Iran has pushed back against Donald Trump, putting its new peace deal on the table and warning the US President that the room for American decision-making had narrowed, as ITV News’ Ellie Pitt reports.
Iran says the US has responded to its latest peace proposal, and Tehran is currently reviewing the reply.
Proposal includes 30-day resolution aimed at ending war, Iranian state-linked media reports.
Donald Trump says a project will start on Monday to help stranded ships leave the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump warned there could be fresh strikes on Iran if regime “misbehaves”.
UK military’s Maritime Trade Operations centre says a ship near the Strait of Hormuz reports being attacked.
Eleven villages and towns in Lebanon ordered to evacuate by Israel on Sunday despite ceasefire.
US sends $8 billion in weapons to Israel, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait.
More than 5,000 US troops will leave Germany, Trump says.
The United States has responded to Iran’s latest peace proposal, and Tehran is reviewing Washington’s reply, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said.
Speaking on state television on Sunday, Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposal does not include “nuclear negotiations” and “exclusively focuses on ending the war”.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said his representatives are having discussions with Iran that could lead to something “very positive for all.”
It comes as Trump said the US will start helping stranded ships leave the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
Iran’s peace proposal includes a 30-day resolution to end the war and requests the US cease its blockade on Iranian ports and remove troops from the region, state-linked media has reported.
It calls for the US to lift sanctions on Iran, end the ongoing naval blockade, withdraw forces from the region, and cease all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to the semi-official Nour News agency.
When Trump confirmed he was “reviewing” the proposals on Saturday, he did not appear optimistic about it, saying Iran had “not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.”
The US and Iran struck a ceasefire agreement on April 7 and have not traded fire since then, but American forces have been blocking Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz since April 13.
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This is in response to Iran almost entirely closing the waterway to the rest of the world since the war began, which has seen oil prices soar.
On Sunday, Trump announced “Project Freedom” would begin on Monday morning.
In a post on Truth Social, he said Sunday that “neutral and innocent” countries have been affected by the Iran war, and “we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.”
However, earlier on Sunday, Iran’s deputy parliament speaker said the nation would “not back down” from its position on the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes as a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz said it was attacked by multiple small craft, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre on Sunday.
All crew on the unidentified northbound carrier were safe after the attack off Sirik, Iran, east of the strait, the monitor said.
Iran stands firm on Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s deputy parliament speaker said on Sunday that Iran “will not back down” from its position on the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the waterway “will not return to its prewar conditions”.
Ali Nikzad, who has no decision-making power in parliament, made the comments while on a visit to port facilities on Iran’s strategic Larak Island, located close to the narrowest part of the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, adding that the country was working to compensate businesses and property damaged during the war, and that Trump’s blockade plan was certain to fail.
Nikzad reiterated Iran’s position that any ships not associated with the US or Israel will be able to pass after paying a toll.
The US has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran in any form, including digital assets, to pass safely.
Lebanese villages and towns told to evacuate
Civilians living in Al-Duwayr, Arab Salim, Al-Sharqiya (Nabatieh), Jibshit, Braashit, Sarafand, Dounin, Briqa, Qaaqaiya Al-Jisr, Al-Qasiba (Nabatieh) and Kafra Sir were urged to leave their homes by the IDF during the early hours of Sunday morning.
“In light of the terrorist Hezbollah party’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Defense Army is compelled to act against it forcefully. The Israeli Defense Forces do not intend to harm you,” Adraee wrote on X. “Out of concern for your safety. You must evacuate your homes immediately and stay away from the villages and towns for a distance of at least 1,000 metres to open areas.
“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means exposes their life to danger!”
The IDF also claimed it had targeted and killed two members of Hezbollah in a drone strike.
On Saturday, nine villages and towns in southern Lebanon were urged to evacuate under a similar order from Adraee.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon and wounded several others, while parts of a Catholic convent in a border village were also destroyed, AP reported.
The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, said the Israeli air force carried out about 50 airstrikes over the past 24 hours targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and members.
Hezbollah said that it had launched a drone attack against Israeli troops gathered on Saturday inside a house in the coastal village of Bayed.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said 2,659 people have been killed and 8,183 wounded since the war began.
More US troops to leave Germany, says Trump
Trump has said the US will reduce its troop presence in Germany even further than the 5,000 the Pentagon announced would be withdrawing on Friday.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters in Florida on Saturday.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, appeared to have taken the initial news about troops withdrawing in his stride, stating that the drawback was expected.
“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa on Saturday.
“If we are to remain transatlantic, we must strengthen the European pillar within Nato,” he said.
The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.
Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, around 80,000-100,000 US personnel are usually stationed in Europe.
US sends arms to Israel, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait
The Trump administration has fast-tracked billions of dollars in arms sales to its Middle East allies, the US State Department has said in a series of statements.
The total cost of the weapons comes to more than $8 billion, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoking emergency powers to approve the sales.
Among the items are Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) – made up of rocket launchers with laser-precision and high explosive war heads – given to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for an estimated $147.6 million (about £108 million), to Israel for $992.4 million (£729.5 million) and to Qatar for $992.4 million.
Qatar will also receive Patriot missiles $4.01 billion (£2.95 billion) and Kuwait will receive an Integrated Battle Command System – which can detect, track, and intercept air and missile threats -for $2.5 billion (£1.84 billion).
The US will also supply non-major defense equipment items such as technical data, spare and repair parts, personnel training, logistics support and transportation, the state department said.
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