The tension in the Middle East is easing, but the ceasefire agreement remains “fragile,” according to the Trump administration. Last night, the United States and Iran agreed, through Pakistan, to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This announcement came just over an hour before Donald Trump’s ultimatum to destroy Iran expired.
Just minutes before the government’s questions on April 8, the president (LR) of the Senate’s foreign affairs, defense, and armed forces commission is cautious about the implications of this event. “One should not believe that just because we have stopped fighting for 15 days, everything will return to normal […] Control of the Strait of Hormuz will be important. If the Iranians achieve their goal and make this strait, which is partly in international waters, a strait they fully control, in which they decide whether or not to allow free passage, then they will have won,” noted the senator from the Territory of Belfort.
Concerns about Lebanon’s fate This key aspect of the “deal” desired by Donald Trump leads him to believe that things are “rather poorly handled.” “The United States have catastrophically managed this crisis which is not over yet,” he considers.
Moreover, in the Middle East, the fighting is far from over, despite Lebanon being included in the ceasefire announced by Pakistan. This Wednesday, Israel claimed to have carried out its “largest coordinated strike” against Hezbollah since February 28. “Today, with Israelis being freed from their actions towards Iran, they will be able to concentrate all their forces on Lebanon, which is not necessarily good news for the Lebanese,” worries the senator. He believes that international pressure to halt military operations is a “necessity.”
“Relief” after the release of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris The president of the commission also expressed his “emotion” after the release and return of the two former French hostages in Iran, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris. “It’s a relief, it’s good news after three and a half years of captivity to see them return,” he declared, praising the “multitude of interventions, from the President of the Republic to Oman.”
According to Tehran, France would have committed to simultaneously returning the Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari to freedom. She was sentenced on February 26 by the Paris Criminal Court to four years in prison, one of which is firm, for endorsing Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, on social media and calling for attacks against the Jewish community in France. The senator continued, “It’s clear that the simultaneous release of the two is not a coincidence. There was definitely something behind it, but the important thing is that they have been released.”
This Thursday, the foreign affairs commission will hear from the French ambassador to Iran, “to possibly learn more about the conditions of this release, and more broadly about the situation in the country.”
