Trump says Iran had ‘better get serious soon’ in US talks

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump warned Iran on March 26 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.

Mr 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 Strait of Hormuz 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 confirmed on March 26 it was indeed facilitating “US-Iran indirect talks” by relaying messages – and that a 15-point US 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!” Mr Trump warned on social media, saying Iran had been “militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback”.

Iran’s foreign minister on March 25 flatly denied that “negotiations” had been engaged with Mr Trump’s administration – but did concede messages were being exchanged through “friendly countries”.

“We seek an end to the war on our own terms,” Mr 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.

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 Feb 28, Iran was hit by a new wave of Israeli strikes on March 26 – one of which Israel said had “blown up and eliminated” the Guards’ naval commander, Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, and several senior officers.

Defence Minister Israel Katz blamed Commodore Tangsiri for throttling the vital Hormuz shipping lane, which Iran is blocking to all but “non-hostile” vessels, with Malaysia, for instance, saying its tankers were being allowed passage.

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 north-west – but also Mashhad and Birjand, towards the Afghan border in an area largely spared until now.

Off the coast from Bandar Abbas on Qeshm – the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf – one local resident told AFP via Telegram that he hoped the site would not be taken over by the military.

“The suffering of people, the poverty, and the political oppression have been getting worse every year,” said 42-year-old Sadeq.

“I don’t think war is the solution to these conditions, but ending it won’t change much for us either,” he said. “Our bigger war is with the Islamic republic.”

Iran, in turn, kept up retaliatory attacks on several parts of Israel, where falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles wounded seven people.

And fresh violence flared in the Gulf, with two killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, and drones fired at both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

‘Top person’

Iran has targeted Gulf nations it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes, including hits on energy sites and other civilian infrastructure that threaten lasting damage to the world economy.

Crude prices had fallen since last week, but the wavering messages on talks saw oil prices jump again on March 26, with equities mixed.

Mr Trump has accused Tehran officials of covering up ongoing talks for fear of becoming assassination targets, following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The White House has declined to identify the “top person” it is speaking with in Iran, beyond saying it is not the late leader’s son Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to be injured and has not been seen since succeeding his father.

To avenge Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing, pro-Iran Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2, drawing Lebanon into the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had “created a genuine security zone” in southern Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed on March 26.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, launched a new volley of missiles at military sites in central Israel, after its chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel­ would amount to “surrender”. AFP