Iran sends response to US proposal to end war, reports say

Iran has delivered its answer to a US-backed proposal designed to end a war now stretching beyond two months, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

IRNA said the proposal, relayed through mediator Pakistan, is for now centred on one immediate goal: stopping the fighting.

People familiar with thinking on both sides have said the latest diplomatic push seeks a temporary memorandum of understanding that would pause the war and reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while negotiators work toward a broader agreement. Any lasting settlement, they say, would still need to confront deeply entrenched issues including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Pressure had been building as Washington awaited Tehran’s reply to its latest offer, which was intended to prolong a truce and create space for formal peace talks between the adversaries.

“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Iran has established a payment system to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, but US officials have insisted it would be “unacceptable” for Tehran to control what has been an international waterway and the passage for a fifth of the world’s oil exports.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatar’s ruler yesterday as Washington leaned on one of the crisis’s most important intermediaries.

A day earlier, Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held talks with US Vice President JD Vance on efforts to secure a permanent peace.

The diplomatic exchange came after drones were launched at several targets across the Gulf, including one that struck a freighter bound for Qatar.

Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly issued fresh instructions to the country’s military chief

Iran warned the United States that it would no longer refrain from retaliatory attacks.

The United Arab Emirates said Iran was behind an attack targeting its territory, in what would be, if verified, only the second alleged strike on Gulf states since a ceasefire that has now lasted a month began.

Iran’s military chief Ali Abdollahi met supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and, Iranian state television said, was given “new directives and guidance for the continuation of operations to confront the enemy”.

The warning followed reports from South Korea that unidentified aircraft struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz last week, while Qatar’s defence ministry said a freighter entering the country’s waters from Abu Dhabi was hit by a drone on Sunday northeast of the port of Mesaieed.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the bulk carrier had reported being hit by an unidentified projectile.

“There was a small fire that has been extinguished, there are no casualties. There is no reported environmental impact,” it said.

‘Restraint over’, Iranian official says

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Iran’s Fars news agency said “the bulk carrier that was struck near the coast of Qatar was sailing under a US flag and belonged to the United States”.

In a social media post, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission also issued a blunt warning to Washington: “Our restraint is over as of today.”

Donald Trump said he was waiting for Iran’s response

“Any attack on our vessels will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against American ships and bases,” Ebrahim Rezaei said.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had threatened to strike US interests across the Middle East if its tankers were attacked, after a US fighter jet on Friday fired on and disabled two Iran-flagged vessels in the Gulf of Oman.

“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,” the IRGC said.

Drone strikes hit UAE

The United Arab Emirates also said its territory had come under attack and directly accused Iran. “UAE air defence systems successfully engaged two UAVs launched from Iran,” the defence ministry said in a social media post.

Kuwait, another neighbour of Iran, also reported an attempted strike.

“At dawn today, the armed forces detected a number of hostile drones in Kuwaiti airspace, which were dealt with in accordance with established procedures,” the military posted.

In Seoul, defence ministry spokesman Park Il told reporters that a cargo ship was hit on Monday and suffered fire damage before proceeding to port in Dubai.

“On May 4, two unidentified aircraft struck the outer plate of the port-side ballast tank at the stern of the HMM Namu at roughly one-minute intervals, causing flames and smoke,” he said.

Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial corridor for oil, gas and fertiliser leaving the Gulf, in a bid to exert economic pressure on the United States and its allies.

The US Navy, meanwhile, has been blockading and at times disabling or diverting ships travelling to and from Iranian ports.