DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran has submitted its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal through Pakistani mediators, expressing a desire for negotiations to focus on a permanent end to the war. However, President Donald Trump swiftly dismissed the proposal as \u201cTOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!\u201d without providing further details.<\/p>\n
According to state TV, Iran aims to conclude the conflict on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is engaged with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to guarantee maritime security. Washington\u2019s recent proposal reportedly outlined a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and dismantle Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Trump took to social media, accusing Tehran of \u201cplaying games\u201d with the United States for nearly 50 years, adding, \u201cThey will be laughing no longer!\u201d Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, previously told ABC that Trump is affording diplomacy \u201cevery chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been publicly seen or heard since the war began, reportedly \u201cissued new and decisive directives for the continuation of operations and the powerful confrontation with the enemies\u201d during a meeting with the head of the joint military command, as reported by the state broadcaster, without further specifics.<\/p>\n
**Drone Attacks Target Gulf Arab Nations**<\/p>\n
The fragile ceasefire faced a challenge when a drone caused a minor fire on a ship off Qatar. Concurrently, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. The UAE stated it shot down two drones and attributed the incident to Iran. No casualties were reported, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.<\/p>\n
Qatar\u2019s Foreign Ministry condemned the ship attack as a \u201cdangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region.\u201d The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center did not disclose details regarding the ship\u2019s owner or origin.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi, spokesperson for Kuwait\u2019s Defense Ministry, confirmed that forces responded to drones but did not specify their origin. Iran and its allied armed groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, have reportedly conducted hundreds of drone strikes since the war commenced with U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28.<\/p>\n
**Iran on \u2018Full Readiness\u2019 to Protect Nuclear Sites**<\/p>\n
Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran fails to accept an agreement to reopen the Strait and roll back its nuclear program. Since the war\u2019s onset, Iran has largely obstructed the strategic waterway, crucial for global oil, natural gas, and fertilizer shipments, causing market instability.<\/p>\n
In response, the U.S. military has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, claiming to have turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four. On Friday, two Iranian oil tankers, allegedly attempting to breach the blockade, were struck. Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard navy has warned that any assault on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a \u201cheavy assault\u201d on U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.<\/p>\n
Another contentious point in negotiations is Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency reports that Iran possesses over 440 kilograms (970 pounds) enriched to 60% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade material.<\/p>\n
In an interview published late Saturday, an Iranian military spokesperson stated that forces were on \u201cfull readiness\u201d to safeguard uranium storage sites. Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency, \u201cWe considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heli-borne operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an excerpt from a CBS interview airing Sunday, asserted that the war is not over because the enriched uranium must be removed from Iran. He quoted Trump as saying, \u201c\u2018I want to go in there,\u2019 and I think it can be done physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Saturday that Moscow\u2019s proposal to transfer enriched uranium from Iran to facilitate a settlement remains an option. The International Atomic Energy Agency director-general informed The Associated Press last month that the majority of Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium is likely housed at its Isfahan nuclear complex, a facility that endured U.S.-Israeli airstrikes during last year\u2019s 12-day war and less intense attacks this year.<\/p>\n
**Iran Warns Against French-British Effort in the Strait**<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister issued a warning against a proposed French-British initiative aimed at bolstering maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz post-hostilities. Kazem Gharibabadi stated on social media, \u201cThe presence of French and British vessels, or those of any other country, for any possible cooperation with illegal U.S. actions in the Strait of Hormuz that violate international law will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron clarified that it would not be a military deployment but an international mission to secure shipping once conditions permit. Several attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, leading to a temporary halt in a U.S. effort to \u201cguide\u201d ships through the strait.<\/p>\n
South Korea announced preliminary findings from an investigation indicating that two unidentified objects struck the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU approximately one minute apart while it was anchored in the strait last week, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesperson stated that officials have yet to identify those responsible.<\/p>\n
#Iran #USCeasefire #Trump #MiddleEastConflict #StraitOfHormuz #NuclearProgram #Hezbollah #DroneAttacks #Diplomacy #InternationalRelations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran has submitted its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal through Pakistani mediators, expressing a desire for negotiations to focus on a permanent end to the war. However, President Donald Trump swiftly dismissed the proposal as \u201cTOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!\u201d without providing further details. According to state TV, Iran aims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}