Main points US president Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran’s response to a peace proposal from Washington“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without giving further detailThe US had proposed an end to fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program Iran’s response focused on ending the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed HizbullahTrump’s response sent sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag onOil prices are around 50 per cent higher after the US and Israel attacked Iran, which is keeping shipping in the Strait of Hormuz paralyzedTrump is expected in Beijing on Wednesday and is set to ask China to use its influence to push Iran to make a deal Key Reads
Jade Wilson – 47 minutes ago
Two killed in further Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite ceasefire
Two people were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Abba on Monday morning, according to Lebanon’s state-run national news agency (NNA).
The NNA also reported that Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes this morning on the towns of Yahmar al-Shaqif and Kfar Tebnit, and shellilng on the towns of Yahmar Arnoun, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Mayfadoun.
Despite a US brokered ceasefire agreement, Israel and Hizbullah have continued with their attacks, accusing each other of violations.
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The UK and France will host a multinational meeting of defence ministers involving 40 countries on Tuesday to discuss military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British defence ministry said.
The UK’s defence secretary John Healey and his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin will co-chair the meeting.
“When I co-chair this meeting of nations from around the world, our job will be to make sure we are not just talking, we are ready to act. That is why I have directed HMS Dragon to the Middle East, so Britain is in position to support this mission the moment it is needed,” Healey said.
“This government will not stand by when instability drives up costs for British families and businesses”.
The UK has already announced the deployment of HMS Dragon to the region so the destroyer can play a role in a multinational mission should the conditions allow after the US-Israel war on Iran is over.
On Sunday, Iran threatened to strike British and French warships in the strait if they try to help reopen the strategic waterway.
French President Emmanuel Macron subsequently clarified that France had “never envisaged” a naval deployment but rather a security mission that would be done in coordination with Tehran.
Jade Wilson – 2 hours ago
Iran describes its proposal to end war with US as legitimate and generous
Iran’s proposal to end war with the US and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was legitimate and generous, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
“Our demand is legitimate: 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,” Baghaei said.
“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.”
The US parameters for nuclear talks reportedly included a moratorium on Iranian nuclear enrichment for up to 20 years; the transfer overseas, possibly to the US, of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which could be used to make nuclear warheads; and the dismantling of Iranian nuclear facilities.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian counter-proposal suggested a shorter moratorium, the export of part of the HEU stockpile and the dilution of the rest, and refusal to accept the dismantling of facilities.
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Jade Wilson – 3 hours ago
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the strait since a ceasefire began.
On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted two drones coming from Iran, while Qatar condemned a drone attack that hit a cargo ship coming from Abu Dhabi in its waters. Kuwait said its air defences had dealt with hostile drones that entered its airspace.
Clashes have also continued in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hizbullah, despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in April.
Jade Wilson – 3 hours ago
Smokes rises from the site of an Israeli air strike targeting the village of Mayfadoun in the Lebanese area of Marjeyoun on Monday. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
Jade Wilson – 4 hours ago
Trump travels to Beijing this week to meet Xi Jinping
Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday. With mounting pressure to draw a line under the war and the global energy crisis it has ignited, Iran is among the topics Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping are set to discuss.
Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington.
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 Binyamin 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 that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “60 Minutes”. But he did not rule out removing it by force.
Iranian 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”. – Reuters
Jade Wilson – 4 hours ago
Oil prices rise as US-Iran stalemate continues
Oil prices jumped more than $4 (€3.40) a barrel on Monday following news of the continued stalemate that leaves the narrow Strait of Hormuz largely closed.
Before the war began on February 28th, the waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, and it has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.
“The oil market continues to trade like a geopolitical headline machine, with prices swinging sharply based on every comment, rejection, or warning coming from Washington and Tehran,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
While traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a trickle compared to before the war, shipping data on Kpler and LSEG showed three tankers laden with crude exited the waterway last week, with trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attack.
Surveys show the war is unpopular with US voters facing sharply higher gasoline prices less than six months before nationwide elections that will determine whether Donald Trump’s Republican party retains control of Congress. – Reuters
Jade Wilson – 4 hours ago
Trump rejects ‘totally unacceptable’ Iran response
President Donald Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response to a US peace proposal sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.
Days after the US floated an offer in the hopes of re-opening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hizbullah militants.
Tehran also included a demand for compensation for war damage and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV said.
It also called on the US to end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and end a US ban on Iranian oil sales, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Within hours, Trump dismissed Iran’s proposal with a post on social media.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without giving further detail. The US had proposed an end to fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. – Reuters