War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster has responded to Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s response to the US proposal to end the war, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, IRIB said the US plan “meant Iran’s surrender to Trump’s greed”, and Tehran’s reply “emphasises the fundamental rights of the Iranian nation”.

It said the latest Iranian offer also “emphasises the necessity of war reparations by the US and Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz”, as well as the “need to end sanctions and release the country’s seized funds and assets”.

Oil prices have jumped $3 a barrel as the United States and Iran failed to agree to a peace proposal drafted by Washington while the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, keeping global energy supplies tight, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures has climbed $3.18 or 3.14 per cent to $104.47 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate was at $98.51 a barrel, up $3.09, or 3.24pc, after settling 0.64pc higher in the previous session.

China’s consumer prices ticked up in April as the cost of crude oil rose globally due to the Iran war, official data showed, AFP reports.

Helped by the surging oil costs, factory gate prices also continued to show signs of recovery, rising for a second straight month after being stuck in negative territory since October 2022.

However, analysts warn deflation is still a threat for the world’s second-largest economy as prices in other sectors continue to fall and overcapacity remains a headache.

China’s consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, last month rose 1.2 per cent year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Conflicts in the Middle East are increasing dangers for whales off South Africa by shifting sea traffic into their habitats and heightening the risks of collision, researchers told AFP.

The rerouting of shipping around South Africa and away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal since late 2023 has “substantially increased” the chances of ship strikes, they said in new research.

South Africa’s southwestern coast supports globally significant populations of whales as well as increasingly busy shipping corridors, according to a paper presented to an International Whaling Commission meeting this month.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Netherlands counterpart has held a phone conversation regarding issues related to bilateral relations and the latest ongoing regional and diplomatic developments, Fars reports.

Iranian embassy in India has shared details of the country’s response to the US plan, which “the US president called ‘unacceptable’“.

In a social media post on X, the embassy said the response “emphasises the fundamental rights of the Iranian nation”.

“Iran has rejected the US plan, which would have meant Tehran’s submission to Trump’s excessive demands,” it has said.

The embassy further said: “Iran’s plan stresses the necessity of the US paying war reparations and affirms Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Iran has underscored the need for an end to sanctions and the release of the country’s seized assets and properties,” it has added.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium must be “taken out” before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an American broadcaster, according to AFP.

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said in an interview on the CBS News programme “60 Minutes”.

President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal for peace talks, AFP reports.

Iran had responded to Washington’s latest peace proposal earlier in the day, while warning it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes or permit more foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump himself provided no details on Tehran’s counterproposal, but in a brief post on his Truth Social platform made clear he was rejecting it.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump said.

The UK and France will host a multinational meeting of defence ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said, AFP reports.

“The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission’s first Defence Minister’s meeting,” a defence ministry statement said.

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.

Donald Trump is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on Iran when he visits Beijing next week, a senior administration official says, reports AFP.

“I would expect the president to apply pressure,” the official said in a call with reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Trump has done so in previous calls with the Chinese leader.

President Emmanuel Macron has said that France “never envisaged” a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz but rather a security mission that would be “coordinated with Iran”.

At a news conference in Nairobi, Macron said he was sticking to his position opposing a blockade from either side, and to “reject any toll” to ensure ships are able to pass through the strategic waterway.

Iran on Sunday warned of a “decisive and immediate response” to any French or British deployments in the strait, after both announced they would send military vessels to the region.

“There was never any question of a deployment but we are ready,” said Macron.

“We have put together an ad hoc mission, co-led with the British, which has brought together 50 countries and international organisations to enable, in a coordinated way with Iran and by deconflicting the situation with all the countries of the region and the United States, the resumption of maritime traffic as soon as conditions allow,” he added.

In a social media post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of “playing games” and laughing at America for decades, but says it soon will be made to stop.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the people of to cut down on petrol and diesel consumption amid supply disruptions due to the Middle East war.

India is one of the few countries in the region that has not increased the prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers or rationed supplies.

But it has increased prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a primary cooking fuel in this country — after disruptions following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which led to Iran’s near-total blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

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The US has the site of Iran’s nuclear materials “very well surveilled”, Trump says, threatening to take military action against anyone attempting to access it.

The Israeli military claims its strikes across southern Lebanon throughout the day have targeted more than 20 locations used by Hezbollah, including weapons storage facilities, headquarters and military buildings, Al Jazeera reports.

Israeli strikes have killed at least three people today, two of whom were paramedics.

President Emmanuel Macron says that France has “never envisaged” a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz but rather a security mission that would be “coordinated with Iran”.

At a news conference in Nairobi, Macron said he was sticking to his position opposing a blockade from either side, and to “reject any toll” to ensure ships are able to pass through the strategic waterway.

“There was never any question of a deployment but we are ready,” said Macron.

“We have put together an ad hoc mission, co-led with the British, which has brought together 50 countries and international organisations to enable, in a coordinated way with Iran and by deconflicting the situation with all the countries of the region and the United States, the resumption of maritime traffic as soon as conditions allow,” he added.

Macron, in Africa for a summit in Nairobi, said the whole continent was “victim of the blockade” of the strait, through which normally passes most of the oil exported from the Middle East.

Qatar’s prime minister has discussed ending the war on Iran and bringing lasting stability to the Middle East in a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera reports.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Vance, who arrived earlier in Washington, DC, spoke about the ongoing efforts of Pakistan in mediating peace proposals between the two sides, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

During the meeting, the two talked about “the necessity for all parties to respond to the ongoing mediation efforts in a manner that opens the door to addressing the roots of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to the achievement of a comprehensive agreement that realizes lasting peace in the region”.

Russian Foreign ⁠Minister ⁠Sergey Lavrov has told his UAE ⁠counterpart that US-Iran talks ⁠need to be supported to prevent a resumption of hostilities in ‌the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Russian side emphasised the need to focus on supporting the ongoing negotiations between ⁠Iran and the ⁠USA,” a foreign ministry’s statement said of Lavrov’s ⁠phone conversation with Foreign Minister ⁠Sheikh Abdullah ⁠bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Russia doesn’t want “to jeopardise the prospects for stabilisation by ‌resuming ‌hostilities”, a statement said.

Pakistan has received Iran’s response to the United States’ proposal on the Iran war and the response has been sent to the US, Reuters reports, citing a Pakistani government official involved in the talks.

The source did not provide further details about the proposal.

The US Central Command has said that under the US naval blockade, US forces have “redirected 61 commercial vessels and disabled four”.

“Over 20 US warships are enforcing the blockade against Iran,” it said.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium must be “taken out” before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in an interview, AFP reports

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said in an excerpt of an interview due to air later Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” program.

“You go in and you take it out,” the Israeli leader said when asked how the uranium could be removed.