Prospects fade for imminent end to Iran war as attacks restart

The prospect of an imminent agreement to end the war in Iran faded Tuesday as Israel said it was intensifying attacks in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah and the U.S. military struck Iranian boats and missile launch sites.

U.S. Central Command Spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement on Monday that Iran's boats were "attempting to emplace mines" and the military acted in "self-defense."

"U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire," Hawkins said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday its air defenses had shot down a U.S. drone and fired at a fighter jet entering Iranian airspace.

In a post in a Telegram account linked to the security forces, the IRGC said three Iranians had been killed in a U.S. strike south of Lark Island.

The strikes came as negotiators continued talks in Qatar to broker a deal that would end the hostilities.

The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that negotiating a deal to end the war in Iran could "take a few days."

President Trump appeared to set the stage for rejection by Gulf Arab countries which had originally welcomed the initial draft agreement with Iran by raising a new demand that Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others sign on to the Abraham Accords, a set of diplomatic agreements from 2020 establishing ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has linked any normalization of relations with Israel with the recognition of a Palestinian state.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump wrote: "After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords."

Saudi Arabia has linked normalization of ties with Israel with recognition of a Palestinian state.

Iran's foreign ministry Tuesday accused the U.S. of piracy against Iranian commercial vessels over the past two days and called the U.S. attacks "a gross violation of the ceasefire."

"The commission of these aggressive acts simultaneously with the ongoing diplomatic process mediated by Pakistan once again exposed the malice and bad faith of the U.S. ruling establishment to the Iranian nation, the peoples of the region, and the international community," the statement read.

The current ceasefire was negotiated to allow Iran and the U.S. to negotiate an end to the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.

In Lebanon, an Israeli strike late Monday in the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley killed at least 11 people, including a woman and two children, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

President Trump said Saturday that the U.S. and Iran were very close to concluding a memorandum of understanding that would halt the war.

But Iranian officials have said there are still serious disagreements over some key issues. Those disagreements include Iran's demand to lift sanctions and unfreeze its assets in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as part of the initial phase of the proposed deal.

Trump said on Monday in a social media post that negotiations with Iran "are proceeding nicely."

"It will only be a Great Deal for all, or no deal at all - Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!" he wrote.

Iranian officials said the initial phase aimed at reopening the vital waterway would be followed by negotiations on its nuclear program, another on-going source of contention.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, while the U.S. is accusing Iran of trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran has refused a U.S. demand to ship highly enriched uranium outside the country.

A senior Iranian foreign ministry official, Hossein Nooshabadi, said Monday that a possible framework deal included the end of the war on all fronts, including Israel's war on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But Israel strongly opposes ending the war in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would intensify strikes in Lebanon, despite a U.S.- brokered ceasefire agreed on April 17. The news prompted a new wave of residents leaving Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has offices, in fear of more attacks.

Hezbollah is launching attacks at Israeli forces in northern Israel and southern Lebanon where Israel has invaded. Israel says 22 soldiers plus a military contractor and two civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.

Lebanon's health ministry says almost 3,200 people have been killed since the start of the war on March 2, including hundreds of women, children and first responders.

Over a million people have been displaced by fighting and Israeli attacks which have leveled entire villages in south Lebanon, according to Lebanese government and U.N. agencies.
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