Main points
- US president Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran’s response to a peace proposal from Washington
- “I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without giving further detail
- The US had proposed an end to fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program
- Iran’s response focused on ending the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hizbullah
- Trump’s response sent sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on
- Oil prices are around 50 per cent higher after the US and Israel attacked Iran, which is keeping shipping in the Strait of Hormuz paralyzed
- Trump is expected in Beijing on Wednesday and is set to ask China to use its influence to push Iran to make a deal
Key Reads
Jade Wilson – 16 minutes ago
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the strait since a ceasefire began.
On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two drones coming from Iran, while Qatar condemned a drone attack that hit a cargo ship coming from Abu Dhabi in its waters. Kuwait said its air defences had dealt with hostile drones that entered its airspace.
Clashes have also continued in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hizbullah, despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in April.
Jade Wilson – 24 minutes ago
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke as it rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Mayfadoun on Monday. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images Trump travels to Beijing this week to meet Xi Jinping
Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday. With mounting pressure to draw a line under the war and the global energy crisis it has ignited, Iran is among the topics Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping are set to discuss.
Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington.
Addressing whether combat operations against Iran were over, Trump said in remarks aired on Sunday: “They are defeated, but that doesn’t mean they’re done.”
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the war was not over because there was “more work to be done” to remove enriched uranium from Iran, dismantle enrichment sites and address Iran’s proxies and ballistic missile capabilities.
The best way to remove the enriched uranium would be through diplomacy, Netanyahu said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “60 Minutes”. But he did not rule out removing it by force.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post that Iran would “never bow down to the enemy” and would “defend national interests with strength”. – Reuters
Oil prices rise as US-Iran stalemate continues
Oil prices jumped more than $4 (€3.40) a barrel on Monday following news of the continued stalemate that leaves the narrow Strait of Hormuz largely closed.
Before the war began on February 28th, the waterway carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, and it has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.
“The oil market continues to trade like a geopolitical headline machine, with prices swinging sharply based on every comment, rejection, or warning coming from Washington and Tehran,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
While traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a trickle compared to before the war, shipping data on Kpler and LSEG showed three tankers laden with crude exited the waterway last week, with trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attack.
Surveys show the war is unpopular with US voters facing sharply higher gasoline prices less than six months before nationwide elections that will determine whether Donald Trump’s Republican party retains control of Congress. – Reuters
Trump rejects ‘totally unacceptable’ Iran response
President Donald Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response to a US peace proposal sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.
Days after the US floated an offer in the hopes of re-opening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hizbullah militants.
Tehran also included a demand for compensation for war damage and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV said.
It also called on the US to end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and end a US ban on Iranian oil sales, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Within hours, Trump dismissed Iran’s proposal with a post on social media.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without giving further detail. The US had proposed an end to fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. – Reuters