If Iran agrees to it, the proposal from Washington will formally end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before talks begin on more contentious issues, which include the Iranian nuclear programme.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to the latest US proposed draft aimed at ending the war was delivered on Sunday through a Pakistani mediator, Iranian local media reported Sunday without offering details.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran sent today (Sunday) through Pakistani mediators its response to the latest text proposed by the United States to end the war,” the official IRNA news agency said.
“It should be noted that the main focus of Iran’s response to the US proposal is on ‘ending the war and maritime security’ in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
The response from Iran comes after media reports emerged that the US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday to discuss the war.
The proposal from Washington will formally end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Iran agrees to it before talks begin on more contentious issues, which include the Iranian nuclear programme.
Drone attacks on ships across the Gulf
Meanwhile, drones were launched at multiple targets across the Gulf on Sunday, with one striking a freighter bound for Qatar, as Tehran warned the United States it would no longer refrain from retaliatory attacks.
“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.” Iranian media reported quoting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to Qatar’s defence ministry, a small fire was sparked on the commercial vessel, but there were no casualties, while in Kuwait, the military said it repelled a dawn drone attack.
Earlier, South Korea said that one of its cargo vessels, damaged days ago in the Strait of Hormuz, was hit by “two unidentified aircraft”, and analysis was being conducted on engine debris and fragments to determine the origin of the attack. Iran denies responsibility for the 4 May attack.
But at the time, US President Donald Trump said Iran had “taken some shots” at the cargo vessel.
Speaking in a phone call on Saturday, Qatar’s prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi that using the Strait of Hormuz as a “pressure card” will only deepen the Middle East crisis, the Qatari foreign