Report from Lebanon: US-Iran understandings collapsed - Washington returns to military pressure

A Western diplomatic source told the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan that the understandings between the US and Iran have collapsed, and Washington has returned to military pressure. According to the source, Trump gave the Iranians a chance to show flexibility, but they did not take advantage of it, and the talks yielded only partial progress. The source added that the US is capable of restraining Israel and relies on Israeli intelligence regarding Iran.

A Western diplomatic source, quoted in the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan, which is affiliated with the camp opposed to Hezbollah, said today (Sunday) that the understandings between the United States and Iran have collapsed, and that Washington has returned to applying military pressure on Tehran in an attempt to bring it to more significant concessions in the negotiations. According to the source, the move came after progress on the nuclear issue remained only partial and Tehran hardened its positions. US President Donald Trump gave the Iranians an opportunity to show flexibility, but they "failed to take advantage of it." Although Tehran returned to the negotiating table after the announcement of the "Islamabad Memorandum," the talks yielded only partial progress. The source added that Washington relies heavily on the intelligence Israel has gathered regarding Iran, with the main strategic target remaining the Iranian nuclear program, and Hezbollah in second place in priorities. It was also claimed that the intelligence collected on Iran helped expose Hezbollah's organizational structure, and that a significant part of the information is inside Iran, combined with ongoing Israeli intelligence activity in Lebanon since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The remarks were published by an unnamed Western diplomatic source.