US, Iran receive ceasefire proposal as both sides ramp up attacks, threats

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WASHINGTON – Iran and the United States received the framework of a plan to end hostilities a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it does not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his April 7 deadline.

The peace plan involves a two-tier approach, with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has been in contact “all night long” with US Vice-President JD Vance, Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a source aware of the proposals said on April 6.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran was reviewing the proposal, but that it would not accept deadlines and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of a temporary ceasefire.

Axios first reported on April 5 that the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing US, Israeli and regional sources.

Iran launched fresh attacks across the Middle East on April 6 and warned of “devastating” retaliation in response to Mr Trump’s bellicose social media posts meant to pressure Tehran into agreeing to a deal and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reported a barrage of missile and drone strikes early on April 6.

Tehran’s central military command warned of “much more devastating” retaliation if its adversaries hit civilian targets.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy chokepoint, provoking Mr Trump to demand on April 5: “Open the F**** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.”

In a terse follow-up post, the president apparently set a new deadline for Iran to comply: “Tuesday, 8:00 PM” (8am on April 8, Singapore time).

As Christians marked Easter, Mr Trump revived warnings of air strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges, after celebrating the rescue of a wounded airman whose fighter jet went down inside Iran.

Iranian images showed wreckage of several aircraft, but Tehran did not deny US forces rescued the officer, who sheltered in a mountainous area while American special forces and Iranian troops raced to find him.

Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the airman’s rescue that he would give a news conference on April 6.

The war, which erupted on Feb 28 with deadly US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, has engulfed the Middle East and strained the global economy.

Iranian missiles have hit Israeli cities and economic infrastructure in the Gulf, sending world energy prices soaring.

Oil opened higher in early trading in Asia on April 6, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate up 1.86 per cent to US$113.62 (S$146.21) a barrel and Brent above US$110.

While Mr Trump told Fox News that Iran was “close” to making a deal, security analyst Danny Citrinowicz said “the prospect of a negotiated agreement with Iran, at least under current conditions, is close to non-existent”.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” he declared, drawing a rebuke from Tehran, which accused Mr Trump of taking orders from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on social media that “our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands”.

Iran’s ally Russia also condemned Mr Trump’s threat.

Moscow said Washington should abandon “the language of ultimatums” and return to negotiations, according to a Russian readout of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s latest call with his Iranian counterpart.

Many residents of Tehran seemed indifferent to Mr Trump’s invective, with young Iranians exercising, flying kites and holding picnics in a large park in the city’s west on April 5.

US rescue mission

The New York Times reported that the rescued US airman, a weapons systems officer, was equipped with a pistol, a beacon and a secure communications device to coordinate with rescuers.

Two of the aircraft meant to transport him and his rescuers to safety were stuck in a remote base in Iran and had to be destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands, The Times and CBS reported.

US forces then used three other transport planes to carry the airman and his rescuers out of Iran, the reports said.

Iran’s military said it had destroyed four US aircraft involved in the operation, which it said had made use of an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province.

Iranian media reported five people were killed in strikes during the operation.

Footage released by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was presented as showing charred, smoking wreckage of an American aircraft scattered across a desert area.

Iran has said its forces downed the fighter jet and the crew ejected, while US media reported only that the plane had been shot down. Washington has not confirmed what caused the plane to come down.

‘Deaths of thousands’

Gulf nations reported a wave of fresh strikes from April 5 to 6, with Kuwait saying it was working to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired towards the territory.

The United Arab Emirates also said on April 6 its air defences were responding to a missile and drone attack.

It came after UAE authorities in Sharjah said they were dealing with an “incident” in the key port of Khor Fakkan following an Iranian strike.

Israel’s army also said on April 6 it had identified a fresh wave of missiles launched from Iran towards the country.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash warned Iran that targeting its Arab neighbours “will actually concretise the American role... It will not reduce it”.

“We will also see Israeli influence become more prominent in the Gulf, not less,” he added, confirming the UAE was ready to “join any American-led effort, international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

In Iran, local media reported several attacks on residential areas over Tehran on April 6, while the state broadcaster said gas outages hit parts of the capital after a strike on a university.

Israel’s army said early on April 6 it completed a wave of strikes against “regime targets” in Tehran.

On another front, Lebanon has increasingly been drawn into the conflict since the Iran-backed Hezbollah group began targeting Israel.

Israel has struck back and pushed its ground forces into southern Lebanon, with the army chief Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir visiting troops there on April 6 and pledging to intensify strikes against Hezbollah.

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have warned that attacks by Israel and Hezbollah near its positions “could potentially draw return fire”.

The Israeli military and medics said a missile fired from Iran hit a residential building in the northern city of Haifa, injuring four people.

The war has cast a shadow over Easter Sunday celebrations for Christians in Lebanon and across the region.

The usually lively alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City were unusually silent on April 6.

The Israeli authorities restricted access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where worshippers commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

“It’s very hard for all of us because it’s our holiday... It’s really hard to want to pray but to come here and find nothing. Everything is closed,” said 44-year-old Christina Toderas from Romania.

In Beirut, hymn singers at a church in the northern suburb of Jdeideh struggled to be heard above the roar of Israeli fighter jets flying low over the city and bombing its southern suburbs.

An Israeli strike on April 5 targeting an apartment building in a town east of Beirut killed three people, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

In his Easter blessing at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV urged “those who have the power to unleash wars” to “choose peace”. AFP, REUTERS