President Donald Trump posted that Iran’s ‘new regime’ leader — whom he described as less radical and more intelligent than predecessors — had asked the United States for a ceasefire; Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei called the assertion ‘false and baseless.’ Bahrain, a close US ally that hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is sponsoring a UN Security Council resolution proposing a ‘joint force’ to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates is lobbying for a resolution that could authorise the UAE, the US and other partners such as Saudi Arabia to help reopen the strategic waterway. A vote was expected on Thursday. In peacetime roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil moves through the strait. Trump tied any ceasefire to conditions that include the strait being ‘open, free, clear,’ while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the waterway ‘is firmly and decisively under the control’ of its forces and ‘will not be opened to the enemies of this nation.’ In an interview with Al Jazeera, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had received direct messages from Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff but that there were no direct negotiations and Iran had ‘no faith in talks’ with the US. Araghchi signalled willingness to continue the fight, saying ‘You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines.’ The conflict has driven oil prices sharply higher, putting pressure on Trump as gasoline, food and other costs rise; Brent crude has climbed more than 40 percent since the war began and was trading above $103 a barrel. The Israel Defence Forces said the Israeli Air Force has dropped more than 16,000 bombs in Iran since the start of the war, carried out in over 800 waves of strikes targeting air-defence systems, ballistic-missile launchers, weapons production sites, nuclear facilities, headquarters and military commanders. Iran has continued attacks in the Persian Gulf, including a cruise missile strike on an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast, and other Gulf states have also come under attack. The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at securing a ceasefire, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and rolling back elements of Iran’s nuclear programme; Iran, which maintains its nuclear activities are peaceful, replied with a five-point response insisting on retaining sovereignty over the strait.
