Iran-US war live: Tehran reviewing Trump’s peace proposal but won’t talk to US – The Independent

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Top Iranian officials are reviewing proposals offered by the Trump administration to end the war, Iran’s foreign minister has said, but Tehran has “no intention” of holding direct talks with the US.
Abbas Araghchi said messages had been exchanged via mediators, but this “does not mean negotiations” with the US were ongoing.
He said Tehran had demanded a permanent end to the war and compensation for all destruction during the conflict.
Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump was prepared to “unleash hell” on Iran if the Tehran regime did not come to the negotiation table.
“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” she added.
The United States has confirmed the deployment of ground troops to the Middle East after Iran sent back the “excessive” demands of Mr Trump’s peace plan.
The Pentagon confirmed to The Independent on Wednesday that some elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, some division enablers and the 1st Brigade Combat Team would be deploying to the region.
Russia sought to blackmail the United ​States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said ⁠on Wednesday.
Zelensky, who said on Monday that Ukraine’s military intelligence has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran, told Reuters he had seen the data but provided no ⁠further details.
The ​International Monetary Fund is running scenarios on countries to ⁠gauge which economies could be in need of fresh ⁠financing if ​the ⁠Iran war drags on, ⁠Bloomberg News reported on ​Wednesday, ⁠citing people ‌familiar with the matter.
The IMF has asked ‌country desks at ‌the IMF to share their analysis on ⁠areas from current account status to potential funding needs, the report said, adding the assessment ‌is focused on nations ​with active financing programs.
The Mayor of Tehran has described Iran’s current closure and control of the Strait of Hormuz as a “new sanction framework” against the US and allies.
He said: “Rather than bargaining to lift sanctions, we’re focused on shaping a new sanction framework against the US and its allies in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Lifting US unilateral sanctions doesn’t need a negotiation table, our missiles have already delivered results.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to call on Iranians to flood the streets to protest against their government last week, but President Trump told him it was too risky, it’s been reported.
“Why the hell should we tell people to take to the streets when they’ll just get mowed down,” Mr Trump told Mr Netanyahu during their call, according to Axios, which cited a US source.
In January, Mr Trump urged protesters in Iran to keep going, and promised that “help” was on its way but has not encouraged street protests during the war.
Iran has dismissed an American plan to suspend the war, and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.
They included an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told state television that his government had not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations”.
Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster had quoted an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected America’s ceasefire proposal and has its own demands for an end to the fighting.
Iran has been laying traps and moving military personnel and air defences to Kharg Island in preparation for possible US moves to take control of the island, according to CNN.
Sources told the broadcaster Tehran has been laying traps including anti-personnel and anti-armour mines around the island, including on the shoreline where US troops could potentially stage an amphibious landing.
The Iranians have moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems known as MANPADs there in recent weeks, the sources also said.
The Trump administration has been considering using US troops to seize the tiny island in the Persian Gulf, which is an economic lifeline for Iran that handles most of the country’s crude oil exports.
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