This Sunday (7), Israel carried out an attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the pro-Iran group Hezbollahwhich left two dead, in retaliation for the shots fired against its territory despite a ceasefire that fails to stop the cycle of violence that began 100 days ago.
Israeli attacks left two dead and 20 injuredincluding four children and four women, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Israel reported, in turn, two waves of Iranian drone attacks against its territorythe first since the ceasefire between the two countries, on April 8. As a consequence, he announced the suspension of classes this Monday.
Tehran, which released a statement saying Israel had “crossed all red lines” in Lebanon, previously threatened reprisals against American and Israeli interests in the Middle East.
The possibility of reaching an agreement to put an end to the war that started 100 days ago, which shook the world economy, is becoming increasingly distant.
“The naval blockade imposed on Iran and the green light given today by the United States to the Zionist regime transform American and (Israeli) regime bases and assets in the region into legitimate targets,” declared Iran’s chief negotiator and President of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on X.
“Our armed forces, as always, have the freedom to act,” he added.
Stagnation
Although peace negotiations appear to be stalled, Pakistan, which acts as mediator, continues its efforts.
According to state television, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi visited Tehran again and delivered a “special letter” addressed to supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, which contains “a very important message”, he said, without revealing its content.
In turn, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ismael Baqai, described the negotiation process as “laborious” and harshly criticized, in an interview with CNN, the “changes in stance” and “contradictory comments” from the American government.
In Tehran, uncertainty and economic impasse weigh on residents.
“I have the feeling that this situation will continue for a while: a kind of suspended state, in which some launch missiles, others send drones, and I doubt that all this will result in real stability,” Farhad, a 35-year-old chef in the Iranian capital, told AFP.
Life became “increasingly difficult”, he added. “Things that just a few months ago we might have thought about buying are now dreams or fairy tales.”
Since the ceasefire of April 8, hostilities had virtually ceased. However, they have resurfaced recently, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic sea route for hydrocarbons controlled by Tehran.
This Sunday, the American army announced that it had shot down two Iranian drones that threatened maritime traffic international presence in the strait and stated that its forces remained “on alert”.
Non-Lebanon Hostilities
At the same time, hostilities continue on the other front of the conflict, Lebanon, from where projectiles were fired at Israel this Sunday, despite a ceasefire theoretically in force.
The conflict began on March 2, when Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the death of the previous Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This Sunday, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the army attacked the Shiite group’s command centers in the southern suburbs of Beirut, “in response to Hezbollah fire on Israeli territory.”
Since the start of the war in March, the attacks against Lebanon left at least 3,613 dead, according to the authorities’ latest balance sheet.
On the Israeli side, 29 soldiers and one civilian outsourced employee died in Lebanonaccording to the army.
Iran demands that any agreement with the United States includes an end to hostilities on Lebanese territory, while the United States would prefer to deal with the two issues separately.
In this context, American President Donald Trump asked his Israeli ally for strikes against Hezbollah to be more “surgical.”
The positions of Tehran and Washington remain very far apart on issues such as the conflict in Lebanon, Iranian assets frozen abroad, nuclear energy and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
For its part, Iran, which is participating in the football World Cup, organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada, denounced “discriminatory treatment” against its delegation, as several members of the technical team were unable to obtain visas to enter American territory.
