Iran denies negotiating with the United States. What the media is writing
Iran denies negotiating with the United States, which American leader Donald Trump called the last chance for Tehran before new large-scale strikes. Tehran continues to take a wait-and-see attitude and expects to survive any escalation from the United States, for which the need to end the conflict is becoming more acute. What the media write about the situation in the Middle East is in the Izvestia digest.
Bloomberg: Trump called the talks "the last chance" for Iran
US President Donald Trump has said his recent offer of talks is the "last chance" for Iran after it called off what he said was a major attack on the Islamic Republic. Iran denies that it is in dialogue with the United States, but has said that negotiations with Oman on expanding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are progressing.
Bloomberg
"I want to give them every last chance before they are beheaded," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. — You will find out today or tomorrow. That is, one way or another, they will quickly die. There's nothing complicated about it."
Iran has shown no signs of willingness to allow vessels free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump has demanded. Instead, Tehran is discussing a new shipping route with Oman, rather than reopening the strait itself. This provoked an angry reaction from Trump, who called the Iranian leadership "incredibly duplicitous." After Trump's comments, the price of Brent crude oil rose slightly to $84.10 per barrel.
Associated Press: statements by the United States and Iran on the course of negotiations differ
The United States and Iran have made opposing statements about whether negotiations are underway between them. On August 3, Trump announced that both sides were resuming negotiations to end the war. However, Iran insists that they were conducted only with Oman, and the discussion was focused on the Strait of Hormuz.
Associated Press
"The Iranian leadership is incredibly duplicitous!" the US president protested on his page on the Truth Social network. "They are asking for a meeting, some would say 'begging,' negotiations are starting, and new ones are planned in the near future, and they openly and proudly declare that no discussions are underway, nothing is being discussed, and they are dealing only with Oman," he wrote.
At the same time, the Office of Maritime Trade Operations of Great Britain reported that the cargo ship had been notified of an unknown projectile hitting it. It did not provide additional information about the ship, including which flag it was flying and whether it was carrying cargo.
Reuters: How Iran is expanding its pressure campaign on the United States
According to Gulf officials and analysts, Iran expects to survive the confrontation with the United States by turning the trade routes and energy infrastructure of the Middle East into leverage that will steadily raise the price of confrontation. Instead of striving for a decisive military victory, Tehran is pursuing a strategy of deliberate escalation aimed at expanding the conflict without unleashing a full-scale war.
Reuters
According to them, the goal is to convince the United States and its allies that containing the crisis is more expensive than meeting Iran's demands on the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is sending a signal that if Washington does not accept the new status quo, which gives Iran a more significant role in the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict could spread beyond the Persian Gulf.
By demonstrating its ability to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran has made it clear that no narrow sea passage is immune from this. The threats to the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure signal a broader effort to increase the cost of protecting global trade while testing Washington's tolerance for disruption. The commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are confident that Trump does not want to get deeply involved in another Middle East conflict ahead of the midterm elections in November.
The National Interest: Trump should simply declare victory in the war with Iran
Although Trump once again threatened to escalate the conflict with Iran, and then retreated from the edge of the abyss for the ninth time, alarming signs indicate that the US military was planning to strike at the energy infrastructure. Iran, on the other hand, is demonstrating that it can carry out retaliatory actions around the world in response to any escalation by the United States. Regime change, initiated by mass protests, seems to have become an even more distant prospect.
The National Interest
History also shows that massive bombings can have a rallying effect around the flag among their victims, even those who live under oppressive and corrupt regimes. No matter how bad the regime is, the hatred of the external enemy responsible for the daily bombing seems to be stronger.
As experienced investors know, it is better to minimize losses and move on than to bring a failed investment to collapse. Despite his loud statements, Trump is hesitant to launch an attack on Iran's energy structure. His psychological state does not seem to allow him to admit the failure of the war. However, being a master of distorting reality to suit his own goals, Trump should have listened to the famous advice of former New York Mayor Rudy Julian.: "Just say that we won."
CNN: One mistake Trump didn't make about Iran
If Trump does not find a way out of the situation with Iran, history will consider his decision to start a war a mistake that determined all stages of his presidency. But so far, he has managed to avoid one potentially terrible failure: a large-scale escalation of the conflict that could spiral out of his control. History shows that presidents who escalate wars in search of a way out of conflict or to protect their own prestige are sliding down a slippery slope. In Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, in wars that could no longer be won, they often did this.
CNN
Any large-scale escalation on the part of Trump would be a risky venture, since there is no indication that Tehran can be brought back to negotiations through bombing. Iran is likely to respond to attacks on its bridges, power plants and other infrastructure by setting fire to similar facilities on the territory of US allies in the Persian Gulf, which will exacerbate the economic consequences of the war. Regional leaders seem to have discussed this exact scenario with Trump over the weekend.
Theoretically, Trump could use the US Navy to forcibly open the Strait of Hormuz. But that would make American ships vulnerable to missiles and drones. Ground operations against the oil export center on Kharg Island or to push the Iranian forces away from the strait could be bloody. The political costs are rising as the number of victims increases, which Trump cannot afford in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections. And when soldiers die in search of an escape route, it can paradoxically prolong the war, because their sacrifice cannot be in vain.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
