Donald Trump has proposed a peace plan with Iran and expressed optimism about the chances of reaching an agreement, while Tehran has indicated that it will allow non-hostile ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz on the 26th day of the war engulfing the Middle East.
Iran and the United States are negotiating to try to end the conflict, as reiterated by the American president, but military operations by the US against the Islamic Republic continue tirelessly, he added.
The American press also mentions the dispatch of 3,000 American paratroopers to the Middle East as reinforcement. The Israeli army has emphasized that it continues to act and strike, “according to an unchanged plan,” in Iran and Lebanon, while Tehran once again launched missiles towards Israel.
However, several media outlets, including the New York Times and Israeli TV Channel 12, report that the Trump administration has presented a 15-point peace plan to Iran through Pakistan, which maintains good relations with both parties.
According to three unidentified sources cited by Channel 12, the US is proposing a one-month ceasefire to allow Iranian authorities to study their demands. Among these 15 points, five concern Iran’s nuclear program, others require the abandonment of support for “proxies” in the region, such as Hezbollah or Hamas, and one point emphasizes keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime navigation.
In return, Iran would receive a lift of international sanctions against it and support for its civilian nuclear program.
Iran has declared that “non-hostile ships” can “benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the competent authorities.”
Close to 20% of the world’s hydrocarbon production passes through this strategic strait, and its blockade by Tehran in recent weeks has caused oil prices to soar.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump mentioned a “very big gift” related to hydrocarbons, without giving details, possibly linked to this partial reopening of the strait. In response to these announcements, oil prices dropped by nearly 6% shortly after the opening of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The American president also reiterated that negotiations are ongoing “right now” with Tehran.
– Who is the negotiator in Iran? –
“What I said yesterday (Monday) was exactly right,” insisted the American president, specifying that his envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are participating.
By mentioning these talks, Donald Trump delayed “by five days” his threat to strike Iran’s power grid, temporarily reassuring the markets. He later congratulated Washington and Tehran for finding “major points of agreement” within these negotiations held with a “senior leader” in Iran.
But who? The only certainty is that it is not the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been invisible since being appointed by Iranian authorities after the death of his father on the first day of the war, February 28.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament – listed by the Axios news site as the American negotiator – categorically denied it. Iranian diplomacy only admitted to receiving, through “friendly countries,” messages conveying an American request for negotiations.
While awaiting potential diplomatic progress, an Israeli-American strike hit the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran without causing damage, as reported in the evening by the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for “maximum restraint to avoid any risk to nuclear safety during conflict.”
In Israel, 12 people were injured Tuesday evening near Tel Aviv by one or more missiles from Iran, according to Israeli rescuers. And the risks of further escalation affect the entire region.
In Lebanon, where Israel aims to seize a large area in the south of the country to ensure its security, Lebanese authorities have unprecedentedly decided to initiate expulsion proceedings against the Iranian ambassador for interference. But they have also drawn the ire of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
– “Large-scale strikes” –
On the ground, at least nine people were killed Tuesday night in three Israeli raids on locations in southern Lebanon, a region considered a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, according to the Lebanese official news agency ANI.
In the Gulf, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait reported drone and missile attacks by Iran on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out “a series of large-scale strikes (…) in several regions of Iran,” including Isfahan.
“The sounds, explosions, and missiles are now part of our daily life,” said a 35-year-old woman from Iranian Kurdistan residing in Tehran, speaking to AFP on the phone.
In Lebanon, explosions shook areas north of Beirut during the day.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli Defense Minister Isra’l Katz stated that Israeli forces “were maneuvering inside Lebanese territory to take control of an advanced defense line” up to the Litani River, about thirty kilometers from the border.
“The hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who were evacuated to the north will not return to southern Litani until the security of the northern residents of Israel is assured,” he warned.
