Iran says it has replied to US proposal as reported drone strikes strain ceasefire | US-Israel war on Iran
Iran said it had responded to a US peace proposal on a day when the month-long ceasefire showed signs of wear and there were drone attacks in the region.
Iranian state media reported that Iran’s response was conveyed to Pakistani mediators, without providing further details. The announcement comes a week after the United States presented its peace proposal, which reportedly included a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would create a framework for further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program while reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The memorandum itself was a response to an earlier proposal by Iran. It also envisaged lifting parallel US and Iranian blockades of the strait that had driven up oil prices and stifled the global economy, with an emphasis on lifting sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
The announcement of a new response from Tehran came on a day when a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan that took effect on April 8 showed new signs of tension. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drone attacks on their airspace on Sunday, and the drone strike sparked a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar.
Another drone attack was reported on a camp used by an Iranian Kurdish rebel group near Erbil in northeastern Iraq.
Qatar’s defense ministry did not provide details on Sunday other than that the ship targeted was from Abu Dhabi. The UAE defense ministry said it shot down what it said were Iranian drones that entered its airspace.
A spokesman for Kuwait’s defense ministry said its forces responded to drones that entered the country’s airspace early Sunday “in accordance with established procedures”, without attributing responsibility for the attack.
Tensions under the ceasefire flared as both the United States and Iran attempted to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz. On May 4, Donald Trump launched what he called “Project Freedom,” which was supposed to provide a way out of the Gulf for hundreds of war-stranded ships.
Iran, which closed the strait after the first US-Israeli attack on February 28, responded with attacks on the US navy, commercial ships and oil facilities in the UAE, a close ally of the US and Israel.
After 36 hours, Trump canceled Project Freedom and the passage of only two US-flagged ships. Saudi Arabia did not allow US forces to use its bases and airspace for the operation.
Tehran has insisted that all ships passing through the strait must cooperate with its armed forces and pay a $2 million (£1.5 million) transit fee. On Sunday, Iranian state media reported that a Panama-flagged ship bound for Brazil was allowed to pass through the strait.
Qatar condemned the attack on a ship in its territorial waters as a “serious escalation”. The country’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that using the strait as a tool of pressure will only deepen the crisis and freedom of maritime navigation should not be compromised.
Two critical issues that will be at the center of any future nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran are the suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment and the destruction of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which could be used to make about a dozen nuclear warheads. In an interview with Iranian state media late Saturday, a military spokesman said the country’s forces were “fully prepared” to maintain stockpiles.
“We thought they might have intended to steal it through infiltration operations or helicopter operations,” said Brigadier General Akrami Nia.
The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, believes at least half of the stockpile is buried deep in Isfahan. Trump was reportedly presented with military options to seize the HEU, but the operation would require large numbers of troops and take weeks.
Trump said the current ceasefire includes Lebanon and told Israel to stop bombing Hezbollah targets there. Israel reduced the intensity of its operation but continued its attacks.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 36 people were killed and 74 injured in Israeli attacks on Saturday. Among the casualties were many medics injured in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it captured Hezbollah’s unmanned aerial vehicles approaching its troops in the region.
