Iran considering ‘punishment’ for Israeli ceasefire breaches

[0:00] Iran's foreign ministers already flagged concerns about ceasefire breaches in Iran and Lebanon [0:04] during a call with Pakistan's army commander. [0:07] Iranian authorities have reported an enemy attack on an oil refinery on Lavan Island. [0:13] The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company says it was hit at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. [0:18] That's after the ceasefire was announced. [0:21] I'm going to bring in Toghat Asad. He's joining us now from Tehran. [0:23] So Iran already warning of ceasefire violations. [0:26] Yes, indeed. And obviously that is coming from the very fact that we are dealing with an extremely fragile situation. [0:37] Of course, Iran is saying that it is interested in a ceasefire and halting of the war. [0:43] But according to what we had from the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Rashid, during his phone call with his Turkish counterpart, [0:51] the country is basically looking for a complete ending of the war. [0:55] And also the key point of concern for the country is that the basis for any negotiation down the road in Islamabad [1:03] is going to be the 10-point proposal by the Iranian side. [1:08] And on that, we know, and it goes without saying, that there are points of difference when it comes to the approaches by the United States, [1:16] by the Israeli side, and obviously by the Iranian side. [1:19] And speaking of this ceasefire agreement, we know that so far Tehran has mentioned some cases of actually breach of that. [1:28] In addition to the point that you mentioned on the attack in Lavan, [1:33] we know that Iran has also reported the downing of a drone in Fars province in the central areas of the country today. [1:42] And of course, it is interpreting that as another instance of breach. [1:46] But it's still, we've got several lines. [1:49] First, the Iranian side is continuing the diplomatic engagement, not only with the Pakistani counterparts, [1:56] but also we know that several phone conversations have been held between Abbas Rashid and other countries across the region. [2:04] And of course, we've got this line from the Tasneem News Agency, if I'm not mistaken. [2:09] And they're saying that there is a potentiality for the withdrawal from this ceasefire agreement in case Israeli side decides to continue their strikes. [2:21] And obviously here, there is another point of controversy. [2:25] The Iranian side, some of the security sources are now telling that Iran says Lebanese front has been said to be, [2:33] and has been agreed to be, one of the fronts in which this ceasefire should be implemented while the other side continues their strikes across the Lebanese territories. [2:45] And Iran is interpreting that as a breach again. [2:48] And also, we've got this high-ranking Iranian official telling Al Jazeera that Israel is going to be punished for this breach of ceasefire in Lebanon. [2:58] All in all, first things and last thing here is that we are dealing with a very intricate, meanwhile, [3:05] a very actually fragile situation in which stakes are high. [3:11] They can even go higher in case of any escalation. [3:14] Toker, let's look ahead to this high-stakes meeting that's going to be happening in Islamabad. [3:20] Who do we know is going to be there, and what do we know is going to be discussed? [3:28] Well, Iran is saying that the basis of negotiation is going to be the 10-point proposal by the Iranian side. [3:37] We know that prior to that, the Americans came out with a 15-point proposal, [3:42] to which Iran responded to say that it's extremely maximalist, and on that we know that there are controversies. [3:49] But still, we have to keep in mind, again, due to this fragile nature of this situation, [3:55] we are not 100% sure that there are going to be talks in Islamabad in case of a continued breach of the ceasefire. [4:02] But still, what we hear so far from the Iranian side, from the Supreme National Security Council of the country, [4:09] in their statement last night, and obviously from the Iranian president during his phone call with Pakistani leaders, [4:16] they said that Friday, Iran is going to take part. [4:20] Who is going to lead that delegation is a big question, obviously. [4:24] We know that earlier we've got some reports about the possibility of Mohamed Bagheel-Ghalibov, [4:29] the Speaker of the Parliament, who has been very much vocal since the initiation of the war. [4:35] But still, there is no confirmation that Basar-Rakshi, the foreign minister, [4:39] is another option to lead this delegation. [4:43] And regarding the agenda, we know that the two sides are going to have so many knots to be untangled. [4:50] There is this cloud of mistrust when it comes to Iran's vantage point. [4:54] Iran is looking for a sort of verifiable mechanism to make sure that any deal at the end of the day, [5:02] if reached, could be translated into real action. [5:06] And added to that is obviously this historical background. [5:10] And on that, Iranians are saying from time to time that we were already involved in a negotiated settlement, [5:16] not once, but twice in the past 10 months while the country faced a campaign of airstrikes targeting these different territories. [5:26] And now they're trying to find some verifiable ways, [5:30] not only when it comes to commitments, for instance, related to the sanction relief or nuclear dossier of the country, [5:36] but also when it comes to making sure that there is going to be no repetition of another war down the road. [5:43] That's Tokid Asadi talking to us there from Tehran. [5:47] Tokid, thank you very much indeed.