Iran

Publication date: April 10, 2026 11:16

Reading time: 3min – video: 11min

Maneli Mirkhan, foreign policy advisor and co-founder of the independent Dorna association, is the current guest on franceinfo on Friday, April 10. She discusses the upcoming negotiations between Israel and Lebanon as well as the expected talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan.

This text corresponds to a transcription of part of the above interview. Click on the video to watch the full interview.

Djamel Mazi: Firstly, we learned on Thursday, April 9, about the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon that will take place in Washington next week. Benyamin Netanyahu is calling for direct negotiations with Lebanon. How should we understand this? Is it an attempt to calm things down?

Maneli Mirkhan: It’s about trying to separate the two issues. It has been the will of the Americans and the Israelis to separate the issue of Hezbollah from the ceasefire with the Iranian regime. On the other hand, we also see the importance because the Iranians want to combine the two issues and the primary condition for a lasting ceasefire is the cessation of strikes on Lebanon. So, we can see that it is a sensitive topic for both parties. I think it is a good path to separate the two because, in fact, the Iranian arm against Israel has always been Hezbollah, and the Iranian issue cannot be addressed if the issue of Hezbollah is neglected. So, it is a good thing to separate the two.

Anthony Bellanger: It is clearly a victory in a deceitful way for Iran. That means that for the past two days, Iran has been insisting that the ceasefire should include Lebanon. Benyamin Netanyahu, apparently, had to talk to Donald Trump. Things heated up between the two capitals. He finally backed down and opened negotiations with Hezbollah. He probably decided to extend an olive branch and ask for direct discussions. This had never been seen between Lebanon and Israel.

The second point that seems very important to me is the negotiations that are about to start in Islamabad, Pakistan. Maybe we will come back to the role of Pakistan in this matter. What I am trying to understand is that all observers around the world say that Iran is in control. Iran has obtained it. Do you really think that Iran can get a lot from these negotiations?

I believe that Iran has been in control ever since the issue of the Strait of Hormuz surfaced in this war. Iran would not have been in the same configuration if the strait had not been blocked and if it had not shown the world that it used the Strait of Hormuz as an economic weapon. Today, from my point of view, the Iranian nuclear issue and the issue of the Strait of Hormuz are on the same level because both are intended to be a deterrent to protect Iran. So now that it can use the issue of the Strait of Hormuz to negotiate the rest, indeed, it has a very strong positioning.

Click on the video to watch the full interview.