Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement to hold direct negotiations after discussions in Washington on 14th April, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had described as a “historic peace opportunity.”

Technically, the two nations have been at war for decades, and the negotiations held on Tuesday have been vehemently opposed by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which reported that it had fired rockets in over a dozen towns in the north of Israel as the talks were underway.

The United States is urging a stop to the war between Israel and Hezbollah because it would derail the two-week ceasefire in its war with Iran following a failure in its talks with Tehran in Pakistan.

When Hezbollah invaded Israel on behalf of its sponsor Iran, Lebanon was dragged into the wider war that led to an Israeli ground invasion and bomb attacks that have claimed the lives of over 2000 and displaced over a million others.

The first direct, high-level meeting since 1993, held on Tuesday in Washington, was mediated by Rubio and featured the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.

Rubio welcomed the ambassadors, noting that it was a historic opportunity and that it had been difficult over the decades.

“The hope today is that we will be able to map out a framework on which we can build a current and sustainable peace.”

President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun had indicated that he wished that the negotiations would spell the start of the “end of the misery of the Lebanese people.”

The State Department spokesman followed up by saying that there was a productive discussion and that “all parties agreed to initiate direct negotiations at an agreed time and place.”

Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter declared the two parties “had an awesome exchange.”

He informed reporters that today they had found out that “they were on the same side” and that the two countries were in agreement “to liberate Lebanon by Hezbollah.”

Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad described the meeting as “constructive” in a statement of her own; however, she had also demanded a ceasefire and “the full sovereignty of the state over all Lebanese territory, among other things.”

Israeli troops are already in occupation of the south of Lebanon, and its government has been adamant when it comes to even considering a ceasefire until Hezbollah is brought to pieces.

Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that his nation was looking to achieve “peace and normalisation” with the Lebanese state, but Hezbollah was the main issue and that it “had to be resolved.”

The leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, had earlier summoned before the meeting that the negotiations be cancelled and threatened to continue fighting.

The foreign ministers of 17 countries, such as Britain and France, called on both nations to take this opportunity and ensure that security is achieved permanently in the region.

The US blockades Iran

As it was diverted to the Washington meeting, Trump tried to strangle Iran by naval blockade.

US Central Command had indicated that the actions would encompass the “vessels of any country” entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal waters.

On Tuesday, it reported no ships had sailed through the strait, and six had responded to orders to turn back, although marine tracking systems run by Kpler showed that a few vessels that had called at Iranian ports had succeeded in navigating the blockade since the establishment of the blockade.

The military command of Iran termed the blockade a piracy act and threatened that in case its harbour security was put in danger, “no port in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea would be secure.”

“By blockading Iranian ports, Trump was attempting to starve Iran of money, but also to put Beijing, the largest purchaser of Iranian oil, under pressure to put pressure on Tehran to reopen Hormuz,” analysts said.

The blockade was declared as dangerous and irresponsible by China when Trump threatened to sink every boat that was planning to leave or dock in the Iranian ports.

Most importantly, the shaky two-week truce that Washington and Tehran had agreed upon last Wednesday was still intact due to the blockade.

On Tuesday, Trump informed the New York Post that a fresh set of negotiations might take place in Pakistan within the upcoming two days, after telling reporters the previous day that unnamed Iranian representatives called him, desiring to strike a deal.

UN chief Antonio Guterres stated that there was no military solution to the conflict and peace would have to be obtained through consistent political will.

“The very serious talks should be resumed, ” he told the journalists in New York.

On Tuesday, senior Pakistani sources claimed to AFP that Islamabad was in the process of reconciling Iran and the United States to have a second round of talks.

Nuclear enrichment pause?

Trump has demanded that a deal must encompass a cessation of Iran ever getting a nuclear weapon, having declared war upon it, claiming it is pursuing an atomic bomb – a claim it denies.

“On Monday, the United States allegedly requested a 20-year suspension of the uranium enrichment program in Iran during weekend negotiations,” the media reported.

Iran, in its turn, offered to put its nuclear program on hold for a period of five years, but the US officials did not accept this proposal, according to The New York Times.

Moscow has volunteered to keep Iran’s enriched uranium in its custody as part of any bargain.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping also pledged on Tuesday that Beijing will be a positive force in encouraging peace negotiations in the Middle East.