Ship burns as Iran claims 3 tankers hit mines in Strait of Hormuz

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BY Associated Press | POSTED BY TOE Iran says three tankers struck mines and exploded while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized route. Israelis are awaiting final election results as allegations of foreign interference have emerged. And in Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels said a Saudi strike killed 12 people, and another hit a paint factory and could release toxins into the water and soil near the besieged city of Taiz . Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Read our full coverage here . Iran says 3 oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz Iran said three oil tankers exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines over the past 24 hours while attempting to transit an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state broadcaster, which cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report did not identify the tankers or provide details about casualties. The Associated Press could not immedia...
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Trump cancels new Iran strikes, announces ‘approved’ peace deal

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 By Stephen Feller UPI and Posted by TOE

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he cancelled new U.S. strikes in Iran because Iranian leadership, and other regional powers, have approved “final points” in a deal to end the war.

Trump said in a mid-afternoon post on Truth Social that he cancelled military strikes that were announced on Wednesday because the United States, Iran, Israel and other Middle Eastern nations reached an agreement.

The United States on Wednesday had launched airstrikes in Iran and that it planned to hit the country “very hard,” Trump had said, and would seize Kharg Island, where 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports are shipped from.

A shaky cease-fire had held in the three-month-old conflict, occasional skirmishes and blockage of the Strait of Hormuz aside, for weeks until Iran carried out a “powerful assault” on U.S. military assets Tuesday, which prompted Trump’s now jettisoned threat of new, larger airstrikes.

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump said in the post.

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” he said. “The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”

Iranian state media, however, reported that the regime “has not approved any draft agreement or initial memorandum” with the United States, contrary to Trump’s statement.

The announcement came hours before the United States was expected to launch a new series of airstrikes on Thursday that, until hours before the announced deal, were expected to hit a range of targets that included Iranian infrastructure.

Although Trump has said for weeks that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal, there have been sticking points in the negotiations, most significantly when and how the Strait of Hormuz would fully reopen to commercial traffic and what will happen to Iran’s nuclear material.

Negotiations to end the war in Iran, which the United States and Israel launched on Feb. 28, have included all three countries, as well as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt, several of whom Iran has targeted with airstrikes because of their cooperation with the United States.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/BrEOH6c

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