عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Iran Says Received US Response to Its Proposal to End War

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 28, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 28, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
TT
TT

Iran Says Received US Response to Its Proposal to End War

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 28, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 28, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iranian authorities said on Wednesday they received the official US response to their proposal to end the Middle East war, state media reported, days after US President Donald Trump rejected the plan. 

"At today's cabinet meeting, the American side's proposal was presented to President Masoud Pezeshkian by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi," government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the official IRNA news agency, without specifying the content of the reply. 

After seven months of conflict, indirect talks between the United States and Iran resumed last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said AFP. 

Iran said it has put forward seven conditions for ending hostilities and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas exports. 

The strait lies at the heart of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. 

Tehran imposed a blockade on Hormuz after the war started, prompting Washington to respond with its own blockade on Iranian ports. 

While not all conditions have been made public, Iran is notably demanding a ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah has been battling Israeli forces. 

It is also demanding the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade. 

Trump rejected the proposal when speaking to the press on Saturday, but Tehran had been awaiting an official response via Qatari mediators. 

Fighting has subsided in recent weeks, though Tehran has continued to target ships in the strait. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the country's military, said on Wednesday that they have been striking small vessels that try to pass through the strait. 

"We have been striking ships for quite some time now -- specifically the small vessels I mentioned that attempt to pass. We block their passage, yet the US has not retaliated for a while," Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebi told state TV. 

The US, meanwhile, has stepped up its economic warfare against Iran, imposing sanctions on Iranian airlines and vowing to take a hard stance against foreign companies that provide them with assistance. 

 

 

Most Viewed

 
 
World

French PM to Meet Unions as Government Prepares for More Protests

FILE PHOTO: A fire burns, as Police officers in riot gear stand guard, during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 18, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A fire burns, as Police officers in riot gear stand guard, during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 18, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
TT
TT

French PM to Meet Unions as Government Prepares for More Protests

FILE PHOTO: A fire burns, as Police officers in riot gear stand guard, during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 18, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A fire burns, as Police officers in riot gear stand guard, during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in Paris, France, October 18, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor/File Photo

France's prime minister plans to meet unions on Wednesday to discuss security and has vowed a "massive" police deployment at protests, following riots in the past week that led to curfews and arrests.

The eurozone's second-largest economy was rocked on the weekend by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before voters head to the polls to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, said AFP.

Sebastien Lecornu will meet with representatives from five unions on Wednesday morning to discuss "ways and means to guarantee the essential freedom to demonstrate" according to a letter sent to the organizations, which noted some were attempting to subvert the protests with "unacceptable acts."

More protests centered over rising living costs are planned on Saturday, organized by the "Yellow Vest" movement and high school students, with another called for November 5 by labor unions.

School students have not been invited to the Wednesday meeting.

Images of clashes, mobs looting stores and public buildings set ablaze last weekend prompted several countries, including the United States, China and Germany, to issue travel advisories for their citizens in France.

Facing angry lawmakers in parliament, Lecornu acknowledged that the security response had fallen short and promised a stronger approach ahead of the new wave of protests.

"The deployment for next Saturday will be massive," Lecornu said.

- Arrests and investigations -

French authorities announced on Monday partial curfews in Paris and other cities, and Lecornu said fresh ones would be imposed on Tuesday where needed.

The nighttime curfew in the capital, from 2100 GMT Tuesday, applied to Republique Square in the center-east and Les Halles shopping district in the center.

A ban on public gatherings was also ordered for the Champs-Elysees, near several public buildings, and at train stations.

Paris police ordered a temporary ban on people carrying cans or bottles of petrol or gas, after mobs set fire to government buildings and shops last weekend.

Security forces arrested a man believed to be connected to the ultra-left over the burning down of a historic town hall in Limoges, whose destruction has become a symbol of the violence.

Authorities have faced criticism from parties across the political spectrum, with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen describing the unrest as a "wake-up call" that exposed a "profound crisis" of authority.

Recent polling suggests Le Pen leading first-round presidential voting intentions by a wide margin and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon emerging as the strongest contender for the runoff.

Lecornu has accused ultra-left radical groups of forging an "insurrectionary plan" that led to the riots.

In a sign of growing political scrutiny over the street violence, lawmakers from across France's fractured parliament agreed on Tuesday to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the unrest, including possible intelligence failures, policing tactics and the government's preparedness.

Investors have sold off French debt in recent weeks amid rising doubts about the government's ability to rein in spending.

Nearly 150 people had been jailed, and more than 800 brought before the courts, according to the justice minister.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered to resign on Sunday, saying police "had lost control" during the unrest. Macron rejected his resignation, and Nunez was also set to attend Wednesday's meeting with union representatives.

Other European countries have seen demonstrations over rising prices, with smaller clashes breaking out in Italy's financial center of Milan as well as in Belgium over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump has seized on the unrest in France to amplify his anti-immigration rhetoric, at a time when his Republican party is facing headwinds in upcoming midterm elections.

Trump launched into a lengthy tirade at a midterms rally Monday in Kansas, saying France was being "conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, extremists, and communists."

Several analysts have countered Trump's rhetoric, saying immigration was not a driving force in France's unrest.

World

Two Men Re-Arrested for Suspected Spying for Iran in Airbase Scare

A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Two Men Re-Arrested for Suspected Spying for Iran in Airbase Scare

A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)

British police said on Tuesday they had re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence as part of their investigation into activity at the RAF Fairford air base ‌last month. 

Counter ‌Terrorism Policing said ‌in ⁠a statement that ⁠they had re-arrested a 24-year-old British national, who was initially arrested outside the military base in southwest England in the early hours ⁠of September 27. 

Police said ‌they ‌had also arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian ‌dual national who had ‌previously been arrested in London. 

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the ‌UK, said in a statement, "we consider it highly likely ⁠that ⁠there is Iranian state involvement." 

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham last week said that the activity at RAF Fairford, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, was likely to have been coordinated in Iran. 

World

IRGC: 2 Tankers Hit Mines, Set Ablaze South of Hormuz

FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
TT
TT

IRGC: 2 Tankers Hit Mines, Set Ablaze South of Hormuz

FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa

Two tankers were set ablaze and brought to a halt south of the Strait of ⁠Hormuz after hitting Iranian ⁠mines, the Revolutionary Guards' Navy said ⁠in a statement shared by state media on Tuesday, without saying when the tankers were hit.

The statement also ⁠said a ⁠US drone was downed by Iran on Monday night.

Diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States have stalled over issues including the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington was responsible for insecurity in the strait, usually a key transport route for oil and gas but which Iran has sought to blockade during the war launched by the US and Israel in February.

Pakistan has played a key mediating role in the so far unsuccessful attempts to end the war. In June, it helped broker a short-lived memorandum of understanding, which Tehran insists should still form the basis of any peace deal.