U.S., Iran Study Ceasefire Plan As Trump’s ‘Hell’ Warning Nears Deadline
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) – The United States and Iran were weighing in on Monday. framework of a plan to finish their five-week term. conflictEven as Tehran pushes back against pressure to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of a new ultimatum from President Donald Trump.
Trump threatened “Hell” rain on Tehran Unless a deal is struck by the end of Tuesday to allow traffic to start flowing again on the route vital for global energy supplies.
Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks in February by effectively closing Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies pass. The waterway’s dominance of the global economy has proven to be a powerful bargaining chip for Iran, and it showed on Monday that it is reluctant to give it up easily.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will not reopen the Strait as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor will it accept time or pressure to reach a deal. The official said Washington is not ready for a permanent ceasefire.
The Pakistan-brokered plan resulted from intense nightly contacts and proposed an immediate ceasefire, followed by talks on a broader peace deal to be concluded within 15 to 20 days, a source familiar with the proposals said on Monday.
The source said Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in contact “all night long” with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Tehran forms positions and demands in line with its own interests and conveys them through intermediaries.
Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said details of the response would be announced in due time, but added that the negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes.”
Baghaei told a news conference that Iran’s demands “should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of confidence in defending its position.” He said previous US demands, such as the 15-point plan, were rejected on the grounds that they were excessive.
Ceasefire Proposal ‘One of Many Ideas’
Trump will talk about the ceasefire proposal at a news conference at 13:00 (1800 GMT), a White House official told Reuters.
Referring to the US name for the operation against Iran, they said: “This is one of many ideas and (Trump) has not signed on to it. The epic Operation Rage continues.”
Brent crude oil futures fell 36 cents to $108.67 a barrel by 12:22 GMT as investors considered the possibility of a ceasefire.
In a profanity-filled post on the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened more attacks on Iran’s energy and transportation infrastructure if Iran did not strike a deal and reopen the Strait by Tuesday. He gave a more precise deadline in a follow-up post: “Tuesday, 8pm Eastern Time! (Wednesday 0000 GMT)”
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said any agreement must guarantee access via Hormuz. He warned that an agreement that failed to rein in Iran’s nuclear program, missiles and drones would pave the way for Iran. “A more dangerous, more unstable Middle East”.
New airstrikes were reported across the region on Monday, more than five weeks after the United States and Israel began battering Iran in a fierce war. killed thousands and caused oil prices to rise, damaging economies.
Iranian state media reported that the intelligence chief of the Revolutionary Guard, Majid Khademi, died. On Monday, Israel claimed responsibility for his death.
The US-Israeli attack hit the data center at the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, damaging infrastructure supporting the country’s national artificial intelligence platform and thousands of other services, Fars News Agency said on Sunday.
ISRAEL VOWS TO DESTROY IRAN’S INFRASTRUCTURE
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Monday to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leaders “one by one.”
Israel announced Monday that Iran attacked the South Pars petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh. The National Petrochemical Company of Iran said emergency and firefighting teams brought the fire at the complex under control. There was no loss of life.
The energy supply was cut off after two companies supplying electricity, water and oxygen to the petrochemical complex were attacked, Tasnim news agency said.
Israel’s mid-March attack on the South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar, led to an escalation of the war as Iran struck energy targets in the Middle East.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a military strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Monday but said the plant was not damaged.
Trump has repeatedly warned Iran that he could expand US strikes to civilian infrastructure such as power plants and bridges.
Experts say such attacks may constitute a war crimeHowever, the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction because the countries involved are not members of the court.
Geneva Conventions say this that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military targets” and that attacks on civilian objects are prohibited.
IRAN CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE
Iran’s weekend attacks on petrochemical facilities and an Israel-linked ship in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE underlined the country’s ability to fight back despite Trump’s repeated claims that he had disabled missile and drone capabilities.
US-based rights group HRANA said some 3,540 people, including at least 244 children, had been killed in the war in Iran.
At least four Israelis were killed in an overnight missile attack on a residential building in Haifa, northern Israel, the Israeli emergency service MDA said on Monday, bringing the total number of Israeli civilians killed in Iranian and Hezbollah attacks to 23.
Israel also invaded southern Lebanon and struck Beirut in the fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Severe spread About the war against Iran.
Lebanese officials say 1,461 people have been killed, including at least 124 children, among Lebanon’s heavy casualties.
Thirteen US soldiers were killed and hundreds more were injured.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus worldwide; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Toby Chopra, William Maclean)
