Iran said US blockade

Tehran (dpa) — Iran said on Wednesday that the US naval blockade was a violation of the ceasefire after US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the truce.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz is “is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” Iran’s chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.

Iran still has no plans to take part in peace talks with the United States, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim. US media previously reported that there could be a new round of negotiations on Friday.

The jointly agreed ceasefire had been unilaterally extended by the US President on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, US media reported that Trump intends to give the Iranian leadership just a few days to agree on a unified proposal to end the war.

He is prepared to extend the ceasefire by three to five days, the news portal Axios and Fox News reported, citing a US source and a White House official respectively.

Iran said US blockade

CNN also reported, citing two sources familiar with the internal discussions, that Trump plans to give the Iranians a limited window of time to draw up a unified proposal for new negotiations and thus get the diplomatic process back on track. It is unclear whether this has been communicated to the Iranians.

Israel ready to resume war

Separately Israel, which together with the US started the war against Iran on February 28, said it is ready to resume fighting Iran.

Israel is “prepared for any scenario,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers during a meeting near Jerusalem.

This applies “in defence and in attack,” he said during his visit as part of Israel’s 78th Independence Day celebrations.

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also said that the IDF is “ready to return to combat immediately and with great force on all fronts.”

Iran said US blockade

Iran says it attacked three cargo ships

On Wednesday, Iran claimed responsibility for attacks on three cargo ships in the key Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by the Fars news agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they had halted what they described as the vessels’ “irregular” passage through the important waterway.

The ships were identified as the Epaminondas, sailing under a Liberian flag and travelling from the United Arab Emirates to India; the MSC Francesca, which was last reported off the coast of Saudi Arabia and sails under a Panamanian flag; and a container vessel named Euphoria, which Iranian reports said is Greek-owned.

The MSC Francesca and Epaminondas were seized and taken into Iranian waters, the Tasnim reported, citing the IRGC navy.