War in Iran: Trump postpones ultimatum to April 6
The Opinion (with AFP)
Washington – Donald Trump has postponed his ultimatum for strikes on the Iranian energy sector by ten days, stating that discussions with Iran, whose capital was again heavily hit on Friday morning by Israel, are “going very well.” His Foreign Minister Marco Rubio arrived in France on Friday, according to an AFP journalist, for the second day of a G7 meeting, during which he is expected to push his counterparts to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This is to force access to this vital route of world oil trade that the American president threatened to destroy power plants in Iran. But “at the request of the Iranian government,” he has postponed his ultimatum “until Monday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m. Washington time” the destruction of power plants in Iran; he announced Thursday. This new postponement has brought some calm to oil prices, which are slightly declining on Friday. The global benchmark, Brent crude oil, dropped to around $107 per barrel, remaining more than 40% higher than before the conflict. To the satisfaction of the American president, Iran has allowed “ten ships” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. For several days, Donald Trump has alternated between threats to hit Iran harder and assurances that the conflict will soon end. “Discussions continue and, contrary to what the lying media say (…), they are going very well,” he declared on his Truth Social network, also claiming that Iran is more willing than him to negotiate to end the war. Tehran refuses to use the term “discussion” at this stage, but, according to an anonymous source quoted Thursday by the Tasnim news agency, Iran has “officially” and “through intermediaries” transmitted a response to the American plan consisting of 15 points. It has set conditions for a cessation of hostilities and now awaits “a response from the other party.” Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, said they targeted military and energy targets in Israel and Gulf countries with missiles and drones on Friday. Strikes in the heart of Tehran Saturday will mark the first month of the war, triggered by the joint offensive of the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 and spreading across the Middle East, fueling fears for the global economy and oil and gas supply. While Washington seems to be seeking a diplomatic way out of the war, Israel shows its determination to intensify its military campaign with new strikes on Friday on Tehran and the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli army said it carried out significant strikes on unspecified infrastructure in the Iranian capital and explosions were heard and smoke seen in the south of the Lebanese capital, considered a Hezbollah stronghold by Israel. Lebanon was dragged into the conflict on March 2 in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by the pro-Iranian movement on Israel and is paying a heavy price, with over 1,100 deaths, according to authorities, and more than one million displaced people. Israel remains silent to this day on the exchanges between Washington and Iran, via Pakistan, to end the fighting. The Israeli tactic of Benjamin Netanyahu to fight in both Iran and Lebanon no longer enjoys consensus, with the Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticizing fights as “without strategy, without the necessary means and with far too few soldiers.” Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin admitted on Thursday evening that the Israeli army needed “additional forces.” AFP offices in Tehran, Jerusalem, Dubai, Baghdad, Beirut, and Washington – Agence France-Presse
