US launches new 'self-defence' strikes on Iran amid ceasefire

Iran accuses US of ‘despicable war crime’ after strike on sports hall kills 24

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday accused the US of committing a “despicable war crime” following a missile strike on a sports hall in Lamerd, Fars Province, that Tehran says killed 24 civilians, including teenage volleyball players and a two-year-old child, while injuring more than 130 people.

Mexico to host Iran’s World Cup team after US refusal

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said that her government has agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team.

Sheinbaum said football’s governing body FIFA approached her government after the U.S. said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there.

“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference.

Trump says Iran’s enriched uranium must be destroyed or handed over to US

Trump said in a social media post early on Tuesday he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.

The nuclear fuel “will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.

It was not clear whether he meant this would be part of a potential accord with Iran, and the commission he cited was abolished in 1974.

Qatar quashes reports of offering $12 billion to Iran for deal

The spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majed Al Ansari has denied reports that the Gulf state “offered” $12 billion to Iran to secure a deal.

He said the reports are being circulated by parties attempting to sabotage the deal and undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts toward regional de-escalation & stability.

“Qatar’s diplomatic role, in coordination with regional partners, is well established and publicly documented, and such narratives are nothing more than desperate attempts to tarnish Qatar’s reputation as a trusted international peace facilitator,” he added in a post on X.

Day 49 of ceasefire: A recap of overnight developments

As the fragile truce between US-Israel and Iran continues in hopes of a peace deal to end the war in the Middle East, here’s what transpired in the past day:

• Explosions heard in Iran’s Bandar Abbas city, their state media reported around midnight, adding that the cause was unknown.

• Iran’s Mehr news agency said the situation in Bandar Abbas was under control and there was no cause for concern

• US Central Command says military carried out strikes in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would reopen “one way or the other”

• Trump says he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the US to be destroyed

• US crude futures fell more than 6 per cent in early Asian trade on Tuesday after Nikkei reported that the US and Iran are discussing a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

• Iran’s top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha on Monday for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential deal with the US to end the war

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discussed the war in Ukraine and situation in Iran

Rubio says Strait of Hormuz has to be open ‘one way or the other’ 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz has to be open, “one way or the other”, when referring to US strikes on Iran on Monday.

“The straits have to be open, they’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open,” Rubio told reporters on his plane in India’s Jaipur.

He said the negotiating language of the deal with Iran could “take a few days”.

Situation under control, cause unknown: Iranian media after blasts

Explosions were heard in Iran’s Bandar Abbas city and coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported on Monday, adding that the cause was unknown.

Iran’s Mehr news agency said the situation in Bandar Abbas was under control and there was no cause for concern after the explosions were heard east of the city. It said official sources had not yet commented.

The Tasnim news agency said three explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, while the Fars news agency said similar sounds were heard close to Sirik and Jask near the strategic waterway.

US hits Iran with new strikes, despite ceasefire

Day 49 of the fragile truce began with US forces attacking missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, according to the US Central Command.

The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks to end the months-long conflict, and as the Israeli military stepped up hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

It gave no details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines.”

The strikes threatened the ceasefire that began April 8 as the US and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.

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