Hormuz closure

More bombings of Lebanon by Israel show that the ceasefire may not mean peace

That Iran threatened to close the Hormuz Strait once again showed how seriously it took the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, and this also showed the world how little value Israel placed on the world’s suffering. The ceasefire had been signed only on Thursday, and technical talks were to  begin in Switzerland on Monday, but Israel continued its bombing campaign, even though it was not militarily purposeful. It may serve to prove to the Israeli electorate that the government will not pay attention to US wishes where Israeli interests are concerned. It is also true that the end of the fighting would mean that the cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will proceed.

The USA’s wink at Israel, to carry on trying to achieve in Lebanon what it had not sone yet, despite the ceasefire, does not seem to be working. Iran will not leave Hezbollah out to dry the way Israel has left the USA. Israel may also be trying to re-establish over Hamas the image it had of superiority amounting to invincibility. There have been some reports from Lebanon of Israeli ground forces taking a battering at the hands of Hamas, armed with drones and munitions provided by Iran. Israel is trying to clear the land to the Litani River, saying it is doing so to safeguard its settlements close to the border from Hamas bombardment, but also because it wants to annex the land, and use it to build new settlements. Inevitably, Hezbollah will bombard the new settlements, and Israel will use that as an excuse to annex more Lebanese territory, until presumably it reaches the sea.

Though the primary actor is the USA, Pakistan has a role to play, as a mediator which is a signatory of the deal, and which would presumably be embarrassed if the ceasefire fell through even before technical talks began. It will have to persuade Iran that it will not use Strait closure as a negotiating tool until it has tried others. And it will have to persuade those of its friends, like Turkey and Egypt, to use their good offices with Israel, perhaps with a reminder that Iran had moved from recognition and diplomatic relations under the Shah 50 years ago, to its present implacable opposition.