Amid diplomatic efforts, US and Iran pause attacks in the Middle East
The armies of the United States and Iran have interrupted in the last few hours the intense exchange of bombings that dominated the Middle East in the last two days.
According to an American official interviewed by CNN, diplomatic efforts have been carried out behind the scenes with the aim of easing tensions between the two sides of the conflict.
At the same time, exclusive satellite images obtained and analyzed by CNN reveal that Iran may be trying to rebuild its nuclear facilities damaged during recent attacks.
The images, analyzed in conjunction with the Institute for Science and International Security, show activity in places such as Parchin and Pickaxe Mountain, where vehicles have been spotted entering and exiting tunnels in recent weeks.
Internal division in the Iranian regime complicates negotiations
CNN International analyst Lourival Sant'Anna assessed that the difficulty in reaching a stable agreement lies in the internal division of the Iranian regime itself. "There is no one Iran. There are two Irans", said Lourival Sant'Anna.
According to him, on one side are the pragmatists who formally govern the country and who signed an agreement with Donald Trump, interested in the release of frozen assets, the end of sanctions and the resumption of oil sales.
On the other side is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which seeks to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz and preserve the nuclear program.
Lourival highlighted that this duality was worsened by the death of Ali Khamenei, who acted as an arbitrator between the two currents of the regime. "Trump and Netanyahu decapitated the regime, killed Ali Khamenei, killed the moderates who were controlling, arbitrating this conflict," said the analyst.
With the absence of this referee, the Revolutionary Guard began to act with greater autonomy, without asking the civilian government for permission to carry out attacks.
Iranian nuclear program and deal violation
Satellite images show that, weeks after the American and Israeli strikes, temporary covers were placed over the holes left by the bombs at the Parchin complex.
Subsequently, with the memorandum of understanding still in force, these covers were removed and concrete mixer trucks were seen nearby - which experts interpret as an indication that Iran was trying to seal the damage caused.
According to experts consulted by CNN, this activity represents a likely violation of the terms agreed with the United States, which required maintaining the status quo of the Iranian nuclear program.
For Lourival Sant'Anna, the revelations about the nuclear program demonstrate that Iran maintains a parallel plan that will continue regardless of the agreements signed.
"Just as there is not just one Iran, there is also not just one nuclear program. It has a civilian program and a military program, parallel", he explained. The analyst highlighted that this distrust has existed for more than 20 years and was worsened by the rupture of previous agreements.
"Now the world will have to deal with this ambivalent Iran that will not comply with agreements", concluded Lourival Sant'Anna.
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Source: CNN