Live updates: Iran says it has responded to US proposal for ending war

Iran US war response: Tehran delivers answer to American cease-fire plan

By Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Iran handed a written reply to Washington’s blueprint for halting the 9-day air war that has killed 136 people across the Gulf, state media announced early Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry gave no details of the response but called it “comprehensive” and said it awaited a U.S. counter-offer within 24 hours.

The exchange is the first formal diplomatic communication between the two countries since President Donald Trump ordered strikes on 1 May after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized the merchant tanker Morning Calm near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran says the vessel was smuggling Iranian crude and that all 23 Filipino crew are safe in Bandar Abbas port.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered the document to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran at 02:15 a.m. local time, according to IRIB television. Switzerland acts as Washington’s protecting power in Iran in the absence of direct relations. Araghchi later told reporters the reply “offers mechanisms to stop the aggression and lift financial restrictions,” but refused to elaborate.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed receipt and said U.S. negotiators “will study the text carefully.” She gave no timetable for a response. The Pentagon continued strikes overnight, hitting radar sites on Qeshm Island that it said had guided missiles toward commercial shipping lanes.

Military activity on both sides has intensified since Trump rejected a French-brokered pause on Sunday, arguing that “any deal must include full demilitarisation of the southern coast.” Iranian drones attacked Bahraini offshore platforms hours later, killing 2 security guards and forcing evacuation of 300 workers, according to Manama’s state news agency.

Oil markets wobbled on the news. Brent crude, which had fallen 4 percent Monday on cease-fire speculation, jumped back above $94 a barrel in early London trade. Tanker trackers reported at least 5 very-large crude carriers idling outside the strait, unable to secure war-risk insurance.

China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, urged restraint. Foreign-ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing would back “any arrangement that safeguards maritime navigation,” but warned that unilateral sanctions “undermine the diplomatic atmosphere.” India, which depends on the strait for 65 percent of its crude imports, asked state refiners to cut purchases from both countries this month, according to three officials who requested anonymity because the directive is private.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Washington’s “firm posture” after a phone call with Trump late Monday. Israeli jets struck weapons depots south of Damascus around the same time, killing 6 pro-Iran fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Israel’s army declined comment.

Hossein Salami, commander of the Revolutionary Guard, repeated that Iran would accept “no humiliating terms” and warned Gulf neighbours against allowing U.S. jets to operate from their soil. “Our missiles can reach every runway hosting American warplanes,” Salami said on state TV. Satellite images published by Planet Labs on Tuesday showed construction of new missile revetments at Bandar Abbas naval base.

Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst close to the Iranian presidency, said the reply contained “a phased proposal starting with a maritime truce, then talks on tanker seizures and ultimately sanctions relief.” He told GlobalBeat that Iran wants the release of $7 billion frozen in South Korean banks as a goodwill step, a demand Washington has so far resisted.

Saudi and Emirati officials stayed silent on Tuesday morning. Both governments quietly informed the White House last week they would provide limited logistical help but no direct combat involvement, 2 Gulf diplomats said on condition they not be named because of the sensitivity. Riyadh fears Houthi missile reprisals from Yemen; Abu Dhabi worries about threats to its civilian airports after Iranian media published maps placing them within drone range.

Inside Iran, state television aired footage of military trucks carrying S-300 missiles toward coastal positions, while parliament opened with chants of “Death to America.” Hard-line lawmaker Mojtaba Zolnour warned that accepting a cease-fire without sanctions relief would amount to “surrender,” signalling potential domestic resistance to any compromise President Masoud Pezeshkian might accept.

Background

The present flare-up began on 28 April when the Revolutionary Guard intercepted the Morning Calm as it transited the strait. Washington claimed the tanker was in Omani waters; Tehran published GPS coordinates placing it inside Iran’s territorial sea. The Guard released a video showing commandos descending from a helicopter, an image that fuelled demands inside the U.S. Congress for action.

Trump, facing mid-term elections in November, called the seizure “piracy” and ordered the Navy to escort American-flagged vessels. On 1 May a U.S. destroyer collided with an Iranian speedboat, killing 3 Guardsmen. Iran fired missiles at the destroyer, wounding 11 sailors, and Washington launched air raids on coastal batteries. The cycle has repeated almost nightly.

What’s Next

European Union foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday she had convened an emergency meeting of the bloc’s Political and Security Committee for Wednesday and would travel to Muscat to “test space for de-escalation” with Omani mediators. Analysts expect Iran’s next move to hinge on whether Washington loosens oil sanctions; without that, Tehran may authorize further shipping attacks, betting that rising insurance costs will pressure the White House more than diplomacy.

Failure to extend the dialogue risks wider conflict. Iran has already warned that any strike on its nuclear facilities would prompt missile launches on Israel and U.S. bases, while American officials say next phase targets include Revolutionary Guard command centres onshore. The window for compromise, narrow to begin with, may slam shut once either side decides the other is stalling.