The lives of millions of people across the Middle East – and the fate of the global economy – will hinge on the outcome of make-or-break talks between the US and Iran this weekend in Pakistan.
The streets of the capital Islamabad were emptied ahead of the talks by a sudden two-day public holiday, declared to enforce strict security for the arrival of the American and Iranian delegations.
A fragile two-week ceasefire that paved the way for the talks is holding for now. But Israel’s massive and deadly bombardment of Lebanon and disagreements over whether Lebanon is included in the truce could derail the uneasy calm.
The key question now is whether the talks will produce some sort of middle ground – or whether they will collapse and restart a war that has already wrought destruction across parts of the Middle East and sparked a historic global oil crisis.
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