Washington expressed on Thursday its hope that diplomatic efforts will lead to progress towards an agreement to end the war against Iran, and said it is awaiting the visit to Tehran of a Pakistani mediator.
“I believe the Pakistanis will travel to Tehran today. So let’s hope this will move things forward,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday before his arrival in Sweden for a NATO meeting on Friday.
The US Secretary of State also stated that progress had been made in the negotiations.
President Donald Trump had described the situation the day before as “on the edge”, between an agreement or a resumption of hostilities.
According to the ISNA news agency and other media outlets, Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Asim Munir, is expected in Iran to “continue discussions with Iranian officials”. Pakistan has not confirmed the dispatch of an envoy.
Pakistan is intensifying its mediation efforts: in recent days, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has twice visited Tehran, bringing with him the latest American proposal, which the Iranian authorities said they are considering.
But the Islamic Republic has reiterated its demands: “unfreezing of blocked Iranian assets” abroad and an end to the American blockade of Iranian ports. And it has stated that it will “never give in to intimidation”.
The Revolutionary Guards have also threatened to extend the war “well beyond the region”.
– “Red zone” –
Since a fragile ceasefire came into effect on April 8 after more than a month of war, discussions are ongoing, with both countries sticking to their positions.
Only one round of negotiations, which was fruitless, was held on April 11 in Pakistan.
The conflict, triggered by an Israeli-American attack on Tehran on February 28, has resulted in thousands of deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, where the pro-Iranian Hezbollah attacked Israel, which then invaded the southern part of the country and continues to strike despite a ceasefire.
Nine people were injured on Thursday in an airstrike that damaged a hospital in Tebnine, in the southern part of the country, according to Lebanese authorities.
An agreement with Iran would save “a lot of time, energy, and lives” and could be reached “very quickly, or within a few days,” said Donald Trump.
The US president is seeking a way out of this unpopular war in his country, which has severely disrupted the global economy, due to the near blockade of the strategic strait of Hormuz by Tehran, through which a fifth of the world’s consumed crude oil and liquefied natural gas usually pass.
The black gold market risks entering a “red zone”, with a supply shortage in “July or August”, in the absence of a sustainable solution to the conflict, the International Energy Agency (IEA) fears.
– Passage rights –
American media outlets reported divergent strategies between Donald Trump and his loyal ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing a tense telephone conversation on Tuesday.
Israel ultimately aims to overthrow the Islamic Republic, its sworn enemy, while “for the United States, the priority has always been to prevent nuclearization, even if it means reaching a compromise with the current regime,” analyzed Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Marco Rubio also criticized NATO allies on Thursday for their refusal “to do anything” to support the United States in the war in Iran, which has “upset” Washington.
Regarding Hormuz, Iran announced the establishment of an organization to oversee this maritime route early in the week and apparently to charge passage fees.
This “Authority of the Strait of the Persian Gulf” (#PGSA) claimed control over a zone extending to the waters south of the Emirati port of Fujairah on Thursday, at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s strategy to circumvent the strait blockade.
“The (Iranian) regime is trying to impose a new reality,” reacted Anwar Gargash, adviser to the Emirati president, describing these attempts to control the strait as a “chimera”.
In parallel, the UAE announced a new aid package worth over 350 million euros for their companies.
The repercussions of the conflict are also affecting the eurozone: the European Commission significantly downgraded growth forecasts for the 21 countries that share the single currency.
Published on May 22 at 9:33 am by AFP.
