US war latest: Trumps awaits Tehran’s response to peace plan as Rubio criticises Nato allies

US officials did not disclose any Iranian response to their offers as of late Friday, while ongoing hostilities inside the Strait of Hormuz threatened to upend the shaky ceasefire
Donald Trump says he is still expecting a reply from Iran regarding a US peace proposal, though as of Saturday morning no such response had been announced.

“I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight,” the US president told reporters.

“So we’ll see how that goes.”
With negotiations hanging in the balance, the US and Iran continue to engage in hostilities.

The US Navy struck two Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday accused of breaking the American blockade, after US and Iranian forces exchanged fire overnight on Thursday.

Iran has accused the US of violating the ongoing ceasefire, which President Trump insists is still holding.

In a post on X earlier in the day, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of consistently opting for a “reckless military adventure” every time a “diplomatic solution is on the table”.

During his ongoing visit to Italy , US secretary of state Marco Rubio chided allies for not doing more to support the war, arguing the US expects the ability to project force from Europe as a Nato member.

“That’s a problem and has to be examined,” Rubio said.

Bahrain says it has arrested 41 people 'linked to Iran's IRGC'
Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Saturday it had ⁠arrested 41 people it claims are linked to Iran’s Revolutionary ⁠Guards (IRGC), ​the state ⁠news agency reported.

The ministry said “security authorities uncovered a group linked” to Iran's IRGC, adding that investigations by the public prosecutor had also involved cases related to sympathy with Iranian attacks.

Iran has repeatedly fired at targets in Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states where the U.S.

has military ‌bases after ​the U.S.

‌and Israel launched ⁠a war against ⁠Iran on 28 February.

Iran accuses US of opting for ‘reckless military adventure’
Iran’s foreign minister has accused the US of opting for a “reckless military adventure” every time there is a diplomatic solution on the table.

In a post on X on Friday, Abbas Araghchi insisted: “Iranians never bow to pressure.”
The comments came as Iran was expected to respond to US proposals on Friday, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"I hope it's a serious offer, I really do," Rubio said during a visit to Italy.

Kamala Harris calls US-Iran war 'bull****'
Former US vice president Kamala Harris has described the ongoing US-Iran war as “bull****”.

Appearing in a fireside chat hosted by the Nevada Democrats in Las Vegas this week, the former presidential candidate described the conflict as something “which the American people do not want”.

Discussing President Trump, she said: “I'm not going to dismiss him as being an idiot.

He’s dangerous.” She later added “it’s all just bull****”.

Iran can withstand Trump's blockade for months, reports claim
Iran can withstand the effects of the US blockade on Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz for three to four more months , according to reports citing US intelligence.

New analysis by the CIA has reportedly cast doubt on Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran needs the war to end imminently.

The confidential CIA report was delivered to officials in the Trump administration earlier this week, four people familiar with the document told The Washington Post.

The Independent’s Maira Butt has the full story:
Iran ‘can withstand Trump’s blockade for months and retains 70% of its missiles’
Ceasefire under strain as clashed continued on Friday
Sporadic clashes continued on ​Friday ⁠between Iranian forces and U.S.

vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The U.S.

military said it struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a U.S.

fighter jet hitting their smokestacks and forcing them to turn back.

Tehran has ⁠largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the ‌war began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on 28 February.

Before the war, one-fifth of the world's oil supply passed through the narrow waterway.

The U.S.

imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month.

The UAE said its air defences engaged with two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, with three people sustaining moderate injuries.

Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S.

military bases.

In what the UAE called a major escalation, Iran stepped up attacks this week in response to Trump's announcement of "Project Freedom" to escort ships in the strait, which he paused after 48 hours.

Trump said on Thursday the ceasefire, announced on 7 April, was still holding despite the flare-ups, while Iran accused the U.S.

of breaching it.

"Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S.

opts for a reckless military adventure," foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.

The companies getting rich off Trump’s war in Iran as recession fears grow
The war in Iran has killed thousands of people across the Middle East , driven millions towards poverty and forced up energy prices around the world .

Analysts have warned the consequences could push the world towards a global recession if disruption to the flow of oil continues in the Strait of Hormuz, despite Donald Trump insisting a deal to end the conflict is within reach.

But as consumers bear the brunt of higher energy costs and rising inflation, a handful of outliers are celebrating record profits from surging oil prices, renewed defence spending and frenzied trading patterns.

The Independent‘s James C.

Reynolds has reviewed some of the main beneficiaries of the conflict in the Middle East:
The companies getting rich off the Iran war as recession fears mount
US and Iran appear no closer to ending war after another day of Hormuz clashes
The US and Iran appeared no closer to finding an end to their war on Saturday morning, after a day in which the two sides traded fire in the Gulf despite a tenuous ceasefire.

The Trump administration said it expected a response from Tehran to a US peace proposal on Friday evening, though none has been announced.

Speaking in Rome on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting a response the same day, although an Iranian foreign ministry ⁠spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response.

Sporadic clashes continued on ​Friday ⁠between Iranian forces and US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed but warning more clashes were possible.

ICYMI: US Navy strikes two oil tankers
Senator slams Trump administration over Iran war 's*** show'
Arizona U.S.

senator and former naval officer Mark Kelly didn’t mince words on Friday when he talked with constituents about the Iran war.

“What I’ve seen so far has been a s*** show,” the Democrat said at an event with veterans.

He accused the U.S.

of offering shifting rationales for the conflict and delaying reaching a resolution because the president has few clear paths to a clean victory.

“We’ve spent $25 billion dollars at least on this and depleted our magazines of critical munitions to a level that, if I told you the numbers that were shot, you would be shocked.”
Iran could withstand blockade for months, analysts say
The US has premised its Iran strategy on the idea that an ongoing naval blockade will fatally disrupt the country’s oil production and larger economy.

It could be months before that’s the case, according to some analysts.

Iran can use its domestic capacities to find, refine, and consume oil, forestalling the full impacts of the US blockade.

Plus, Gregory Brew of the Eurasia Group recently told NBC News, Tehran has past experience scaling back oil production in responses to sanctions, so the wartime hit to Iran’s energy market isn’t totally novel.

“I don’t think it’s going to do tremendous damage to their infrastructure,” Brew said .

“They know how to do this.

They’ve done it before.”
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