Paris (France) (AFP) – The deal between the United States and Iran to end their war, negotiated in secret and still not revealed in detail, was greeted with scepticism but a measure of relief among ordinary people across the Middle East.
In Lebanon, AFP saw displaced people preparing to return to homes they fled in the south of the country, despite Israeli ministers declaring they did not feel bound by the agreement to halt their own offensive against Hezbollah. At the Qasmiyeh bridge, the gateway to the Tyre area that Israel has pounded in recent weeks, dozens of cars packed with mattresses and suitcases were passing through a Lebanese army checkpoint, passengers flashing victory signs. Alaa Merahi, who was driving with his wife and children, told AFP: “We’re returning to our south, to the free land.”
Many expressed hope this would be a “final return” after hundreds of thousands of residents were repeatedly forced to flee Israeli bombings and evacuation orders. At a crowded school-turned-shelter in the coastal city of Sidon, displaced people sat in classrooms drinking coffee, waiting for official authorisation to return.
“Our joy is greater than the whole world,” said Haifa Sherri, who was displaced from the town of Khirbet Selm near the border. She said, however, she would hold off on returning until the situation became clearer. Lebanon’s army urged displaced residents to delay their return to southern border villages, while several municipalities told people to await instructions. But in Sidon, Hanaa Jaffal said she planned to return on Monday to Ansar, close to Nabatieh and the Israeli advance. “There’s nothing like returning to your land, even if the houses are no longer there,” she said. “We’ll set up a tent and stay in it,” she added, paying tribute to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and insisted Lebanon must be included in any peace deal.
Iran and mediator Pakistan say the agreement provides for an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but Israeli ministers said their forces will not be withdrawn. On the other side of the border in Israel, reactions were more mixed, but many expressed scepticism that peace would ensue. “I don’t expect this ceasefire to last. I don’t think that they considered Israeli needs, and I’m personally upset about it,” said Naomi Haddar, chief executive of a medical non-profit. “We are a free country and we have to make our own decisions to protect our own citizens.”
In the northern town of Metula, coffee shop owner Miri Menashe similarly said, “I believe we need to detach Israel entirely from this matter.” “Israel is not supposed to be a side to an agreement between the United States and Iran…Lebanon is our problem; Iran is the United States’ problem, so let the United States solve its issue with Iran and leave us in peace.” Koby Heller, a 40-year-old Jerusalem resident, told AFP: “The general feeling within Israel…everyone I talk to tells me: ‘we lost’.” “President Trump went to war, with Israel, to achieve goals. The goals were — as he stated — to dismantle the missiles and to remove the uranium stockpile from Iran. Neither was achieved,” he said.
In Iran, where the government brutally suppressed anti-government protests a month before the war began, most optimism was economic rather than political. Tehran salesman Efran, 18, told AFP he hoped an end to sanctions would put the Iranian economy back in gear. “Of course, if the Americans keep their word and do not break their promises, as usual,” he added. Nastaran, a 29-year-old software engineer, said she would be very happy “once the war is over and the sanctions we had are lifted.”
And Sadegh, a 52-year-old government worker, said Washington should be ready to make concessions. “It may not be pleasant for both sides but nations need peace and tranquillity, and I hope that the other side will adhere to this agreement,” he said. But others like Arya, an English teacher, appeared more pessimistic. “This agreement was nothing but a loss for the people of Iran,” the 38-year-old told AFP journalists based outside of Iran. “Our people will not return to normal; we have only lost time. The greatest outcome of this war was that they came to understand that Trump is not their ally.”
In the monarchies of the Gulf, whose economies were battered by Iranian strikes and a shipping blockade, there was also cautious optimism. “I’m relieved,” said 40-year-old Bahraini Hessa Mahmoud. “No one wants to live through war again.” In Kuwait, 37-year-old Jordanian engineer Iyad Joumma spoke for many. While the agreement may allow the region to catch its breath, he said, its success “will depend on the ability of the parties involved to address the root causes of the tensions.”
© 2024 AFP
