US President Donald Trump warned Iran Thursday to engage in talks to end the Middle East war “before it is too late”, after Tehran publicly spurned US overtures to resolve the nearly four-week conflict.
Trump’s warning came as Israel said it had killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ navy, calling him “directly responsible” for throttling the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane since the war’s outbreak.
Hopes for a negotiated end to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has engulfed much of the region, rose after Washington was said to have put a peace plan to Tehran, only for the Islamic republic to deny the sides were speaking.
But Pakistan’s top diplomat confirmed Thursday Islamabad was indeed facilitating “US-Iran indirect talks” by relaying messages – and that a 15-point American plan was being “deliberated upon” by Tehran.
“They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!” Trump warned on social media, saying Iran had been “militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback”.
Iran’s top diplomat flatly denied Wednesday “negotiations” were engaged with Trump’s administration – but did concede messages were being exchanged through “friendly countries”.
“At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance”, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV.
Islamabad has been touted as a go-between given its longstanding ties with both neighbouring Iran and the United States, as well as its network of regional contacts.
Posting on X, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said “brotherly countries” Turkey, Egypt and others, were also supporting the process – while the Gulf Cooperation Council said it wanted to be involved in any talks.
Conflict spreads east
Under near-daily bombardment since February 28, Iran was hit by a new wave of Israeli strikes on Thursday – one of which Israel said had killed the Guards’ navy commander, Alireza Tangsiri, and several senior officers.
Defence Minister Israel Katz called Tangsiri “directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.”
Elsewhere, the Israeli army was conducting what it called “wide-scale” strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure.
Local media reported attacks in the central cities of Isfahan and Shiraz, in Bandar Abbas in the south and Tabriz in the northwest – but also Mashhad and Birjand, towards the Afghan border in an area largely spared until now.
Iran, in turn, kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel, where medics said six people were lightly wounded by missile attacks.
Fresh violence also flared in the Gulf, with two people killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia said it shot down at least 18 drones, and Kuwait reported a new missile and drone attack.
