US and Iran to suspend recent mutual attacks
Iran and the United States have agreed to stop attacking each other “for the time being” and planned to meet in Qatar on Tuesday to resolve their differences over the Strait of Hormuz, American media Axios said on Sunday, citing American officials.
“It is expected that technical discussions will continue on all points of the MoU. Both parties will stop (their attacks) for the moment and ships can move freely” in and around the Strait of Hormuz, an American official confirmed to AFP.
However, he did not confirm American media reports reporting a meeting between Iranians and Americans on Tuesday in Qatar, with Hormuz on the program.
Hormuz: Iran bans any circumvention of its route
Iran has warned that any attempt to opt for a route other than that along its coast in the Strait of Hormuz risks “increasing tensions” in the region, after a resumption of hostilities in recent days with the United States.
Iran took a dim view of Oman’s announcement of the opening of a temporary alternative shipping route, presented as a concerted initiative with the UN to evacuate stranded sailors and ships. Dozens of boats used it this week.
Tehran only allows one passage corridor in the strait, along its coasts, and threatens to attack any ship that violates it. “No other institution or no other country” than Iran is “responsible” for the management of the strait, insisted Sunday the head of diplomacy Abbas Araghchi.
Hezbollah says it reserves the right to “defend its homeland”
Pro-Iran Hezbollah said it reserves the right to “defend its homeland” after new Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, despite the framework agreement signed on Friday aimed at “lasting peace” between the two countries.
In a statement, the movement “reaffirms that what the enemy did is a flagrant violation of the ceasefire to which it had held until then, and that it monitors and records these violations, reserving the right to defend its homeland and its people.”
Lebanese Parliament head says deal with Israel ‘will not be adopted’
The head of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri, allied with pro-Iran Hezbollah, affirmed Monday that the framework agreement signed with Israel under the aegis of the United States “will not be adopted”, believing that it does not guarantee his country’s rights.
“This agreement will not be adopted, and it will not be implemented in its current form,” he said in a statement released by his party, the Amal movement, denouncing an “agreement of + diktats +, not an agreement that preserves the rights of Lebanon”.
Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon
The Israeli army destroyed a long tunnel built by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on Sunday.
“This tunnel, which extended more than 200 meters and reached a depth of more than 25 meters, contained hundreds of weapons as well as several launch shafts intended to strike the State of Israel and its civilians,” details the press release. “Israel previously informed the United States and the American representative in Lebanon of the destruction of this infrastructure,” the text adds.
