EXPLAINER
Iran says it wants talks, but blames US “breach of commitments, blockade and threats” for stalling negotiations.
Senior Iranian officials have blamed Washington for stalled peace talks, citing the United States naval blockade of the country’s ports as a key obstacle, as tensions escalate at sea, with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps capturing two foreign vessels and opening fire on a third.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran seeks “dialogue and agreement”, but that “breach of commitments, blockade and threats” are hindering negotiations, while the White House said US President Donald Trump has set no deadline for the ceasefire extension, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stressing the timing will be the president’s decision.
Here is what we know:
In Iran
- Reopening Hormuz ‘not possible’: Iran’s parliament speaker said his country would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US naval blockade remained in place, calling the latter a “blatant violation” of the two countries’ ceasefire.
- Naval incidents escalate: Iran’s IRGC reported that they captured two foreign vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and opened fire on a third ship for violating their restrictions on ships passing through the waterway.
War diplomacy
- No deadline for Iran peace plan: Trump has not set a deadline by which Iran must submit a peace proposal, the White House said on Wednesday. “The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I’ve seen today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief,” Leavitt told journalists.
- Lebanon-Israel talks face ‘functional flaws’: Mark Kimmitt, a retired US Army brigadier general and former assistant secretary of state, told Al Jazeera that Washington, DC talks aimed at reinforcing a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon are undermined by the absence of Hezbollah. “We have Israel, Lebanon and the United States there; we don’t have Hezbollah,” he said.
In the US
- Pentagon shake-up: Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon chief, fired Navy Secretary John Phelan, marking the 34th senior official removed under the Trump administration. Undersecretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy combat veteran, has been named acting head of the Navy.
- Senate rejects war powers resolution: The US Senate voted 55-46 to defeat a measure led by Tammy Baldwin, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, to curb Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran, marking the fifth such failed attempt; most Democrats backed it alongside Republican Rand Paul, while most Republicans opposed it along with Democrat John Fetterman, with three senators, including Democrat Mark Warner, not voting.
- US enforces Iran blockade: The US Central Command said it has turned back 31 vessels, mostly oil tankers, as part of a large-scale naval blockade involving at least 10,000 soldiers, 17 warships and more than 100 aircraft.
- Blockade ‘pressuring’ Iran: Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Trump believes the ongoing naval blockade is increasing economic pressure on Iran to push it back to talks.
In Israel
- ‘Serious disagreements’: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel does not have any “serious disagreements” with Lebanon, calling Hezbollah “the obstacle to peace and normalisation”.
In Lebanon and Gaza
- Journalist killed, colleague wounded in Israeli attack: Israeli air attacks in southern Lebanon killed at least five people, including Amal Khalil, a correspondent for Al Akhbar, and wounded freelance journalist Zeinab Faraj on Wednesday, despite an ongoing ceasefire.
- Reporters ‘pursued’, rescuers hit: Reporting from Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett said the two reporters were attacked by follow-up Israeli strikes in al-Tayri, with Lebanon’s Ministry of Health saying they were “pursued” as they sheltered; they were pinned down as access roads were hit, and a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance evacuating one came under a stun grenade and gunfire, forcing withdrawal, while the other was later found dead after hours-long recovery efforts.
- Israel hits Gaza, killing five: Three children were among the five Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on a group of civilians near Al-Qassam Mosque in Beit Lahiya, in the north, Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said Wednesday.
