Oil prices fell and stocks rose on Wednesday after Donald Trump said he had sent a peace plan to Iran, and that Tehran had agreed it would never obtain a nuclear weapon.
Brent crude fell about 7 per cent to below $100 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $87.
The US is proposing a month-long ceasefire to discuss terms of a 15-point plan that includes the dismantling of Iran’s main nuclear sites, uranium enrichment programme, temporarily ending its ballistic missile programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, US and Israeli media reported.
Trump claimed that Iran had already agreed to his biggest demand to stop the war on Tehran. “They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that,” he said. Despite Trump’s push to end the war, the US is also reportedly preparing to send more troops to the Middle East.
The Pentagon ordered about 2,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to begin moving to the region, The New York Times reported, citing defence officials. The brigade can send paratroopers and equipment anywhere in the world within 18 hours.
Iran says US is negotiating with itself
The US is negotiating with itself, an Iranian military spokesperson said, a day after US president Donald Trump said Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East.
A 15-point plan aimed at ending the conflict was drafted by Washington and sent to Tehran.
“Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you negotiating with yourself?” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for the unified command of Iran’s armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said, taunting the US leadership.
“People like us can never get along with people like you.”
Mr Zolfaqari said US investments and pre-war energy prices would not return as long as Washington does not accept that regional stability is guaranteed by Iranian armed forces.
Palestinians gather around the remnants of an Iranian missile
Israeli strikes kill four in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least four Palestinians and injured several others, health officials in the Hamas-run strip said.
Flights between Australia and New Zealand cancelled
The Qantas-owned airline Jetstar has announced it is reducing flights between Australia and New Zealand due to the rising cost of jet fuel.
“We have made some temporary changes to our schedule, including due to a rise in jet fuel prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East and other rising costs,” a Jetstar NZ spokesperson said.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their understanding.”
The airline said at least 12 per cent of services on some flights between Auckland and Sydney, and between Auckland and Brisbane, will be impacted from May.
Israeli strikes kill 12 in Tehran, officials say
At least 12 people were killed in Tehran and 28 others sustained injuries in an “enemy attack” on the residential areas of Varamin, Iranian officials said this morning.
Israel struck the Iranian capital this morning, Israeli military and Iranian media said.
Joint US-Israeli strikes and retaliatory Iranian action
Israel strikes Tehran even as Trump offers ‘peace plan’
Israel struck the Iranian capital Tehran this morning, even as president Donald Trump said the US was making progress in efforts to negotiate an end to the war, with reports of a 15-point plan sent to Tehran.
The Israeli Defense Forces said it launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. Iran’s semi-official SNN News Agency reported the strikes hit a residential area, with rescuers searching through the rubble.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they had repelled fresh drone attacks on Wednesday, without stating their origin. Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
Iranian general dismisses Trump’s claims over talks
The Iranian military has responded to Donald Trump’s latest claims over ceasefire negotiations and his alleged “15-point” ceasefire plan.
Addressing the US, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying: “Has the level of your internal conflicts reached the state of negotiating with yourselves.”
He also said: “Don’t call your failure an agreement.”
Iran strikes Israel’s coastal city of Netanya
Saudi Arabia ‘pushing Trump’ to put boots on Iran – report
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been urging US president Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, The New York Times reported.
The crown prince has spoken to Mr Trump several times over the past week, pushing the president to keep fighting until the regime in Iran is toppled, the report stated.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Gulf states were “inching toward” a more active role, after Riyadh allowed US forces to use an air base within its borders.
However, Saudi officials rejected the idea that Prince Mohammed has pushed to prolong the war.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict, even before it began,” the Saudi government told The Times, noting that officials “remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged.”
“Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure,” the government added. “Iran has chosen dangerous brinkmanship over serious diplomatic solutions. This harms every stakeholder involved but none more than Iran itself.”
Source: independent.co.uk