Armistice talks deadlock: Iran raises hand in retaliation - Guest Post translated

https://harici.com.tr/ateskes-muzakereleri-cikmaza-girdi-iran-misillemede-el-yukseltti/ Armistice talks deadlock: Iran raises hand in retaliation Exteri.com.tr 21.08.2024 US and Israeli officials say that the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement are 'on the verge of collapse' and there is no alternative agreement. Iran raised its hand by bringing up the possibility of a ground attack on retaliation against Israel, which it suspended on the grounds of ceasefire negotiations. According to Politico, who broadcasts in the USA, two unnamed American and two Israeli officials; He said that the negotiation negotiations, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, came to a dead end. Officials stated that the current proposal is the "strongest deal proposal to date", adapted within the framework of the demands of both Hamas and Israel. Noting that the US President Joe Biden administration is more optimistic about the deal 'just a few weeks ago', officials said the American side is “more and more concerned” that the current proposal will fail as well as the previous ones due to the disagreement of Hamas and Israel. The New York Times (NYT) newspaper also wrote that some officials said that the US' attempts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza were insufficient at key points. According to the news of the newspaper, "Israeli and Hamas officials", who have information about the "offers" and negotiations made by the USA for a ceasefire, spoke to the NYT. Although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who came to Israel, claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the deal offer, officials said that significant disagreements between Hamas and Israel remained unsolved. Officials reported that the US attempts were insufficient at key points, noting that the US proposal included the Israeli army's stay on the Egyptian border of Gaza. Stating that although the number of Israeli soldiers decreases according to the new proposal of the USA, it can continue to patrol part of this border region, the officials noted that in the negotiations held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, US officials wanted the negotiations on Israel's demand for "guns scanning" of displaced Palestinians returning to the north of Gaza to be postponed. Negotiations were held on August 15-16 in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to exchange prisoners between Israel and Hamas and to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. US Secretary of State Blinken, who came to Israel on August 19 to discuss the negotiations for ceasefire and prisoner swap in the Gaza Strip, said at a press conference that "Israel accepted the ceasefire offer on the table", but he refrained from explaining the conditions in the draft. Blinken claimed that Netanyahu, who announced that he would insist on the prerequisites for the agreement, "accepted the new offer that closed the gaps". 'If there is no agreement, Iran is likely to attack' Netanyahu's insistence on adding new terms, claiming that the draft ceasefire announced by US President Joe Biden on May 27 is different from the proposal prepared by Israel, putting the agreement difficult. Andrew Miller, who served as the US State Department's Deputy Secretary for Israel-Palestinian Affairs until June, told Politico, “(The deal) seems to be in a dead end, but it is one of the difficult moments when it is difficult to think of a better strategy, even if it is unlikely to reach an agreement. An Israeli official also stated that they have not yet known Hamas' approach to the agreement and said, "However, if we do not get the agreement, Iran is likely to attack and turn into a complete conflict." 'Agreement in Gaza, the way out in the conflict with Hezbollah' Andrew Miller argued that 'additional efforts are needed by both Hamas and Israel' to reach a final agreement. It is stated that the Biden administration also believes that the agreement to be reached in Gaza will also be the 'way out' in the resolution of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Officials note that failure of current deal negotiations will escalate conflict both in Gaza and with Hezbollah. Iran: Our answer to Israel may also be by land On the other hand, Iran's Permanent Representation to the United Nations (UN) stated that Tehran's response to Israel regarding the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Heniyye may also be by land, and that it will be "unexpected" and "regretful". According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN answered the question "Did Iran deliberately postpone its reaction to Israel until the result of the ceasefire talks in Gaza was clear?" In the statement made by the Representative Office, "Iran's answer should have 2 obvious results. First, he should punish the attacker for 'terror' and 'violating Iran's national sovereignty'. Second, it should strengthen Iran's deterrent power and make Israel regret it to prevent any attack in the future," the statements were used. In the statement, which stated that Iran's reaction includes avoiding negatively affecting a possible ceasefire, "Probably Iran's answer will be in the times and conditions that Israel will give the least possibility. Maybe it's an attack consisting of or both of which they ignore the ground attack, at a time when their eyes were in the sky and on the radar screen," the statement said. Ali Fedevi, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, said in a statement yesterday, "We will determine when and how the revenge of Martyr Heniyye will be taken and it will definitely happen." While using the statements, Revolutionary Guards Army Spokesperson Ali Muhammed Naini said, "Time is in our favor. Let the enemy wait for the time to be shot," he said. Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli prisoner Matan, who is in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, claimed that Mossad Director David Barnea told him that "an agreement is not possible in the current political picture". Mossad denied the mother. However, Ntenayahu's office issued a statement reiterating that the Israeli military will not withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor, which is stated to be an obstacle to the agreement. Einav Zangauker, the mother of the Israeli prisoner, spoke on the civil investigation platform set up to investigate the October 7 incidents around the Gaza Strip. Stating that Mossad Director Barnea, who is Israel's chief negotiator in the prisoner exchange and ceasefire negotiations between Tel Aviv and Hamas, refused to meet the relatives of Israeli prisoners, Zangauker stated that Barnea told him in May that "an agreement in the current political picture is not possible". In the written statement of Mossad published through the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Zangauker's allegations were denied. Mossad stated that "the words attributed to Barnea were never said, no reference was made to the political picture", he suggested that "the Mossad Director will continue to work to provide an agreement for the release of all prisoners". On the other hand, according to a separate statement made by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu met with representatives of Israeli prisoners' families in Gaza. Netanyahu said they would not leave the Netzarim Corridor, which divided Gaza into two, which he stipulated in indirect negotiations for a ceasefire and a prisoner-exchange agreement, and the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt, “despite enormous pressures”. The Israeli Prime Minister argued that Netzarim and Philadelphi Corridor were 'military and politically strategic gain' for Israel. Speaking to a national radio station after the meeting, his son Zvika Mor, who was a prisoner in Gaza, said Netanyahu did not believe in an agreement with Hamas. Netanyahu is accused of not agreeing domestically and internationally in the face of the threat of far-right figures in the coalition government to “overthrow the government if a ceasefire is achieved”. Hezbollah's "retaliation has become inevitable" On the other hand, a Lebanese political leader said that Hezbollah's "strong" response to the assassination of Fuad Şükür "became inevitable after the decrease in the chance of captive exchange and ceasefire negotiations in Gaza". Speaking to the Lebanese newspaper Cumhuriyet, the Lebanese political leader made evaluations about the expected answer to the murder of Şükür, one of the senior commanders of Hezbollah. The unnamed political leader said Hezbollah refrained from retaliating over negotiations on a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement in the Gaza Strip on the basis of the initiative of US President Joe Biden and Egypt and Qatar's mediation. The Lebanese political leader stated that "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's irreconcilable attitude and insistence on blocking negotiations" prevented the success of the talks held in Qatar's capital Doha and that the negotiations to be held in Egypt's capital Cairo would "destroy the luck". The political leader said that the "strong" response of Hezbollah to the airstrike in which Israel killed thanks and six people "became inevitable after the reduced chance of captive exchanges and ceasefire negotiations in Gaza". Thank God he was killed on July 30 The air attack carried out by the Israeli army on a building in the Genius region in Beirut on July 30, including Fuad Şükür, one of the commanders of Hezbollah, 3 women and 2 children, lost the lives of a total of 7 people. In the Israeli press, it was reported that Şükür was appointed as the commander of Hezbollah's "sensitive missile project" a few years ago. Hezbollah commander Şükür was among the names that Washington plaided for allegedly playing a role in the bombing of the US Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983.