Iran deal confusion and Hezbollah's waning support reshape Middle East

US-Iran agreement fails to restore Hormuz traffic as Hezbollah faces eroding base and new threats

Iran deal confusion and Hezbollah's waning support reshape Middle East — Masked protesters in Albania removed and desecrated the flag of the Israeli embassy in Tirana during a wave of anti-government protests, drawing a firm condemnation from the Albanian Foreign Ministry, which described the act as "shameful" and stated it contradicts Albania's values of respect and coexistence.[^1] The incident underscores how tensions around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continue to spill into European public spaces. Meanwhile, the US-Iran agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has failed to restore normal traffic: only about 60 ships passed through the strait from Thursday to Saturday, compared to about 130 daily before the war.[^2] Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's national security committee, mocked US President Donald Trump's threats over the strait, asserting that "These hollow threats have expired" and that Trump's statements have lost their impact.[^3] The confusion is compounded by a deliberate stick-and-carrot strategy—Trump projects threats while Vice President Vance conducts diplomatic talks in Switzerland, creating mixed signals.[^4] In Lebanon, the Health Ministry announced Sunday that the death toll from Israeli aggression has risen to 4,106 martyrs and 12,153 wounded since March 2, with 49 new martyrs recorded in the past 24 hours even as a ceasefire took effect.[^5] US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called Hezbollah "a cancerous tumor on the Middle East" and "evil" in a sharp social media statement.[^6] Yet an ITIC assessment finds that Lebanon's economic crisis and war costs are eroding Hezbollah's Shiite support base, even as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared today that "the project to end Iran and the resistance in the region has failed."[^7] A poll by the International Information Company found that about 49% of respondents in Lebanon want a peace agreement with Israel, a 24% increase from the previous year—a striking shift amid ongoing hostilities. The mayor of Varallo, Italy, Pietro Bondetti, received a threatening letter with a 40mm caliber bullet, signed by the "Anti-Zionist Movement," whi