Iran responds to ceasefire proposal as Kuwait, U.A.E. repel drone attacks
Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Iran has sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal to Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, Iran's state-run media said Sunday.State TV said Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and ensure the security of shipping. Washington's latest proposal had addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran's nuclear program, an issue that Tehran would rather discuss later. There was no immediate comment from the White House about Iran's reply. U.S. President Donald Trump is giving diplomacy "every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC.Shaky ceasefireThe shaky ceasefire in the Iran war was tested again on Sunday when a drone set a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported separate drones entering their airspaces.The U.A.E. blamed Iran for the attack, the latest threat to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect.Cargo ships, including bulk carriers and general cargo vessels, sit at anchor offshore in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/The Associated Press)There were no casualties reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility. Iran and its armed allied groups possess a large fleet of drones and have used them to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began.The ceasefire has faced several difficulties, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that is key to the global flow of oil, and the U.S. imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.Trump, for his part, has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran doesn't accept a U.S. agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program.Iran has mostly blocked the waterway since joint strikes on Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel launched the war, which has caused a global spike in fuel prices and rattled world markets.One of the main sticking points in the negotiations is the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The UN nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.WATCH | Breaking down Trump's claims on Iran's nuclear capacity:U.S. President Donald Trump has justified war with Iran by saying the country was two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down those claims and how close Iran really was to building a nuke.Drones downed The U.A.E.'s Defence Ministry said Sunday it shot down two drones, blaming the attack on Iran.In Kuwait, Defence Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile drones entered Kuwait's airspace early Sunday, and forces responded "in accordance with established procedures." The ministry didn't say where the drones originated from. Meanwhile, Qatar's Defence Ministry said a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi into a southern port, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the attack happened 43 kilometres northeast of Qatar's capital, Doha. It provided no details about the ship's owner or origin, and there was no claim of responsibility.There have been several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf over the past week. On Friday, the U.S. struck two Iranian oil tankers after it said that the vessels were trying to breach its blockade of Iran's ports.Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy on Sunday reiterated its warning that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a "heavy assault" on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.
