U.S. Strikes Hormozgan, IRGC Threatens Retaliation After Rubio Says Deal Possible

Iran’s foreign ministry said U.S. strikes in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province were a "gross violation" of a truce in place for nearly seven weeks, after Iranian media reported sounds of explosions early on Tuesday.

“US strikes southern Iran in 'self defence' targeting Iranian mine boats The US military has launched a series of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian delegation led by top officials travelled to Qatar to hold negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran”

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that Iran said a deal with the United States was "not imminent" even as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement could possibly be reached, with the memorandum of understanding reportedly involving a 60-day ceasefire extension and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Al Jazeera

CNN said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to retaliate after the U.S. carried out what it described as “self-defense strikes” on Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian said Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the U.S. attack as “an act of bad faith” and “a definitive violation of the ceasefire,” while saying it would not leave aggression unanswered.

In the same reporting, the Guardian said the attack killed four Iranian soldiers and that the talks were continuing under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar.

CNN reported that the IRGC threatened to retaliate after U.S. “self-defense strikes” on Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz, and it also said the IRGC claimed 25 vessels, including oil tankers, transited Hormuz during the “last day and night.”

In a separate thread of diplomacy, the BBC quoted Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai saying, "But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent - no-one can make such a claim."

Al-Jazeera Net

The Independent said Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned on his Telegram channel, “The clock cannot be turned back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer be a shield for American bases.”

The Guardian reported that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf remained in Doha for a second day trying to agree the means by which more than $12bn (£9bn) in frozen Iranian assets could be unlocked and sent to an Iranian account.

It also said the Iranian foreign ministry denounced the U.S. attack as “an act of bad faith” while the talks continued under Pakistan and Qatar mediation.

The Guardian said the brief agreement would end the war but not delineate the peace, and it described a 30-day timeframe for the U.S. to lift the blockade of Iranian oil ports and for Iran to allow commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz.

“Deal with US not imminent, Iran says Iran says some progress has been reached in talks with the US, but a deal "is not imminent"”

BBC

It also reported that Mahmoud Nabavian insisted no agreement should relinquish Iranian control of the strait, while Ghalibaf was focused on accessing frozen Iranian assets described as the last serious dispute between Tehran and Washington.

The Independent said both sides had earlier indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restart shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, while giving negotiators 60 days to tackle more complex issues including Iran's nuclear programme.

The Guardian added that the consultations in Qatar resulted in progress toward resolving frozen Iranian assets, but it also cited an Iranian MP, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, warning that a plan for $12bn to be transferred from Qatar to a Russian account before being sent to Iran had been thwarted by the US at the last minute.

Separately, the BBC said the mooted deal was not a final settlement and left issues including the scope and timing of Iranian sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds to be negotiated later.