Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’

A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’

A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's chief negotiator on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the United States to accept the conditions in Tehran's 14-point proposal for peace in the Middle East war or face "failure".

The defiant message came after US President Donald Trump rejected the latest counteroffer from Iran and said that a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8 was on "life support".

But Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington had to accept Tehran's "rights" if it wanted to end more than two months of conflict, as peace talks remain deadlocked after an initial round failed to produce a breakthrough last month.

"There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another," said Ghalibaf in a post on X.

"The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it."

Iran has refused to back down in its war with Washington, with military officials warning they are prepared to respond to any renewed US attack.

It has choked traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz trade route, rattling global markets and giving it vital leverage, while the US has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Details of the latest US proposal remain limited, though media reports say it involves a one-page memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the fighting and establishing a framework for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's foreign ministry said its response called for ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, halting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and securing the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad under longstanding sanctions.

It did not elaborate on what Iran would offer in return.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for Iran's parliamentary national security commission said lawmakers would consider the possibility of enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels if conflict resumed.

"One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment. We will examine it in parliament," Ebrahim Rezaei wrote in a post on X.

Tehran possesses a significant stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, with roughly 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon.

Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains a key sticking point in negotiations with the United States, which insists the material must be transferred out of the country.

Iran has so far refused to move its enriched uranium stockpile abroad and insists on its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, though it has said the level of enrichment remains "negotiable".



Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
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Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa

The true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly four times, ‌the official tally, ‌the World ‌Health ⁠Organization's emergencies chief said ⁠on Tuesday.

"We think, with some of our support and ⁠modelling, the ‌scale of ‌the outbreak is ‌at least ‌2-4 times the number of cases we are finding," ‌Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director ⁠of ⁠the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.


Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield as another winter looms. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defense effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Zelenskyy was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t specify what was hit.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and the Black seas.


Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
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Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo

Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the ‌move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".

The ‌ministry said ‌the ⁠IRGC was an ⁠official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by ⁠targeting a ‌state ‌institution, said Reuters.

Britain on Monday ‌banned support for ‌the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed ‌at preventing foreign states from using proxies ⁠for ⁠activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

Iran, which is at war with the United States and Israel, has previously denied using proxies.