In his latest post on Truth Social, Donald Trump claimed that the US is in “serious discussions” with a “new and more reasonable regime” to end its war on Iran, but threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s strategically crucial Kharg Island if a deal is not reached shortly.
Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.”
This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year “Reign of Terror.”
As my colleague Lorenzo Tondo notes in this story, last week the US, via Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator, presented Iran with a 15-point ceasefire proposal, including reopening the strait of Hormuz and curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme, but Tehran has rejected the proposals and offered alternatives.
Crucially, Iran wants Israel to stop attacking Iranian allies in the region, something Israel is unlikely to agree to. Tehran also reportedly wants reparations for war damage and the removal of American bases from the Middle East.
Last week after Trump said the US and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” about ending the war, Iranian officials quickly denied any such talks had occurred. Iran has said the US is secretly plotting a ground attack while displaying a message of diplomacy. The US is reportedly considering plans to occupy or blockade Kharg Island to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Leavitt is asked what Trump is thinking about the current timeline of his war with Iran.
She says he has said from the start that the operation in Iran will last about four to six weeks in total.
“We’re on day 30,” she says. “So, you do the math on how much longer the Pentagon needs to fully achieve the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.”
Earlier, Donald Trump said he was in discussions with a “new and more reasonable regime” in Tehran.
Asked how confident the US is that the people they’re talking to are legitimate and actually in charge, Leavitt says that “anything they say to us privately will be tested”.
We will ensure that they are being held accountable to their word, and if they are not the president has laid out the military consequences that the Iranian regime will see.
She adds that the people they’re speaking to seem “more reasonable behind the scenes” than previous leaders.
Trump issued a 10-day pause to “postpone” planned strikes on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure, Leavitt says.
This remains a truly once in a generation opportunity for the regime to make a good deal with the United States.
Leavitt adds that if Iran rejects this opportunity, the US military “continues to stand by” to provide the US president with “every option available to ensure this regime continues to pay a grave price”.
The “remaining elements” of the Iranian regime are “increasingly eager to end the destruction and come to the negotiating table, while they still can”, Leavitt claims.
She says that despite the Iranian regime’s “public posturing” and the news media’s “false reporting”, talks between the US and Iran are “continuing and going well”.
Iranian officials have repeatedly denied they are in formal talks with the US, while Donald Trump continues to claim that Washington and Tehran are having “very good and productive conversations” about ending the war.
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, reaffirmed on Monday that Iran has not had any direct negotiations with the US, and that US proposals to bring about an end to fighting are “excessive and unreasonable”.
He said:
What has been discussed are messages we received through intermediaries stating that the US wants to negotiate.
Iran has been clear about its position from the beginning, and we know very well what the framework is that we are considering. The material conveyed to us has been excessive and unreasonable requests.
Leavitt says the US military operation in Iran is “moving ahead successfully and according to plan”.
More than 11,000 enemy targets have been struck to date, she says, adding Iran’s missile and drone attacks are down by about 90% since the start of the war.
“Our military continues to obliterate Iran’s defence industrial base with nearly 70% of their missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards damaged or destroyed,” she says.
The US has also “decimated” the navy, destroying more than 150 vessels, including “92% of their largest vessels”, she says.
Iran’s ability to pose future threats in the region has been “significantly reduced”, she adds.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is due to hold a news briefing with reporters shortly, I’ll bring you all the relevant lines once that gets under way.
The commander of the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a rare message on Monday hailing Iranian proxy groups for helping create a “new regional order”.
Esmail Qaani became head of the Guards’ Quds Force after the killing of Qassem Soleimani in a US strike in Iraq in 2020.
His message, just the second attributed to him since the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic began on 28 February, was posted on X under the handle @general_Qaani, although the social media giant then rapidly suspended the account with a note that “X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules.”
The message was also widely published by Iranian news agencies and state television.
Qaani said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to create a “security belt across the region” but the actions of Tehran-backed militant groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen had “exposed the regime’s false promises”.
“Get used to the new regional order,” he said.
Nato has now confirmed that its forces intercepted an Iranian missile heading towards Turkey, following an earlier announcement by the Turkish defence ministry.
“On Monday 30 March, Nato again successfully intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile heading to” Turkey, alliance spokeswoman Allison Hart said.
“Nato is prepared for such threats and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies,” she added.
As thousands of US soldiers and marines arrive in the Middle East, Iran is accusing Washington of privately plotting a ground assault while publicly touting ceasefire talks.
Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate’” Iran’s energy infrastructure, said his “preference would be to take the oil” in Iran and that US forces could seize the regime’s export hub on Kharg Island, while also claiming he was in talks with a new “reasonable regime”.
Yemen’s Houthi forces have also entered the conflict, bringing the threat of further damage to the global economy.
Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian columnist and host of Politics Weekly America, Jonathan Freedland…
A Lebanese soldier was killed on Monday and five others were wounded after an Israeli attack on an army checkpoint in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army has said.
War in the Middle East is having an uneven impact on global economies but “all roads” lead to higher prices and slower economic growth, an influential economic body has warned.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which advises on policy and gives financial aid to member countries, said it was stepping up support, especially to the most vulnerable economies.
The war’s impact is “both global and highly uneven”, with some countries likely to face a renewed cost-of-living squeeze, IMF economists wrote in a blog post on Monday.
Large energy importers in Asia and Europe are bearing the brunt of higher fuel prices and input costs due to the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, which has caused shipments of oil and gas to grind to a halt.
Countries like the UK and Italy have been particularly exposed by their reliance on gas-fired power, while France and Spain were relatively protected by their greater use of nuclear and renewable energy sources, according to the IMF.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has voiced hope for working with elements within Iran’s government, saying the United States privately had received positive messages.
Rubio said there were internal “fractures” inside the Islamic republic and that the United States hopes figures with “power to deliver” take charge.
“We are hopeful that that’s the case,” Rubio told the ABC News programme ‘Good Morning America’.
“There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past, some of the things they’re willing to do,” he said.
“These people are lunatics. They are insane. They are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future,” Rubio added.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
