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Pause, talks, and strikes
The United States and Iran remained locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump said on Monday that there are "very friendly negotiations" happening with Iran even while the two sides continued to exchange strikes.
“The US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz”
ABC News reported that the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries, and it said Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28.
ABC News also said the Iranian Health Ministry reported that the last 12 days of strikes by the U.S. left 60 people dead and about 670 others injured.
In parallel, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told reporters Monday that the Iranian delegation has made no pleas or requests to continue negotiations and that Iran rejected an American proposal.
Trump said Monday that if the U.S. and Iran cannot make a deal, "we go back to the same thing," while CBS News reported the pause in hostilities is aimed at "giving diplomacy some space."
Competing claims and conditions
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran "currently have no negotiations with the United States," while CNN reported that Baghaei said there are "no negotiations with the United States at present."
CNN said the U.S. halted renewed strikes on Iran at the regime’s request and warned they would resume if the two sides fail to reach a new ceasefire deal, and it quoted Trump saying the U.S. would resume attacks if a new ceasefire deal weren’t reached.
In Tehran, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described the U.S. proposal during recent negotiations in Islamabad as containing "extreme demands," and he said the Iranian delegation explicitly rejected it.
The BBC reported that Trump said the United States is conducting "very friendly" talks with Iran, while the BBC also quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bagheri saying Iran will not allow the United States to set a date for war and peace.
As mediators worked, Anadolu Ajansı reported that Iran set conditions for future negotiations while saying it had no talks underway with the U.S., and it framed the Strait of Hormuz as the central issue for any next step.
What’s at stake next
The pause in hostilities did not end the wider conflict, and Ottumwa Courier (AP) reported that Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities.
“Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks rattle region Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks rattle region CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions”
CNN said Iran ramped up threats against Kyiv after an attack by Ukraine on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea that killed one person and injured three, and it quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning that the incident “cannot go unanswered.”
In the Strait of Hormuz itself, CNBC reported that Iran’s Baghaei said Monday that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz has "not changed and it is still closed," even as diplomats sought to give peace talks "some space."
The BBC added that state television reported the IRGC navy stopped six ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz along routes not approved by Iranian authorities, and it quoted the correspondent saying: 'Last night, the IRGC navy stopped six ships trying to cross the strait via an unapproved route, fired warning shots at them, and sent them back.'
With the next phase hanging on negotiations, ABC News said Trump repeated that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while CBS News reported U.N. experts called on Iran to cancel death penalties given to 10 young men over antigovernment protests in January.
