DUBAI: Iran's top negotiator questioned the United States' commitment to peace efforts after Israel carried out new attacks on Lebanon, dimming prospects of Tehran and Washington signing a framework agreement on Sunday on ending their war. US President Donald Trump and mediator Pakistan said on Saturday they expected the deal to be signed on Sunday, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing and hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.
But Iranian negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Israel's attack on Sunday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which Israel said targeted Hezbollah, showed the US lacked the will or ability to fulfil its commitments. "If you lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible," he wrote on X, in an apparent reference to peace moves. Mohammad Jafar Assadi, deputy commander of Iran's top joint military command, was quoted by state media as saying Israeli "crimes" in Beirut's southern suburbs would not go unanswered.
The US-Israeli war on Iran, launched on February 28, has stoked conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli military said on Sunday that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards communities in northern Israel in violation of a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel then fired at what it called Hezbollah targets in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of Beirut in an attack that Lebanon's civil defence said killed three people. Fox News quoted an unidentified diplomat involved in the talks as saying the Israeli strikes were complicating efforts to finalise the US-Iran deal, and describing them as an attempt to sabotage those efforts. Israel did not immediately respond to the assertion.
Israel has said it will retain freedom of operations in Lebanon, while Tehran has made a full ceasefire there an important component of its demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also clashed with Trump over US demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to allow Washington to reach a deal with Tehran.
Thousands of people have been killed, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran. Iran has struck Israel and Gulf states that host US bases, and has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies. The blockade has pushed up global energy prices, while the US navy has blocked Iranian ports.
Trump posted on Saturday that the deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed on Sunday, his 80th birthday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing, to be followed by technical-level talks in the coming week. But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking before Trump's post, was quoted by state media as saying it would "not be" on Sunday, although it could happen "in the coming days."
Iran's Fars news agency, citing an informed source, said on Sunday Tehran had not yet taken a final decision on the framework agreement, with reviews of its political, legal and technical aspects ongoing at expert and decision-making levels. A senior Iranian official said that, under the terms of the draft deal, the US would agree to release $25 billion of frozen Iranian assets, while Tehran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that after a framework deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz would immediately be "open to all". Once the strait reopens, the US would lift its naval blockade, sources on all sides said. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme would take place afterwards.
While US and Israeli bombing has heavily degraded Iran's military-industrial base and damaged its military, experts say the war has entrenched the dominance of Iran's hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Draft terms of the agreement described by multiple sources indicate the US would begin releasing frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports, in return for Iran opening the strait. Iran's nuclear programme would be addressed during a 60-day period of talks. A senior Iranian official said on Sunday that Iran agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo, including no uranium enrichment or expanding nuclear facilities, until a final deal was reached.
A US official said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed. The senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear bomb, to dilute its enriched uranium inside the country. — Reuters
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