By ADAM SCHRECK and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals on ending the war, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.
Hope that the two-month conflict could soon end buoyed international markets on Thursday, even as the U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports hours earlier. The developments followed days of mixed messaging from the Trump administration over its strategy to end the war.
Trump posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart. But he said that depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that he did not detail.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.
A fragile ceasefir e between the U.S. and Iran has largely held since April 8. But in-person talks between the two countries hosted by Pakistan last month failed to reach an agreement. The war began Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
Pakistan says it expects a deal soon
“We expect an agreement sooner rather than later,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday. “We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well.”
But he declined to give a timeline, saying Pakistan would not disclose details of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
“What I can tell you and this is what I have stated before that we remain positive, we remain optimist, and we hope the settlement will be soon rather than later,” he said.
Asked whether Pakistan was expecting any response from Iran later Thursday, Andrabi said: “I will not comment on specifics or the movement of the messages.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking in televised remarks Thursday, said Islamabad remained in “continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire.”
A shifting narrative of the war
The Trump administration’s messaging throughout the Iran war has been shifting and often contradictory. This week, the president and his aides presented a dizzying narrative over the U.S. strategy to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and wrap up the war that drastically changed over the course of mere hours.
Iran has effectively shut the strait, a vital waterway for the shipment of supplies of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products, while the U.S. is blockading Iranian ports.
On Wednesday, a U.S. fighter jet shot out the rudder of an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to breach the American blockade, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.
Trump suggests U.S. might force a deal with Tehran
Trump insisted Wednesday that Iranian officials want to end the war.
“We’re dealing with people that want to make a deal very much, and we’ll see whether or not they can make a deal that’s satisfactory to us,” the president said.
He suggested the U.S. could ultimately force a settlement.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump said on social media, “and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
The White House believes it is near an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by the news outlet Axios. Provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, lifting of U.S. sanctions, distribution of frozen Iranian funds and opening the strait for ships.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the possible agreement.
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, told state TV that Tehran had “strongly rejected” U.S. proposals reported by Axios, but that it was still examining the latest U.S. proposal.
US effort to reopen Strait of Hormuz suspended
Trump has sought to increase pressure on Tehran after suspending on Tuesday a short-lived U.S. effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to force open a safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route after it opened Monday. The U.S. military said it sank six Iranian small boats threatening civilian ships.
Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf, unable to reach the open sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait’s closure has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers such as China.
Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, said in a statement that the strait’s shutdown is costing it around $60 million per week, with rising fuel and insurance costs hitting particularly hard.
On Thursday, the price of Brent crude oil stabilized at around $100 a barrel as investors waited to see whether the strait would reopen.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France’s aircraft carrier strike group was moving into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential French-British mission to restore maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as conditions allow.
China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire Wednesday after meeting in Beijing with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict.
China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the strait.
Iranian envoy visits China ahead of Trump
Araghchi’s visit to China came ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Trump, who is scheduled to attend a high-profile summit on May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump was the last U.S. president to visit China in 2017.
Araghchi told Iranian state TV that his visit included discussions about the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Trump has demanded a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Joshua Boak and Ben Finley in Washington, Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed.
