Trump's Clusterf$!k

 

Iran dismissed a US ceasefire proposal on Wednesday and responded with its own negotiation plan as intermediaries sought to keep diplomatic channels between the warring countries open.

Iranian state TV quoted an anonymous official as saying Tehran had rejected the plan it had received via Pakistan, saying it would “end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met”, and until then would continue fighting across the region. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, later said the proposals had been “passed on to the country’s senior authorities” but Iran had “no intention of negotiating for now”.

Gulf states have expressed doubt over Donald Trump’s claims that talks are happening. In a notable departure from Qatar’s role as chief mediator in the region, a Qatari government spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatar was not involved in any mediation efforts, before adding: “If they exist.”

What is the toll? The US-Israel war on Iran has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, more than 1,500 in Iran and 16 in Israel, according to each country’s authorities. More than a dozen deaths have been reported in the West Bank and Gulf Arab states. Experts warn there has been a collapse in healthcare access.

-The Guardian