Iran has sent a new proposal for negotiations with the United States, with Pakistani officials expressing optimism that a deal to end the war is now closer.
However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has dampened expectations, saying it is not realistic to expect rapid progress.
A presidential adviser for the United Arab Emirates also expressed caution, saying no unilateral arrangement with Iran can be trusted regarding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz following what he called Iran’s “treacherous aggression”.
Iran restricted passage through the strait following a US-Israeli attack on February 28th. This has caused unprecedented disruption to energy markets, choking 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies and causing a record rally in oil prices.
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The blockade has also increased concerns of an economic downturn.
The US navy is in turn blocking exports of Iranian crude oil and on Friday, the US treasury warned shippers they risked sanctions if they paid tolls to Iran to pass through the strait.
Washington, which says its main war aim has been to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, wants Iran to give up a stockpile of highly enriched uranium and forgo further enrichment of material that could be used to make a bomb.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 8th, but reports that US president Donald Trump was to be briefed on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate had pushed global oil prices up to a four-year high at one point on Thursday.
NBC reported on Friday that Iran is using the ceasefire to retrieve missiles and munitions buried underground or under rubble.
A poll by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos found 61 per cent of respondents believe that the use of military force in Iran was a mistake, while only 20 per cent believed US actions in Iran were successful.
In Israel, media outlets quoted officials saying the country is bracing for the possibility that negotiations between Washington and Tehran could collapse at the start of next week, resulting in US military strikes on Iranian gas and energy facilities and government infrastructure.
An Israeli military official said the war will be considered “one big failure” if Iran’s reported stockpile of more than 400kg of enriched uranium is not removed.
UN secretary-general António Guterres warned that the consequences of the Middle East crisis are growing “dramatically worse with each passing hour”. He said “now is the time for dialogue”.
In Lebanon, the violence has continued despite a ceasefire announced on April 16th.
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Hostilities between Iran-backed Hizbullah and Israel reignited on March 2nd, when the group opened fire from Lebanon in support of Iran in the regional war. More than 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel went on the offensive following Hizbullah’s attack.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun on Friday criticised what he described as “continuing Israeli violations” of the truce, saying strikes and demolitions of homes and places of worship were taking place.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck more than 40 Hizbullah targets in southern Lebanon over the previous 24 hours, including military compounds and infrastructure. The military said it intercepted a drone that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel and three additional aerial targets were intercepted before crossing the border.
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Citing alleged Hizbullah violations of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the southern Lebanon town of Habboush, near Nabatieh on Friday, telling residents to leave their homes.
The Israeli navy brought two activists who took part in the flotilla to Gaza to Israel for questioning. Other members disembarked in Greece after the flotilla was intercepted close to Crete. The two detainees were named as Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Palestinian, and Brazilian Thiago Ávila.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a militant organisation, while Ávila was suspected of illegal activity.
Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, accused Israel of illegally arresting Abu Keshek and demanded his immediate release. - Additional reporting: Reuters
