Iran-US war latest: Trump says Tehran’s response to peace plan ‘totally unacceptable’ – The Independent
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A ceasefire was set up for peace talks between Iran and the US – but with Trump rejecting Iran’s response on Sunday there are fears fighting could resume
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President Donald Trump has warned that a US-Iran ceasefire is now “on life support” as negotiations between the countries appear to have hit a deadlock.
The US leader said on Monday the agreement is now “unbelievably weak”, adding that it’s “the weakest right now after reading a piece of garbage they sent us.”
He added that he “didn’t even finish reading” Tehran’s proposal. “Am I going to waste my time reading it? I would say it’s one of the weakest right now. It’s on life support … I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support.”
Iran hit back earlier after previous comments by Trump calling their suggestions “totally unacceptable”.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran’s proposals had been “generous” and “legitimate” in a news conference on Monday.
Iran is “demanding an end to the war, lifting the (US) blockade and piracy, and releasing Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure,” Mr Baghaei said.
Iran also issued a threat to the UK and France, warning that any warships in the Strait of Hormuz “will be met with decisive response”.
President Donald Trump has insisted that the US will have a “complete victory” over Iran and that his military operation is “very simple” and an example of “military genius.
“The plan is very simple,” he said in comments at the Oval office on Monday.
“The blockade, first of all, was a part of military genius. Just like Venezuela was military genius. We have the greatest military in the world by far, and we’re stocked up with great ammunition.
“We have much better stuff than we did two months ago when we first did the attack, which knocked him for a loop. But very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
He added that he would not get “tired or bored”.
“They didn’t want to believe it. They think that well, I’ll get tired of this I’ll get tired of this, or I’ll get bored, or I’ll have some pressure. But there’s no pressure. There’s no pressure at all. We’re going to have a complete victory.”
President Donald Trump has warned that a US-Iran ceasefire is now “on life support” as negotiations between the countries appear to have hit a deadlock.
The US leader said on Monday the agreement is now “unbelievably weak”, adding that it’s “the weakest right now after reading a piece of garbage they sent us.”
He added that he “didn’t even finish reading” Tehran’s proposal. “Am I going to waste my time reading it? I would say it’s one of the weakest right now. It’s on life support … I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support.”
Lebanon’s president has urged the US to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, the presidency said on Monday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 2,869 people had been killed since 2 March, including 584 medics, women and minors. Its toll does not say how many combatants are among the dead.
At least 74 people had been killed by Israeli strikes in the last three days despite a truce announced last month in fighting between Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Israeli military, a spokesperson said.
Tehran said it had demanded security for Lebanon as part of a proposal for ending the wider war with the US and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal.
The Hezbollah-Israel conflict reignited on March 2 when the group opened fire at Israel in support of Tehran.
The war in Iran looked at risk of escalation again as Donald Trump dismissed Tehran’s latest peace proposal, undermining hopes the 10-week-old conflict would end soon.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” the US president wrote on social media to end a week of cautious diplomacy around a new push to end the war.
The latest Iranian response, sent to mediator Pakistan on Sunday, focused on ending the double blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, lifting American sanctions and drafting guarantees to end the war permanently.
Iran’s foreign ministry maintained on Monday that its demands were “generous” and “legitimate”, showing no signs of backing down despite Trump’s furious reaction, as fears of the war reopening pushed oil prices surging towards $100 per barrel.
James Reynolds reports:
The UK has sanctioned 12 individuals and entities linked to Iran on Monday.
They stand accused them of involvement in hostile activity including plotting attacks and providing financial services to groups seeking to destabilise the UK and other countries.
The measures, set out in a government sanctions notice, include asset freezes, travel bans and director disqualification orders.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House has condemned the attack in the Strait of Hormuz against a cargo ship operated by one of its shippers.
In a statement, it said it would respond once it had identified the source of the attack.
South Korean experts have conducted an initial forensics of the damage to the port stern, a senior Blue House official told reporters.
The attack had led to a fire in the vessel’s engine room.
Iran’s oil sector has faced some issues since the start of a US maritime blockade on Iranian ports but the oil ministry has taken countermeasures, Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Monday to state TV.
He did not specify which exact measures Iran took.
“During the 40 days of war, our production didn’t decrease and the export process was favourable,” Mr Paknejad said.
“Naturally, in the days following the (U.S.) blockade, we have faced challenges but measures were taken and this process continues” adding “the enemy is full of delusions.”
With Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which has ignited a global energy crisis and poses a growing threat to the world economy.
Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.
Addressing whether combat operations against Iran were over, Trump said in remarks aired on Sunday: “They are defeated, but that doesn’t mean they’re done.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was not over because there was “more work to be done” to remove enriched uranium from Iran, dismantle enrichment sites and address Iran’s proxies and ballistic missile capabilities.
The best way to remove the enriched uranium would be through diplomacy, Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” without ruling out removing it by force.
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post that Iran would “never bow down to the enemy” and would “defend national interests with strength”.
Despite diplomatic efforts to break a deadlock, the threat to shipping lanes and the economies of the region remained high.
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