(AFP) – US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran to allow more time for talks, claiming the Islamic republic was “collapsing financially” because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. There was no word from Tehran on the ceasefire, and an Iranian gunboat fired on a container ship off the coast of Oman, causing damage but no casualties, according to a British maritime security agency.
On the Lebanon front, where a truce is also in place in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, an Israeli strike on an area where the Iran-backed militant group has long held sway killed one person, Lebanese state media said. Trump said he had pushed back the end of the two-week truce following a request by Pakistani mediators and to give Iran’s “fractured” leadership time to form a proposal. The ceasefire has brought some respite to a region engulfed for weeks in war, but with no agreement yet in place, uncertainty has remained and brought little relief to global markets.
Trump, who said the US blockade of Iran’s ports would continue, also stated that the Islamic republic was “collapsing financially” due to the blockade of Hormuz. “They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately – starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!” he wrote on social media. Iran has all but shut the strait, a key conduit for global energy flows, since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack on the Islamic republic that sparked the Middle East war. Residents in the Iranian capital who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists said life had worsened despite the truce. “This cursed ceasefire has broken us,” said Saghar, 39. “I don’t know anyone around me who is doing well.” Oil prices fell, along with stocks, on Wednesday as investors assessed the chances of US-Iran peace talks.
Britain and other US allies have previously informed Washington that they would not join any military effort to forcibly reopen Hormuz. However, with a truce now in place, albeit temporary, the British defence ministry stated it would host two days of UK-France led talks on the waterway involving more than 30 countries starting Wednesday. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported, meanwhile, that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards gunboat had fired at a vessel off the coast of Oman on Wednesday. According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz. But Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the ship had “ignored warnings from Iran’s armed forces.” The US Defense Department stated Tuesday that US forces had intercepted and boarded a “stateless sanctioned” vessel, which AFP has identified as one affiliated with Iranian activity. Both sides have accused each other of ceasefire breaches.
Ahead of Trump’s truce extension, it had been unclear exactly when the ceasefire would expire, with Pakistan indicating it would end at 2350 GMT Tuesday while Iran had put the timing at 0000 GMT. The fate of peace talks hosted by Pakistan remains uncertain, as a previous round of talks collapsed with Iran accusing the United States of making excessive demands. A White House official confirmed that Vice President JD Vance would not travel to Pakistan for a new round of negotiations as previously planned, pending the submission of an Iranian proposal. Iran, on the other hand, did not announce whether it had decided to send a delegation, with experts suggesting that its noncommittal stance was a way to apply pressure on the Trump administration.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for extending the ceasefire. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the move. In Lebanon, which was also plunged into war when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, an Israeli strike killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, according to Lebanese state media. A separate 10-day ceasefire was agreed between the two nations on Friday and included Hezbollah. However, the militant group stated on Tuesday that it had launched rockets and attack drones at northern Israel in response to “blatant” ceasefire violations, which it claimed included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages.”
The Israeli military reported that day that Hezbollah “launched several rockets” towards soldiers still stationed in south Lebanon, and that the military struck the launcher in response. Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,454 people since the start of the war, according to a Lebanese government body’s latest toll.
burs/ser/dc – AFP teams in Washington, Tehran, Islamabad and Paris
© 2024 AFP
