By Pesha Magid and Steve Holland
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants for 10 days, after Iran rejected his 15-point proposal to end the war he launched together with Israel.
Iran gave no direct indication that it was ready for negotiation or compromise, although senior officials have said diplomacy continues. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reaffirmed that all shipping “to and from ports of allies and supporters of the Israeli-American enemies” to any destination was prohibited.
It also urged civilians across the Middle East, where it has already attacked countries hosting U.S. bases, to vacate areas near U.S. bases, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tehran had continued to fire missiles toward civilian areas in Israel, and therefore Israel’s attacks on Iran “will escalate and expand to additional targets”.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and causing the biggest disruption in history to energy supplies, hitting the global economy with soaring oil, gas and fertiliser prices that have fuelled inflation fears.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured in Iran, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Attacks on Israel by Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah have also prompted an Israeli onslaught that has displaced a fifth of Lebanon’s population.
Both Israel and the U.S. say they want to ensure that Iran can no longer threaten Israel with ballistic missiles or its nuclear programme, which Iran says is purely civilian, and that they would like to trigger an overthrow of Islamic rule.
PREPARATIONS MADE FOR PAKISTAN MEETING, GERMANY SAYS
But far from being laid low, Iran’s clerical rulers and the increasingly powerful Guards are peppering the Gulf region with airstrikes and have shut the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas, driving up energy prices and roiling financial markets. [O/R]
The United States can only confirm that about a third of Iran’s missile arsenal has been destroyed, five people familiar with the U.S. intelligence told Reuters.
On Thursday, Trump posted on social media that he would pause his threat to attack Iranian energy plants for 10 days until April 6 at 8 p.m. (0000 GMT on April 7).
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he added.
Iran has said it is not talking directly to Washington. Trump has not specified who the U.S. is said to be negotiating with in Iran, where many senior officials have been killed in the war.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he believed there had been “indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly”.
“That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently.”
Pakistan, which has good relations with Iran, passed on Washington’s 15-point proposal, and is willing to host meetings.
Iran has said it will launch its own strikes on energy facilities in the Gulf if Trump follows through with his threat.
Millions of civilians in the region rely on electricity to power their cities and supply fresh water from desalination plants.
The Israeli military said it had attacked dozens of military sites in Tehran overnight linked to Iran’s missile programme, including weapons factories, launch infrastructure and personnel.
Strikes on three buildings in the Pardisan area of Qom, south of Tehran, killed at least 15 people and injured 10 others, Iranian media reported.
In Urmia, in the northwest, a direct missile strike on a housing complex killed and injured several civilians, with rescue operations continuing, Iranian media said.
IRAN REPORTS ARRESTS LINKED TO ISRAEL
Stock markets continued their slide on Friday, while the Brent crude oil benchmark stood around $111, having risen more than 50% since the war began. [MKTS/GLOB]
In the U.S., where Trump is politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices, diesel in California hit an all-time high at an average $7.17 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
“Many see the Iranian regime as holding the upper hand and doubt that there are indeed productive negotiations with the U.S. in process,” said ITC Markets senior FX analyst Sean Callow.
The U.S. proposal included demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme to curbing its missile development and effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that senior Iranian officials had reviewed the proposal and felt it served only U.S. and Israeli interests. But they said diplomacy had not ended.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Philippa Fletcher)
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