US President Donald Trump sent a peace plan to Iran as he voiced optimism on Tuesday about ending nearly a month of warfare, with Tehran announcing it will allow “non-hostile” oil vessels to pass through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The tentative signs of a diplomatic solution came despite renewed violence, with an Iranian missile causing injuries in Israel, which in turn pressed on multiple fronts and vowed to seize control of a strip of southern Lebanon.
Trump, whose recent pronouncements have swung widely from threatening massive attacks on Iran to declaring the nearly month-long war virtually over, said the United States was “in negotiations right now” with Iran — which has not confirmed any formal talks.
“They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“That meant one thing to me — we’re dealing with the right people.”
He did not elaborate but said it related to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blockaded in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, sending global energy prices soaring.
Iran, in a message circulated by the International Maritime Organization shortly afterwards, assured safe passage to “non-hostile vessels” transiting the strait, the gateway for one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Iran had already said in recent days it was not targeting friendly nations, although many vessels have stayed away as insurers refuse to take the risk.
Benchmark crude prices fell by nearly six per cent following the latest developments. Fuel prices in the United States had surged during the conflict, creating a political headache for Trump.
New nuclear deal?
Trump had earlier threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants — which some argue would constitute a war crime — if it did not reopen the strait by late Monday, Washington time. Before US markets opened on Monday, he abruptly extended that deadline by five days, citing diplomatic progress.
Pakistan’s prime minister has offered to host US–Iran talks, which Trump said would involve senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance.
Trump said he had sent a plan and that it “all starts with: they cannot have a nuclear weapon”.
The New York Times, citing unnamed officials, reported that the United States had sent a 15-point plan to Iran via Pakistan.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Trump is proposing a one-month ceasefire during which both sides would discuss a framework including the transfer of Iran’s enriched uranium and a ban on further enrichment.
Iran would also guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
In return, Iran would see all sanctions lifted — measures that have been imposed in various forms for years — according to the report.
Iran would also receive assistance in developing civilian nuclear energy at Bushehr, a key site dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran on Tuesday accused Israel of carrying out a second strike on Bushehr, which lies dangerously close to Gulf Arab population centres.
“The sounds, the explosions, the missiles — they are part of our daily life now,” a 35-year-old woman in Tehran told AFP by telephone. “Our one real concern now is that our oil and gas infrastructure is not targeted by missile strikes.”
Iran had agreed in 2015 to significant curbs on its disputed nuclear programme under a deal that Trump withdrew from during his first term, aligning with Israel in exerting pressure on the clerical establishment.
The reported new proposal would leave the Islamic Republic in place, despite earlier calls for regime change by Trump and especially Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Troops en route despite diplomacy
Despite Trump’s stated hopes for diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is planning to deploy 3,000 troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
Trump’s envoys had been negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran just two days before the United States and Israel launched a large-scale attack on 28 February, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day.
Iranian missiles have increasingly penetrated Israeli defences, with AFP images showing rubble-strewn streets in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv. On Tuesday, more than a dozen people were injured in Israel, including an infant, according to first responders.
Israel said it carried out a “large wave” of airstrikes across multiple areas of Iran. Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said the war plan remained “unchanged” despite Trump’s remarks and that operations would continue “to deepen the damage and remove existential threats”.
Israel has also intensified its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, stating that its military would take control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres from the border.
Israel — which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000 — launched fresh strikes across the country. Late on Tuesday, the Israeli military warned residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah strongholds, to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes.
The Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million, according to officials. A further nine people were killed in strikes in the south, authorities said.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on 2 March in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei.
Lebanon, whose central government has long been fragile, has taken a more assertive stance by ordering the Iranian ambassador to leave by Sunday, accusing Tehran of interference and directing Hezbollah’s operations.
Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all reported intercepting renewed drone and missile attacks as Iran continued retaliatory strikes on US-allied Gulf states.
Kuwait reported a fire at its main airport after drones struck a fuel tank.
