Iran and the United States clashed again on Monday over how to end their war as their stand-off has become increasingly shaky, as the two sides have clashed in recent days, ships and Gulf states have been targeted, and war erupts between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.
Destabilization could return the Middle East to open warfare and exacerbate the global energy crisis caused by the conflict, as Iran clings to the Strait of Hormuz and the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in place. US President Donald Trump is expected to use this week’s trip to China to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to pressure Iran into a deal and end the conflict. Beijing is the largest buyer of the Islamic Republic’s mandated crude oil, which powers it.
But reaching any possible agreement remains a difficult task. Iran insists it wants to see an end to the US embargo and sanctions lifted before starting talks over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The US – and Israel – want that material removed because it could be used to store a bomb, if Iran chooses to do so. Tehran insists its program is peaceful, but it has enriched uranium beyond the levels needed to generate civilian energy.
Israel insists that enriched uranium must be removed from Iran
Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s response to his latest proposal was “NOT ACCEPTABLE!” Ending the US embargo before discussing Iran’s nuclear program would eliminate a major leverage point.
Meanwhile, disagreements over the issue, which is a key hub for the transportation of oil and natural gas around the world, have caused fuel prices to rise and global markets to fluctuate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started a war with Trump on February 28, insisted that the conflict is “not over,” telling CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired Sunday that the key goal is to remove Iran’s nuclear arsenal. If that cannot be achieved through negotiations, Netanyahu said that Israel and the US agree “we can unite them again militarily.”
Netanyahu also said that the current Iranian government’s “days are numbered – but it may take many days.”
The US and Israel have killed dozens of senior Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader at the start of the war, and the conflict has wreaked havoc on Iran’s economy, but its democratic government has held on to power.
Iran and the US blame each other for the conflict
Trump quickly rejected a new proposal Iran sent on Sunday to Pakistan. In it, Iran demanded the return of the war from the US, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions and the release of its assets seized from abroad, Iranian state television reported.
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Iran has also called for an immediate end to hostilities, including the war between Israel and Hezbollah – which has again exchanged gunfire despite technically ending hostilities. That conflict has seen Israeli strikes in Lebanon, its occupation of Lebanese territory and deadly attacks by Hezbollah, including the killing of another Israeli soldier, the Israeli military said Monday.
“We did not seek permission – the only thing we sought was Iran’s legal rights,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday. “The American side still insists on its one-sided views and unreasonable demands.”
However, Iran is willing to dilute part of its highly enriched uranium and ship the rest to a third country, and has asked for 30 days of talks to finalize details, two regional officials involved in the talks told The Associated Press. These officials spoke on the condition that they not be disclosed to discuss the sensitive discussions taking place.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to take uranium from Iran.
Russia runs Iran’s only nuclear power plant in Bushehr and seized some of Iran’s uranium stockpile from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which the US later withdrew from under the Trump administration.
Asked on Monday about Putin’s comments, Baghaei said: “At the moment, we are focused on ending the war.”
Iran continues its killing spree
Meanwhile, Iran has executed another man it accused of being a spy for the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Iran’s IRNA news agency identified the detainee as Erfan Shakourzadeh, saying he had worked in satellite communications and passed classified information to intelligence agencies.
Iran has killed dozens of people since protests swept the country in January. Activists groups have long accused Iran of conducting closed cases in which defendants cannot fully defend themselves. Iran’s top justice has repeatedly said Tehran will increase the speed with which it carried out executions to fight its enemies at home and abroad.
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