Renewed U.S. strikes put Iran talks on verge of collapse
WASHINGTON— Volatile negotiations to end the war with Iran appeared close to collapse on Tuesday, as renewed fighting across the region threatened to derail fragile progress towards a comprehensive solution.
US strikes on targets in southern Iran – the first since a ceasefire in the war declared seven weeks ago – combined with increased Israeli attacks in Lebanon have undermined optimism that a deal could be reached.
The attacks occurred just hours after US and Iranian diplomats arrived in Qatar for peace talks. Iran’s top negotiators left Doha on Tuesday without comment. News of the attack and Tehran’s threat of retaliation caused global oil prices to rise above $100 per barrel.
US Central Command described Monday’s actions as measured and modest “self-defense strikes” targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats “attempting to plant mines” in the Strait of Hormuz.
But the attack comes as President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio project confidence that a framework agreement to end the war can be reached within days. Under the proposed agreement, Iran would restore the strait to its pre-war status as a free and open international waterway, and both sides would enter into 60-day negotiations on the removal of Iran’s nuclear stockpiles.
Laying mines in the strait at the 11th hour of negotiations could signal to the Trump administration that Iran is not serious about reopening traffic in the strait. But the Iranians said on Tuesday that renewed US attacks showed Washington was unprepared to commit to peace.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “aggressive actions” of the United States and described them in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“These aggressive actions, which occurred simultaneously with the ongoing diplomatic process mediated by Pakistan, once again reveal the hostile nature and treachery of the ruling order in the United States,” the statement said.
The ministry added that Iran “will not leave any hostile action unanswered.”
Iran’s elusive religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared in a scheduled speech that US allies in the Middle East “will no longer serve as a shield for the American military”, suggesting that retaliatory strikes against US assets in the region could be imminent.
Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough were already slim. Last week, U.S. and Iranian officials struck an optimistic tone as they outlined a seemingly incompatible vision of a deal.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran will not receive any sanctions relief until its fissile material stockpile is removed and destroyed. But Iranian officials reiterated on Tuesday that unfreezing the country’s overseas assets remains a precondition for negotiations to resume.
And it is unclear whether Iran would agree to a peace deal with the United States that does not also restrict the actions of Israel, whose leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed deep skepticism about the diplomatic process.
Netanyahu has recently said that Israel will not be bound by any nuclear agreement and that his government will continue military operations against targets in the region, including Lebanon, if deemed necessary.
Israel’s ongoing offensive against Lebanon nearly jeopardized the ceasefire between Iran and the United States before Trump brokered a separate, temporary halt to the conflict there. But Israeli attacks have since resumed and Netanyahu has vowed to intensify his campaign against the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
“We are not taking our foot off the pedal,” Netanyahu said in a video speech on Monday. “On the contrary, I thought I would press the pedal even harder.”
The Israeli army stepped up its operations on Tuesday; It has attacked more than 100 Hezbollah sites in southern and eastern Lebanon, while expanding its ground offensives deeper into Lebanese territory.
According to the Israeli military statement, night attacks hit weapons storage facilities, command centers, observation points and infrastructure facilities.
Israeli media also reported that Israeli troops were operating beyond the 6.2-mile zone they occupied in southern Lebanon; many fear this could be the beginning of a wider invasion.
These fears were further heightened on Tuesday by Israel’s new evacuation orders for the entire town of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon’s second-largest city.
Hezbollah has also stepped up its campaign by bombarding Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel with drone and rocket attacks, according to the group’s statements. Media affiliated with Hezbollah reported that the group’s fighters clashed with Israeli troops to block their advance.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has increasingly relied on fiber-optic drones, which are both low-cost and resistant to jamming, to harass Israeli positions.
One Israeli soldier was killed and another was injured when a Hezbollah kamikaze drone crashed into an armored personnel carrier on Sunday, according to the Israeli military; The Israeli military announced that 23 Israeli soldiers and one civil defense contractor were killed in the current clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.
The latest wave of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel began on March 2, when the Iran-backed group launched attacks on Israel in revenge for the killing of Iran’s ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli attacks have so far killed 3,213 people, injured more than three times that number and displaced more than a million people, according to Lebanese health officials.
A ceasefire signed on April 17 removed the capital, Beirut, from attacks but otherwise did little to stop the fighting; Despite unprecedented direct negotiations between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, Hezbollah and Israel continue their attacks.
It was unclear whether Netanyahu’s warning meant Beirut would be targeted once again. Israeli drones buzzed the capital and Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs throughout the day on Tuesday.
Hezbollah opposes direct negotiations and insists it will continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon and stops attacks. Israel has demanded that the Lebanese government do more to disarm Hezbollah and move towards a peace agreement.
Bulos reported from Beirut.
