WASHINGTON: Donald Trump evoked a possible resumption of discussions with Iran this week in Pakistan, while Israel and Lebanon agreed in Washington to begin direct negotiations, on the other front of the Middle East war.
“You should stay low, really, because something could happen in the next two days,” the American president told a journalist from the New York Post on the phone, who was present in Islamabad.
The New York newspaper reports that Donald Trump called back the journalist, a few minutes after initially saying it was unlikely that talks would resume in the Pakistani capital.
The Republican president then considered it “more likely” that American negotiators would go there again because the Pakistani army chief, Asim Munir, “is doing a great job.”
Over the weekend, a first round of talks with American Vice President JD Vance failed, held after a ceasefire on April 8.
Two senior Pakistani sources told AFP that Islamabad was seeking to revive them.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Tuesday for a resumption of “serious negotiations.” “There is no military solution to this crisis,” he insisted.
“From the same side”
On the other front of the conflict, involving Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Israel and Lebanon agreed to start direct negotiations for a lasting peace after over two hours of productive discussions between the ambassadors in Washington of the two countries, the first of their kind since 1993.
The American diplomacy specified that the date and location “remain to be agreed upon.”
“We discovered today that we (Israel and Lebanon, ed.) are from the same side,” said Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter. “We are both united in our desire to liberate Lebanon from the pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hezbollah,” he added.
The ambassador also stated that Israel does not want French involvement in these discussions on Lebanon.
“We would like to keep the French as far away as possible from almost everything, but especially when it comes to peace negotiations,” continued the Israeli representative, in undiplomatic terms.
His Lebanese counterpart Nada Hamadeh Moawad described Tuesday’s “preparatory meeting” as “constructive” and “called for a ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah.
While the Iranian front is experiencing a lull, Lebanon is not included in the truce according to Israel, which continues to target Hezbollah and has not withdrawn from the south of the country.
The pro-Iranian movement, a notable absentee from the meeting, described these discussions as a “surrender” and claimed, as they began, rocket fire towards thirteen Israeli border towns.
Oil below $100
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in early March when the Shiite movement targeted Israel to support Iran against the extensive Israeli-American offensive. Israel then undertook a military operation in Lebanese territory.
Since then, over 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes, according to authorities, and around one million have been displaced – one fifth of the population, according to the UN.
On the Israeli side, the army reported a total of thirteen soldiers killed in Lebanon. Ten were injured on Tuesday in clashes in the city of Bint Jbeil (south).
In Beirut, Lebanese express their weariness.
“We are for (negotiations) if it is in Lebanon’s interest, if it solves the problems,” said 49-year-old window repairman Kamal Ayad to AFP before the discussions. “We want peace, for our children and our future, we are tired, we have experienced so many wars.”
In the Gulf, the US military announced on Tuesday that it had prevented six ships from leaving Iranian ports in the first 24 hours of the blockade imposed by the United States on the Islamic Republic in response to its blocking of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
This paralysis has driven oil prices up, but they fell on Tuesday below $100 (-7.8% to $91.28 for the American barrel, -4.60% to $94.79 for Brent), as the market bets on a resumption of negotiations.
[Context: The article discusses potential diplomatic discussions between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, as well as negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Washington. It also covers the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.]
[Fact Check: The article mentions specific statements made by various individuals involved in the diplomatic discussions and conflicts.]
