace deal to end their war, sparking scepticism but relief across the Middle East, despite Israel’s refusal to halt its offensive in Lebanon.

• The US and Iran reached a secret peace deal to end their war, sparking scepticism but relief across the Middle East, despite Israel’s refusal to halt its offensive in Lebanon.
• Displaced Lebanese residents cautiously began returning to southern areas, though officials urged delays amid unclear conditions and ongoing tensions.
• In Iran and Gulf states, optimism centred on potential economic recovery and regional stability, though doubts remain about the deal’s durability.

The deal between the United States and Iran to end their war, negotiated in secret and still not revealed in detail, was greeted with scepticism but a measure of relief among ordinary people across the Middle East.

In Lebanon, AFP saw displaced people preparing to return to homes they fled in the south of the country, despite Israeli ministers declaring that they do not feel bound by the agreement to halt their own offensive against Hezbollah.

At the Qasmiyeh bridge, gateway to the Tyre area that Israel has pounded in recent weeks, dozens of cars packed with mattresses and suitcases were passing through a Lebanese army checkpoint, passengers flashing victory signs.

Alaa Merahi, who was driving with his wife and children, told AFP: "We're returning to our south, to the free land... we can't do without the southern land."

READ | Iran, US agree to halt war and reopen Hormuz, sending oil prices tumbling

Many expressed hope this would be a "final return" after hundreds of thousands of residents were repeatedly forced to flee Israeli bombings and evacuation orders.

At a crowded school-turned-shelter in the coastal city of Sidon, displaced people sat in classrooms drinking coffee, waiting for official authorisation to return.

'We'll set up a tent'

"Our joy is greater than the whole world," said Haifa Sherri, who was displaced from the town of Khirbet Selm near the border.

She said, however, she would hold off on returning until the situation became clearer.

Lebanon's army urged displaced residents to delay their return to southern border villages, while several municipalities told people to await instructions.

But in Sidon, Hanaa Jaffal said she planned to return on Monday to Ansar, close to Nabatieh and the Israeli advance.

"There's nothing like returning to your land, even if the houses are no longer there," she said.

"We'll set up a tent and stay in it," she said, paying tribute to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and which insisted Lebanon must be included in any peace deal.

READ | Iran pours cold water on Trump claim that deal to end war is near

Iran and mediator Pakistan say the agreement does not provide for an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but Israeli ministers said their forces will not be withdrawn.

On the other side of the border in Israel, reactions were more mixed, but many expressed scepticism that peace would ensue.

"I don't expect this ceasefire to last. I don't think that they considered Israeli needs, and I'm personally upset about it," said Naomi Haddar, chief executive of a medical non-profit.

"I think that we should be stronger and we should stand on our rights and we are free country and we have to make our own decisions to protect our own citizens."

Koby Heller, 40-year-old Jerusalem resident and owner of chain of orthopaedic clinics, told AFP: "And the general feeling within Israel, I can't even say if it's a feeling within, but everyone I talk to tells me: 'we lost'."

"President Trump went to war, with Israel, to achieve goals. The goals were -- as he stated -- to dismantle the missiles and to remove the uranium stockpile from Iran. Neither was achieved," he said.

'May not be pleasant'

In Iran, where the government brutally suppressed anti-government protests a month before the war began, most optimism was economic rather than political.

Tehran salesman Efran, 18, told AFP he hopes an end to sanctions would put the Iranian economy back in gear.

"Of course, if the Americans keep their word and do not break their promises, as usual," he added.

READ | US-Iran peace deal announced with ‘permanent’ end to military action

Nastaran, a 29-year-old software engineer, said she would be very happy "once the war is over and the sanctions we had are lifted."

And Sadegh, a 52-year-old government worker, said Washington should be ready to make concessions.

"It may not be pleasant for both sides, but nations need peace and tranquillity, and I hope that the other side will adhere to this agreement," he said.

In the monarchies of the Gulf, whose economies were battered by Iranian strikes and a shipping blockade, the US and Israel launched the war on 28 February, there was also cautious optimism.

"I'm relieved," said 40-year-old Bahraini Hessa Mahmoud. "No one wants to live through war again."

And in Kuwait, where recent Iranian drone strikes hit the international airport and killed an Indian civilian, 37-year-old Jordanian engineer Iyad Joumma spoke for many.

While the agreement may allow the region to catch its breath, he said, its success "will depend on the ability of the parties involved to address the root causes of the tensions".