DUBAI: The Trump administration seemed unlikely Tuesday to accept Iran's offer to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade on the country.
The proposal would postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, something that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to rule out in a Fox News interview on Monday.
“We have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point,” he said of the proposal, which was delivered to the US by Pakistan.
The White House said US President Donald Trump's national security team discussed the offer and Trump would address it later.
The offer emerged Monday as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It was unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,521 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Sixteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
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The war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza has left 96 per cent of the Palestinian enclave's cropland damaged or inaccessible, a study has found.
A study released Tuesday by aid group Mercy Corps found only 7 per cent of Gaza's agricultural infrastructure remains functional.
The group said water systems have been severely degraded, wells have been damaged, salinity has risen, and wastewater has infiltrated Gaza's farmland.
“This destruction is not just environmental,” Mercy Corps said. “It is directly linked to the food crisis.”
The group warned that full recovery of Gaza's cropland could be hindered for years if Israel continued its restriction on goods delivery and the contamination of land and water was not addressed.
An October ceasefire stopped heavy fighting in the Gaza war, which began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
A senior US State Department official says Iran's “illegal behaviour” in the Strait of Hormuz should serve as a “wake-up call” for global energy security.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker spoke at a gathering of Baltic, Black, and Adriatic Sea countries on Tuesday in Croatia, saying that more needs to be done to diversify supplies and connect to avoid future problems.
“Iran's illegal behaviour in the Strait of Hormuz should be a wake-up call for all of us with regard to the need to secure our supply chains and reduce our dependencies on unreliable countries and geographies,” Hooker said during a panel discussion in the southern Adriatic Sea city of Dubrovnik.
“We all need to do more,” Hooker said. “The world is changing under our feet.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked in a Fox News interview about Iran's latest proposal, which would postpone discussions on its nuclear program but end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade and ends the war.
“There's no doubt in my mind that at some point in the future, if this radical clerical regime remains in charge in Iran, they will decide they want a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
“That fundamental issue still has to be confronted,” he said. “That still remains the core issue here.”
Asked if he thinks the Iranians are serious about a deal, Rubio said they are skilled negotiators looking to buy time.
“We can't let them get away with it,” Rubio said. “We have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point.”