Iran And U.S. Reach An Initial Deal To End The War And Open The Strait Of Hormuz But Challenges Remain

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — United States and Iran first agreement reached On Monday, this will lead to an extension of the shaky ceasefire and reopening of the gates. Strait of HormuzBut significant challenges to ending the war remain, including whether Israel will continue its offensive in Lebanon.

Details agreement It was not released immediately, but it appeared that it would not be implemented until it was signed; mediator Pakistan said this would take place in Geneva on Friday. Even if the strait, an important waterway for the world’s oil and natural gas, were fully opened then, it would likely take months. global energy crisis It was exacerbated by confinement for relief.

Israel’s defense minister said Monday that the country will not withdraw from captured territory in Lebanon where Israel is located. Fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Israel joined the USA The war begins on February 28but is not a party to the agreement. A spokesman in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would continue to defend itself against any threat to its security.

That alone could break the deal, as Iran insists that any deal to end the war also includes an end to hostilities in Lebanon.

However, the agreement also faces other big challenges. Despite Tehran’s insistence that it is peaceful, the United States and Israel are given only 60 days to decide what to do about Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile and nuclear program, which they fear could be used to make atomic weapons. It took years for Iran and world powers to negotiate a deal signed in 2015 to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from this agreement during his first term, setting the stage for tensions that have come to a head. in the current warThe attack killed thousands of people in the Middle East, including top leaders of the Iranian theocracy, and sent prices of fuel, food and other essential goods soaring far beyond the region.

Trump, who faces pressure to end the war ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections, welcomed the agreement on social media, saying it allowed the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports. He later said that the strait would not be opened until Friday.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Garibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not begin implementing the agreement until it was signed.

Iranian attacks on shipping early in the war brought traffic in the key waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed before the conflict, to a near standstill. Trump implemented a blockade in response.

The closure of the strait, Iran’s attacks on the Gulf energy infrastructure, and the blockade caused fuel prices to soar, with knock-on effects rippling through the world economy. Energy experts say it will likely be months before energy companies can resume operations to the point of meeting world demand.

Iranian and U.S. officials will hold preparatory meetings in Doha, Qatar, this week before the signing, said a diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings.

The success of the agreement depends at least in part on what happens between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli bombing of the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday nearly derailed the talks, and an earlier attack led to Iran opening fire on Israel and Israel firing back.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel plans to remain “indefinitely” in the lands it holds in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. Over the past 2.5 years, Israel has seized control of 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel because of its attacks in Lebanon, Israel will hit Iran with “great force”.

In response to questions about where Israel stands on the deal, Netanyahu’s office spokesman, David Mencer, told The Associated Press that Israel and the United States are in full alignment on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, he added that Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on its territory and will continue to take action against those who seek to harm its citizens.

In a sign of the weakness of the agreement, the Lebanese army urged residents not to rush to return to border villages, saying they must comply with military instructions due to the danger of “Israeli violations and aggression”.

In its first public statement following the agreement’s announcement, Hezbollah said Iran had achieved a “great success” in reaching the agreement and that it could lead to “the complete liberation of our lands, the return of our prisoners to their homeland and their families” and the reconstruction of war-torn areas.

The militant group added that “there will be no return to the situation before March 2,” referring to the 15 months leading up to its latest war with Israel, when a ceasefire was officially in effect but Israel continued to carry out regular attacks in Lebanon, which it said was aimed at stopping Hezbollah’s rebuilding.

The group dealt another blow to the Lebanese government’s decision to enter into direct US-mediated negotiations with Israel; this led to many ceasefire announcements that were not implemented on the ground, and calls for the government to “move away from illusions and losing bets”.

Despite the uncertainties, world leaders from Europe to China welcomed the agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron hosting Trump and other world leaders Group of Seven summit This week, it was stated that France and other Western partners were “ready to act very quickly” to help shipping traffic in the strait return to normal if the United States and Iran agree to such a mission.

“We already have forces in the region,” Macron said in an interview with French television TF1 on Monday; Including France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

Others warned that the agreement remained temporary. Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Xavier Bettel, noted: “There is still a long time until Friday.”

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Will Weissert in Washington, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Sylvie Corbet in Evian-les-Bains, France, contributed to this report.