Iranian conflict: diplomatic stalemate, military escalation
Lebanese citizens, and the peoples of the Levant region more broadly, apparently must resign themselves to being regularly subjected to a rollercoaster of developments regarding the Iranian conflict. On Thursday afternoon, reports from the American website Axios indicated that a framework agreement had been concluded between US and Iranian negotiators. The same sources claimed that a copy of this memorandum of understanding had been transmitted to the White House and that President Donald Trump had requested "a few days of reflection" before endorsing the text.
A few hours later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards appeared eager to "facilitate" the task for the American president by emphasizing, through the Tasnim agency which reflects their viewpoint, that no agreement has yet been reached between Americans and Iranians.
Based on the public positions adopted on both sides, significant differences remain between the two parties, particularly concerning issues of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the US naval blockade imposed on Iran, the return to Iranian authorities of a portion of Iranian foreign currency assets frozen for several years, and the fate of enriched uranium.
The US Treasury Secretary stated on Thursday that no agreement is possible with Iran before the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic without conditions and without the handover of enriched uranium to the United States. However, this latter point is rejected by the Revolutionary Guards, so skepticism was clearly evident Thursday evening regarding a quick breakthrough in American-Iranian negotiations.
It should be noted that President Trump issued a stern warning to the Sultanate of Oman on Thursday, cautioning it against any agreement it might be tempted to conclude with the Iranian regime to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz and collectively impose a passage fee on merchant vessels.
Tehran insists on controlling the strait and imposing a sort of toll on this maritime route to ensure substantial revenue.
It is worth noting that an Iranian source indicated to the Wall Street Journal that the Islamic Republic's foreign currency reserves are sufficient for barely three months.
Escalation in Military Operations
While negotiations appeared to be stalling, a clear escalation in military operations was recorded on Thursday at both the regional and local levels.
Late Thursday evening, Iran's official Fars agency reported "Iranian missile fire from southern Iran."
The Tasnim agency, for its part, reported that automatic weapon fire was heard in Bandar Abbas due to clashes taking place in the Gulf waters.
Tehran's media clarified that the Revolutionary Guards opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz at American warships and a clash ensued between US vessels and the Pasdaran.
At dawn Thursday, the Revolutionary Guards had launched drones against a US oil tanker and three ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military indicated it had intercepted four drones before launching an air strike against a drone launch site in the Bandar Abbas port area.
In response, the Pasdaran launched missiles and drones against Kuwait. Air raid sirens were activated in the capital and the Kuwaiti military specified in a statement that "Kuwaiti air defenses repelled attacks carried out by enemy missiles and drones."
The Pasdaran, for their part, claimed to have targeted 'an American base.' This attack by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps on Kuwait is part of the strategy pursued by the Pasdaran since the beginning of this war on February 28, aimed at focusing their aggression on Gulf countries (rather than Israel) in order to pressure them to call for the dismantling of American bases in the Gulf and to urge the United States to end its economic and military pressure on the Islamic Republic.
It should also be noted that the Israeli military eliminated two senior Hamas military officials in Gaza on Thursday.
Raggi's efforts to preserve the remains of Tyre
On the Lebanese front, reports indicated late in the evening of significant rapid advances by Israeli forces that are reportedly one and a half kilometers from the city of Nabatieh and have taken control of the Beaufort Castle, an important strategic position in the region.
Thursday was marked mainly by an Israeli missile strike on an apartment in Choueifat, where Ali Husseini, the head of the Hezbollah missile system, was killed.
At dawn on Thursday, an Israeli airstrike was carried out against the city of Tyre. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah command centers in the city.
According to some sources, a strike also targeted an area near the famous remains of the city of Tyre.
On this matter, Foreign Minister Joe Raggi has undertaken urgent diplomatic steps to prevent any damage to the archaeological and cultural heritage that enriches the Tyre region.
Returning to military operations, a missile strike targeted an apartment in a multi-story building in Sidon at dawn on Thursday. Three people were killed in this attack.
Furthermore, a vehicle was hit by a drone strike on the coastal road near Adloun, not far from Sidon. This attack reportedly killed six people.
Airstrikes were also reported in the early morning against the city of Nabatieh as well as against Hezbollah militia positions in the Jezzine district and in Zahrani. A motorcycle traveling on the outskirts of Tyre was also targeted by a drone strike at dawn.