Mediators moved closer Wednesday to extending the fragile U.S.-Iran cease-fire and restarting talks before it expires next week, even as a senior Iranian military official threatened to halt regional trade if Washington does not lift its naval blockade.
The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats have imperiled the week-old agreement, but regional officials said they were making progress, telling The Associated Press that the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy.
A senior U.S. official said Washington has not formally agreed to extend the cease-fire and that “engagement” with Iran continues. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive negotiations.
The commander of Iran’s joint military command warned that Iran would completely block exports and imports across the Persian Gulf region, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea if the U.S. military does not lift its blockade on Iranian ports.
“Iran will act with strength to defend its national sovereignty and its interests,” Ali Abdollahi said.
Before the two-week cease-fire expires on April 22, mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend – Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the mediation efforts.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iran’s state media reported.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region. Oil prices fell on hopes for an end to fighting on Wednesday, and U.S. stocks surged close to records set in January.
Yet the future of the fragile cease-fire appeared increasingly uncertain as the U.S. pressed ahead with its blockade, which threatens to sever Iran from economic lifelines it has relied on since the war began nearly seven weeks ago.
“I think they want to make a deal very badly,” Trump said in an excerpt from an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” scheduled to air Wednesday morning. He added: “I view it as very close to over.”
Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s finance minister, told AP that “our leadership is not giving up” on efforts to help the U.S. and Iran end the conflict.
Trump claimed Wednesday that China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulated that Beijing has considered transferring arms.
He wrote in a social media post that China is “very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.” He seemed to suggest the two are linked.
China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that no ships made it past the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.
The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began Feb. 28. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.
Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic, with most commercial vessels avoiding the waterway. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with its aerial and ground war in Lebanon. The country’s National News Agency reported airstrikes and artillery shelling throughout southern Lebanon on Wednesday, including near Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces have encircled fighters with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
The fighting continued after Israeli and Lebanese officials concluded their first direct talks in decades.
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two countries are “on the same side of the equation” in “liberating Lebanon” from Hezbollah. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called Tuesday’s meeting “constructive” but urged an end to the fighting. Since March, that war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.
