File- Iran reportedly enriched about 970 lbs of Uranium at 60 % enough to make about 15 nuclear bombs when further enriched to 90 % . President Trump wants the International Atomic Energy Agency to be present if Iran disposes of its highly-enriched uranium inside the country or “at another acceptable location.”.REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Here is the latest in the Middle East war
- Iran accused the U.S. Tuesday of a “grave violation” of the two countries’ fragile ceasefire after the U.S. military said “self-defense strikes” overnight targeted Iranian forces, but with “restraint.”
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement with Iran was still possible, adding that President Trump wanted to either “make a good deal,” or no deal at all.
- Rescue workers pulled a dozen bodies from rubble after an Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon, state media said Tuesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorized more intense strikes against Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
Iran calls U.S. strikes “grave violation” of ceasefire, says it won’t leave “any act of hostility unanswered”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. on Tuesday of a “grave violation of the ceasefire” for launching attacks overnight on southern Iran, including strikes on boats in the Strait of Hormuz that state media said had killed at least four members of the Islamic Republic’s naval forces.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it carried out “self-defense strikes” to protect forces in the region, targeting missile launch sites and boats trying to lay sea mines.
Iran said the U.S. “committed a grave violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region” with the strikes.
“The commission of these acts of aggression, coinciding with the ongoing diplomatic process mediated by Pakistan, once again exposes the ill intent and bad faith of the U.S. ruling establishment to the people of Iran, the people of the region, and the international community,” the ministry said in its statement.
The ministry added that Iran “holds the U.S. fully responsible for all consequences arising from these acts of aggression. Undoubtedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave any act of hostility unanswered and will not hesitate in defending Iran’s sovereignty.”
China urges “parties concerned” to observe ceasefire
China on Tuesday urged “parties concerned” to respect a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war, after the U.S. military said it had conducted overnight “self-defense strikes” against missile sites in southern Iran, as well as boats purportedly trying to lay sea mines.
“We urge the parties concerned to fulfil their ceasefire commitments, resolve disputes through peaceful means… and promote the early restoration of peace,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing when asked for China’s reaction.
Iran says four navy personnel killed by overnight U.S. airstrikes in southern Iran
A Telegram channel affiliated with Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) identified four navy personnel it says were killed in overnight U.S. airstrikes in southern Iran.
It named the four men as Abbas Eslami, Ghodrat Zarangari, Abdolreza Golzari, and Hossein Sotoudeh. Sotoudeh had been “due to hold his wedding ceremony in the coming days,” according to the channel, which posted a photograph of him.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said early Tuesday that American forces had carried out “self-defense strikes … to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
CENTCOM said the U.S. strikes had hit targets including “Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines.”
Iran’s semi-official SNN news agency reported that the “American–Zionist enemy” carried out an attack on vessels south of the country’s Larak Island, in the Strait of Hormuz.
“According to local sources, last night American–Zionist fighter jets targeted several Iranian vessels south of Larak Island,” SNN reported, adding that “several of our compatriots have been martyred in these attacks.”
Qatari government denies report it offered Iran billions of dollars to cement a peace deal
Qatar has denied a report claiming it offered the Iranian regime billions of dollars to get it to sign a peace deal with the U.S.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported Monday that Qatar had offered Iran a loan worth $12 billion, but Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied the story.
“Reports claiming that the State of Qatar ‘offered’ $12 billion to Iran to secure the conclusion of an agreement are false and baseless,” he said in a post on X. “They are being circulated by parties seeking to derail the agreement and undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation and promoting stability in the region.”
The U.S. military launched what it called “self-defense strikes” overnight in southern Iran, which Iran has called a “grave violation of the ceasefire” between the two countries.
Despite the strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said early Tuesday that a peace deal was still possible, but he added that President Trump is “either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
Iran executes man over alleged cooperation with Israeli spy agency
Iranian authorities on Tuesday executed a man after convicting him of cooperation with and espionage for Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said.
“Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was executed on charges of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported, adding that his sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The Tuesday hanging is the latest in a string of executions by the Islamic republic for security-related cases following the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on Feb. 28.
Energy prices “going to plummet” when Strait of Hormuz reopens
Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, told the Fox Business Network on Tuesday that “energy prices are going to plummet like nothing you’ve ever seen before” as soon as the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
He said crude oil was essentially piling up in tankers and onshore in Persian Gulf nations currently unable to export their energy products due to the Iranian and U.S. blockades of the major shipping route.
Once the strait reopens, “I think that this thing can resolve itself much faster than people think,” Hassett said, adding that he believes the looming drop in oil prices will have an impact on consumer prices “right away.”
“I think we should see, very quickly, energy prices, gas prices go back to where they should be,” he said.
Iran’s supreme leader says “Death to America” and pledges region’s nations will “no longer serve as shields” for U.S. bases
Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Tuesday that “Death to America” and Israel would become “common slogans” worldwide and that countries in the region would no longer be “shields” for U.S. bases, in a written statement commemorating Hajj carried by state television.
“What is certain in this regard is that the hands of time will not turn backwards, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” said Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since he took office in March, in a message marking the Eid al-Adha holiday.
He said the United States was losing influence in the region, “moving further and further away from its former status with each passing day.”
“In different parts of Iran and the world, and after these blessed days, ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ shall become the common slogan of the Islamic Ummah and the oppressed people of the world,” he added, “especially the youth.”
The remarks come as Iran and the United States continued exchanges aimed at reaching a deal to end the war that began on February 28 and spread across the region
U.S. intelligence shows that Khamenei is effectively holed up in an undisclosed location with little access to the outside world and is only reached by a labyrinth of couriers, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
He was injured in initial U.S. and Israeli strikes in the Mideast war, U.S. intelligence has said.
Trump says Iran should destroy enriched uranium under international oversight
President Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday that he wants the International Atomic Energy Agency to be present if Iran disposes of its highly-enriched uranium inside the country or “at another acceptable location.”
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” the president said in a post.
A senior Trump administration official said over the weekend that Iran agreed in principle to dispose of highly-enriched uranium in negotiations with the U.S. and that officials were still working through details of the mechanism for the disposal.
CBS
