G7 leaders gather in Canada in shadow of Israel-Iran conflict
The first of the G7 leaders to arrive in Canada is the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. He’s announced that he’s going to bolster his country’s military resources in the Middle East.
That’s, I think, to protect the UK’s presence in the region. It’s not a very big presence, but they do have bases in quite a number of countries across the region.
That, I think, shows you the big worry among the G7 countries is that this could spread, that there could be further escalation. That’s a worry about the military and political situation, but also – given that this is a place where the oil and gas reserves of the world are based – a worry about the effects on the global economy.
It’s not just the leaders of the G7 who will be here in the Canadian Rockies in the coming days, but also their invited guests. So there are eight other countries coming. Some of them, unlike the European nations and the US, have strongly condemned Israel’s actions – for example, Brazil and South Africa. So there’ll be a range of voices around the table.
I think the one person everyone will be trying to influence is President Donald Trump, because he’s the only player here at the meeting that could really change things on the ground, because Israel and Iran, of course, are both not here.
But Trump, if he wants, could exercise influence on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He could even either privately or publicly order him to stop the bombardment of Iran. Of course, the big question is, would the Israeli prime minister even listen to the US president?
Germany, France, UK offer to negotiate on Iran’s nuclear programme
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, currently visiting the Middle East, says he’s working to help reduce tensions in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
“I hope that’s still possible,” Wadephul told German public broadcaster ARD. “Germany together with France and Britain are ready. We’re offering Iran immediate negotiations about the nuclear programme, I hope [the offer] is accepted.”
“This is also a key prerequisite for reaching a pacification of this conflict, that Iran presents no danger to the region, for the state of Israel or to Europe.”
Continuing the lie. China should do the negotiations as the only sort of neutral power in this. Putin wants to but he's aligned with Iran while Europe is just doing US' bidding.
US ‘pressure strategy’ on Iran proves to be a failure: President
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have spoken over the phone. Sheikh Tamim strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Iran, calling it “a flagrant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, and a clear breach of the rules of international law”.
According to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian said the US’s strategy of imposing demands on Iran through “pressure and aggression” has proven to be a failure, condemning Washington’s backing for Israeli strikes against his country.
“Today they support Israel’s attacks on Iran and think they can impose their demands on us through pressure,” said Pezeshkian. He thanked Sheikh Tamim for his expression of sympathy and solidarity with the Iranian people after Israel’s attacks.
It's all going according to Netanyahu's plan. Once he can push Iran to closing the straight of Hormuz the US will pretty much have to get involved. For now he's hoping Iran or other groups will target US' bases around the ME to get direct US involvement on the offensive side as well.
