From Reuters, "Iran's president said on Thursday that the United States was ready to lift sanctions on his country's oil, banking and shipping sectors that were reimposed after former U.S. President Donald Trump exited a 2015 nuclear deal three years ago."
During a televised cabinet meeting, Rouhani went on to say, "The talks in Vienna are about minor issues. They have accepted to lift sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping sectors as well as sanctions on the Central Bank and others,"
Jen Psaki, Whitehouse spokesperson, said during a press conference that they have been conducting quiet diplomacy with Israel during the recent conflict where Israel has been defending their territory from rockets being launched into Israel from Hamas.
She went on to say, "I was at the State Department back in 2014. We all know that the only way to bring an end to violence, to bring an end to this escalation of violence is for there to be a two-state solution over time." She did not mention the number of times a two-state solution has been suggested only to be turned down by the Palestinians.
Hamas is a militant and political organization currently in power in the Gaza Strip. According to Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, "Hamas is funded by Iran. ... Iran also supplies Hamas with military weaponry.
IDF spokesperson, Major Doron Spielman on a segment of ACLJ discussed the conditions in Israel. From the Israeli perspective, the government is trying to protect its citizens from over 4,000 rockets flying overhead. They are under attack. Israel sends notifications before they retaliate to minimize casualties.
He believes the media has no connection to what is happening in Israel based on their biased reporting of the incidents. Despite the calls for a ceasefire, Israel is moving forward with its objectives as though there is no ceasefire.
Hamas has been killing its own people. They have placed rockets literally in the homes of Palestinian citizens. Using refrigerators in some cases to house a rocket. They have bombed their own electrical grid and many Palestinians are without power. Areas designated as humanitarian aid corridors have also been destroyed by Hamas. While trying to visit the Gaza strip, Major Speilman could not gain entrance because the corridor was blocked due to Hamas destroying the facility.
On a more positive note, Israel has neutralized and destroyed much of the Hamas infrastructure that took them more than 10 years to build. They have taken out a number of senior Hamas operators.
Is lifting the sanctions on Iran going to push a peace deal for Israel? Is this the quiet diplomacy Jen Psaki was referring to at her press conference?