US fire on Iran tankers sparks reprisals as deal hangs in balance
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was waiting for a response from Iran to Washington’s latest offer to extend the fragile ceasefire and start peace talks “so-called tonight”.
Also Read: Iran reviews US offer ‘at its own pace’ as Trump awaits response: Report
But although Iran sent a response to the talks’ Pakistani mediators, there was no public sign of it, and Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi questioned the credibility of the US leadership in a meeting with his Turkish counterpart.
“The escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf by American forces and their numerous actions to violate the ceasefire have raised doubts about the motivation and seriousness of the American side towards diplomacy,” he said, according to the Iranian account of the call published by the ISNA news agency.
In one incident on Friday, a US warplane opened fire on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of defying a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US action led to retaliatory attacks by Iran.
An Iranian military official told local media that the country’s navy “responded to the violation of the ceasefire and American terrorism with attacks” and that “the hostilities are now over.”Also Read: US and Iran no closer to ending war as Gulf conflict flares up
The latest incident follows a previous flare-up overnight from Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital international sea lane that Iran seeks to control to collect passage fees from foreign ships and exert economic influence over the United States and its allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Friday that Tehran’s control of the key oil route was “unacceptable”.
Washington, through Pakistani mediators, sent Iran a proposal to extend the ceasefire in the Gulf to allow talks on a final settlement of the conflict that was sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran 10 weeks ago.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Friday that the proposal was still “under review,” according to ISNA.
– Oil slick –
Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met US Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday and discussed Pakistan-led efforts to broker a lasting peace.
Iran’s attacks on sites in Qatar during the war pointed to the wealthy emirate’s role as home to a major US air base.
Meanwhile, satellite images showed an oil slick spreading off the coast of Iran’s Kharg Island, a major oil export terminal for the Islamic Republic.
It was not immediately clear what caused the apparent leak, which was located off the island’s west coast and covered more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers), according to global monitor Orbital EOS.
Kharg Island is at the heart of Iran’s oil export industry, the linchpin of the country’s battered economy, and lies in the Gulf, far north of the narrow Strait of Hormuz.
Following the start of the war on February 28, Iran largely closed the strait, causing turmoil in global markets and causing oil prices to rise. The United States later imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in response.
On Sunday, Trump announced a US naval operation designed to reopen the strait to commercial shipping, but that operation was abandoned on Tuesday in favor of a return to negotiations.
Saudi sources told AFP that the kingdom had refused the US military permission to use its bases and airspace for the Hormuz operation. One of the sources said Riyadh “felt this would only escalate the situation and would not work”.
– Lebanon front –
A parallel ceasefire in Lebanon is also under tension.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has launched missiles and drones at military bases in Israel in retaliation for a recent attack on Beirut and ongoing attacks in the south, where Lebanese officials reported 11 people were killed on Friday.
The attacks came as Lebanon and Israel, which have been officially at war since 1948, will begin direct negotiations in Washington next week, which Hezbollah has fiercely opposed.
