Dubai/Tel Aviv, Israel/Washington, U.S. – U.S. President Donald Trump said he would again extend a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, after Tehran earlier rejected a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the fighting.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and hitting the global economy with soaring energy and fertilizer prices that have fueled inflation fears.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 during talks with Tehran about its nuclear programme that had not yet yielded a deal.
On Thursday, Trump threatened during a cabinet meeting at the White House to increase pressure on Iran if it did not make a deal. He later posted on social media that he would pause threatened attacks on Iranian energy plants for 10 days until April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern daylight time.
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he added in his Truth Social post.
Preparations made for Pakistan meeting, Germany says
Iran has said it is not engaged in talks with Washington. Trump has not specified who the U.S. is purportedly negotiating with in Iran, where many high-ranking officials have been killed in the war.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio that he had information that “there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly”.
“That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently.”
Pakistan, which has good relations with Iran, passed on Washington’s 15-point proposal, and is willing to host meetings.
On March 23, Trump announced a halt to all threatened strikes against power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
In Thursday’s post, he said he had announced the new pause in response to an Iranian request, although there was no immediate reaction from Tehran, and the Wall Street Journal cited mediators as casting doubt on his assertion.
Iran has said it will respond with its own strikes on energy facilities in the Gulf region if Trump follows through with his threat.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas, driving up energy prices and roiling financial markets. O/R
Millions of civilians in the region rely on electricity to power their cities and supply fresh water from desalination plants.
Strikes on three buildings in the Pardisan area of Qom, south of Tehran, killed at least six people, Iranian media reported. In Tehran, rescue workers from the Red Crescent pulled a survivor from rubble.
In Urumia, in the northwest, a direct missile strike on a housing complex killed and injured several civilians, with rescue operations continuing, Iranian media said.
Israel’s military said it had struck Iran’s primary facility for the production of missiles and sea mines in the city of Yazd.
Iran reports arrests linked to Israel
In the west Iranian province of Kermanshah, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had arrested a three-member cell linked to Israel’s Mossad spy agency that had planned attacks on sensitive sites and military personnel, Iranian media reported.
In the central province of Isfahan, authorities arrested more than 15 people alleged to work for the foreign-based Iran International and Manoto TV networks, which state media describe as Israeli-affiliated.
State TV said they were accused of transmitting images of bombing sites and military positions to enemy forces.
The war has massively disrupted Gulf energy output, driving up the prices of not only oil and gas but also nitrogen fertilisers, critical to food production.
Stock markets continued their slide on Friday, while the Brent crude oil benchmark LCOc1 stood around $110, having risen more than 50% since the war began. MKTS/GLOB
“Many see the Iranian regime as holding the upper hand and doubt that there are indeed productive negotiations with the U.S. in process,” said ITC Markets senior FX analyst Sean Callow.
An Iranian official told Reuters that senior Iranian officials had reviewed a 15-point U.S. proposal in detail and felt it served only U.S. and Israeli interests. But they said diplomacy had not ended.
The proposal included demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme to curbing its missile programme and effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports.
The United Arab Emirates has told the U.S. and other Western allies it would participate in a multinational maritime taskforce reopen the strait, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Several U.S. allies have said they have no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait, rebuffing a Trump request.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
