US and Iran negotiators reached an agreement to extend the current ceasefire in the region for another 60 days, as we reported last week. Now, Israel's ongoing strikes on Lebanon could jeopardise an already fragile deal.
As reported by Reuters, the Iranian state TV is warning that the ceasefire, which started in April, is "very likely" to collapse if Israel keeps striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
In parallel, Tehran is reportedly halting indirect messaging with Washington. According to the Iranian Tasnim agency, the countries have stopped talking through mediators, arguing that Israel's newer push into Lebanon has affected diplomacy.
As expected and has been the case with other recent conflicts in the area, this one has been spreading across several fronts and hitting global energy markets. The source links this latest crisis to Israel attacks in Lebanon's capital Beirut, but also to Iranian threats in the north of Israel, the strikes involving US forces, and naturally pressure on oil prices, all impacting on the Strait of Hormuz and potentially on the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb too (in the South-West, bordering Africa).