He questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy in the ongoing consultations to find a way out of the conflict in the Middle East, without, however, making anything known about his response to Washington’s latest proposal.
A month after a ceasefire went into effect, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made his skepticism known during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the day after fresh clashes in Gulf waters.
“and the multiple violations of the ceasefire raise suspicions about the motives and the seriousness of the American side on the path of diplomacy,” Aragchi said, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
In Washington, President Donald Trump said for his part yesterday, Friday, that he expects an Iranian response in the evening to a proposal aimed at putting a permanent end to hostilities.
“I should get a letter tonight, so we’ll see how that goes,” he had assured reporters.
For his part, the representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghai, said, according to state television, that Iran is still studying the American proposal.
The naval blockade against Iran continues
The US naval blockade against Iran continues, according to the country’s military, which claims its forces have diverted 58 merchant ships and disabled four since April 13 to prevent the ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Clashes at sea
The US armed forces announced yesterday, Friday, that they had “neutralized” from the air two Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the gateway to the Straits of Hormuz.
Although the ships were empty of cargo, according to the military, images released by the US military command in charge of the region (CENTOM) show columns of thick smoke rising from the ships.
Tehran denounced to the UN a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire.
A military source cited by Tasnim news agency confirmed that Iranian forces responded. “After a period of exchange of fire, the fighting has now stopped and calm has been restored,” he said.
Tensions in Lebanon amid diplomatic processes
The and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire on Saturday, . Israel struck targets in towns and villages in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s state news agency, while the Israeli military later issued evacuation warnings for several other towns in the border region, suggesting airstrikes were imminent.
Envoys from Israel and Lebanon are due to meet next week in Washington for two days of talks aimed at brokering a long-term resolution to the conflict, which threatens to derail President Trump’s parallel diplomatic efforts with Iran, with Tehran now openly skeptical of Washington’s intentions.
Dead and wounded from Israeli strikes
Lebanon’s health ministry announced that an Israeli strike in the southern part of the country killed seven people, including a little girl.
In a statement, the ministry states that “the raid by the Israeli enemy against the city of Saksakige, in the Sidon region, had an initial count of seven martyrs, including a little girl, and 15 wounded, including three children.”
Lebanese authorities earlier today announced the death of a Syrian national, who was targeted by an Israeli drone along with his 12-year-old daughter, in fresh strikes by Israel after it had previously called for the evacuation of nine settlements in southern Lebanon.
Early this afternoon, the official Lebanese news agency ANI also reported three Israeli strikes south of Beirut, about 20 kilometers from the capital.
An AFP correspondent saw two vehicles hit and rescuers working along the highway that connects the capital with the southern regions of the country.
Despite the ceasefire, which Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating, Israeli warplanes “struck the town of Zarigeh after a morning warning”, ANI reported, while also bombing other zones mentioned in the evacuation order.
The agency said there were casualties in a strike targeting a vehicle between those two locations, without elaborating. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire also hit, according to the same source, sectors of southern Lebanon that were not included in the evacuation order.
The health ministry denounced a “barbaric” act and “deliberate violence against civilians and children” after Israeli drone attacks on a motorcycle in Nabatieh, outside the evacuation zones.
“The Syrian national and his 12-year-old daughter” who were targeted “managed to move away from the site of the first strike”, but “the drone attacked a second time” killing the father and then a third time, targeting the little girl, who is undergoing surgery, the ministry clarified.
