Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. strikes a day earlier as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations continue toward a possible deal to end the war.
The U.S. military said it acted with restraint in defensively targeting missile launch sites and boats placing mines. Iran’s foreign ministry called the strikes a ceasefire violation and warned that “The Islamic Republic of Iran will leave no act of aggression unanswered.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday said it had shot down and deterred drones and a fighter jet that entered its airspace, according to Iran’s official Mizan news agency, which did not say when this happened.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went to Qatar as part of the talks. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said an explosion was reported Tuesday morning aboard a tanker in the Gulf of Oman. No one was injured and there was no immediate information on the cause.
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Rubio says Iran deal talks will take several more days
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says talks with Iran on extending a ceasefire and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz will take several more days.
Speaking to reporters before leaving India on Tuesday after the U.S. launched new strikes against Iran in the south despite the ceasefire, Rubio said there is “a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document.”
“So, it’ll take a few days,” he said. He added that Trump would not accept a bad deal and said the critical point at the moment is reopening the Strait of Hormuz without Iran being allowed to charge a toll for ships to pass through the crucial waterway.
“The straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls,” he said.
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President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations are “proceeding nicely,” while reiterating his warning that fighting would resume if no deal is reached.
