US President Donald Trump said he does not intend to extend the ceasefire with Iran, estimating that developments will make such a decision unnecessary. Speaking to ABC News' Jonathan Karl, the American president appeared very optimistic about the coming days, noting that important events are expected.
"I think you're going to witness two amazing days coming up. I really believe so," he said characteristically, hinting that developments are imminent that will dramatically affect the course of the war in the Middle East.
The journalist asked him whether the war would end with a deal or whether the American side would be content with neutralizing the opponent's capabilities. Trump replied that both scenarios were possible, but noted that an agreement was preferable, as it could create the conditions for reconstruction. "It could end either way, but I think an agreement is preferable, because then they will be able to rebuild. They really have a different regime now. Either way, we neutralized the radicals. They are gone, they are no longer among us," he said.
At the same time, the US president argued that his presence in the country's leadership plays a decisive role in international stability. "If I weren't president, the world would have fallen apart," he said, attributing his own policy to a decisive contribution in avoiding further escalation.
The war is "very close to its end"
Donald Trump said the conflict with Iran is close to being over, according to excerpts of an interview he gave to journalist Maria Bartiromo for Fox News' "Mornings with Maria," which is set to air Wednesday. During the interview, the US president claimed that his intervention prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“I had to intervene, because if I didn’t, right now Iran would have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding: “And if they had a nuclear weapon, you would be calling everyone there ‘sir’ — and you wouldn’t want to do that.”
When asked directly whether the war is over, he replied: "I think it's close to the end, yes. I think it's very close to being over."
Talks likely to resume this week
Earlier, speaking by phone to a New York Post reporter, Trump spoke of a possible resumption of US negotiations with Iran within the week in Pakistan, while representatives of the governments of Israel and Lebanon agreed in Washington to begin direct talks on the other main front of the war in the Middle East.
"You have to stay over there, really, because something could happen in the next couple of days," the American president said to the tabloid journalist who is in Islamabad.
The newspaper explained that Trump returned the reporter's call a few minutes after initially telling her that it was unlikely that talks would resume in the Pakistani capital. He went on to say that he thought it was "more likely" that American negotiators would return because "the field marshal" (ed. Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan's army) was "doing a great job."
Over the weekend, the first round of negotiations, in which Washington was represented by Vice President J.D. Vance, a few days after a two-week ceasefire came into effect on April 8, was fruitless.
Two senior Agence France-Presse sources in Islamabad noted that the Pakistani government is seeking to continue the talks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called yesterday for the resumption of "serious negotiations," after insisting, once again, that "there is no military solution to this crisis."
On the "same side"
Regarding the other front of the war, in which the Israeli army and the Shiite Hezbollah movement of Lebanon, allied with Iran, are fighting, the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to begin direct negotiations with the aim of achieving lasting peace after two and a half hours of "productive" talks between their ambassadors in Washington, the first of their kind since 1993.
American diplomacy clarified that the when and where "remain to be determined jointly."
"It became clear today that we (Israel and Lebanon) are on the same side," Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said. "We are united in our will to liberate Lebanon" from Hezbollah, he added.
Ambassador Leiter also stressed that he does not want any involvement of France in the talks with Lebanon.
"We would like to keep the French as far away as possible from practically everything, but above all from the peace talks," the Israeli representative said, not very diplomatically.
His counterpart Nada Hamad Moawad described the "preparatory meeting" that took place yesterday as "constructive" and "called for a ceasefire to be implemented" between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel claimed that Lebanon was "not covered" by the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, continued and intensified airstrikes in the country, and did not withdraw its troops from the south, instead seeking to expand the areas under its control.
Hezbollah, absent, described the talks as a "surrender" by the Lebanese government and claimed responsibility, as they began, for rocket attacks against border communities in Israel.
Oil below $100
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2, when the Shiite movement, backed by Iran, fired rockets at Israel after the US and Israel launched a full-scale offensive. The Israeli military responded by launching a barrage of air strikes and ground operations in southern Lebanon.
Since then, more than 2.000 people have been killed in the country, according to authorities in Beirut, while about a million have been forced to flee their homes — in other words, a fifth of the population, according to the UN.
On the Israeli side, the army says it has suffered thirteen casualties. Ten of its members were wounded yesterday in fighting in the southern town of Bind Jbeil.
In the Lebanese capital, residents made no secret of their exhaustion. “We are in favor” of negotiations, “if it is in the interest of Lebanon,” if it “resolves the problems,” said Kamal Ayad, 49, a window repairer. “We want peace for our children and for our future, we are exhausted, we have lived through so many wars.”
In the Gulf, the US military announced yesterday that it had prevented six ships from leaving Iranian ports in the first 24 hours of their blockade, which the US announced was imposed in retaliation for the de facto closure of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
The paralysis caused oil prices to rise, but yesterday they fell below the $100 barrier (-7,8% to $91,28 for WTI, -4,60% to $94,79 for Brent North Sea), as markets seem to be expecting the resumption of Washington-Tehran negotiations.
