On the 41st day of conflict and the 2nd day of the ceasefire, the situation in the Middle East remains tense, with negotiations threatened mainly by Israeli actions in Lebanon.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday (9) that Israeli attacks on Lebanon violate the ceasefire agreement and make negotiations difficult.
During the night and at dawn, Israel launched into Lebanon. The Israelis also claim to have killed the secretary and nephew of Naim Kassem, leader of the extremist group Hezbollah.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said in an interview with NBC News who asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take it easy” on attacks on Iran.
In the same interview, Trump said he was “very optimistic” about an agreement with Iran. He also said that the American Armed Forces will continue until the ceasefire agreement is fully implemented.
Another sign that talks between the United States and Iran are under threat is the fact that the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, deleted a post on X announcing the arrival of an Iranian delegation in Islamabad for the meeting with the US.
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Israel-Lebanon negotiations
A US State Department official told AFP that talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Washington, DC, next week, but nothing has been officially confirmed.
This Thursday, Netanyahu said for the first time that Israel wants to start peace talks with Lebanon. Even so, he continues to state that the current ceasefire does not include Lebanon, contradicting the position of Pakistan, mediator of the proposal.
A Lebanese official told Reuters that the country spent the last day advocating for a ceasefire that would allow talks with Israel. According to him, this would be a “separate path, but with the same model” as negotiations between the US and Iran.
However, Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Fayyad said the group and the Lebanese government should demand a ceasefire as a precondition before any further action is taken.
War numbers
- More than 3,000 Iranians have been killed since the start of the conflict on February 28, according to data from Iran’s forensic chief in state media.
- At least 303 people died in Lebanon in the latest Israeli attacks, according to the Ministry of Health.
- This brings the total number of deaths to 1,888. Another 6,092 people were injured in the conflict, 1,150 in the last few days alone.
Strait of Hormuz
In the midst of this, the Strait of Hormuz remains with vessel circulation, even though Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has stated that there will be one in the management of the passage.
The country’s vice-chancellor, in turn, reinforced the stance of making the Strait of Hormuz conditional on the end of bombings in Lebanon.
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Even with a possible reopening, Iran is unlikely to allow passage, a senior official told the Russian news agency. Tass.
After much criticism from President Trump and the threat of leaving NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said that European Union countries will commit to helping in , if necessary.
Rutte would also have informed some countries that Trump wants, in the coming days, help to guarantee the security of the Strait of Hormuz, European diplomats reported to Reuters.
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