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Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Everything in West Asia is as clear as slippery mud—from which crude oil is extracted. Suddenly, things take a U-turn, and go topsy-turvy. After the beginning of a two-week ceasefire, peace is fragile; and war is a state of mind.

Even as US Vice-President JD Vance heads to Islamabad for Friday ceasefire talks with Iranian officials, Israeli attacks killed nearly 200 people, including Hezbollah terrorists, in Lebanon which he said is not part of the deal with Tehran, the media reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, some over-enthusiasts in Pakistan, which is gloating over its newfound relevance in geopolitics, have demanded the Nobel Peace Prize for Army chief General Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—to the chagrin of US President Donald Trump who has himself been demanding one since last year for stopping as many as eight wars, before he invaded Iran on February 28.

As Iran accused Israel of breaking the temporary ceasefire terms, the US VP reiterated Washington’s stance that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire deal and warned that Trump “will not abide by the terms” if Tehran doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking with the reporters outside Air Force Two as he left Hungary, Vance said, “We are seeing signs that the Straits are starting to reopen… The deal is a ceasefire, a negotiation — that’s what we give — and what they give is that the Straits are going to be reopened. If we don’t see that happening, the President is not going to abide by our terms if the Iranians are not abiding by their terms.”

“The Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case,” he added.

Vance made it clear that the US prioritizes its objectives, such as a complete ban on Iran’s uranium enrichment plans, stating that President Trump “has all the cards here.”

N-restrictions

“The United States has certain demands, and certain things that we want… the more that they’re willing to give us, I think the more they’re going to (get) out of this negotiation… frankly, the President has all the cards here.”

“We don’t want Iran to have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. The President has also said that we don’t want Iran to enrich uranium towards a nuclear weapon, and we want Iran to give up the nuclear fuel. Those are going to be our demands during the negotiation,” he added.

Iran warns the US

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the US must choose between a ceasefire or “continue war via Israel.”

In a post on

The warning comes after Iran on Wednesday blamed Israel for jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire in the region between the US and Iran to halt the hostilities for two weeks, warning that continued attacks on Lebanon by Israeli forces could lead to the collapse of the agreement and renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media outlet. press tv reported.

The White House clarifies

However, the White House has dismissed the inclusion of Lebanon in the temporary ceasefire agreement, backing Israel’s continued military operation against Hezbollah.

Addressing a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire. That has been relayed to all parties involved in the ceasefire. As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu put out a statement last night in support of the ceasefire, in support of the United States’ efforts, and he’s also assured the President they’ll continue to be a helpful partner throughout the course of the next two weeks.”

Talks in Islamabad

The diplomatic engagement between the US and Iran is set to take place in Islamabad this weekend, where both sides will hold direct talks aimed at ending some 40 days of intense hostilities following the outbreak of war on February 28.

The meeting follows an immediate ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran for two weeks. The US delegation will be led by Vice-President JD Vance, and the Iranian delegation by the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

This comes after Trump suspended the “bombing and attack” campaign on Iran, announcing a two-week double-sided ceasefire and saying that the 10-point proposal from Iran was workable.