Trump assures that Iran wants an agreement to end the war
l’Opinion (with AFP)
Tehran – Donald Trump assured that Tehran, despite its denials, is indeed participating in negotiations and wants an agreement to end the war, while Israel continued its strikes on Iran on Thursday. “They are negotiating, and they absolutely want to conclude an agreement, but they are afraid to say it,” the US president said Wednesday evening in front of a group of Republican lawmakers united in Washington. “They are also afraid of being killed,” he said, on the 27th day of a conflict engulfing the Middle East and threatening the world economy. Earlier on Wednesday, the White House warned that Donald Trump was “ready to unleash hell” if Tehran made “another miscalculation”. No information is available on the Iranian leaders in charge of the negotiations mentioned by Washington. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, maintained that Iran does “not intend to negotiate” and plans to “continue to resist”. An American proposal to silence the weapons, which, according to American and Israeli media, contains fifteen points, was transmitted to Iran by Islamabad, which has good relations with both countries, according to two senior Pakistani officials. “Sometimes, messages can be transmitted (…) but this can in no way be described as a dialogue or negotiation,” said Mr. Araghchi on state television. Iran wants to “end the war on its own terms,” he emphasized. Diplomatic initiatives have multiplied in recent days to try to put an end to a war that has become “out of control,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. However, there has been no diplomatic opening so far, even though Beijing said on Thursday it sees “signals in favor of negotiations” from both the United States and Iran. The conflict will be on the agenda Thursday at a meeting in France of the G7 foreign ministers, who will only be joined on Friday by American Marco Rubio. “What worries me most about this war is that there has been no consultation, no strategy, no clear objective and, worst of all from my point of view, there is no exit strategy,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, visiting Australia. Destroyed installations On the ground, the attacks continue in both directions. On Thursday, the Israeli army indicated that it had carried out “large-scale strikes” on unspecified infrastructures in several areas of Iran, including Isfahan in the center of the country. Israel also said it was the target of a new missile attack. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, where energy infrastructure and American interests are regularly targeted, also said they were facing new attacks. The US military said it had damaged or destroyed “more than two-thirds” of Iran’s drone and missile production facilities as well as Iranian shipyards, and “92%” of the Iranian fleet. Iran’s near blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil normally transits, has caused oil prices to rise by about 60% since the start of the Israeli-American attack on February 28. On Thursday, oil prices, both Brent, the global benchmark, and WTI, the American benchmark, were rising again after a slight decline the day before, as Iran said it was allowing the passage of ships from “non-hostile” countries. Nearly entirely dependent on oil transiting through Hormuz, Japan announced on Thursday that it would have to tap into its strategic reserves for the second time. Israel is also continuing its intervention against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon, where its strikes have displaced more than one million people since the country entered the war. On Thursday, the Israeli army announced that one of its soldiers had been seriously injured on Wednesday by mortar fire aimed at its troops in Lebanon. The offices of AFP in Tehran, Jerusalem, Dubai, Baghdad, Beirut, and Washington – Agence France-Presse
