The truce between and , effective since April 8 is more than doubtful as while the negotiations between the two countries continue with great difficulty and delay, US forces have hit missile facilities and vessels in southern Iran. According to the US they were going to try to place mines in and for that they were hit.
In particular, the US central command stated that the raids were carried out in self-defense to protect US forces from threats by the Iranian military.
CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins said the US military “continues to defend our forces by demonstrating restraint during the ongoing ceasefire”.
According to him, the strikes were carried out near Bandar Abbas, a port city in southern Iran and home to an important Iranian naval base in the Straits of Hormuz, as reported by the New York Times.
Marco Rubio: The deal is possible
And while the US struck Iran in the midst of a truce, the Foreign Minister said in his statements that despite the US strikes on Iran, an agreement between the two countries is possible.
He said a deal with Iran was still being negotiated in Qatar, despite US raids on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. “There were some talks today in Qatar, so we’ll see if we can make progress,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.
Referring to the Straits of Hormuz he said “they must be open and they will remain open, one way or another”.
As reported by Reuters, he noted that the wording of the agreement being negotiated with Iran may require “a few more days” before it is finalized.
Trump ultimatum on enriched uranium
Earlier the American, with your post on truth social referring to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, said that it should either be handed over to the US, or destroyed under international supervision.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, he called the enriched uranium “nuclear dust” and argued that it should either be transported to the United States for destruction or destroyed on site or at another acceptable location under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He did not specify, however, whether he was referring exclusively to the approximately 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium estimated to be in Iran’s possession or to the country’s entire stockpile.
According to US reports, US officials are calling for the removal of the entire stockpile of enriched uranium as part of a possible deal.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict is raging
At the same time a barrage of attacks on the other front of the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah
Hezbollah, which is close to Iran, announced on Monday night that it had launched back-to-back attacks against three camps and a military post in northern Israel, “in retaliation for ceasefire violations” by the Israeli military.
The attacks came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an “intensification” of operations in Lebanon, vowing to “crush” the Shiite faction.
In a series of statements, the movement claimed responsibility for at least four drone attacks on the Shomerah camp, attacks on two other military units in northern Israel, as well as a military post in Mishgav Am.
It is noted that yesterday Monday the Israeli forces attacked southern and eastern Lebanon.
Airstrikes targeted communities in the districts of Tire and Nabatea, Lebanon’s national news agency ANI reported.
Last night, the Israeli air force continued to strike eastern Lebanon, according to ANI. “Eight shelling targeted Mashgara, in the western Bekaa, creating a zone of fire around the community,” he said.
Dozens of raids took place in towns and villages in southern Lebanon, killing three people, who were riding in two vehicles and a motorcycle, according to the agency.
The Arabic-speaking spokesman of the Israeli army, Avihai Andrai, issued orders for the immediate evacuation of the residents of more than ten communities, most of which are located in Jazin and Nabatia districts, and others related to Tire and its surroundings, including a Palestinian refugee camp.
The Israeli military announced shortly after 22:30 that “throughout the day”, it hit “over 70 Hezbollah facilities and infrastructure”, using “about 85 weapons” in “various areas of Lebanon” in order to “eliminate threats”.
He also reported that he “eliminated Hezbollah terrorists operating on motorcycles.”
The blood tax is constantly increasing
Israel’s military operations have killed at least 3,185 people since the start of the new war on March 2, according to the latest health ministry tally released yesterday, adding 34 deaths to the total in one day.
On the other hand, the Israeli army announced yesterday morning that a non-commissioned officer was killed “in combat” in southern Lebanon, with the casualties in its ranks reaching 23 during this period.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for new attacks against Israeli soldiers on Lebanese soil and for striking a “gathering of soldiers” in a community in northern Israel “with an unmanned aerial vehicle.”
Netanyahu: “We will crush Hezbollah”
“We are not slowing down, on the contrary, I asked that we speed up,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released via Telegram. “We will intensify the strikes, we will intensify (their) power, and we will crush” Hezbollah, he said.
“For every drone with explosives, ten buildings in Beirut must fall,” said the far-right finance minister of Bezalel Smotrich’s government.
At the end of the day yesterday, residents were leaving southern Beirut, which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold, an AFP journalist found. On the main road, dozens of cars and motorbikes were leaving, while the road was empty in the opposite direction.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, another baron of the Israeli far-right, demanded a resumption of “intensive warfare” and “taking control” of the Zahrani River, north of Litani.
The Israeli army, which has captured a zone some 10 kilometers deep in Lebanese territory, has been ordered to kill every Hezbollah fighter located in southern Lebanon, from the Israeli-Lebanese border to Litani.
The governments of Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, are expected to resume direct negotiations in Washington on June 2 and 3, following a meeting of their armed forces officers at the US Pentagon on May 29.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun yesterday defended his decision to negotiate with Israel, reiterating that the full withdrawal of the Israeli army from the south is a “non-negotiable” condition.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem reiterated last Sunday night the movement’s opposition to direct negotiations with Israel and rejected the faction’s disarmament.
The head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, accused him of seeking the “overthrow” of the government and wanting to “plunge Lebanon back into chaos”.
The military and rhetorical escalation comes as the US and Iran try to finalize the terms of a potential peace deal, despite huge differences, including over Lebanon – Tehran insists any deal should apply on “all” fronts.
