Live updates: Iran says ‘ball is in US court’ on deal to end war as Trump keeps his intentions veiled

Iranian officials repeated warnings on Monday of possible gas shortages for residents before winter, and they called on people to conserve the resource.

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said he had to be honest about the stability of Iran’s gas network in the colder months as he asked the public to help preserve it.

Aref cited “imbalances accumulated over previous years in war-related damages,” and warned that prices would rise for consumers who do not save.

It is not the first time an Iranian official has warned about shortages. Op October 25said Iran’s parliament speaker, natural gas consumption throughout Iran must be reduced by 10%.

Iran’s economy has been devastated by years of international sanctions, and the US is turning to economic warfare after the initial bombing campaign of the ongoing conflict further strained Tehran’s finances. The regime has shown no willingness to bend to its demands to end the war, despite the economic pain for most Iranians.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that the next move in the standoff with the United States is for President Trump to make.

“The ball is in the US court because our demands have been declared very clearly and transparently, and Iran’s demands are reasonable and logical,” Esmaeil Baqaei told journalists in Tehran.

Baqaei said that ongoing negotiations, brokered by Qatar, Pakistan and other mediators, are centered around a seven-day proposal that Iran originally presented to the US side in September, which calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of the US naval blockade and an end to fighting on all fronts, in exchange for the phasing and further negotiations on other negotiations. Themes.

President Trump rejected the initial proposal, but both sides have since exchanged revisions, and Mr. Trump has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he just has to make a decision whether to launch new attacks on Iran or strike a deal to end the war.

Speaking to a radio network on Sunday before a campaign rally in Iowa, Mr Trump said he would soon be done with the war, “one way or another”.

“Either they make a deal, or we just open it up,” he said, without providing further context.

President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and had a “very good conversation with him.”

Mr. Trump did not give details but said the two discussed the war in Iran.

According to sources cited by Axios, Netanyahu has been pushing Mr. Trump to strike Iran, but the president wants to let the negotiations play out.

The United States and Iran have both engaged in indirect talks through mediators led by Qatar, who are pushing to strike a deal between the two sides before the conflict escalates.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly hinted that he is considering resuming attacks on Iran after the midterm elections.

Qatari mediators are conducting indirect talks to reach a deal between the United States and Iran, but the closed-door negotiations were punctuated by exchanges of threats between the leaders of both countries.

Iranian negotiators are in Qatar for talks on a proposal that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who added the outcome would depend on responses from the United States.

On Saturday, President Trump said the United States was still “watching out” for one or two more potential targets in Iran, citing a suspected nuclear complex at Pickaxe Mountain. On Sunday, he repeated the threat, saying he may have to give Tehran “the hammer” indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Saturday that there would be no “geographical limitations” if fighting with the United States resumed, adding that there would be a “big theater” to cause damage.

Both sides have previously acknowledged that indirect talks are underway but consistently exchange threats.

CBS/AFP

The United Arab Emirates’ presidential adviser said Sunday that his country hopes a diplomatic breakthrough is possible in the Qatar-led mediations, but that it is also preparing for the possibility of escalation.

Speaking at a security forum in Bahrain, Anwar Gargash said Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates had made this a “watershed year” for the region.

“We don’t really want to see another round of confrontation in the region,” Gargash told the crowd. But he added that his country and the region were bracing for the “worst”, referring to the resumption of active hostilities.

The UAE was consistently targeted by Tehran in the opening weeks of the war as retribution for US strikes on Iran, disrupting tourism and daily life, effectively calling the region’s security landscape into question.

CBS/AP

A ship was hit by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, a British maritime security agency said, after Qatari media reported an earlier attack on a gas tanker.

Britain’s UKMTO Maritime Agency said “the master of a merchant vessel relayed a mayday call … stating that another vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile” in the strait.

Earlier, Qatar’s state news agency said a Qatari gas tanker was attacked with “unidentified objects” while transiting Gulf waters on Friday. None of the crew members aboard the ship were injured, and there was no environmental impact from the attack, the report said.

The attack hit a liquefied natural gas carrier Al Mayeda, which belongs to the Qatar Gas Transport Company, the Qatar News Agency said.

Since the Middle East war began in February, Iran has targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf to maintain control over shipping.

President Trump said he believes the United States will soon avoid war with Iran, “one way or another.”

The president spoke to the Right Side Broadcasting Network before a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday.

“We have such a victory, and we will get it away very soon, one way or another,” said Mr. Trump. “Either they make a deal, or we just open it up. … The work we’ve done is amazing.”

Earlier Sunday, Iran’s top diplomat said he hoped there would be “rationality” on the US side as diplomatic efforts seek to avoid a return to all-out war.