Iran Responds To Ceasefire Proposal As Drones Target Gulf Nations

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire offer through Pakistani mediators and wants talks to focus on ending the ceasefire permanently warIran’s state media said this on Sunday. Pakistan confirmed receipt of it.

Iran is trying to end the war on all fronts LebanonState television stated that Israel was fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and ensuring the security of shipping. Washington’s final proposal included an agreement to end the war and reopen the United States. Strait of Hormuz and rolling back Iran’s nuclear program, an issue Tehran would prefer to discuss later.

The White House had no comment on Iran’s response, but US President Donald Trump accused Tehran on social media of “playing games” with the US for nearly 50 years, adding: “They won’t laugh anymore!”

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told ABC on Sunday that Trump was giving diplomacy “every chance possible before reverting to hostilities.”

Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard in public since the start of the war, “issued new and decisive instructions for the continuation of operations and forcefully confronting the enemies” during a meeting with the head of the joint military command, the state broadcaster reported, without providing details.

The fragile ceasefire was tested when a drone started a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones had entered their airspace. The UAE Ministry of Defense announced that it shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles and blamed Iran. No casualties were reported and no one immediately claimed responsibility.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the safety and security of maritime trade routes and vital resources in the region.” The UK Merchant Marine Operations Center said the ship attack took place 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Doha. No details were given about the ship’s owner or origin.

Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense spokesman Brig. General Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said forces responded to the drones “in accordance with established procedures” but did not say where they came from.

Iran and armed allied groups Hezbollah in Lebanon They have used drones to carry out hundreds of attacks since the war began with attacks by the US and Israel on February 28.

Embers to have recurring threats If Iran does not accept the agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program, full-scale bombardment will continue. Since the start of the war, Iran has largely blocked the strategic waterway that is key to the global flow of oil, natural gas and fertilizer. world markets are shaking.

The United States also blockaded Iranian ports and on Friday hit two Iranian oil tankers that it said were trying to break through the blockade. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy says anything Attack on Iranian oil tankers or merchant ships would face a “heavy attack” on one of the US bases and enemy ships in the region.

The American military said Sunday that it had turned away 61 merchant ships and disabled four since the blockade began on April 13.

Another sticking point in the negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

An Iranian military spokesman said in an interview published on state media late Saturday that its forces were “fully prepared” to protect nuclear sites where uranium is stored.

“We thought they might be planning to steal it through infiltration operations or helicopter-borne operations,” said Brig. General Akrami Nia told IRNA news agency:

The war is not over because enriched uranium must be removed from Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an excerpt from the interview scheduled to air on CBS later Sunday. “Trump said to me, ‘I want to get in there,’ and I think it can be done physically,” he said.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin Moscow’s offer to buy enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a deal remains on the table, he said on Saturday.

Most of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is located in the Isfahan nuclear complex, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Associated Press last month. The facility was bombed by US-Israeli airstrikes during the 12-day war last year and has faced less intense attacks this year.

Pakistan oversaw face-to-face talks between the US and Iran last month and is continuing mediation efforts. Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, in rare public comments, said Islamabad was committed to helping end the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke on the phone with his Qatari counterpart.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister warns against a planned operation Franco-British effort It aims to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz after the end of hostilities.

“The presence of French and British ships or ships of any other country for any possible collaboration with the illegal actions of the United States in the Strait of Hormuz in violation of international law will be met with a decisive and urgent response from the armed forces,” Kazem Garibabadi said in a statement on social media. he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying it would not be a military deployment but an international mission to secure transport when conditions permit.

There were numerous attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf last week, and a US effort to “guide” ships through the strait was quickly halted.

South Korea announced the first findings of the investigation, stating that two unidentified aircraft crashed into the South Korean-operated HMM NAMU ship, which was anchored in the strait last week, about a minute apart, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesman said authorities had not yet determined who was responsible.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.