The head of the Pakistani army expected in Iran, situation “on the edge” for Trump: News – Orange

Efforts intensify on Thursday to end the war between the United States and Iran, with the visit to Tehran of a new senior official from Pakistan, mediator of the discussions.

It comes as Donald Trump warned the day before that the situation was “on the edge”, between an agreement or a resumption of hostilities.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said progress had been made. “I believe the Pakistanis will go to Tehran today. So let’s hope that will move things forward,” he told reporters.

The powerful head of the Pakistani army, Asim Munir, is expected in Iran to “continue discussions with Iranian officials”, according to the Isna news agency and other media.

Pakistan is increasing its mediation efforts: in recent days, the Minister of the Interior, Mohsin Naqvi, went there twice, bringing with him the latest American proposal, which the Iranian authorities said they were examining.

But the Islamic Republic reiterated its demands: “unfreezing of blocked Iranian assets” abroad and an end to the American blockade of Iranian ports. And repeated that she would “never give in to intimidation”.

The Revolutionary Guards have threatened to extend the war “well beyond the region”.

– “Aller tr¨s know” –

Since the entry into force of a fragile truce on April 8 after more than a month of war, discussions have stalled, with the two countries sticking to their positions.

Only one real negotiation session, unsuccessful, was held on April 11 in Pakistan. And now the negotiations are taking place behind the scenes.

The conflict, triggered by an Israeli-American attack on Tehran on February 28, has left thousands dead, especially in Iran and Lebanon, where pro-Iranian Hezbollah attacked Israel, which then invaded the south of the country and continues the strikes despite the ceasefire.

On Thursday, a new strike damaged a hospital in Tebnine, according to the Lebanese authorities.

“Either we will reach an agreement, or we will take slightly more severe measures,” the American president declared on Wednesday. “It’s on the line, believe me.”

According to the billionaire, an agreement with Iran would save “a lot of time, energy and lives” and it could be concluded “… very quickly, or within a few days”.

Faced with these uncertainties, the stock markets remained cautious on Thursday and oil prices started to rise again with Brent from the North Sea around 107 euros. The International Energy Agency (IEA) fears that the black gold market will enter a “red zone”, with a shortage of supply this summer, in the absence of a lasting solution to the conflict.

– Divergences Trump/Netanyahu –

Especially since the American media are reporting divergent strategies between Donald Trump and his Israeli ally, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two men had a tense telephone conversation on Tuesday, according to CNN and CBS. The Israeli Prime Minister “will do what I want him to do”, then said Mr. Trump.

An indication, according to these media, that Washington continues to push for a diplomatic solution while Israel wishes to resume fighting.

Israel ultimately aims to overthrow the Islamic Republic, its sworn enemy, while “for the United States, the priority has always been to prevent nuclearization, even if this implies finding a compromise with the regime in place”, comments on X Danny Citrinowicz, researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

The American administration is looking for a way out of this unpopular conflict, because the war has seriously disrupted the world economy, due to the virtual blockage of the strategic Strait of Hormuz by Tehran, through which a fifth of crude oil and liquefied natural gas previously transited. consumed around the world.

Iran formalized at the beginning of the week the creation of an organization responsible for supervising this sea route and presumably charging passage fees. Over the last 24 hours, 31 ships have been able to cross it, the Revolutionary Guards indicated on their Sepah News website.

This “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” (#PGSA) also claimed on Thursday a zone of control extending to the waters located south of the Emirati port of Fujairah, at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s strategy to circumvent the blockage of the strait.

“The (Iranian) regime is trying to impose a new reality,” reacted on X the advisor to the Emirati president, Anwar Gargash, describing these “attempts to control the strait” as a “chimera”.

At the same time, the Emirates announced a new aid package worth more than 350 million euros for their businesses.

The tremors of the conflict also affect the euro zone: the European Commission has sharply lowered the growth forecasts of the 21 countries sharing the single currency.