According to a reporter from the New York Post, the American president declared on Tuesday that “something could happen in the next two days” regarding new discussions between Washington and Tehran in Islamabad. Donald Trump stated on Tuesday, April 14, that the war with Iran was “almost over,” mentioning a possible resumption of talks with Iran this week in Pakistan.
“I think it’s almost over,” the U.S. president affirmed in the evening on Fox News, asserting that the Iranian authorities “really want to reach an agreement.” Trump also mentioned a possible restart of discussions with Iran as early as this week in Pakistan. “Something could happen in the next two days,” he told a New York Post journalist.
Donald Trump praised the “great job” done by the Pakistani army chief. The New York newspaper reported that Trump called back his journalist shortly after initially responding that it was unlikely for talks to resume in the Pakistani capital. Over the weekend, an initial round of discussions with American Vice President JD Vance failed, but did not lead to a breakdown of the ceasefire in effect since April 8. However, Washington increased pressure on Tehran on Monday by implementing a blockade on transit to or from Iranian ports.
In this new power struggle, American negotiators may travel back to Islamabad this week for negotiations, as stated by Donald Trump, who commended the “great job” of mediation done by the Pakistani army chief, Asim Munir. Two high-ranking Pakistani sources confirmed to AFP that Islamabad was seeking to restart talks.
The UN called for “serious negotiations.” On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the resumption of “serious negotiations.” Despite the impact of the double blockade – Iranian and American – on the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil and LNG normally transit, markets seemed hopeful for a resolution to the conflict. Oil prices continued to drop below $95 per barrel on Wednesday after a sharp decrease on Tuesday.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, assured that Russia was ready to “compensate” for the energy deficit experienced by China and other countries due to the war. Furthermore, Israel and Lebanon agreed on Tuesday to start direct negotiations for a lasting peace after discussions between the ambassadors in Washington of both countries.
Lebanon described the Tuesday meeting as “constructive” and called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. While the Iranian front experiences a lull, Lebanon is not included in the truce according to Israel, which continues to target Hezbollah and has not withdrawn from the southern part of the country. Hezbollah, absent from the meeting, labeled the discussions as a “surrender” and claimed responsibility for rockets fired toward thirteen Israeli border towns at the beginning of the talks.
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East conflict in early March when the Shiite movement targeted Israel to support Iran against the Israeli-American offensive. Since then, over 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes, with approximately one million displaced – about one-fifth of the population according to the UN. On the Israeli side, the military reported a total of thirteen soldiers killed in Lebanon, with ten wounded on Tuesday during clashes in the southern city of Bint Jbeil.
