Iran-US war latest: Tehran accuses Trump of ‘gross violation’ of ceasefire as strikes rock southern Iran

The military cast the strikes as defensive actions designed to “protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” and US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the Strait has to be open “one way or the other”.

Iran has deployed small surface vessels to lay mines across parts of the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to control traffic through the vital waterway, which usually handles around a fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas trade, since the war erupted on 28 February.

Negotiations for a comprehensive peace deal with Iran could “take a few days,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, tempering expectations for an imminent resolution to the nearly three month-old conflict in the Middle East.

While Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson indicated that conclusions had been reached on many points within a potential 14-point memorandum of understanding, officials stressed this does not signal a swift end to the conflict.

You can read more about what a deal may look like from James C. Reynolds below:

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday condemned the attack ⁠on Barakah Nuclear Plant in the United Arab Emirates, according to ⁠a statement, ​adding that ⁠the attack constituted a violation ⁠of international law.

The council ​did ⁠not attribute ‌blame for the attack.

The UAE said last ‌week that six ‌drones had been launched against it from ⁠Iraq, including one that caused a fire at the nuclear power plant in the Gulf state.

Iraq is ‌home to powerful Iranian-backed ​militia groups ‌which have ⁠claimed attacks against “enemy ⁠bases in Iraq and ‌the ​region” during ‌the US-Israeli ​war on Iran.

Amirhossein Miresmaeili speaks to protestors on the run from the regime as arrests and executions surge, and finds protestors still riddled with bullets but too scared to go to hospital.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade ⁠Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital ⁠Muscat.

UKMTO said the vessel, ​identified ⁠as the Olympic Life, and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported some ⁠bunker fuel had been discharged into the sea. ​It ⁠said the cause of ‌the incident was unknown.

According to MarineTraffic vessel-tracking data, the Greek-owned Very Large Crude Carrier was sailing ‌past Muscat at around 0700 GMT, heading ‌out of the Gulf of Oman, and was not carrying cargo.

The ship’s technical manager, Springfield Shipping, said the vessel ⁠was struck by an unidentified object at about 0920 GMT, but remained stable and operational.

“An initial assessment indicated that there was damage to one of the vessel’s bunker tanks. A sheen was reported in the water after the incident,” it said ‌in a statement to Reuters, adding that ​the spill had since been contained.

The vessel ‌is owned by ⁠Athens-based Olympic Shipping & Management, the successor to Olympic ⁠Management founded by late shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, according to ‌the Onassis Foundation’s website.

As the latest US strikes claim to target Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, John W S Clark asks why no one is heeding the lessons of the past: that mine warfare will bring any ill-conceived conflict to a shuddering standstill.

The IRGC said in a separate statement that air defence units had downed a US drone and fired at another drone and a fighter jet which they said had strayed into Iranian airspace over the Gulf region.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio told reporters that the Strait of Hormuz would have to be opened “one way or the other” and cast doubt on a quick end to the war, saying negotiating a deal would still “take a few days”.

As negotiators continue to work on reaching a peace agreement amid the backdrop of “defensive” US strikes in Iran, here are the key sticking points between Washington and Tehran:

Iran’s nuclear programme

Iran’s nuclear programme is the lingering issue that had troubled American negotiators in talks before the conflict erupted on 28 February.

Trump insisted this week that the US will eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Washington believes is destined for a nuclear weapon though Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider the war over until enriched uranium is removed from Iran, Tehran ends its support for proxy militias, and its ballistic missile capabilities are eliminated.

But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.

The closure of the Strait through the war has created massive disruption to a vital channel of commerce that ordinarily carries a fifth of global oil and LNG. Iran has floated plans to continue charging some $2m for tankers post-war.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea says countries bordering straits cannot demand payment simply for permission to pass through.

But Iran has said it aims to reopen the strait to friendly countries that abide by its terms that could potentially include fees.

It emerged on Thursday that Iran and Oman have reportedly held discussions on enforcing a permanent toll on the Strait of Hormuz, despite Donald Trump’s warnings.

Iranian state media reported earlier this month that Tehran was insisting upon the need to end the war on all fronts, especially in Lebanon, where proxy group Hezbollah continues to clash with Israeli forces.

Fighting has continued in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, despite a US-brokered ceasefire there announced on April 16.

Donald Trump has said he asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the “Abraham Accords” as he tries ⁠to negotiate an agreement to end his war with Iran.

The US president has repeatedly said he wants to expand the accords, brokered by him during his first ‌term in the White House.

Trump said he spoke on Saturday to leaders of those countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have already signed ⁠the accords, a set of agreements to normalise relations with Israel.

The Abraham Accords were a series of diplomatic and commercial agreements forged with US influence between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

A permanent agreement in Gaza could help pave the path for talks with other majority-Muslim countries.

US envoy Alexander Velez-Green reportedly said during the closed-door meeting that the commitment for US fighter jets would fall by a third, while the US Navy will make fewer destroyers available and no longer provide any submarines.

James C Reynolds has this report: