The day so far
Donald Trump met with his national security team on Monday morning to discuss a new Iranian proposal for ending the war, the White House confirmed. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not offer an opinion of the proposal, in which the critical strait of Hormuz would be opened and Iran’s nuclear program discussed at a later date. But she said that Trump’s bottom line demands (that Tehran must never have nuclear weapons) “has been made very, very clear”.
Trump had earlier said Iran that can telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to the war and that it must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, while Pakistan’s leaders sought to revive the stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed four people including a woman and wounded 51 others, three of them children, despite the ceasefire, AFP reports. According to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the fragile truce there began on 17 April.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US seizure of Iran-linked tankers as the “outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas”. In a post on X, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said: “The United States must be held fully accountable for this brazenly lawless behavior, which strikes at the heart of international law & international free trade, and threatens the basic principles of maritime security.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly told Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, that Moscow would do everything it could to help secure peace in the Middle East, as the two met in Russia. “For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” Russian state media quoted Putin as telling Araghchi during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday.
The head of the UN’s maritime agency said there was “no legal basis” for imposing any fees for ships to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the narrow strait has been strangled since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed four people including a woman and wounded 51 others, three of them children, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, AFP reports.
According to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the fragile truce there began on April 17.
