US President Donald Trump said on Friday he expected Iran to respond to Washington’s latest proposal aimed at ending the Middle East conflict by “today”, AFP reported.
“I’m supposed to be getting a letter tonight, so we’ll see how that goes,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
People also ask
Artificial intelligence reinforced the insights from this story
•5 QUESTIONS
Donald Trump said he expected Iran to respond to Washington’s latest proposal aimed at ending the Middle East conflict “tonight”. He mentioned that he was expecting a letter in the evening to see how the situation developed.
A US fighter jet destroyed two Iranian-flagged tankers in the Gulf of Oman to prevent them from proceeding to Iran. US CENTCOM said these vessels were violating the ongoing US blockade and were attempting to enter an Iranian port.
Iranian officials have accused the United States of violating the ceasefire and thwarting diplomatic efforts by attacking the tankers. A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said Iranian forces were monitoring the situation and were ready to respond to any aggression.
The US and Iran are working on a peace deal, with Washington awaiting Iran’s response to its latest proposal. While Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed indicated a “high probability” of a diplomatic solution and “positive progress”, Iran said it was still reviewing the proposal.
US officials called it “unacceptable” for an Iranian agency to screen and tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This has raised concerns about international shipping with potential impacts on global energy markets due to the importance of the waterways for transporting oil.
US fire on Iranian tankers
A US fighter jet knocked out two Iranian-flagged tankers on Friday, triggering retaliatory strikes and further shaking a fragile truce as Trump said he was awaiting Tehran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal to end the Middle East conflict, AFP reported.
Iranian officials accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the tanker attacks and thwarting diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, the report said.
A concurrent ceasefire in Lebanon was also under pressure. Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at military bases in Israel in retaliation for a recent attack on Beirut and continued strikes in the south, where Lebanese authorities reported 11 dead on Friday.
US Central Command said an F/A-18 Super Hornet used precision munitions on Friday against two ships in the Gulf of Oman – the gateway to the vital Strait of Hormuz – to prevent them from proceeding to Iran.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Friday that it was “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the vital oil shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters in Rome, Rubio said Washington expected Iran’s response to its latest proposal later in the day and expressed hope it would be a “serious offer,” AFP reported.
Washington has sent Iran, through Pakistani intermediaries, a proposal to extend the ceasefire in the Persian Gulf to allow talks on a final settlement of the conflict triggered 10 weeks ago by the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Friday that the proposal was still “under review,” according to news agency ISNA, AFP reported.
Oil stain
In a letter to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeed Irvani accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by attacking Iranian tankers.
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, AFP reported.
Iran has repeatedly attacked sites in Qatar during the war, highlighting the wealthy emirate’s role as host to a major US air base.
Meanwhile, satellite images showed an oil slick spreading off the coast of Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for the Islamic Republic.
It was not immediately clear what caused the apparent leak, which was located off the west coast of the island and appears to cover more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers), according to the Orbital EOS monitor.
Kharg Island lies at the center of Iran’s oil export network and serves as a vital pillar of the country’s strained economy. It is located in the Persian Gulf north of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
After the war began on February 28, Iran largely closed the strait, sending shockwaves through global markets and sending oil prices soaring. In response, the United States later introduced its own Orbital EOS monitor block.
