Intl desk: Iran’s deputy foreign minister has told Al Jazeera Tehran is “ready to move forward” on diplomacy with Washington, but the United States must ensure Israel abides by the terms of the deal to end the war.
A US official tells the Reuters news agency that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, but deadly Israeli attacks have continued.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the US has a “commitment and responsibility” to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as the deal stipulates.
UNICEF says Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed one Palestinian child every day on average since a “ceasefire” came into effect in October last year.
‘A test’: Iran trying to see how much leverage US has over Israel
That’s partly why Iranian leaders have been so intent on ensuring that Lebanon is included in the deal with the US, Muhanad Seloom of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies says.
“It’s a test,” Seloom told Al Jazeera. “The Iranians are trying to watch whether the United States actually can control or rein in the Israeli side.”
He explained that, from Tehran’s view, if Washington is not able to stop Israel from attacking Lebanon, “who will guarantee that in the future Israel won’t attack Iran itself?”
“So I think for the Iranians, it’s very important to see how much the US has leverage over Israel in these negotiations and whether they can guarantee that Israel will abide by the terms of any upcoming agreements.”
