What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump held a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Washington time (Friday morning AEDT), during which he claimed the “present” the US received from Iran was 10 Pakistani-flagged boats of oil that passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Asked whether he had a new deadline after his decision on Monday to postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, Trump said there was still one day, which “in Trump time” is “an eternity”.
- Trump said there were “very substantial talks going on with respect to Iran, with the right people”, and described Iran as “lousy fighters, but great negotiators”.
- Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, confirmed the US had given a 15-point “action list” to Iran, delivered through Pakistan as a framework for a possible peace deal.
- An Iranian official, speaking to Reuters, described the plan as “one-sided and unfair”.
- Israel claims to have killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy, in an airstrike. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
- In Australia, Labor has intervened to secure regional fuel supply chains in one of the most drastic market interventions since petrol rationing during World War II. A national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis will be held on Monday.
US peace plan is ‘one-sided and unfair’, says Iranian official
A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught.
The Iranian official said the proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader”.
It lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only US and Israeli interests, the official said, while stressing that diplomacy had not ended despite the lack for now of a realistic plan for peace talks.
Reuters
White House confirms 15-point peace plan given to Iran
Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, said the US has presented a 15-point “action list” to Iran, delivered through Pakistan as a framework for a possible peace deal.
It’s the first time the Trump administration has confirmed the 15-point plan.
Witkoff made the comment on Thursday, Washington time, at a cabinet meeting. He added that Trump directed Witkoff to “maintain confidentiality” as the administration reached out, citing sensitive diplomatic discussions.
“If a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran, the entire region and the world at large,” he said.
AP
Trump reveals ‘present’ from Iran was 10 ‘big boats of oil’
US President Donald Trump has revealed the “present” he claims to have received from Iran was 10 “big boats of oil” that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Steve, can I reveal the present?” Trump asked Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Washington time.
He told reporters: “They [Iran] said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real, it’s solid, and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight … big boats of oil … and they’ll sail up tomorrow.’
“I didn’t think much about it, and then I watched the news and they said … ‘Something unusual [is] happening, there are eight boats that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz strait, eight big tankers are going loaded up with oil’,” Trump said.
Iranian naval commander killed in airstrike, Israel claims
Israel claims to have killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz, on Thursday night (AEDT), said Tangsiri had been killed along with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight.
Katz said Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz. He said the strike should serve as a “clear message” to top Iranian military officials that the Israeli military would hunt them down.
AP
What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump held a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Washington time (Friday morning AEDT), during which he claimed the “present” the US received from Iran was 10 Pakistani-flagged boats of oil that passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Asked whether he had a new deadline after his decision on Monday to postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, Trump said there was still one day, which “in Trump time” is “an eternity”.
- Trump said there were “very substantial talks going on with respect to Iran, with the right people”, and described Iran as “lousy fighters, but great negotiators”.
- Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, confirmed the US had given a 15-point “action list” to Iran, delivered through Pakistan as a framework for a possible peace deal.
- An Iranian official, speaking to Reuters, described the plan as “one-sided and unfair”.
- Israel claims to have killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy, in an airstrike. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
- In Australia, Labor has intervened to secure regional fuel supply chains in one of the most drastic market interventions since petrol rationing during World War II. A national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis will be held on Monday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
