Tensions are running high between Iran and the United States along the Strait of Hormuz, as negotiations remain stalled. Despite ongoing negotiations and both sides talking about progress, Washington has decided to launch an attack in southern Iran, hitting a missile launch site and several mine-laying vessels. A "self-defense" strike to protect troops, the US Middle East command was quick to clarify.

But for Tehran, this was a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire, which, it warned, would not be left "unresponsive." The sudden American raid in the area of Bandar Abbas, a port city home to an Iranian naval base, follows days of intense tension, especially on the part of US President Donald Trump, who in recent days announced the imminent signing of an agreement. This signature has not yet occurred, and the agreement currently appears far from being within reach: positions remain divergent on several points.

Thus, the sudden raid is also being interpreted as yet another attempt by the US president to pressure Tehran to speed up action. "America will no longer have a safe haven for its misdeeds and for the establishment of military bases in the region," Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei threatened, with Tehran reiterating that its response this time would extend far beyond the region. The memorandum of understanding, which is still being worked on, broadly envisages extending the truce for 60 days, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and laying the groundwork for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. However, there are many issues to be resolved, primarily the release of some of Iran's frozen assets abroad.

Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf held a series of meetings in Qatar specifically regarding the possible release of funds. Approximately $12 billion in Iranian assets are frozen in the country; Tehran is aiming to obtain them as part of a total $24 billion allocation. The visit was "overall positive," Ghalibaf said, without disclosing any details about the talks in Qatar. In recent days, Qatar, along with Pakistan, has assumed a key role in the negotiations, not to mention China's behind-the-scenes role. Beyond the funds to be released, there is the nuclear issue.

Donald Trump assured that the enriched uranium "will be immediately delivered to the United States to be brought home and destroyed." The president also opened the door to the possibility of collaborating with Iran to destroy the uranium "on-site or at another acceptable location." The Atomic Energy Agency or an equivalent body would "witness this process."

Tehran has so far not publicly accepted any of America's nuclear demands, repeatedly reiterating that the issue will be postponed to a later stage. The issue of the Strait of Hormuz is complicating negotiations. "It will be opened one way or another," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified, downplaying the new American attack in southern Iran. "An agreement is still possible," he assured . The Trump administration wants the immediate reopening of the important crossroads, which has been blocked for months, without tolls . Iran disagrees and is reportedly seeking a tax on "navigation services," a term that would allow it to circumvent the ban on transit tolls imposed by international naval law.

"We are ready to reach a 'dignified framework' to end the war," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian explained after meeting with Egyptian and Turkish Presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Meanwhile, Trump is meeting his cabinet at Camp David to review Iran and the impact of the war on the economy. Harshly criticized by Democrats and Republicans for the negotiations and an agreement that feels like a defeat, the president knows time is running out. A 60-day extension of the truce would push him closer to the midterm elections, when he would find himself virtually tied for potential punitive action if the nuclear talks fail to yield the desired results.

(Unioneonline)

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