West Asia War: Mediators move closer to extending US-Iran ceasefire, officials tell AP
A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats have put the week-old agreement in jeopardy, but regional officials said they were making progress Wednesday, telling The Associated Press that the U.S. and Iran have an “agreement in principle” to expand the pact to allow for more diplomacy.
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Before a two-week ceasefire expires on April 22, mediators are pressing for compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend — Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to one of the regional officials involved in the mediation effort.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Tuesday that talks were likely to be revived in the coming days.
Also Read | Iranian oil reaches India just before US exemption expiresThe conflict has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US soldiers were also killed.
More talks likely as blockade threatens to escalate
The war, now in its seventh week, has rattled markets and shaken the global economy as shipping is disrupted and air strikes destroy military and civilian infrastructure in the region. Oil prices fell on Wednesday on hopes of an end to the conflict and U.S. stocks rose near records set in January.
But it has become increasingly uncertain whether the fragile ceasefire will hold as the United States maintains a blockade that threatens to cut off Iran from the economic lifelines it has relied on since the war began nearly seven weeks ago.
Also Read | Donald Trump sees no need to extend Iran-Israel ceasefire, says deal is preferable
“I think they want to make a really bad deal,” Trump said in an excerpt from an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” scheduled to air Wednesday morning. He added: “I see this as very close to the end.”
New talks with Iran are still being discussed and nothing is planned, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss sensitive negotiations.
Pakistani finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told The Associated Press that “our leadership has not given up” on efforts to help the United States and Iran end the conflict.
Tankers returned after the blockade came into force
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that no ships were able to breach the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six commercial vessels complied with orders from U.S. forces to turn back and re-enter Iranian waters.
The aim of the blockade is to put pressure on Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began on February 28. Much of this oil is likely transported by so-called dark crossings that evade sanctions and surveillance and provide cash vital to Iran’s survival.
Tankers approaching the strait on Monday turned back shortly after the blockade came into effect, but one changed course again and passed through the waterway.
Since the start of the war, Iran has restricted maritime traffic and most commercial ships have avoided the waterway. Tehran’s virtual closure of the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil passes in peacetime, has caused oil prices to soar, sending the cost of gasoline, food and other essential goods soaring far beyond the Middle East.
Strikes continue in Lebanon after Washington talks
Meanwhile, Israel continued its air and land war in Lebanon. The country’s National News Agency reported on Wednesday that there were airstrikes and artillery shelling in southern Lebanon, including near Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces have surrounded fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The clashes continued even after Israeli and Lebanese officials concluded their first direct talks in decades. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two countries were “on the same side of the equation” regarding “liberating Lebanon from Hezbollah.” Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad described Tuesday’s meeting as “constructive” but called for an end to the hostilities. Since March, this war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel’s founding in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic relations with Israel.
