What to know about the Iran war:President Trump has said a deal with Iran is “largely negotiated” and that he will either sign “a great and meaningful” pact with Tehran “or there will be no deal.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be announced as soon as Monday.Iran acknowledged agreement with the U.S. on many points but said the signing of a deal is not imminent. It stressed that the proposal under discussion does not include immediate concessions on the “nuclear issue.”The Iranian regime tempered expectations Monday, arguing that “frequent changes” and contradictions by the U.S. side present “problems and obstacles” as final details are haggled over.The U.S. Central Command said Monday that U.S. forces launched “self-defense strikes,” saying it continues to “defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.” Rubio says Strait of Hormuz strait will reopen “one way or the other”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Tuesday that the blockaded Strait of Hormuz will reopen “one way or the other,” after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran cast doubt on an accord to end the Mideast war.
“The straits have to be open. They’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open,” Rubio told reporters in the city of Jaipur, during an official visit to India.
“What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable,” he said.
Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite U.S. strikes
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said early Tuesday that a deal with Iran was still possible despite new American strikes that cast doubt on their fragile ceasefire.
“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.
“The president’s expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal,” he said.
U.S. carries out “self-defense” strikes, CENTCOM says
U.S. forces on Monday launched “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran, U.S. Central Command said.
“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
The strikes follow Hezbollah saying it staged several attacks on Monday on three barracks and a military post in northern Israel “in response to the violation of the ceasefire” by the Jewish state.
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.
Israel steps up Lebanon strikes as Netanyahu escalates offensive
The Israeli army intensified strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to escalate its offensive in Lebanon in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah.
Despite a ceasefire that came into effect on April 17, Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire on a near-daily basis.
“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.
“It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fiber-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue… We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”
Following the call for escalation, an AFP correspondent saw residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
The Israeli air force carried out successive strikes in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon on Monday evening, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Dozens of Israeli strikes earlier targeted several towns and villages in southern Lebanon in the early hours, killing three people in two cars and on a motorcycle, NNA reported.
Israeli airstrikes then targeted several towns near the ancient city of Tyre, according to the state-run agency.
Those strikes came after Israel issued evacuation orders for 10 villages, accusing Hezbollah of breaching the truce.
Oil prices drop nearly 7% as possible deal looms
Oil prices dropped significantly on Monday amid optimism that the U.S. and Iran might be getting closer to reaching a peace deal that would reopen the Stright of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures tumbled nearly 7%, at $96.30 a barrel by mid-afternoon Monday, a little more than three weeks after oil prices spiked to a four-year high
A draft proposal for an agreement stipulates that Iran would immediately reopen the vital waterway and take steps to ensure traffic returns to pre‑war conditions within 30 days, two regional officials with knowledge of the ongoing diplomacy told CBS News.
Still, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency said Saturday that even “in the event of a possible agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will still be under Iranian management.”
Credit: Yahoo News