Trump issues stern warning to Iran to accept peace deal

Washington, locked in a conflict with Tehran since U.S. and Israeli forces launched a massive attack on the Islamic Republic starting on February 28, has struggled to break the deadlock and make any progress toward ending the war that has rocked the Middle East and sent energy prices soaring.

“The clock is ticking for Iran and they better move fast or they will have nothing left,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform. “Time is of the essence!”

The war has resulted in an effective blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil exports pass in peacetime, and has drawn neighbors Israel and Lebanon into a deadly flanking conflict.

Iran’s clerical state, Hezbollah’s patron, has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before reaching a broader peace deal with Trump, who is frustrated by Tehran’s refusal to accept a deal on his terms.

An Israeli military official said on Sunday that Hezbollah fired some 200 artillery shells at Israel and its troops over the weekend, despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing to extend the ceasefire.

Lebanon’s health ministry said a new Israeli attack in the south of the country on Sunday killed five people, including two children.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon since the war began, including 400 since the truce began on April 17.

– ‘No apparent concessions’ –

Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire on April 8, but peace talks have stalled and sporadic attacks continue.

The United States failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s agenda for talks to end the war, Iranian media said on Sunday.

Fars news agency said Washington had proposed a five-point list, which included demands that Iran keep just one nuclear facility operational and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.

According to Fars, Washington has also refused to release “even 25%” of Iran’s frozen overseas assets and to pay any compensation for the losses Iran suffered during the war.

Meanwhile, the Myhr news agency said: “The United States has not made any substantive concessions, but wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to a deadlock in the negotiations.”

There were more disturbances in parts of the region on Sunday. A drone strike that sparked a fire near a nuclear power plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi caused no casualties and had no impact on radiation levels, authorities said.

Iran-backed armed groups armed with drones are based in Iraq, while Tehran’s allies in Yemen, the Houthi rebels, also have combat-grade drones.

Pakistan has been active in mediating peace talks between Iran and the United States, and its interior minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran on Sunday.

Ghalibaf said in a social media post after the talks that the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran destabilizes the entire Middle East.

“Some governments in the region believe that the U.S. presence will bring them security, but recent events have shown that this presence not only fails to provide security, but also creates a reason for insecurity,” he said.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Iran at a high-stakes summit earlier this week, but little progress appeared to be made on the issue.

Trump said Xi Jinping assured him that China was not prepared to provide military aid to Iran, while China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Iran on Friday that “the waterway should be reopened as soon as possible.”

MLM/MD

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.