Iran says it will not open the Strait of Hormuz unless the US stops blockading its ports.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh says no date has been set for a new round of face-to-face talks with the US and slams Washington’s refusal to abandon its “maximalist” demands.
US President Trump has no justification to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, the Iranian Student News Agency has quoted Iran’s President Pezeshkian as saying.
His comments come as Washington and Tehran continue to face disagreements over nuclear issues.
“Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights, but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian said.
Trump says the Naval blockade on Iranian ports will remain in force until there is a deal, and warns that Washington will not be blackmailed by Tehran.
Two Pakistani security sources say negotiations between the United States and Iran will likely be held before Friday.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, they said their conclusion is based on several factors.
“Two US heavy airlift aircraft, C-17 Globemasters, have landed at Noor Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi”, near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
They added that “roads from the airport to Islamabad’s Red Zone have been temporarily closed, indicating heightened security arrangements”.
Lastly, the sources said that “both the Serena and Marriott hotels in Islamabad are being cleared of guests with no new bookings allowed until Friday”.
The Serena hotel was the venue for the first round of negotiations between the US and Iran on April 11.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued to breach the cease agreement as it launched attacks on southern Lebanon, and says it has established what it calls a “yellow line” – similar to the one it imposed in Gaza.
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, says there must be an end to all Israeli aggression, and he called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory up to the internationally recognised border.
Qassem said civilians must return home, and there must be reconstruction of destroyed villages.
This is at odds with what Israel wants and is doing, occupying villages about 10km (6.2 miles) inside Lebanon, and having conducted systematic demolitions with explosives, meaning there are many thousands of people who can’t go back.
Israel has said they should not return to their homes. This is, though, one of Hezbollah’s demands that Israeli forces must withdraw to the internationally recognised border. So this appears to be a major sticking point.
French President Emmanuel Macron has blamed Hezbollah for an attack that killed a French peacekeeping soldier in Lebanon. The armed group denied the claim.
Major-General Mohammed al-Atifi, minister of defence of Yemen’s Houthi-led government, says the group is “on high alert to confront any aggression against the Yemeni people”.
“The latest round of conflict with the Zionist and American enemy embodied the unity of fronts and proved the effectiveness of the military operations of the jihad and resistance axis against the enemy,” al-Atifi said in a statement.
The Houthis formally entered the US-Israel war on Iran in late March by launching multiple long-range ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, marking a new front in the conflict.
The militia vowed to continue attacks until the war stops, utilising its arsenal to attack sensitive military sites and threatening to expand attacks to maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
Al Jazeera
