Iran fires anew after Trump signals progress in talks
Iran launched a new missile salvo across the Middle East on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump’s signals that he was eager to talk with Tehran steadied global markets.
Oil prices dropped sharply and stocks in Asia rose on broader de-escalation hopes following nearly four weeks of war, as Trump appeared to be ramping up efforts to bring an end to his joint military operation with Israel.
Trump, whose daily statements have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said Washington was “in negotiations right now” with Tehran.
“They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
No confirmation
“That meant one thing to me—we’re dealing with the right people.”
The US leader did not explain further but said it related to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blockaded in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, spiking global energy prices.
Iranian officials have yet to confirm any formal talks.
However, the New York Times—quoting several unnamed officials—reported that Washington has sent a 15-point plan to Iran via Pakistan, which has offered to mediate, in a bid to end the war.
It was not clear if Israel, which has been carrying out strikes on Iran and ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, was aware or on board with the plan.
Trump’s cryptic statements on his eagerness to talk with Iran included repeating a claim that Tehran has “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Iran had agreed in 2015 to broad restraints on its contested nuclear program in a deal that Trump ripped up during his first term as he joined Israel in applying pressure to the cleric-run state.
Despite the US leader’s stated hopes for a deal, The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington is planning to send a further 3,000 soldiers to the Middle East.
Retaliatory attacks
While Trump hinted at backchannel diplomacy, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had fired a fresh wave of missiles on Wednesday at Israel, as well as bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain.
The Islamic republic has kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf nations it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes.
Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport, the Gulf state’s civil aviation authority said, causing “limited” damage.
In Bahrain, the interior ministry said air raid sirens were activated, while Jordan’s public security directorate reported shrapnel fell near the capital Amman, resulting in no casualties or damage.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted at least four drones in the kingdom’s east.
Israel meanwhile said it was launching new strikes on “infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime” after announcing new Iranian missile launches at the country.
‘Non-hostile vessels’
As the trading of strikes carried on, focus remained on the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil route responsible for carrying a fifth of the world’s crude oil.
Tehran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), assured safe passage through the strait to “non-hostile vessels.”
Iran had already said it was not targeting friendly nations.
The IMO said a communique issued by Iran’s foreign ministry said any vessels belonging to “the aggressor parties—namely the United States and the Israeli regime” would not be allowed passage.
Trump had earlier threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants, which some argue would be a war crime, if it did not open the strait by late Monday Washington time.
Before US markets opened on Monday, Trump abruptly extended that deadline by five days, citing diplomatic progress.
As the US leader mounted his threats if Iran did not agree to his demands, French President Emmanuel Macron demanded Tehran take any talks seriously.
“I called on Iran to engage in good faith in negotiations,” he wrote on X, after a call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
