US President Donald Trump said that he expects to hold a new round of talks with Iran this week, the day after he rejected the Iranian proposal linking the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of nuclear negotiations to lifting the US naval blockade and restoring the ceasefire in the region.
Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Sunday: “I expect more talks with Iran this week.” They want to make an agreement, but it is not the agreement I want to make. It's an agreement we probably would have agreed to a year ago. "They overplayed their cards."
Two regional sources confirmed Trump's expectations to Axios and said that another round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran may begin on Monday, but they indicated that it is not clear whether it is possible to overcome the differences between the two parties.
Although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian returned to Tehran, after participating in the work of the General Assembly, the team of Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is still continuing its diplomatic movements in New York.
One of the main points of contention stems from the scope of the talks; Iran wants to focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade, while the Trump administration is demanding that Tehran make concessions on its nuclear program. In response to a question about whether he was considering resuming US strikes on Iran, Trump said: “I always think about that.”
Trump said that the US army is at the same time facilitating the passage of large quantities of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the largest quantity since the outbreak of the war crossed the strait over the weekend. He added: “More than 20 million barrels.”
A US Defense Department official confirmed to Axios what Trump said, explaining that 22 million barrels of oil were exported through the Strait on Friday night.
Country mediation for a modified formula
Last Tuesday, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a new round of indirect negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.
Qatari officials participated in the communications and conveyed messages between the two sides. Araqchi handed over to Witkoff and Kushner Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks.
Iran proposed reopening the Strait and resuming nuclear negotiations within a week, in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, abolishing sanctions imposed on oil sales, and reinstating a ceasefire in the region.
Trump rejected the Iranian proposal on Saturday. However, an American official and regional sources told Axios that Qatari mediators are continuing their movements between the two parties in an attempt to reach an agreement.
On Thursday, the Qatari Prime Minister met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York, and discussed with him the possible agreement with the Trump administration. Shortly thereafter, senior Qatari officials met with Witkopf and briefed him on the talks.
A regional source familiar with the indirect negotiations said that the Qatari mediators discussed the original Iranian proposal with the two parties, and presented each of them with a compromise proposal for review.
Over the weekend, Qatari mediators continued separate contacts with Iranian and American negotiators regarding amendments to the text of the proposal.
The mediators are expected to hold separate meetings with Araghchi and Witkoff starting Monday.
Araqchi is waiting for the official response
Araqchi told NBC News on Sunday that Iran still wants a diplomatic solution despite Trump’s announcement of his rejection of the Iranian proposal.
He added that the US midterm elections do not factor into Tehran's calculations, saying: “We only care about our national interests.” “We are ready for negotiations.”
Araqchi said: “Although we heard from President Trump that he rejects this agreement... we are still waiting for an official response through the mediators.”
On the day that marks the second anniversary of the assassination of the former Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, a report by the Israeli newspapers “Jerusalem Post” and “Maariv” revealed new details about the operation, from which it appears that the Israeli army developed two plans, one for assassination and the other to prevent rescue.
Under the second plan, every mechanism that approached the site of the explosion and every opening through which one could reach the depth of the tunnels were destroyed.
The report, by a former senior Israeli officer, stated that Israeli forces dropped 83 bombs during the operation, while similar force was later used to target Hashem Safi al-Din, who was seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah. Such a huge amount was used in order for the operation to have maximum killing potential.
But she was not satisfied with that, but also studied the possibilities of carrying out a rescue operation. The officer says: “We found that the Lebanese needed at least 6 hours to remove the rubble and bring out some of those buried there, so we decided to remain on alert for 12 hours after the bombing, in order to prevent anyone from approaching the place. Indeed, when the first bulldozer approached, we destroyed it. When the second bulldozer approached, we destroyed it. A third bulldozer did not approach. When we saw another rescue force approaching the place from another side, which appeared to be the entrance to the tunnels, we destroyed it as well. Thus we prevented any possibility of saving him. If he did not die from the explosion or demolition, he will die from lack of oxygen or from bleeding and the absence of any ambulance reaching him.”
The report revealed that Israel had collected reports indicating that Nasrallah was in a very bad psychological state, after Israel succeeded in assassinating a large number of party leaders, including Sami Talib Abdullah, Ibrahim Aqeel, and Wissam Al-Tawil.
The report stated that Nasrallah began to realize the depth of the Israeli penetration after the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri and then Wissam Al-Taweel, before the pager attacks came to constitute another turning point. He was particularly shocked by the Mossad’s success in selling pager devices to Hezbollah, and then detonating thousands of them while they were in the hands of party activists and leaders. These operations destroyed him and made him abstain from eating, only drink water, and talk less.
Israel believed that he would refrain from taking action because of this, and that it would be difficult to follow up on him. He said: “We were following his steps and knew exactly his home, his residence, his wife’s residence, his office, and his movements. We know his house is in an eight-story building in the suburb, which had a private elevator that he used to go down to the underground safety zone. When it was decided to carry out the assassination, we thought he would choose one of these hideouts, but surprisingly he chose to hold a leadership meeting at the command headquarters. It is not unlikely - the Israeli officer added - that his decision stemmed from that frustration, as those close to him said that life was no longer important to him after these failures. Therefore, the Israeli plan was implemented as it was, by bombing, destroying, and preventing the possibility of rescue.
Iranian support declined
The Jerusalem Post newspaper indicates that Hassan Nasrallah believed that Israel would not engage in a large-scale war because of Hezbollah’s capabilities, while Israel had been able to target parts of its leadership and its missile capabilities. It says that after the assassination of Nasrallah, Hashem Safi al-Din was killed, before Naim Qassem was appointed Secretary-General of the party. During the war, Hezbollah lost a number of its security and political leaders, and its command and control systems suffered extensive damage.
Israeli estimates indicated that between a third and a half of the party's operational force were subjected to strikes and became out of service.
The pressures are not limited to the military side; The party faces increasing political pressure, with Iranian support declining according to Israeli assessments, in addition to negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel, and challenges related to the situation in Syria.
