Cargo ship near Strait of Hormuz reports attack, as Iran makes new peace proposal
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A cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz has reported being attacked by several small vessels, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Sunday, marking at least two dozen attacks in the region since the start of the Iran war.
All crew members aboard the unidentified northbound vessel were safe after the attack in Sirik, Iran, east of the road, the watchdog said. Iranian officials have asserted that they control the flow and that ships not affiliated with the United States or Israel can pass if they pay taxes.
There was no immediate claim of assault, the watchdog said. This is the first time it has been reported in this area since April 22, when three cargo ships were attacked in the port, Iran seized two of them.
Iranian patrol boats, some powered by only two outboard motors, are small, agile and difficult to spot and have attacked several ships. US President Donald Trump last month ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats laying mines in the crisis.
A fragile three-week ceasefire appears to be holding, although Trump on Saturday told reporters that more strikes were still possible.
Iran made a new proposal to the US seeking to end the war
Iran's latest proposal to the United States calls for the issues between them to be resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire, according to media linked to the Iranian regime.
Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to an agreement, saying on social media that “they have not paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and to the World, in the last 47 years” since the Islamic Revolution there.
Iran's 14-point proposal also calls for the US to lift sanctions on Iran, end the blockade of US ships in Iranian ports, withdraw troops from the region and stop all conflicts, including Israel's operations in Lebanon, according to Nour News and Tasnim organizations, which have close ties to Iran's security organizations.
There was no mention in those reports, however, of Iran's nuclear program and its enriched uranium, an issue long at odds with the US and one that Tehran would like to address later.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused 'the biggest threat to energy security in history,' said Fatih Birol, director general of the International Energy Agency. Ryan Cummings of the Stanford Institute for Economy Policymaking says the shutdown so far is equivalent to a billion barrels of oil out of the economy.
Iran sent its response through Pakistan, which hosted face-to-face talks last month between Iran and the United States.
Pakistan's prime minister, foreign minister and army chief continue to urge the US and Iran to talk directly, according to two Pakistani officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Also on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who oversaw previous talks before the war.
