MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Experts evaluate prospects for the Iran-US ceasefire being long-term; Israel resumes large-scale attacks on Lebanon; and the Iran truce may facilitate a resumption of Ukraine talks. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Tehran and Washington view the ceasefire they have reached differently. US President Donald Trump and his entourage have claimed victory over Iran. Tehran, in turn, has declared victory over the United States. Consequently, the parties’ potential terms for resolving the conflict are largely contradictory, Vedomosti notes.
The two-week ceasefire can potentially pave the way for an indefinite truce, said Ilya Vaskin, junior researcher with the Center for the Middle East, Caucasus, and Central Asia Studies at the Higher School of Economics. On the one hand, the Trump administration has already unleashed wars right in the middle of talks. On the other hand, this particular war could be too much of a shock for Trump, forcing him to exercise caution with regard to Iran, the expert added. Meanwhile, the ceasefire will make it possible for Iran to save its face and portray itself as the winner, Vaskin pointed out.
"If Iran stands its ground and continues to develop, it is going to turn into an influential regional power that everyone will have to reckon with. It remains to be seen how its policies change and what leaders emerge in the country," Russia in Global Affairs Editor-in-Chief Fyodor Lukyanov emphasized.
