IRAN’S Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff met at the negotiating table in Rome yesterday to take forward ‘positive’ talks on Tehran’s nuclear progr­­a­m­­me initiated last week in, and mediated by, Oman. However, there is little clarity on what the process will deliver, although the two sides have reportedly agreed to task experts to discuss a framework for a potential deal in Oman next week.

With Donald Trump at the helm in the US, policies, particularly foreign policy, may appear chaotic but are generally formulated to uphold the interests of the apartheid state of Israel, as big donors to American politicians’ election campaigns — presidential candidates or Congressional — demand and get their pound of flesh.

This was evident in the fate of the Gaza ceasefire, which went into effect to coincide with Trump’s inauguration at his insistence, because he was keen to be seen as a peacemaker-president, despite Israeli reticence. The US envoy’s arm-twisting worked. But only for a while.

A lot of lobbying takes place behind closed doors — away from the public eye — as must have happened in this case too. The result: Israel unilaterally violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement and changed goalposts, before resuming its genocidal military campaign in Gaza.

A media leak said Trump vetoed an Israeli plan for a joint attack on Iran’s nuclear........

© Dawn