Trump rejects deal with Iran
By Arsalan Shahla and Dana Kharaiche
President Donald Trump said Iran is ready to reach a deal to end the war but the US wants better terms, signaling there will be no let-up in the conflict that has nearly halted shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and sent energy markets into turmoil.
Trump also called on other countries to send warships to keep open the waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil exports flow. He said he expected China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain to participate.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to do it because the conditions are not good enough yet,” Trump told NBC in an interview on Saturday, adding that a “very concrete” deal should include a commitment by Tehran to abandon nuclear ambitions.
The Islamic Republic’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and Arab states in the Persian Gulf continued overnight Sunday, after the US attacked military sites on Kharg Island, home to key export facilities for Iranian oil.
The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday it was intercepting missiles and drones coming from Iran, telling residents that the explosions heard in parts of Dubai were downed projectiles. The UAE said it has engaged 1,600 drones and more than 300 missiles launched by Iran since the conflict began.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told now ms It is “clear” that the missiles that attacked Kharg Island came from the United Arab Emirates.
Anwar Gargash, senior foreign policy adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, said the country “has the right to self-defense in the face of this terrorist attack imposed on it, yet it continues to prioritize the cause.”
Oil-loading operations at Fujairah, a major UAE port, resumed on Sunday after being forced to halt exports due to drone strikes and fires a day earlier, according to people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to comment.
Fujairah, which lies just outside the Strait of Hormuz, is a major hub for both crude and fuel products, and has increased in importance for both the UAE and global markets as it is one of the few Gulf export outlets that bypass the waterway. Loading was stopped as a precaution while the damage was assessed.
Abu Dhabi authorities also said they had brought under control a fire that broke out at the Ruwais industrial complex following a drone attack on March 10.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting at least 10 drones near the capital Riyadh and in the eastern region of the kingdom. Bahrain sounded sirens and urged residents to remain in safe areas.
Iran said it had launched a new wave of missile attacks on Israel, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz describing the war as entering the “victory phase”. He also said that the war, now in its third week, would last “as long as necessary”.
Domestic pressure on Trump is mounting as the war has spread chaos across West Asia and global oil prices have soared to nearly $100 a barrel due to Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump dismissed concerns over rising gasoline prices in the US, saying prices will fall once the fighting ends.
About 3,750 people have been killed across the region since the conflict began with US and Israeli bombings of Iran on February 28, according to data from governments and NGOs.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran over the past two weeks, the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency said. Dozens of people have been killed across the Gulf and in Israel, while the US has lost 11 service members.
Israel and the US continued attacks on Iran on Saturday, and Washington called on the Americans to immediately leave Iraq, citing “the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups.” This came after the Associated Press reported a missile struck a helipad within the US Embassy compound in Baghdad.
Announcing the attack on Kharg Island, Trump said military facilities there had been “destroyed”, adding that he decided not to attack the oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency”. He threatened that if Iran “does anything to interfere with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz it will do so.”
Trump said that even though Iran’s military was “already 100% destroyed”, it was “easy” for Tehran to continue threatening ships with drones, mines and short-range missiles. The US will “carry out a complex bombardment” of Iran’s coastline to counter this, he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said the strait is closed only to ships of “enemies”. According to UK Maritime Trade Operations, there have been 16 attacks on ships in and around Hormuz since the war began.
Lebanon’s government said nearly 700 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the country, a parallel war the Jewish state is waging against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
France has drafted a plan to end the war in Lebanon that would require the government there to recognize Israel, Axios reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. It said Lebanon has accepted the proposal as a starting point, while Israel and the US are reviewing it.
Jordan, which also has US troops and aircraft, said on Saturday it intercepted 79 ballistic missiles and drones in the past week. Air defenses failed to intercept the other six projectiles. The Jordanian military said nine people were injured in that period.
The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to all curb crude oil production, while Qatar has halted operations for liquefied natural gas. It is one of the top three fuel suppliers in the world.
