Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the Iranian government is alone in pushing for itself to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz via a tolling system. “The Russians are not in favor of a tolling system, the Chinese are not in favor of a tolling system,” Rubio told reporters on board his…
Iran said Tuesday that it would retaliate against violations of its ongoing ceasefire agreement, after US Central Command on Monday confirmed that it had launched strikes on Iranian vessels.
A lack of security clearance didn’t stop a former U.S. official from spouting off on negotiations in Iran, including his hopes to see them “break down” as […]
Israel says it will intensify attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon and U.S. military struck Iranian boats and missile launch sites as envoys continued negotiations for a deal that would end the three-month war.
Negotiations remain in flux, but we’re a long way from ‘Unconditional Surrender.’
Despite an agreement to end the U.S. war against Iran appearing within reach on Saturday, the negotiations look poised to fail due to one critical “ability” President Donald Trump lacks, and one that former President Ronald Reagan demonstrated decisively during his first term in office, a political analyst and expert warned this week.Trump boasted on Saturday that a deal to end the war had “been largely negotiated," but within days, jeopardized his own negotiations by floating a last-minute demand to Middle East nations, as well as by authorizing new strikes targeting Iran on Monday.And yet, while Trump’s actions have been scrutinized for potentially compromising a path toward a negotiated settlement, Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, warned on Monday that the president was not the “greatest threat” to achieving peace.“In recent days, it was not the Persian Gulf that emerged as the greatest threat to the agreement. It was Israel’s potential refusal to fully adhere to the regional ceasefire and halt its bombardment of Lebanon. That danger remains acute,” Parsi wrote in an analysis published on his Substack Monday.Iran has demanded that Israel halt its bombardment of southern Lebanon as a key condition in its negotiations with the Trump administration, a demand that Israel has largely ignored. On Friday, Israel launched what’s referred to as a “double tap” strike in southern Lebanon – following up an initial strike with a second to target emergency responders such as paramedics. More than 3,100 Lebanese have been killed by Israeli air strikes since early March and nearly 10,000 wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.To secure a peace deal, Trump could demand Israel’s compliance, much as he unsuccessfully tried to do in April when he explicitly demanded Israel halt its attacks on Lebanon. Israel strikes continued, however, with Parsi noting a similar scenario that occurred in 1982, though one that elicited a very different response by the U.S. president at the time.“Trump could still choose to put American interests first and compel Israel to comply, much as Ronald Reagan did in 1982 when he pressured Prime Minister Menachem Begin to halt Israel’s devastating assault on Lebanon,” Parsi wrote. “Reagan reportedly expressed outrage at the bombardment of Beirut, warning Begin that America’s support could not be taken for granted. Within hours, the bombing stopped. Trump, by contrast, has thus far shown little ability to ensure sustained Israeli compliance with his demands.”
Iran on Tuesday accused the U.S. of violating a ceasefire put in place on April 8 following fresh military strikes carried out by the American military, which described the strikes as defensive actions. The accusation runs the risk of triggering a new round of Iranian strikes against U.S. bases and allies in the region as…
Iran's military says it reserves the "legitimate and definite" right to retaliate against any U.S. ceasefire violations.
Without a deal between Washington and Tehran, the fallout from Hormuz closure could deepen global energy, food and cost-of-living crises.