Roving Periscope: Even on ‘peace proposals’ the US clashes with Iran!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: See the irony: on the 73rd day of the West Asian war, the US and Iraan clashed over the latest ‘peace proposals,’ which President Donald Trump found “totally unacceptable,” and, as is his wont, reiterated his threats and warnings to Tehran umpteenth time.
Diplomatic efforts to forge a peace deal between the United States and Iran appear to have hit a wall, with each side accusing the other of making ‘unreasonable’ demands, even as continuing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are sending oil prices to new highs, the media reported on Monday.
Late on Sunday, Trump flatly rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war without giving any reason. Days after the US floated an offer in the hopes of reopening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially in Lebanon.
With no end to this stalemate in sight, oil prices climbed after Trump’s latest comments, with the international benchmark Brent crude up 2.69 per cent to USD 104.01 a barrel by 23:36 GMT on Sunday.
Tehran’s proposal included ending the naval blockade and lifting US and international sanctions, while preserving Iran’s control over its nuclear programme and foreign policy — the issues Washington cited when launching the war along with Israel against Iran on February 28, 2026.
Trump called Iran’s fresh response to Washington’s offer “totally unacceptable” while Iranian state-controlled media said the US plan amounted to “Iran’s surrender to Trump’s greed.”
On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two drones coming from Iran, while Qatar condemned a drone attack in its waters on a cargo ship coming from Abu Dhabi. Kuwait said its air defences had dealt with hostile drones that entered its airspace.
Other updates
Meanwhile, Iran executed a man, Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, convicted of allegedly spying for US and Israeli intelligence services, the judiciary’s Mizan news outlet reported on Monday. He worked at a scientific organisation involved in satellite activities and had shared classified scientific information with foreign intelligence services. He was arrested last year.
Foreign ministers of European Union nations will meet in Brussels, the Belgian capital, to discuss the war on Iran as well as the Ukraine war.
On Monday, China confirmed President Donald Trump’s visit from May 13 to 15 and his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Trump will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening to discuss the Iran war and other issues with Xi.
Latest surveys show that the Iran war is increasingly unpopular with US voters, who are facing sharply higher petrol prices less than six months before midterm elections in November 2026, that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control of US Congress.
Israel is carrying out air raids on the Hezbollah stronghold towns of Kfar Tebnit and Choukine in Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16. Two Lebanese medics and a civilian were killed in an Israeli attack on emergency response centres in Bint Jbeil.
The Israeli military has announced the death of Alexander Glovanyov, 47, an army driver, in combat near the border with Lebanon.
Crude oil
Oil prices rose by more than USD 4 a barrel on Monday following news of the continued stalemate that leaves the narrow Strait of Hormuz largely closed. Before the war began on February 28, the waterway carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, and has emerged as one of the key pressure points in the war.
While traffic through the Strait is at a trickle compared with pre-war times, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed three tankers laden with crude exited the waterway last week, with their trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attack.
The US dollar advanced for a second day against its major peers in Asian trade on Monday, supported by strong jobs data and safe-haven demand driven by a shaky ceasefire.
Gold prices fell on Monday, as a lack of progress in US-Iran peace negotiations pushed oil prices higher, fuelling concerns that elevated inflation could keep interest rates higher for longer.
