Iran-US warfare newest: Tehran says no dates set for subsequent spherical of peace talks as Strait of Hormuz ‘closed again’ | EUROtoday

Iran reversed its resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warned that it will proceed to dam transit via the strait so long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in impact.

The escalating standoff over the important chokepoint threatened to deepen the vitality disaster roiling the worldwide economic system and push the 2 international locations towards renewed battle, whilst mediators expressed confidence {that a} new deal was inside attain.

The strait is closed till the US blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy stated on Saturday evening.

Hours earlier, two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened hearth on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British navy’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre stated.

It reported the tanker and crew as protected, with out figuring out the vessel or its vacation spot.

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes via the strait and additional limits would squeeze already constrained provide, driving costs greater as soon as once more.

Iran’s earlier announcement in regards to the opening of the essential physique of water got here as a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon appeared to carry.

The combating has killed a minimum of 3,000 individuals in Iran, almost 2,300 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and greater than a dozen in Gulf Arab states.

Thirteen US service members have additionally been killed.

Pope Leo sought ​to downplay his feud with US president Donald Trump on Saturday, saying reporting about feedback he has made to this point throughout his Africa tour “has not been accurate in all its aspects”.

Speaking to reporters in English aboard his flight ⁠to Angola for the third leg of his bold 10-day Africa tour, the primary US pope stated feedback he made two days earlier in Cameroon decrying that the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” weren’t geared toward Mr Trump.

That speech, stated Leo, “was prepared two weeks ago, ⁠well before the president ever commented on myself ​and ⁠on the message of peace that I am promoting”.

Vice president JD Vance, who had criticised the pope’s remarks final week, welcomed his newest feedback.

“I am ⁠grateful to Pope Leo for saying this,” Mr Vance posted on social media platform ​X.

“While the ⁠media narrative constantly gins up conflict – ‌and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen – the reality is often much more complicated.”

On Sunday, as Leo ready to embark on his tour, Mr Trump referred to as him “WEAK on ‌Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a ‌submit on Truth Social.

Mr Trump additionally posted an AI-generated picture of himself as a Jesus-like determine, drawing widespread criticism even from some spiritual conservatives who sometimes assist him. The submit was eliminated on Monday morning. Mr Trump appeared to ⁠be responding to Leo’s rising criticism in current weeks of the US-Israeli warfare towards Iran.

Pope Leo advised Reuters on Monday that he would hold talking out in regards to the warfare, and Trump reiterated his criticism on Tuesday. On Thursday, Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and stated the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, although he didn’t point out Mr Trump instantly once more.

“As it happens, it was looked at as ‌if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in ​my interest at all,” the pontiff stated on Saturday.

Leo, initially from Chicago, ‌saved a comparatively low profile for a ⁠pope in his first 10 months however has debuted a brand new forceful talking ⁠model in Africa, sharply denouncing warfare, inequality and world leaders.

When American and Iranian negotiators met final weekend in Islamabad, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear exercise, whereas Iran prompt a halt of three to 5 years, in accordance with individuals aware of the proposals.

Iran’s deputy international minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, stated no date had been set for the following spherical of negotiations, including {that a} framework of understanding should ‌be agreed first.

US president Donald Trump had stated on Friday there may very well be talks this weekend and that the 2 sides had been “very shut ​to creating a deal”.

There were no signs on Saturday of preparations for new talks in the Pakistani capital, where the ‌highest-level US-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended without agreement last ⁠weekend.

Senior national security aides gathered at the White House on Saturday morning. Mr Trump later went to the Trump National Golf Club with ⁠top envoy Steve Witkoff, one of his Iran negotiators.

Pressure for a way out of the war has mounted as Trump’s fellow Republicans defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November ‌midterm elections with US gasoline prices high, inflation ​rising and his own approval ratings down.

Oil prices fell about 10 per cent and ‌global stocks jumped on Friday on the prospect of marine traffic ​resuming through the strait. But hundreds of vessels and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf awaiting passage through the waterway, shipping sources said.

Concern in the Strait of Hormuz remained after at least two vessels reported being attacked yesterday while trying to transit the waterway.

India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi and ⁠expressed deep concern that two Indian-flagged ships had come under fire in the strait, the government said.

US Central Command said American forces were enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran but did not comment on the latest Iranian actions.

Tehran’s reversal raised the risk that oil and gas shipments through the strait could remain disrupted just as Trump weighs whether to extend the ceasefire.

The Israeli ⁠military said this morning that ​one ⁠soldier ⁠was ​killed ⁠during ‌combat in southern ‌Lebanon, adding ‌that ⁠nine soldiers were wounded, including one ‌who ​was severely ‌injured.

Iran reversed course on Saturday to reassert control over the strait, again closing the energy choke point and adding fresh uncertainty to the war, which ⁠the US and Israel launched on 28 February.

Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it ​a violation of ⁠the ceasefire, while supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said ‌Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies.

US president Donald Trump called the move “blackmail” even as he praised “excellent conversations” with Tehran.

On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.

Mr Trump defended the ‌US blockade and threatened “to begin dropping bombs once more” unless the countries reached a long-term deal ‌before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran’s control over the strait included demanding the payment of costs related to security, safety and environmental protection services, state media said.

Iran’s top negotiator said recent talks with the US had made progress but gaps remained over nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz, while president Donald Trump cited “excellent conversations” with Tehran despite warning against “blackmail” over the key shipping channel.

Neither side offered any specifics about the state of negotiations yesterday, days before a ⁠fragile ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran is set to expire.

“We have had progress however there’s nonetheless an enormous distance between us,” Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told state media, referring to talks last ⁠weekend. “There are some points on which we insist … They even have pink traces. But these ​points ⁠may very well be only one or two.”

The war, now in its eighth week, has killed thousands, spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.

• Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Saturday, citing the continued US blockade.
• The Revolutionary Guards said the strait would remain shut until the blockade ends.
• The WSJ reported that the US was preparing to board Iran-linked tankers in international waters, widening the conflict.
• There was no sign weekend talks were expected to go ahead on Sunday, with just days left until the ceasefire ends.
• Trump reportedly called a meeting on Saturday to discuss the lingering issues with Hormuz and the stalled talks.

Donald Trump was adamant that Iran would not “blackmail” the United States as Tehran said it was reimposing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Two tankers reported coming under fire in the channel on Saturday, as Iran declared it was closing the strait again due to the continued American presence in the area.

Trump played down the threat, saying Iran had “got a little cute”, after Iran’s supreme leader said his navy was ready to make the US “taste the bitterness of new defeats”.

“They needed to shut up the strait once more, as they have been doing for years. They cannot blackmail us,” Trump stated.

The US blockade on Iranian ports stays a degree of main competition, with simply days left earlier than the two-week ceasefire settlement expires on Tuesday.

Trump insisted that “very good conversations” had been ongoing, whereas Iran’s nationwide safety council stated it was contemplating new proposals from the US, following mediation efforts by Pakistan in current days.

Tankers within the Gulf got here below hearth on Saturday as Iran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, simply hours after declaring the very important waterway had reopened to business site visitors.

At least two vessels reported being struck by gunfire as they tried to cross the strait, after Tehran stated it will be shutting the strategic chokepoint in response to the continued US blockade on Iranian ports.

Hopes for diplomacy had been dashed as Iran’s new supreme chief Mojataba Khamenei stated the nation’s navy was able to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies, with the US-Iranian ceasefire set to run out inside days.

Read the total story of Saturday’s occasions right here: