The President of the United States declared on Sunday, May 10, that he found Iran’s response to the American proposal to end the war “unacceptable.” Donald Trump harshly rejected Iran’s response to the American proposals, once again raising the threat against Tehran, accusing them of targeting their Gulf neighbors.
“I just read the response from the so-called ‘representatives’ of Iran. I do not like it – IT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” wrote the American president in capital letters in a brief message on his Truth Social network.
More than a month after the start of the truce between the two warring parties, negotiations seem to be at a standstill and hopes for a resolution are dim, as neither party has publicly revealed their proposals.
After days of waiting, Iran announced on Sunday that they had responded to the American plan, but without detailing their response.
The Iranian public television reported that Tehran’s response, transmitted through the Pakistani mediator, was “focused on ending the war… on all fronts, especially in Lebanon, and on ensuring the security of maritime navigation.”
Reopening of the Strait
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources close to the matter, Tehran’s proposal includes a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked since the beginning of hostilities on February 28, and a simultaneous lifting of the blockade of Iranian ports by the US Navy.
The American newspaper reports that Tehran would also be willing to “dilute” some of its enriched uranium and send the rest to a “third country.”
Washington and many countries suspect Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons through uranium enrichment, which Iran denies, arguing for their right to civil nuclear power.
“There are still nuclear materials – enriched uranium – that need to be removed from Iran” and “enrichment sites to be dismantled,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier on Sunday to CBS.
The war “has achieved a lot, but it is not over,” he warned.
In an interview recorded earlier in the week and broadcast on Sunday, Donald Trump hinted that the US military could remain “an additional two weeks and strike all identified targets” to bring a “final touch” to his offensive.
Drones in the Gulf
In the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil consumption normally passes, remains a point of contention between Washington and Tehran, with new attacks reported. In Qatar, a tanker coming from Abu Dhabi was targeted by a drone in its territorial waters before continuing its journey, according to the Defense Ministry.
The Iranian news agency Fars claimed it “flew the American flag and belonged to the United States,” without explicitly stating that Iran targeted it. Other countries have been targeted by drones, with Kuwait not specifying the source, but Abu Dhabi directly accusing Tehran.
Since the start of the war by Israel and the United States, the Gulf monarchies, allies of Washington, have been targeted by Iranian strikes. These attacks come two days after the US military targeted two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the gateway to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
“Our restraint is over,” warned Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee. “Any attack on our ships will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against US ships and bases.”
“We will never bow down to the enemy, and if there is talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” President Massoud Pezeshkian wrote. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a spike in oil prices and disrupted the global economy.
Paris and London in the Crosshairs
The United Kingdom and France are working on setting up an international coalition to secure the strait after a conflict resolution.
Any deployment will trigger a “decisive and immediate response” from the Iranian army, warned Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, following the announcement by Paris and London of sending military vessels to position themselves in the region.
France “has never considered” a military deployment to Hormuz, but a security mission “in cooperation with Iran,” clarified President Emmanuel Macron. On the other front of the conflict, in Lebanon, Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah continue their mutual attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17.
Two Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers were killed and five others injured in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry, which reported 2,846 deaths from Israeli operations since the start of the war on March 2.
