Image: US blocked of Iranian ports in the Gulf has turned around 58 vessels, officials say
Here is the latest on the Middle East war
- President Trump called Iran’s response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal “totally unacceptable.” Mr. Trump did not provide further details on what issues he had with the response or what would come next.
- Qatar’s Prime Minister departed Miami, where he spoke with Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and had a one-on-one meeting with Vice President JD Vance. The efforts to end the Iran war were a topic.
- The Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened to target U.S. sites in the Middle East if Iran’s tankers come under fire. The threat comes one day after U.S. military forces fired on two Iran-flagged oil tankers to stop them from docking at an Iranian port in violation of the U.S. blockade.
- Trump says Iran “will be laughing no longer” at U.S.
- President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “Iran has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years,” while railing against previous administrations for their posture toward the Islamic Republic.
- The president criticized former President Barack Obama’s approach to Iran, claiming Obama was “not only good to them, he was great, actually going to their side, jettisoning Israel, and all other Allies, and giving Iran a major and very powerful new lease on life.”
- “They finally found the greatest SUCKER of them all, in the form of a weak and stupid American President,” Mr. Trump said. “He was a disaster as our ‘Leader,’ but not as bad as Sleepy Joe Biden!” Obama’s administration negotiated the 2015 deal that was aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Mr. Trump announced during his first term that he would not certify the deal.
- The president said for “47 years the Iranians have been ‘tapping’ us along, keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs, destroying protests, and recently wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors, and laughing at our now GREAT AGAIN Country.”
- “They will be laughing no longer!” he added.
- Before the post, the president had been quiet on social media Sunday, while the U.S. awaits a response from Iran to its latest peace proposal. State media in Iran reported Tehran had delivered a response, but the U.S. has not commented, according to the Associated Press.
Iran warns against French-British effort in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s deputy foreign minister warned against a planned French-British effort that aims to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities are over.
“The presence of French and British vessels, or those of any other country, for any possible cooperation with illegal U.S. actions in the Strait of Hormuz that violate international law will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying it won’t be a military deployment but an international mission to secure shipping once conditions allow.
The British Royal Navy said the HMS Dragon, a destroyer, was deploying to the Middle East this week.
Several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, and a U.S. effort to “guide” ships through the strait was quickly paused.
Iran’s military is on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites, official tells state media
In an interview with Iranian state media, a spokesman for the Iranian military said late Saturday that forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where the uranium is stored.
“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heliborne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency late Saturday. He didn’t offer further details.
One of the main sticking points in the negotiations between the U.S.and Iran is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has more than 970 pounds of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi told The Associated Press last month. The Isfahan facility was bombarded by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year, and faced less intense attacks in this year’s war.
Gulf regions blame Iran for drone attacks amid shaky ceasefire
The shaky ceasefire in the Iran war was tested again on Sunday when a drone set a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported separate drones entering their airspaces.
The UAE blamed Iran for the latest attack, the latest threat to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect.
There were no casualties reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.
Iran and its armed allied groups possess a large fleet of drones and have used them to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began. The events marked the latest threats to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect.
The pause in fighting has faced difficulties, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway key to the global flow of oil, and the U.S. imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.
U.S. blockade has turned around 58 vessels, officials say
As a tenuous ceasefire continues, U.S. Central Command said it has now turned around 58 commercial vessels attempting to exit or enter Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz.
That is an increase of just one ship from CENTCOM’s update nearly 24 hours ago.
CENTCOM also repeated four vessels have been disabled when trying to pass through the blockade, which remains the same as when the U.S. announced it disabled two ships on Friday.
CBS
