Iran said it was reviewing the newest American proposals on ending the war, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the country with a brand new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that features reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.
Hope that the two-month conflict could soon end buoyed international markets on Thursday, whilst the U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports hours earlier. The developments followed days of mixed messaging from the Trump administration over its technique to end the war.
Trump posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart. But he said that depends upon Iran accepting a reported agreement that he didn’t detail.
“In the event that they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has largely held since April 8. But in-person talks between the 2 countries hosted by Pakistan last month failed to achieve an agreement. The war began Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
Pakistan expects deal soon
“We expect an agreement sooner slightly than later,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday. “We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that can contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well.”
But he declined to present a timeline, saying Pakistan wouldn’t disclose details of the continued diplomatic efforts.
“What I can inform you and that is what I actually have stated before that we remain positive, we remain optimist, and we hope the settlement will probably be soon slightly than later,” he said.
Asked whether Pakistan was expecting any response from Iran later Thursday, Andrabi said: “I won’t comment on specifics or the movement of the messages.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking in televised remarks Thursday, said Islamabad remained in “continuous contact with Iran and america, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire.”
The Trump administration’s messaging throughout the Iran war has been shifting and sometimes contradictory. This week, the president and his aides presented a dizzying narrative over the U.S. technique to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and wrap up the war that drastically modified over the course of mere hours.
Iran has effectively shut the strait, an important waterway for the shipment of supplies of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products, while the U.S. is blockading Iranian ports.
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On Wednesday, a U.S. fighter jet shot out the rudder of an Iranian oil tanker within the Gulf of Oman because it tried to breach the American blockade, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.
Trump suggests U.S. might force deal
Trump insisted Wednesday that Iranian officials need to end the war.
“We’re coping with folks that intend to make a deal very much, and we’ll see whether or not they’ll make a deal that’s satisfactory to us,” the president said.
He suggested the U.S. could ultimately force a settlement.
“In the event that they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump said on social media, “and it’ll be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
The White House believes it’s near an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to finish the war, in response to reporting by the news outlet Axios. Provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, lifting of U.S. sanctions, distribution of frozen Iranian funds and opening the strait for ships.
The White House didn’t immediately reply to questions on the possible agreement.
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told state TV that Tehran had “strongly rejected” U.S. proposals reported by Axios, but that it was still examining the newest U.S. proposal.
Effort to reopen Strait of Hormuz suspended
Trump has sought to extend pressure on Tehran after suspending on Tuesday a short-lived U.S. effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to force open a protected passage for business ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route after it opened Monday. The U.S. military said it sank six Iranian small boats threatening civilian ships.
Tons of of merchant ships remain bottled up within the Persian Gulf, unable to achieve the open sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait’s closure has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the worldwide economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers corresponding to China.
Hapag-Lloyd, one in every of the world’s largest shipping firms, said in an announcement that the strait’s shutdown is costing it around $60 million per week, with rising fuel and insurance costs hitting particularly hard.
On Thursday, the value of Brent crude oil stabilized at around $100 a barrel as investors waited to see whether the strait would reopen.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France’s aircraft carrier strike group was moving into the Red Sea in preparation for a possible French-British mission to revive maritime security within the Strait of Hormuz as soon as conditions allow.
China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire Wednesday after meeting in Beijing with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict.
China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a singular position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to make use of that relationship to induce the Islamic Republic to open the strait.
Iranian envoy visits China
Araghchi’s visit to China got here ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Trump, who’s scheduled to attend a high-profile summit on May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump was the last U.S. president to go to China in 2017.
Araghchi told Iranian state TV that his visit included discussions in regards to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Trump has demanded a serious rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.