The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has suggested that talks with Iran could resume in a matter of days, at a time when the region is experiencing a simultaneous military and diplomatic escalation with multiple open fronts.
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump has indicated that contacts could be reactivated “in the next two days”, even in Pakistan, in a move still without official concretization but that adds pressure to the already turbulent Middle East board.
“They should stay there, actually, because something could happen in the next two days, and we are more inclined to go there,” the US president has slipped in.
Washington pushes talks between Israel and Lebanon in parallel
Trump's statements come on the same day that the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon have begun in Washington, mediated by American Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In that meeting participate the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, and the Lebanese ambassador, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, in an attempt to open a de-escalation channel after months of confrontation with the Shiite militia Hizbulá.
Israel maintains as a key demand the disarmament of Hezbollah as a condition for any ceasefire, while the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, has defended that his country seeks “peace and normalization” and that the conflict is not with Lebanon, but with the Shiite militia.
Ormuz, military blockade
In parallel, the United States Central Command (Centcom) has reported that in the last 24 hours “no ship” has managed to cross the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and that six merchant vessels were forced to return to port in maritime control operations.
The military body assures that the operation involves more than 10,000 personnel among sailors, marines, and aviators, with the mission of intercepting maritime traffic linked to Iranian ports, applying the blockade “impartially” to all vessels that operate in the area.
However, the Iranian agency Tasnim has reported that at least two vessels would have managed to break the blockade in the strait, which adds uncertainty about the effectiveness of the American military deployment.
35 dead in Lebanon the day negotiations begin
The bloodiest dimension of the conflict occurred this Tuesday on the ground. Israel has killed at least 35 people in Lebanon and wounded another 159, the same day that conversations began in Washington.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has raised the total balance of victims since the start of the escalation to 2,124 dead and 6,921 injured, among them 168 children, 254 women and 88 health workers, in a conflict that continues to intensify despite diplomatic attempts.
The Israeli Government itself has defended its strategy in the midst of war. Gideon Saar has stated that Israel “should not seek the world's love, but its respect”, and has lashed out against the internal opposition, in an increasingly tense political climate while the war extends on multiple fronts.