iranusaceasefire
(Daily Jurat)The White House believes it is getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials.In its current form, the memorandum would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of 30 days of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the strait, limit Iran’s nuclear programme with a moratorium and lift US sanctions, Axios added.
Iran’s restrictions on shipping through the strait and the US naval blockade of Iran would be gradually lifted during those 30 days, Axios said, citing one US official who added that if the negotiations collapse, US forces would be able to restore the blockade or resume military action.
Earlier, Trump announced a pause to “Project Freedom”, a mission announced on Sunday to guide ships through the blocked strait. The mission had failed to bring about any significant resumption of traffic through the waterway, while provoking a new wave of Iranian strikes on ships in the strait and on targets in neighbouring countries.Iran denied that any crossings had taken place. Also, it said that their forces did not carry out missile or drone operations against the UAE in recent days, according to Al Jazeera.US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing “great progress” toward a Donald Trumpagreement with Iran as well as the “request of Pakistan and other Countries.”
Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the effort that began on Monday to escort stranded tankers out of the Gulf. The strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking some 20% of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis.
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the campaign…Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.” He wrote on Truth Social.”We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom … will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed.”
There was no immediate reaction from Tehran, where it was early on Wednesday morning.Shortly after Trump’s post, US crude oil futures fell $2.30 and broke below $100 per barrel, a much-watched threshold since the conflict sent energy prices soaring two months ago.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the progress made or how long the pause would last.Rubio and other senior administration officials said earlier on Tuesday that Iran could not be allowed to control traffic through the strait.Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by vowing to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft. The United States has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.
The US military said on Monday it had destroyed several Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian asserted that the Iranian nation will never submit to threats, advising US officials to end the military threats against the region, according to Press TV.
He then reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and peaceful conflict resolution.China on Wednesday extended support to Iran amid the conflict with the US as Beijing prepares to host US President Donald Trump next week.
“China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security and appreciates Iran’s willingness to seek a political solution through diplomatic channels,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Beijing.
He added that a complete cessation of hostilities “is imperative,” while restarting the conflict “is unacceptable, and persisting in negotiations is particularly important,” according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
According to Al Jazeera, FM Yi said the US-Israel war on Iran was illegitimate.
Araghchi reached Beijing at China’s invitation for their first in-person talks since the US and Israel initiated war with Iran on February 28.The war has killed thousands of civilians in Iran and Lebanon and has spread to the rest of the Gulf, roiling the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that even if the conflict ended immediately, it would take three to four months to deal with the consequences.
Rubio said 10 civilian sailors were among those who had died in the conflict, adding that crew on vessels stranded in the waterway were “starving” and “isolated.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran’s military had been reduced to firing “peashooters” and Tehran wanted peace, despite public posturing.
The conflict is also pressuring Trump’s administration ahead of crucial midterm elections in November, as rising gas prices hit voters’ pockets.Trump has said the US-Israeli attacks aimed to eliminate what he claimed were “imminent threats from Iran”, citing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
However, the first day of US-Israeli attacks in Iran landed on a girls’ school in Minab, massacring around 110 children and 168 people in total.
Iran has called out the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and said that it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have yet to yield results. US and Iranian officials have held one round of face-to-face peace talks, but attempts to set up further meetings have failed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that peace talks were still progressing with Pakistan’s mediation.
He arrived in Beijing on Wednesday morning for talks with his Chinese counterpart on bilateral ties and regional and international developments, Iran’s Press TV reported.Rubio told reporters at the White House that the United States had achieved its objectives in its military campaign, which was launched on February 28 alongside Israel.
“Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” Rubio said. “We’re not cheering for an additional situation to occur.”One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has repeatedly denied seeking throughout years of accusations to the contrary, especially from Israel.
While Rubio was speaking, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait. Further details of the incident were not immediately available.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Tuesday that the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through. The four-week-old truce with Iran was not over, he added.
“Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely,” he said.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”.
Asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “They know what not to do.”
Iranian media reported early on Wednesday that air defence systems were activated against drones near Qeshm Island, located near the contested Strait of Hormuz.
Officials in the southern province of Hormozgan said in a statement that sounds of explosions were heard overnight around the island, reported Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The statement said the explosions resulted from the activation of air defence systems against small drones and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles.
Authorities added that no damage to the island was reported.
Social media accounts had circulated claims during the night about several explosions being heard on the island before any official statement on the incident.French shipping company CMA CGM confirmed Wednesday that one of its cargo vessels was hit in an attack in the Strait of Hormuz, after earlier reports of an incident in the strategic waterway, broadcaster BFM reported.
“The CMA CGM San Antonio, was targeted in an attack yesterday while it was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz,” the company said in a statement, adding that several crew members were injured and evacuated for medical treatment.
The confirmation comes after maritime security agencies and media reports earlier indicated that a cargo ship had been struck by a projectile in the area, without official verification of the vessel’s identity.
Earlier, French authorities said they could not immediately confirm reports that a CMA CGM-operated cargo vessel had been targeted in the strait.
American and British media had reported that a French cargo ship may have been struck by gunfire in the strategic waterway.Shortly after Hegseth spoke, the UAE’s defence ministry said its air defences were again dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran, though Iran’s joint military command denied carrying out attacks.
The UAE’s foreign ministry said the attacks were a serious escalation and posed a direct threat to the country’s security, adding that the Gulf Arab state reserved its “full and legitimate right” to respond.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected Abu Dhabi’s statements, saying its armed forces’ actions have been solely aimed at repelling American aggression.The US military said on Monday that two US merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, while shipping company Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under US military escort on Monday.
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