UN chief says war ‘has gone too far’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has blasted the various factions of the ongoing Middle East conflict, saying the fighting “has broken past limits even leaders thought imaginable”.
“This has gone too far,” Guterres said on Wednesday. “The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war.”
He specifically called on the US and Israel, whose joint strikes last month started the war against Iran, to end the fighting as “human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating”.
Guterres added: “My message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbours.”
He also announced the appointment of a personal envoy, veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault, to lead the world body’s efforts on the conflict and the recent peace efforts that are under way.
with AP, Reuters
Trump’s China trip rescheduled for mid-May
Donald Trump’s visit to China and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has been rescheduled for mid-May, the White House announced.
Trump was due to meet Xi at the end of March, but it was postponed due to the war with Iran.
He will now travel to Beijing on May 14 and 15, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday (US time).
The new date suggests Trump intends to end the military campaign well before then. Most analysts considered it was nearly impossible for him to visit China while in the middle of an unresolved war with a country that maintains close relations with Beijing.
US-Iran talks ‘ongoing’, have not hit dead end, says White House
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about reports Iran has rejected a 15-point peace proposal from the US, and whether talks had hit a “dead end”.
“They have not,” Leavitt said. “Talks continue, they are productive.”
Leavitt said the White House never confirmed the full 15-point plan circulated in media reports.
“There are elements of truth to it,” she said.
“These talks are ongoing, we’re not going to get into the nitty-gritty details.”
Iran ‘looking for an exit ramp’, Trump ‘prepared to unleash hell’: White House
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press briefing moments ago, during which she said the US was “very close” to meeting the core objectives of its war operation and claimed Iran was beginning to “look for an exit ramp”.
Leavitt said Trump’s preference “is always peace”.
“But if Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” she said.
“President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again.”
Leavitt described Operation Epic Fury as a “resounding military triumph”. She said Trump and the Department of War had estimated it would take four to six weeks to achieve its “critical mission”, and 25 days in, the US was “ahead of schedule”.
War in Iran is ‘wrapping up’, US House Speaker claims
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, Washington time, that the war in Iran is “wrapping up” and “the objectives have been met,” even as he described US troop build-up in the Middle East as a warning to Iran.
“I think it sends a signal to Iran that they better get their act together,” Johnson told reporters.
“We don’t have boots on the ground. I don’t think that’s the intention, but I think Iran should watch that build up, and they need to take note of that.”
Johnson stressed Iran needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, adding that he thought the US operation would “wrap up in a short time period”.
“I think we’re wrapping up Operation Epic Fury, that’s what I think. And I think it’ll be done in short order and that’ll be right on schedule,” he said.
with AP
Iran rejects US ceasefire proposal, makes counteroffer, state TV reports
Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster Press TV quoted an anonymous official on Wednesday as saying Iran rejected America’s ceasefire proposal and considered its conditions excessive.
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” it quoted the official as saying.
Press TV offered its own five-point plan from the official who rejected the US proposal. It included a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”
AP and Reuters
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:
- Iran has rejected a 15-point peace plan from the US, making a five-point counteroffer including demanding sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reports.
- Asked whether talks had hit a dead end, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “they have not”. She said talks were ongoing, but that US President Donald Trump was “prepared to unleash hell” if Iran “fails to accept the reality of the current moment”.
- The US is sending thousands more troops to the Middle East. US House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was a sign Iran “better get their act together”, but also claimed Operation Epic Fury was “wrapping up”.
- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the Middle East conflict has “gone too far” and “the world is staring down the barrel of a wider war”.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will convene a national cabinet meeting on Monday as his government contemplates a national plan on fuel conservation.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
