Iran yesterday hit an oil tanker off the coast of Qatar, as well as Kuwait’s airport, while airstrikes battered Tehran — hours after US President Donald Trump said that he was nearly ready to wind down the war.
Trump, who was scheduled to address the US after press time last night, said that he could walk away from the war in two to three weeks once he felt confident Iran would not be able to build a nuclear weapon — even if Tehran does not agree to a ceasefire.
Trump said that the US “will not have anything to do with” what happens next in Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed by Iran.
Photo: EPA
Instead, the responsibility for keeping the strait open would rest with countries that rely on it, he said.
Gulf states rely on the waterway for exports and imports, including food, and 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows through it.
It was not clear what Israel, which began bombing Iran alongside the US on Feb. 28, would do if Washington pulls out without a deal.
Meanwhile, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” Araghchi told al-Jazeera. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Amid the war, oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 40 percent since the start of the war, trading at more than US$103 a barrel yesterday.
The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened and for Tehran’s nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. Its own five-point response includes retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with al-Jazeera, Araghchi said that direct messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff had been received.
However, there were no direct negotiations, he said, adding that Iran has no faith that talks with the US could yield any results, saying: “The trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any US attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying: “We are waiting for them.”
Meanwhile, a cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast, the Qatari Ministry of Defense said.
The 21-member crew of the tanker, contracted by state-owned QatarEnergy, was evacuated and no casualties were reported.
In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
Bahrain sounded two alerts for incoming missiles, while Kuwait’s state-run news agency, KUNA, said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire.
Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia, and air raid sirens sounded in Israel, although there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An airstrike on Tehran appeared to have hit the former US embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since US diplomats were held hostage there in 1979.
Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out and that it appears the strike happened inside the walled facility.
Israel also said it hit a plant in Iran producing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
Israel and the US have alleged in recent years that Iran was experimenting with using fentanyl in chemical weapons.
In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war.
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