BLOG Trump: Ceasefire with Iran is "on the cards"

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a ceasefire with Iran was "on the cards" after rejecting Tehran's response to a US peace offer, raising concerns about renewed hostilities in a 10-week conflict that has killed thousands and cut off key energy supplies.

Days after Washington put forward a proposal aimed at resuming talks, Iran on Sunday issued a response aimed at ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Trump quickly rejected the response.

Asked about the state of the ceasefire, Trump told reporters today: "I would call it the weakest right now, after reading the garbage that they sent us. I haven't even read it all the way through."

In response, Tehran also demanded compensation for war damage, emphasized its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, called on the US to end the naval blockade, guarantee that there will be no new attacks, lift sanctions, and lift the ban on the sale of Iranian oil.

The US has proposed an end to the fighting before talks begin on more contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran defended its position today.

"Our demand is legitimate: we seek an end to the war, the lifting of the American blockade and piracy, as well as the release of Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to American pressure. Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the establishment of security in the region and Lebanon, were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagaei.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baker Qalibaf said the Iranian armed forces are ready to respond decisively to any "act of aggression."

Trump has repeatedly threatened to end the ceasefire between the two countries since it took effect on April 7. However, he has also sought to defuse tensions after a series of naval clashes last week, according to Reuters.

At least 2.869 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2nd.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said 8.730 were wounded, Al Jazeera reported.

Hezbollah and Israel are attacking each other despite a ceasefire that was part of the Israeli-US truce with Iran.

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Trump's rejection of Tehran's response to the US peace proposal caused the price of Brent, the international benchmark for oil prices, to jump as much as 4% on Monday, to $105,50 a barrel, before prices fell slightly.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Qatar on Monday to discuss the war, its impact on the region and efforts to restore navigation safety through the Strait of Hormuz, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.

Turkey, which borders Iran, has been in close contact with the US, Iran and mediator Pakistan since the beginning of the conflict.

Ankara has condemned the US and Israel for starting the war, which is widely seen as being launched illegally, but has also criticized Iranian counterattacks on Gulf states.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the war with Iran, its impact on the Gulf and efforts to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, has been in close contact with the United States, Iran and mediator Pakistan since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran. It has called for an end to the conflict, condemned attacks on Iran and criticized Tehran's attacks on Gulf states as unacceptable.

Fidan, who last visited Doha in March and had two separate phone conversations with Iran's foreign minister over the weekend, will reiterate Turkey's support for ally Qatar against attacks from Iran, the source said.

He will express Ankara's expectation that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz be ensured and point out the crucial need to do so for regional security and economic stability, the source said.

Fidan is expected to “say that a permanent resolution to the Gulf conflict is the most urgent priority and exchange views on diplomatic initiatives to achieve that goal,” the source added.

Ankara and Doha have strong ties and cooperate on a wide range of issues, from energy to defense. Turkey has a military base in Qatar and is in talks with Doha about purchasing Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, as part of a deal with Britain.

Iran's proposal to end the war with the US and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was a "legitimate" request, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister said, BETA reports.

"Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bageji said today.

He pointed out that they demanded an end to the war, an end to the blockade and piracy, and the release of Iranian funds "which have been unjustly frozen in banks under American pressure."

He said that Europe should "refrain" from moves that would threaten its interests.

Regarding reports that European countries will send warships to the region to open the Strait of Hormuz due to rising energy prices, Bageji says that Iran has "clearly sent a message to the Europeans that they should not succumb to American and Israeli arrogance."

"As I said, this war is not only unethical, but also illegal. The US and Israel have started aggression against Iran, European countries should not be deceived and drawn into this situation," he added at a press conference.

He also said that any intervention in the Strait of Hormuz or the Persian Gulf would lead to additional complications and further exacerbate the price rise. "And we expect countries around the world to act responsibly," he added.

When asked about US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to China, he said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing last week and conveyed Tehran's views.

"China is fully aware that this was a war of necessity. It was a war imposed on Iran. It was not an emergency, but a continuation of the unilateral actions of the United States, which continues to violate international laws and regulations," he said.

"For China, stability and security in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Far East are of the utmost importance, and the Chinese would take the opportunity to warn against any unpredictable measure or illegal action by the US, which would continue to threaten not only regional security and stability, but also global economic security," he added.

Regarding relations with the UAE, he said that Tehran is aware that its citizens have been "harassed" in the Emirates over the past week.

"We have given clear instructions to our embassies and consulates in Dubai, and we are closely monitoring the situation here in the UAE. Every action in our power will be taken without delay to protect our people," he said.

When asked about US sanctions on an Iraqi minister for alleged ties to Iran, Bageji said it was "an act of intimidation."

Iranian authorities hanged a graduate student at a Tehran university on Monday on charges of espionage. Erfan Shakurzadeh, 29, was hanged after being convicted of collaborating with the CIA and Mossad, Iranian judiciary website Mizan Online reported.

The human rights organizations Iran Human Rights and Hengaw, based in Norway, said that Shakurzadeh was a student at the prestigious Iranian University of Science and Technology in Tehran and that before his execution he wrote a message dismissing the charges as fabricated.

Describing him as an "elite student," the IHR said he was held "in solitary confinement and subjected to torture, and forced to make false confessions." He is the fifth person executed on espionage charges since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in late February.

Britain and France will host a multinational meeting of defense ministers from 40 countries tomorrow to discuss military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British Ministry of Defense announced.

British Defense Secretary John Healy and his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin will co-chair the meeting. Healy said:

"When I co-chair this meeting of countries from around the world, our task will be to ensure that we not only talk, but that we are ready to act.

I have therefore ordered HMS Dragon to be deployed to the Middle East, so that Britain will be in a position to support this mission as soon as it is needed.

"This government will not stand by while instability increases the costs to British families and businesses."

The United Kingdom has already announced the dispatch of the HMS Dragon to the region, so that the destroyer could participate in a multinational mission if the conditions for this arise after the end of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Iran threatened on Sunday to target British and French warships in the strait if they try to help reopen the strategic waterway.

French President Emmanuel Macron later clarified that France had "never considered" a naval deployment, but rather a security mission that would be carried out in coordination with Tehran.

South Korea condemned the attack on a cargo ship operated by a Korean shipping company on May 4 in the Strait of Hormuz, and said it plans to respond once the source of the attack is determined.

The Namu ship, operated by shipping company HMM Co., did not violate any rules in force in UAE waters at the time, and it was an attack on a commercial vessel that cannot be justified, the official said, according to the Guardian.

"We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms," ​​Wi Sung-lak, South Korea's presidential national security adviser, told reporters.

"Further investigation will seek to determine who was responsible for the attack, the exact type of missile and its physical dimensions."

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-bak is scheduled to hold talks with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on Monday.

They could discuss cooperation to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, whose effective closure has raised concerns about a potential energy crisis for South Korea's trade-dependent economy. Washington has called on allies to help unblock the strait but has so far faced strong resistance.

In response to the US-Israeli attacks, Iran effectively closed the strait to most traffic, causing serious economic damage worldwide, as the waterway usually carries about 20 percent of global oil shipments, as well as significant quantities of gas and products, including fertilizer.

Al Jazeera reports statements by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who speaks about the Iranian proposal to end the war, which the US has firmly rejected.

"We demand an end to the war, an end to the US blockade and piracy, as well as the release of Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure," Bagaei was quoted as saying.

"Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which represent a generous and responsible offer for regional security," he added.

"Whenever we are forced to fight, we will fight, and whenever there is room for diplomacy, we will seize that opportunity," Bagaei was quoted as saying earlier at a press briefing.

He said the US demands were "unreasonable" and suggested that stability in the region was being undermined by Trump's rejection of Iran's response to Washington's peace proposal.

Trump rejects Iran's response to US peace proposal, while Tehran warns it is ready to retaliate against US attacks

We are resuming live coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran after Donald Trump described Tehran's response to Washington's peace proposal as "completely unacceptable", raising the possibility of a new conflict.

Iran has warned that it will not refrain from retaliation in the event of new US attacks, nor will it allow the presence of additional foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz, writes the Guardian.

A ceasefire, which was meant to allow for peace talks, came into effect in April. It has been largely respected, despite exchanges of fire and reports of attacks in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran continues to effectively block in response to US and Israeli attacks in February.

The US military, in turn, has been blockaded by Iranian ports since April 13, claiming to have returned 61 commercial ships and disabled four.

According to Iranian state media, Tehran's proposal included demands that the US lift sanctions, end the naval blockade and accept an immediate end to the war, with guarantees that there will be no renewed attacks on the country.

Trump wrote on Twitter: "I just read the response from the so-called 'representatives' of Iran. I don't like it - it's completely unacceptable."

The US presented a peace proposal a week ago which, as my colleague Julian Borger reports here, consisted of a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would reopen the strait and establish a framework for further talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Trump told the American portal Axios that he discussed the Iranian response on the phone with his close ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"It was a very pleasant conversation. We have a good relationship," he said, before stressing that negotiations with Iran are "my situation, not someone else's."

Netanyahu warned that the war will continue as long as Iran has stocks of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear warheads.