There has been a negotiated end to the war in Iran, but the volatile issues that triggered it have yet to be resolved.

After nearly three months of arduous negotiations punctuated by periodic armed clashes, the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement within the parameters of a memorandum of understanding on June 14. It was mediated by Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.

The 60-day truce formally ends the war, which erupted on February 28 after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in a joint military operation spearheaded by air strikes.

The memorandum of understanding was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on his 80th birthday. Iran, presumably out of spite, refrained from signing it until the early hours of June 15.

Israel was not involved in the talks that led to the agreement, whose text has yet to be released. But in a social media post, Trump said that it would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, an issue created by the war, and the removal of the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The agreement, which essentially resurrects the status quo ante, also calls for an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting for the past three months. Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, struck the first blow by firing a barrage of rockets at Israel on March 2. Since then, Israel has occupied southern Lebanon and established a security zone there.

Iran, regarded as Israel’s deadliest enemy, backs Hezbollah’s maximalist demands for a complete ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

The chairman of Iran’s Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ebrahim Azizi, reportedly told Hezbollah on June 3 that ending the war with the United States and Israel on all fronts, including Lebanon, was at the forefront of Iran’s diplomatic quest.

The agreement appeared imperilled after Israel bombed a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut in the early hours of June 14 in retaliation for rocket fire from Hezbollah.

As he desperately tried to finalize the deal, Trump lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a peace deal with Iran,” he wrote on his Truth Social site. In a sign of their deteriorating relationship, he accused Netanyahu of having “no fucking judgment” and demanded that all sides “stand down.”

Trump, an an interview published by The New York Times, justified the agreement and claimed that Israel should be grateful to the United States. “He’s a very difficult guy,” he said in a reference to Netanyahu. “And to be honest with you, he should be very thankful to us for........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)