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nightmare. In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.”
Oil jumped to $105 a barrel yesterday, and stock markets fell on renewed pessimism over ceasefire prospects as global plastics, technology, retail and tourism struggled with the impact.
HORMUZ: A CRUCIAL ISSUE
Trump suggested yesterday that Iran let 10 oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture in negotiations, including some Pakistan-flagged vessels, elaborating on what he had described as a “present” from Iran.
The president, who is expected to send thousands of troops to the Middle East, driving expectations of a ground invasion, also said taking control of Iran’s oil was an option but gave no further details.
A note seen by Reuters on Tuesday to the United Nations from Iran said “non-hostile vessels” could transit the strait if they coordinated with Iranian authorities.
A Thai oil tanker has passed through the strait following diplomatic coordination with Iran, and Malaysia said its vessels were also being allowed to transit in a sign that restrictions were loosening for some countries. Iran would be receptive to any request from Spain related to the strait, its embassy in Madrid said, in the first such offer to an EU state.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US had sent a “15-point action list” as a basis for negotiations to end the war.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said “indirect talks” between the US and Iran were taking place through messages relayed by Islamabad, with other states including Turkey and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts.
Any talks, were they to happen, would likely prove very difficult given the positions laid out by both sides.
According to sources and reports, the 15-point proposal includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the strait.
Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the strait, Iranian sources say.
It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said.
Trump has not identified who the US is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed in the war across the Middle East.
Israel removed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from its hit list after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target them, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment.
A Western diplomat said the US had taken a “maximalist” position, and it was not clear if Washington was seeking to end the war or to calm markets before a potential ground operation.
GROUND INVASION
Iran’s parliament speaker warned on Wednesday about the possible invasion of an Iranian island with the support of an unnamed regional country.
“Based on some intelligence reports, Iran’s enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional states,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in an X post written in both Persian and Arabic.
“Our forces are monitoring all enemy movements, and if they take any step, all the vital infrastructure of that regional state will be targeted with relentless, unceasing attacks.”
Meanwhile, Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defences to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.
A dramatic military escalation will grow more likely if no progress is made in diplomatic talks and, in particular, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
Some US officials think a crushing show of force to conclude the fighting would create more leverage in peace talks or simply give Trump something to point to and declare victory.
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send several thousand troops from the army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, alongside Marine Expeditionary Units, to assist military operations in Iran.
Military experts said that the number of additional troops being deployed to the region appears to be consistent with plans for discrete and time-limited operations -- rather than a sustained ground campaign.
WAVES OF MISSILES
Gulf nations carried on fending off attacks as regional strikes continued.
The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted drones and missiles from Iran, assuring the public that “the sounds heard” are the country’s air defences in action.
Kuwait issued a similar message, saying “any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile targets.” It did not specify where the ongoing “missile and drone threats” were coming from.
Bahrain warned that sirens have been sounded and instructed its residents to take shelter in “the nearest safe place”.
Iran also launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people.
In Iran, strikes hit a residential zone in the southern city of Bandar Abbas and a village on the outskirts of the southern city of Shiraz, where two teenage brothers were killed, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said. A university building in Isfahan was reported to have been hit.
US and Israeli officials said Israel had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the Iranian navy chief overseeing what is a near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and that it had many more targets left as it degraded Iranian capabilities. Iran has not yet commented.
Still, Israel took Araqchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its hit list after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target people who could be negotiating partners, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment.