In Brief
- Iran said it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries.
- Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s energy and desalination plants, along with Kharg Island.
President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Iran, threatening to destroy its energy plants and oil wells if the nation continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. This comes after Iran dismissed U.S. peace proposals as “unrealistic” and launched missile attacks on Israel.
In response, the Israeli military reported intercepting two drones from Yemen on Tuesday, just days after the Iran-backed Houthis fired missiles at Israel. Additionally, rockets were launched into Israel by Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Israel retaliated with missile strikes, targeting military sites in Tehran and Hezbollah’s infrastructure in Beirut. This led to plumes of black smoke over the Lebanese capital.
In a related incident, Türkiye’s defense ministry stated that a ballistic missile from Iran entered Turkish airspace before being intercepted by NATO defenses in the eastern Mediterranean. This marks the fourth such occurrence since the conflict began.
US troops arrive in region
The region is seeing the arrival of thousands of U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, according to two U.S. officials. This reinforcement aims to broaden Trump’s strategic options, potentially including military deployments within Iranian borders.
Despite these developments, Tehran remains defiant amid the ongoing conflict, which originated from U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. The war has since spread throughout the region, resulting in thousands of casualties, disruption of energy supplies, and significant impacts on the global economy.
The majority of those reported killed were in Iran and Lebanon, and many were civilians.
Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Revolutionary Guards Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri, the latest of its leaders killed including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei.
The Iranians have effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries, following talks on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
But Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.
“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a press conference.
Soon after Baghaei’s remarks, Trump said in a social media post that the US was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in Iran, but he also issued a new warning over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.
Trump also threatened to attack the desalination plants that supply clean water in Iran. He said last week he would pause attacks on Iran’s energy plants for 10 days, which would be until 6 April.
A Pakistani security official, whose country is trying to mediate in the war, said that at this stage it appeared unlikely there would be direct US-Iran talks this week.
Baghaei also said Iran’s parliament was reviewing a possible exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognises the right to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy as long as nuclear weapons are not pursued.
Trump has cited preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons as one of the reasons for attacking Iran on 28 February.
Iran denies it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.
On Sunday, Trump said the US and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly”. But he has also been sending more US troops to the region and Iran has remained defiant, maintaining its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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