Iran has channeled its response to the latest US ceasefire proposal through Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on finally ending the war, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it, calling it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” without giving further details.
Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to ensure the safety of shipping, state television said. Washington’s latest proposal was for an agreement to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program.
Earlier on social media, Trump accused Tehran of “playing cat and mouse” with the United States for almost 50 years, adding: “They won’t laugh anymore!”
Mr. Trump is giving diplomacy “every possible chance before returning to hostilities,” US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC earlier.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard publicly since the start of the war, “issued decisive new directives for the continuation of operations and strong confrontation with the enemies” during a meeting with the head of the joint military command, said reported the state channel, without giving details.
Drone attacks target Gulf Arab countries
The fragile ceasefire was tested when a drone caused a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported the intrusion of drones into their airspace. The United Arab Emirates claimed to have shot down two drones and blamed Iran. No casualties were reported and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the attack on the ship a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the safety and security of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region.” The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center gave no details on the vessel’s ownership or origin.
Kuwaiti Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said forces responded to the drones, but did not say where they came from.
Iran and allied armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the start of the war, with the US and Israeli attacks on February 28.
Iran says it is on “high alert” to protect its nuclear sites
Donald Trump reiterated his threats to resume large-scale bombings if Iran does not accept an agreement to reopen the strait and reduce its nuclear program. Since the start of the war, Iran has largely blocked this strategic waterway, essential to global supplies of oil, natural gas and fertilizer, which has shaken global markets.
The American army has blocked Iranian ports since April 13, claiming to have turned back 61 commercial ships and having rendered four of them unseaworthy. On Friday, it struck two Iranian oil tankers which it said were trying to force the blockade. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy says any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial ships would be followed by a “massive response” against US bases in the region and enemy ships.
Another sticking point in the negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran holds more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, which is only one technical step away from the quality needed for weapons production.
In an interview published Saturday evening, an Iranian military spokesperson said forces were on “maximum alert” to protect sites where uranium is stored.
“We considered the possibility that they intended to steal it through infiltration operations or helicopter operations,” Brigadier General Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an excerpt from an interview with CBS broadcast Sunday, argued that the war was not over because enriched uranium needed to be removed from Iran. “Trump told me, ‘I want to go,’ and I think it’s physically possible,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow’s proposal to withdraw enriched uranium from Iran to facilitate the negotiation of an agreement remained valid.
Most of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely in its Isfahan nuclear complex, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency told The Associated Press last month. The facility was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes during last year’s 12-day war and has suffered less intense attacks this year.
Iran warns against Franco-British initiative in the Strait
Iran’s deputy foreign minister has warned of a planned Franco-British initiative to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.
“The presence of French and British ships, or any other country, in possible cooperation with the illegal actions of the United States in the Strait of Hormuz which violate international law, will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the forces armed,” wrote Kazem Gharibabadi on social networks.
French President Emmanuel Macron responded by specifying that it would not be a military deployment, but an international mission aimed at securing navigation as soon as conditions permit.
Several attacks on ships have taken place in the Persian Gulf over the past week, and a US initiative to “guide” ships through the strait was quickly suspended.
South Korea announced the first findings of an investigation that two unidentified objects may have struck the South Korean-operated ship HMM NAMU about a minute apart while it was anchored in the strait last week, causing an explosion and a fire. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said authorities had not yet determined who was responsible.
