Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri saw that the atmosphere in the region was negative and gloomy as a result of the ongoing escalation, hoping that it would be contained before it escalated, especially since there was no eventual escape from returning to negotiation and implementing the memorandum of understanding. When Berri was asked whether the renewed US-Iranian clash proves the validity of the proposal that objects to linking Lebanon to Islamabad’s path and adheres to Washington’s path that the authority is pursuing, he replied: “I am not upset if any path achieves a positive result in the category of stopping the aggression and ending the occupation.” He added: “My brother, let them close my eyes and silence me with an actual achievement, not an imaginary one... I haven’t seen anything yet...” Berri pointed out that the direct negotiations that led to the “framework formula” did not lead to any real positives for Lebanon’s interests and rights, “and be sure that I will be happy if they are able to achieve withdrawal, the return of the displaced, the release of prisoners, and reconstruction, because what matters to me in the end is eating grapes and not killing the guard.” Berri reiterated his rejection of the option of experimental areas, which, if implemented, would mean that completing the withdrawal would require two years, “in addition to the fact that we basically have objections to the origin of this proposal,” noting that he had proposed replacing it with districts. Berri noted that the proposed experimental areas are mostly unoccupied, warning that “the intent is to involve the army in internal confrontations and create strife that only serves the Israeli enemy, which seeks to lure us into its trap, and this is what we are confronting with all our strength and wisdom.” Berri does not show interest in the upcoming round of negotiations in Rome between the Lebanese and Israeli negotiating delegations, suggesting that it will constitute a rumination and an extension of the winding path, according to what Al-Jumhuriya reported.