US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with Iran's latest proposal for talks on the war with Iran, while Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changed its approach.
Trump's comments came after Iranian state media and a Pakistani official announced that Iran had submitted a latest proposal for negotiations, raising some hope that the stalemate in efforts to end the war could be overcome.
"They want to make a deal, but... I'm not happy with it," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on his way to Florida, adding that the Iranian leadership was "very uncoordinated" and divided into two or three groups.
Trump praised Pakistan's mediation efforts, saying that telephone talks were continuing.
"They've made progress, but I'm not sure they'll ever get there," Trump said. "They're asking for things that I can't agree to."
Global oil prices, which remain well above $100 a barrel, eased after news of the Iranian proposal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was ready to resume diplomacy if the United States changed what he called its "excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative moves."
However, Aragchi added in a post on his Telegram channel that "the Iranian armed forces remain ready to defend the country from any threat."
China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong said it was urgent to maintain a ceasefire in the war with Iran and that he was certain that the issue of the Strait of Hormuz would be high on the agenda if it remained closed when US President Donald Trump visits China this month.
Fu told reporters at the United Nations that the strait must be reopened as soon as possible. He said China was very concerned about recent statements that the ceasefire was temporary and that a new wave of attacks was needed, Reuters reported.
"Iran should lift restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US should lift the naval blockade," he said.
"The most urgent issue is preserving the ceasefire. The ceasefire must last and negotiations must be held in good faith between the two sides," he added.
"I think the international community needs to mobilize and raise its voice against the continuation of the fighting."
Asked about Trump's planned visit to China this month, he said: "I'm sure that if Hormuz is still closed when President Trump comes to China, that issue will be high on the agenda of bilateral talks."
Fu also dismissed claims by some US officials about military cooperation between China and Iran as "false".
Fu spoke at the start of China's month-long presidency of the UN Security Council and announced that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would chair the Council session on May 26.
The State Department did not respond to a question about whether there are plans for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet with Wang during his visit to the US.
The White House said it would not disclose details of private diplomatic discussions, following questions about a new Iranian proposal to the United States that was passed through Pakistani intermediaries.
"We do not disclose the details of private diplomatic discussions. President Trump has made it clear that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon, and negotiations continue to ensure the short- and long-term national security of the United States," spokeswoman Anne Kelly told Reuters.
The US Treasury Department has warned that all shippers who pay fees to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations like the Iranian Red Crescent, risk criminal sanctions.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most strategically important maritime routes in the world, through which about 20 percent of the world's maritime trade in crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
Tehran has proposed fees or taxes for ships passing through the strait, as part of a proposal to end the war with Israel and the United States.
The warning from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control states that the US is aware of Iranian threats to shipping and demands for payments for safe passage through the strait.
The warning came after Iran sent its latest proposal for talks with the United States to Pakistani mediators, which could improve prospects for breaking the deadlock in efforts to end the war with Iran, Reuters reports.
OFAC stated that the requests may include multiple payment options, including fiat currency, digital assets, compensation, informal exchanges, or other in-kind payments, such as purported charitable donations to the Iranian Red Crescent, the Bonyad Mostazafan Foundation, or Iranian embassy accounts.
"OFAC is issuing this warning to alert U.S. and non-U.S. persons to the risk of sanctions if they make such payments to the Iranian regime or seek assurances of safe passage from it," it said. "These risks exist regardless of the method of payment."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed today France's position not to participate in a war in the Middle East, despite the Franco-British initiative to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
"Since the objectives were not clearly defined and the operations were carried out outside the bounds of international law, it was simply unthinkable for France to participate," Barrot told French online broadcaster BFMTV.
According to him, the international mission led by France and the United Kingdom to facilitate the restoration of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is being finalized so that it is ready, when the time comes, to intervene to facilitate the flow of traffic.
"More than 50 countries have come together to contribute to mine clearance and ship escort," Barrot said.
"We must do everything possible to prevent the renewal of hostilities, because since the beginning of this war - which we did not authorize and in which we did not participate - the risks of escalation are extremely high and carry major consequences for the global economy and therefore for our daily lives, the lives of French women and men and the lives of our companies," Barrot added.
A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official said on Monday that Tehran cannot be trusted with any unilateral arrangements it makes for the Strait of Hormuz, indicating deep distrust on all sides as efforts to end the war with Iran remain stalled.
Two months into the conflict, the vital sea channel remains largely closed due to an Iranian blockade, with the US Navy blocking Iranian crude exports. The blockade has cut off 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies, pushed up global energy prices and heightened concerns about an economic downturn.
The ceasefire has been in place since April 8, but reports that United States President Donald Trump would be briefed on plans for new military strikes to force Iran into negotiations sent global oil prices to their highest levels in four years at one point on Thursday.
Iran has activated its air defenses and is planning a broad response if attacked, as it estimates a short, intense US strike will follow, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
A quick outcome to negotiations with the United States (US) is "highly unrealistic", Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagaei said today.
"To expect a result (of the negotiations) to be achieved in the short term, regardless of the mediator, seems very unrealistic to me," Bagaei told Iranian state television.
He added that Iran does not expect "goodwill" from the US, stating that America's "credibility" for negotiations is being questioned due to its lack of readiness.
"You cannot simultaneously say, 'Let's have a dialogue' and during that dialogue take actions that are contrary to the spirit of diplomacy," Bagaei said.
A spokesman for the Iranian diplomacy said that it was possible that there would be renewed fire from one side.
"We have to be prepared for every eventuality," he added.
US President Donald Trump recently indefinitely extended the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran on April 7, which largely halted the fighting that began on February 28.
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the Iranian currency has fallen to a record low, amid increased economic pressure and a US blockade of Iranian oil exports and shipping routes.
"With the closure of their oil industry and the collapse of their currency, it is time for the Iranian regime to recognize that the people of Iran deserve much better than the ruins offered to them by the current regime," Besant wrote on X.com.
He added that "the Iranian people deserve a new era, which the corrupt and dysfunctional Iranian regime is unable to provide."
(Radio Free Europe)
Anti-aircraft systems were activated in the Iranian capital Tehran late on April 30, following reports of the possible presence of drones, Iranian media reported, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reports.
According to the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, which are affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, anti-aircraft fire was heard in several parts of the city, as forces responded to what they said were "small aircraft and reconnaissance drones" over Tehran.
Initial reports were unclear whether the exercise was a military exercise or an operational response to a real threat. It was later reported that the systems were used to target aerial targets, but without further details about their origin or whether any aircraft were shot down.
Iranian media reported that the activities ceased after approximately 20 minutes and that the situation in Tehran had returned to normal, with no reports of material damage or casualties.
This incident comes at a time of cessation of direct hostilities between Iran and the United States, after a ceasefire in effect since April 8 stopped the escalation of military activity between the two sides.
The US-Iran ceasefire, which began in early April, has "ended" hostilities between the two sides for the purposes of the upcoming congressional war powers deadline, a senior US President Donald Trump administration official said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Trump has until today to end the war with Iran or to justify its extension to Congress, but it is most likely that date will pass without changing the course of the war.
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"For purposes of the War Powers Resolution, hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28, have ended," the official said, describing the administration's position.
There has been no exchange of fire between US and Iranian armed forces since the beginning of the fragile ceasefire more than three weeks ago, the official added.
Earlier, analysts and congressional aides said they expected Trump to notify Congress that he planned a 30-day extension or ignore the deadline, with the administration arguing that the ceasefire marks the end of the conflict.
The 1973 law allows the president to conduct military action for 60 days before ending it, seeking congressional approval, or requesting a 30-day extension based on "compelling military necessity" for the safety of the armed forces.
The war with Iran began with airstrikes launched by Israel and the US on February 28. Trump formally notified Congress of the conflict 48 hours later, triggering a 60-day deadline, which expires on May 1.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate hearing on Thursday that he understood the 60-day deadline was suspended during the ceasefire. Opposition Democrats disputed that, saying there was no such legal provision.
The US Constitution stipulates that only Congress, not the president, can declare war, but that restriction does not apply to operations that the administration presents as short-term or in response to an imminent threat.
Trump's Republican Party holds narrow majorities in both houses of Congress. Democrats have been trying since the beginning of the war to pass resolutions that would force Trump to withdraw US forces or get congressional approval.
Republicans rejected them.
Iran responded to the US and Israeli attacks on February 28 with its own strikes on Israel and the Gulf states where US bases are located. The US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
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