President Donald Trump celebrated the tentative deal his administration reached with Iran Sunday to end the war, but according to one veteran journalist, the president’s troubles related to the conflict were far from over given the persistence of a key issue that risks reigniting the conflict.
“Let the oil flow!” Trump broadly boasted Sunday after the tentative agreement was reached, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would be accessible to sea vessels immediately.
As part of the tentative agreement, however, Iran has demanded that Israel halt its bombardment of Lebanon, which it’s currently occupying around 10% of. Israeli officials have instead announced they will not be withdrawing troops from Lebanon, likely ensuring continued attacks from Hezbollah, which Israel has vowed to respond to forcefully.
“Ultimately, as those who announced the deal said, it’s only a ceasefire, good for 60 days while yet more talks take place,” journalist Martin Pengelly wrote in an analysis published in Zeteo Monday.
“It’s not a nuclear agreement or a peace treaty. And new hardliners have emerged in Tehran, determined to make the U.S. suffer in response to this war of aggression. In other words, Trump made this mess; it’s still all over the floor, and he’s by no means free of it yet.”
Israeli officials have been explicit in their threats to continue the bombardment of Lebanon, which since Israel’s most recent invasion of the country in March has killed more than 3,750 Lebanese, injured more than 11,600 and sparked a humanitarian crisis by displacing millions.
“Trump's agreement does not bind us,” wrote Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to an automatic English translation from Hebrew. “Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that “for every shot fired toward our territory, ten buildings will fall” in the Lebanese city of Dahiyeh.
And Iran has been explicit in its demand that Israel cease hostilities with its northern neighbor in its negotiations, leading Pengelly – who previously worked for Raw Story as an investigations editor – to conclude that the U.S.-Iran agreement was far from settled.
“Five days until a promised deal signing in Switzerland, after Trump has attended the G7 summit in France, is plenty of time for Israel to intervene,” Pengelly wrote. “The Israelis were not directly party to the talks that produced the U.S-Iran deal. In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, discontent is widely reported.”