LevantTime .

Marathon day for American and Iranian negotiators and experts, Saturday, in Islamabad. Arriving Friday evening in the Pakistani capital, the two delegations immediately began, each on its own side, informal discussions with high-ranking Pakistani officials who reportedly exchanged messages between the two parties to pave the way for formal, face-to-face negotiations, which began Saturday in the early afternoon. Late in the evening, the two delegations completed two successive working sessions and announced a suspension of work that was to continue on Saturday night (which, in this type of situation, opens the way for discussions away from the spotlight) or on Sunday.

In a surprise move late Thursday, April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, following a meeting of the country’s security cabinet, that he had instructed his government to initiate direct negotiations with Lebanon without delay. He also took the opportunity to publicly welcome a decision by his Lebanese counterpart, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, whose cabinet, meeting Thursday at Baabda Palace, approved a resolution mandating the Lebanese army and security forces to prohibit any illegal armed presence in the Beirut governorate. The move effectively seeks to enforce the principle of the state’s monopoly over arms.

A torrent of iron, fire, and blood – unmatched in recent years, except for the August 4 explosion at Beirut’s port – rained down Wednesday across Beirut, its southern suburbs, and countless towns and villages throughout Lebanon. According to initial figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, more than 180 people were killed and nearly 800 injured in a wave of simultaneous Israeli airstrikes, which struck roughly a hundred targets nationwide in just ten minutes. The attacks came even as a regional two-week truce had been announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, coinciding with the opening of Washington-Tehran negotiations on a comprehensive agreement aimed at a lasting cessation of hostilities.

After more than five weeks of war, Washington and Tehran have agreed on a two-week ceasefire in exchange for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, just over an hour before the expiration of Donald Trump's ultimatum threatening to destroy the Islamic Republic. Tehran indicated at dawn on Wednesday that talks would take place starting Friday with Washington. These discussions will be held in Pakistan, a key mediator in the Middle East war. Israel has accepted the ceasefire with Iran, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity. "Following discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan, during which they asked me to suspend the military intervention planned for tonight against Iran, and provided that the Islamic Republic of Iran accepts the TOTAL, IMMEDIATE and SECURE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend bombings and attacks against Iran for a period of two weeks," the American president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The deadline given by US President Donald Trump to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to restore free maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz expires today, Tuesday, at 8 PM Washington time (overnight, Middle East time). Failing that, President Trump could give his green light to a very large-scale strike against Iran. Late Tuesday afternoon (Beirut time), heavy suspense reigned in all the capitals of the region regarding the course events might take. An agreement could be reached in the final fifteen minutes, especially since throughout the day on Tuesday, April 7, the White House kept the door open for a resumption of negotiations, but it was unclear whether the Iranians had softened their position.

US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Tehran by threatening Iran with total destruction. "The entire country could be destroyed in a single night, and that night could well be tomorrow (Tuesday)", the American president said during a press conference. Trump had set a Tuesday evening ultimatum before bombing energy infrastructure in Iran. He stated that he was not "worried" about the risk of committing war crimes when a journalist questioned him about his threat to destroy power plants. « The "war crime" would be to let Iran acquire nuclear weapons », the president retorted, referring to the mullahs' regime's repression of demonstrations: "They kill protesters. They are animals".

All attention remains focused on this new phase towards which the region seems resolutely to be heading, given Tehran's clear refusal to initiate a dialogue with Washington, based solely on the conditions set by the Trump administration for a halt to the military offensive launched on February 28. It must be said that nothing official has been announced on this subject so far by the Islamic Republic, whose leaders have already indicated that Washington's 15-point proposal is unworkable and excessive, and that they themselves have conditions for a dialogue. Among these conditions are, notably, an end to targeted attacks and assassinations in Iran, as well as solemn guarantees that the offensive will not resume. Tehran would also demand respect for “Iranian sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz, which it presents as a “right”.

The ten-day deadline Washington had given Tehran to respond to the fifteen conditions for a cessation of hostilities expires on Sunday, with no concrete sign of a possible de-escalation on the horizon. Positions, on the contrary, seem to be hardening, as the United States and Iran sharpen their weapons in anticipation of a possible new phase of the military conflict and confusion still reigns regarding possible talks between the two states. The violent reaction of the Islamic Republic to President Donald Trump's eagerly awaited speech to Americans on Wednesday evening, coupled with counter-threats, reveals the difficulty of the mission undertaken by mediators to push the two main belligerents to initiate a dialogue.

Two strategically significant regions took center stage in overnight military operations from Monday, March 30, to Tuesday, March 31, amid the ongoing Middle East conflict that began on February 28: Isfahan in Iran and West Bekaa in Lebanon. In the overnight hours of Monday, U.S. air forces carried out particularly intense raids on Isfahan, targeting major weapons and ammunition depots belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. sources reported Tuesday morning that large bunker-busting bombs, each weighing over a ton, were used to destroy deep underground weapons caches. Video footage released Tuesday morning, following a night of devastation in the Isfahan region, captures scenes of apocalyptic explosions and towering columns of dense flames rising from the sites struck by American aircraft.

The past week, the fourth since the start of the conflict between Israel and the United States on one side, and Iran on the other, has further obscured the path to a potential resolution of the crisis. The true state of the Iranian regime remains an enigma, particularly in light of a mysterious statement by US President Donald Trump at the end of the week, suggesting that “a change of regime may have already effectively taken place,” while the fate of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains unknown. The American president, through his multiple statements, has contributed to making the landscape even more opaque, even as he continues to play the confidence card and he and his collaborators repeatedly assure that the end of the conflict is a matter of weeks.