WASHINGTON.– The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened Iran with new bombings on Wednesday and increased pressure to reach an agreement to end the war, despite announcing earlier that he will interrupt a plan to escort ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the start of the war on February 28, triggered by the Israeli-American offensive against Iran, Tehran has tried to control this strategic route for global hydrocarbon trade.
Trump noted on Tuesday on his social network Truth Social that the possibility of sealing “a complete and definitive agreement with the Iranian leaders” will pause for a short period of time the operation, called “Project Freedom”, which had been in force since Monday.
However, Trump specified that the US blockade of Iranian ports – established on April 13 – remained in place, and that this pause had been decided after “the request of Pakistan and other countries.”
However, after hours he abandoned the conciliatory tone and warned on social networks that, if an agreement is not reached, “the bombings will begin again and will, sadly, be at a higher level and intensity than before.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry declared that the US proposal to end the war is “under study”, according to local media.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country intervenes as a mediator and hosted a first round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran last month, declared this Wednesday that he is “hopeful” that “the current dynamics will lead to a lasting agreement that guarantees sustainable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”
Washington hopes to soon reach an agreement with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict, the American media Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two American officials.
According to Axios, both sides are close to agreeing to a “one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war” and beginning a 30-day period of talks that could take place in Geneva or Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met this Wednesday with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing.
In an interview broadcast on Iranian public television, Araqchi stated that the two discussed “the ongoing negotiations” to end the conflict.
Ahead of the visit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an outspoken critic of China, urged Beijing to pressure Araqchi to get Iran to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move he said is leaving Iran “globally isolated.”
“And there will be no achievement for the people?”
Likewise, Rubio announced on Tuesday that the United States concluded its offensive operations against Iran, called “Epic Fury.”
A Tehran resident told AFP reporters in Paris that the prospect of a deal being reached with the current government is “terrifying.”
“We have gone through so much hardship and suffering, and there will be no achievement for the people?” said Azadeh, a 43-year-old translator. “Honestly, I just hope they end this regime.”
On the other hand, living in the midst of this uncertainty makes “the psychological pressure intense,” he added.
oil falls
World oil prices plummeted this Wednesday due to expectations that the war would end and a barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell 6% to $103.32 and the US West Texas Intermediate marker fell 5.8% to $96.31 around 1:30 p.m. GMT.
The United States and Gulf countries have drafted a resolution for the U.N. Security Council demanding that Tehran cease attacks, indicate where it placed mines and stop trying to collect tolls in the strait, Marco Rubio said. It is expected to be voted on in the coming days.
On the Lebanese front, where Israel is fighting the pro-Iranian Islamist movement Hezbollah, its forces bombed at least two southern towns this Wednesday, according to AFP images.
For its part, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported at least four deaths in Israeli attacks in the Bekaa Valley, in the east of the country.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued their attacks despite the ceasefire in force in Lebanon.
This Wednesday, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Eyal Zamir, visited troops in southern Lebanon and promised to “take advantage of every opportunity to continue dismantling Hezbollah and continue to weaken it.”
