Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Negotiators had just arrived for peace talks in Qatar when the US started bombing Iran again. The US military says the strikes were in self-defence. But what does it mean for a deal to end the war that Donald Trump has said is mostly done? Today, Hussein Abish from the Arab Gulf States Institute on what the US president needs now to walk away from a conflict he no longer wants.
I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. Hussein, Donald Trump, he's in the midst of negotiating a peace deal with Iran. It all seems, well, promising, according to him. And then comes word of the US conducting strikes on Iran's Gulf Coast.
The fragile ceasefire in the Middle East has come under renewed strain, with the United States launching new strikes on southern Iran and Israel stepping up its operation in Lebanon. US media reports say American forces hit targets, including missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to place mines.
In a statement, a spokesperson said US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.
What do we know at this point as we speak?
Well, what we gather is that the U.S. conducted strikes on Iranian missile facilities that they believe were preparing to attack U.S. interests in the region and also vessels, Iranian naval vessels that they accuse plausibly of preparing to further mine the Strait of Hormuz. So those are the targets that we gather have been attacked. And at the same time, negotiations are gaining steam in Qatar.
They are inching closer to a memorandum of understanding for a peace agreement that would hold for two or three months, something like that, in order to open the possibility of an agreement on much more intractable issues such as the nuclear file.
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Chapter 2: What triggered the renewed US strikes against Iran?
All right, well, Hussein, let's return now to this possible deal with Iran.
Yes.
Now, it's clear at this point, isn't it, that Donald Trump, he wants out. Oh, definitely. He does not want to continue this anymore.
Well, he's been very clear about that for many weeks.
We're going to end that war very quickly. They want to make a deal so badly, they're tired of... This should have happened for 47 years.
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Chapter 3: How does the US justify its military actions in the Middle East?
Somebody should have done something about it.
And really, since the first time he postponed the major attacks he kept talking about, the civilization-ending attacks that did not budge the Iranians one inch. And then he decided to give them a last-minute reprieve for no discernible reason, no apparent reason. And it's been like that ever since, where he's been inching
Chapter 4: What impact do US strikes have on peace negotiations in Qatar?
ever so slowly towards resumed bombardment, but with the heaviest heart imaginable. This is not someone who wants to return to this war. He was bamboozled into it by the Israelis. And now he's out on a limb. And what's he going to do? He created a dreadful mess when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, because in that case, he can't blame it on anybody else.
He can't say, well, the Biden administration did this and such, or I inherited it from Obama, or the Obama deal was a worse deal, or anything like that. there's nothing you can say when people would point out that, hey, we didn't have this problem before you launched this madcap war of yours, and now we have the problem. What are you going to do about it?
Iran is shutting down shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The only thing you can do is cut off their own access to it as well. And so then no one gets to use it, but that doesn't solve the problem you created at all. And so what are you going to do about it? And he doesn't know.
And as you say, he wants what an easy out, a deal that will solve some things like the Strait of Hormuz, but deal with the really hard things like, you know, uranium later.
Yeah, the highly enriched uranium that we're talking about here. There's about 400 plus kilos of uranium enriched to 60 to 70%, which is near-bomb-grade material, and certainly enough to create a dirty bomb. And that's sort of why Trump has been saying, well, it's buried under the rubble near Isfahan. And if the Iranians ever move to recover it, we will detect this from our satellite imaging.
And we're keeping a very close eye on this area. And if that ever happens, we will bomb them to smithereens. And the question that gets begged then is, well, why aren't you doing that now anyway?
And there isn't really a very good answer, except one that sort of holds out for diplomacy, for an agreement to resolve the issue amicably, all the things that any rational person would prefer to violence. And so in that respect, he gets a pass on it, but only because everyone is so keen on avoiding another round of madcap,
military attacks back and forth, and discovering what Iran has up its sleeve next, courtesy of Donald Trump.
And as part of these discussions now, Donald Trump also, Hussein, has another demand. He wants nations like Saudi Arabia to sign up to the Abraham Accords. He wants them to normalize ties with Israel. Not happening. Just remind me what the accords are and why is it not happening?
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