Rubio says Iran deal could take days as US launches fresh strikes

IRGC says reserves the right to retaliate, claiming to shot down US MQ-9 drone

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that Gulf powers would no longer be a shield for United States bases. the US would no longer have a safe haven in the region.

The statement came after. despite a ceasefire in place since early April, US Central Command said it had carried ​out fresh strikes designed "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces".

Mojtaba urged Muslim countries to deepen cooperation and shape a new regional and global order beyond American dominance.

“The [global] Muslim Ummah (nation). the nations of the region possess many shared capacities and common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world,” he said.

Hajj message: Leader invites Muslim nations to shape new regional order, says US era is overhttps://t.co/W31MiZwHg8

He added that the US “will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief or for establishing military bases in the region”. was “growing more distant from its former status day by day.”

“The hands of time will not turn back,. the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for US bases,” he stated. “The future belongs to the Muslim Ummah and the new Islamic civilisation.”

Mojtaba called the Israeli regime a “cancerous tumour” and an “unstable regime” nearing “the final stages of its cursed life.”

Ayatollah Khamenei praised the Iranian Armed Forces. allied resistance groups, particularly in Lebanon, for achieving "remarkable victories" in the face of the aggression that was being waged by "the fully armed American-Zionist terrorist armies."

He praised the Iranian Armed Forces. allied resistance groups, particularly in Lebanon, for achieving "remarkable victories" in the face of the aggression that was being waged by "the fully armed American-Zionist terrorist armies."

In response to US attack, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it reserved the "legitimate. definite" right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US, adding that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace,state mediareported.

IRGC added that it shot down a US MQ-9 drone. claimed that an RQ-4 drone and an F-35 fighter jet also entered Iranian airspace before retreating.

🔴 IRGC announced in a statement that the US military, continuing its interventionist adventures. aggressive behavior, violated Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf region.pic.twitter.com/1Qgugijt4S

Hajj message: Leader invites Muslim nations to shape new regional order, says US era is overhttps://t.co/W31MiZwHg8

Iran says new US strikes violated ceasefire

Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement. the US had violated the ceasefire with strikes in Iran's southern Hormozgan province.

The US military carried out strikes on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines. missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.

Iranian media reported early on Tuesday that sounds of explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas in the province.

"The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours.. Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions", the statement said.

Qatar rejects reports it 'offered' Iran $12b for US deal

Qatar denied that it "offered" Iran $12 billion to finalise an agreement that would end the stalled US-Israeli war, a conflict that sent shockwaves through the region. beyond.

"Reports claiming that the State of Qatar 'offered' $12 billion to Iran to ensure the conclusion of an agreement are utterly baseless. are being circulated by parties seeking to derail the agreement and undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and promoting stability in the region," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on US social media platform X.

التقارير التي تزعم أن دولة قطر "عرضت" مبلغ 12 مليار دولار على إيران لضمان التوصل إلى اتفاق هي عارية عن الصحة، ويتم تداولها من قبل أطراف تسعى إلى إفشال الاتفاق وتقويض الجهود الدبلوماسية الرامية إلى خفض التصعيد وتعزيز الاستقرار في المنطقة.جهود قطر الدبلوماسية، والتي تتم بالتنسيق…

Rubio says Iran deal could take days as US launches fresh strikes

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. negotiating a deal with Iran could "take a few days," quashing hopes for an imminent end to the conflict ​a day after US forces conducted what Washington called defensive strikes in southern Iran.

Describing the strikes against targets including boats attempting to lay mines ‌and missile launch sites. Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz has to be open "one way or the other".

"The straits have to be open. they're going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open," Rubio told reporters on his plane in India's Jaipur.

Despite a ceasefire in place since early April. US Central Command said in a statement on Monday it had carried ​out fresh strikes designed "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces".

Iran said on Monday it had downed a "hostile" stealth drone using a new air ​defence system. Iranian news agencies reported, without saying where it had come from.

The US attacks came as Iran's top negotiator. its ⁠foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit ​said.

Rubio told reporters in New Delhi earlier. the US would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering whether to deal with Iran in "another way".

He said there was ​a "pretty solid thing on the table," referring to talks over reopening the strait. a "very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter".

Read:Trump links Abraham Accords to Iran deal

In a lengthy post on Truth Social on Monday, US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were going "nicely",. warned of fresh attacks if they failed. It "will only be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all," he wrote.

In another indication of ​the region's tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would intensify strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Israel's military soon thereafter said it was ​attacking Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and other areas.

Israel. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in mid-April, but Israel has continued airstrikes it says are acts of self-defence against Hezbollah, ‌which was ⁠not party to the truce.

The official briefed on the Iranians' Doha visit toldReutersthe discussions focused on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran's central bank governor attended to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final deal.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier. nuclear issues would only be negotiated after the framework accord was agreed.

Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon ​with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has ​consistently denied it has plans to do ⁠that.

Read more:Trump slows push for Iran deal

Baghaei said the potential Iran deal contained no specific details on management of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil. liquefied natural gas usually flows.

Iran would not charge tolls for ships to pass through, but there ​would be a cost for services offered, such as navigation. steps to protect the environment, he said, under a protocol ​to be agreed with ⁠Oman, which lies on the opposite shore of the waterway.

Citing a Middle East diplomatic source, Japan'sNikkeinewspaper reported the US. Iran were discussing a plan to open the strait about 30 days after reaching a deal to end hostilities.

Since the US. Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, only a few dozen vessels have been passing through the ⁠Strait of Hormuz ​compared with 125 to 140 daily previously.

The stand-off has caused a spike in oil prices and driven ​up the costs of fuel, fertiliser and food.

In early Asian trade on Tuesday, US West Texas Intermediate crude was up slightly from Monday's last traded price. down 5.5% from Friday's close.

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