- Peace talks between the United States and Iran remain stalled.
- Washington offered no concessions, Fars says.
- The Hormuz blockade shakes global oil markets.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday, saying it had to move quickly toward a peace deal or “there will be nothing left of them.”
Washington, locked in conflict with Tehran since U.S. and Israeli forces launched major attacks against the Islamic republic beginning Feb. 28, has struggled to break an impasse and make progress toward ending a war that has shaken the Middle East and sent energy prices soaring.
“For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get going, FAST, or there will be nothing left of them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENTIAL!”
The war has led to an effective blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's peacetime oil exports pass, and has drawn neighboring Israel and Lebanon into a deadly parallel conflict.
Iran's clerical state, Hezbollah's patron, has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon ahead of any broader peace deal with Trump, who has been frustrated by Tehran's refusal to accept a deal on his terms.
An Israeli military official said on Sunday that Hezbollah had fired around 200 projectiles at Israel and its troops over the weekend, even though Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said fresh Israeli strikes on Sunday in the south of the country killed five people, including two children.
Israeli strikes since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including 400 since the truce began on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.
“There are no tangible concessions”
Washington and Tehran agreed to a truce on April 8, but peace negotiations stalled and sporadic attacks continued.
On Sunday, Iranian media said the United States had not made any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran's proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war.
He far The news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list that included a demand that Iran keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
Washington also refused to release “even 25%” of Iran's frozen assets abroad or pay any reparations for damages inflicted on Iran during the war, according to Fars.
The Mehr news agency, for its part, states: “The United States, by not offering tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it did not achieve during the war, which will lead to a deadlock in the negotiations.”
More unrest broke out in some parts of the region on Sunday. A drone attack sparked a fire near a nuclear power plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, officials said, reporting no injuries or impact on radiation levels.
Iran-backed armed groups equipped with drones are based in Iraq, while Tehran's allies in Yemen (the Houthi rebels) also possess combat unmanned aerial vehicles.
Pakistan has been actively mediating peace talks between Iran and the United States, and its Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iran's chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in Tehran on Sunday.
In a social media post after the talks, Ghalibaf said the US and Israel's war with Iran had destabilized the entire Middle East.
“Some governments in the region believed that the presence of the United States would bring them security, but recent events have shown that this presence is not only incapable of providing security, but also creates bases for insecurity,” he said.
Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed Iran during their high-stakes summit earlier this week, but there appeared to be little progress on that issue.
Trump said Xi assured him that China was not preparing military aid to Iran, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Iran on Friday that “sea routes should be reopened as soon as possible.”
