Uncertainty Clouds Cease-Fire as Lebanon and Gulf States Are Struck
A day after a pause in fighting was announced between the United States and Iran, many questions remained, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
A day after a pause in fighting was announced between the United States and Iran, many questions remained, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts said oil and natural gas energy companies would not quickly restore production unless attacks stopped and ships started moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The plan, which reasserts Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz and maintains the country’s right to nuclear enrichment, is not the same as the one President Trump said was a “workable basis” for negotiations.
Pakistani officials have aggressively courted the Trump administration and made use of their longstanding ties to Iran.
The truce is under strain because of two issues, Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. and Iranian negotiators are scheduled to meet in Pakistan this weekend.
The countries will have to re-evaluate their relationships with Israel, Iran and the United States after a war that has exposed their vulnerability.
Deadly airstrikes pummeled Lebanon in Israel’s largest bombing wave yet in the monthlong war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The first U.S.-born pontiff has consistently called for dialogue to resolve the war in the Middle East. He referred to Trump’s Iran threats as ‘truly unacceptable.’
President Trump’s short-term intimidation may have worked, but the fundamental divides with Iran are as sharp as they were in February.