The new conversations between USA and his Iran expected to start today at Switzerlanddespite the fact that the Iranian military said yesterday, Saturday, that it had closed the Straits of Hormuz again due to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
The US military disputed this claim, stating that “navigation continues as normal”. Earlier, Iran said the closure of the Straits came in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which Tehran said violated the agreement with the US to end the war.
Late Saturday, U.S. Vice President Jay Dee Vanceleft Washington for the talks in Switzerland.
Iranian delegationwhich includes Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived there.
The new round of negotiations is expected to begin on Sunday. Vance said he hoped to make progress “on the nuclear issue” as well as “on the Lebanon ceasefire issue.”
Speaking to reporters before boarding his flight, he was asked about the clashes between himself Israel and her Hezbollah and for the Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon. Answered:
“Things are actually getting better there and the situation seems to be de-escalating a bit.”
The representative of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Bagaisaid his country would demand that “the other side honors its commitments.”
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharifwill attend the opening of the talks. Pakistan has played a mediator role throughout the war and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran.
Earlier in the week, the presidents of the US and Iran signed an initial agreement aimed at ending the war, which also included the Lebanese front and took immediate effect. The agreement calls for further talks with a view to reaching a final agreement within the next 60 days.
An additional obstacle, however, is the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
on Saturday, at least 47 people were killed in Lebanon from a series of Israeli airstrikes, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
The Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) announced that they had struck 80 targets linked to Hezbollah, killing “dozens” of members of the group.
The IDF also reported that four Israeli soldiers were killed.
It is recalled that when an agreement was announced between the US and Iran, Israel and Hezbollah they continued to exchange fire. However, an immediate ceasefire between the two sides was confirmed on Friday afternoon.
Before the deal, Israel had said it did not intend to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and maintained that its conflict with Hezbollah was separate from the war with Iran.
Hezbollah has accused Israel that its attacks in Lebanon are aimed at “undermining” the broader US-Iran deal.
With information from the BBC
