US awaits Tehran’s response to proposed deal

Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani urged both the US and Iran to join mediation efforts during a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement

“We reaffirm our support for diplomacy that advances security, stability, and lasting regional and global peace,” Al Thani later wrote on Twitter.

Qatar is one of the Gulf countries that has become involved in the conflict after Iran targeted US military facilities there in response to US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic.

US President Donald Trump said Washington expected Tehran to respond by Friday night to his latest proposal on an agreement setting parameters for talks to end the war.

“I’m getting a letter tonight, so we’ll see how it goes,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

Iran has been studying the latest proposal for several days and says it is still undecided.

On Thursday, the US said it attacked Iranian military facilities, which it described as a response to Iranian attacks on three US Navy ships that were stopped in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has largely blocked traffic through the strategic waterway since the war began following US-Israeli strikes on February 28, and has sometimes attacked ships attempting to transit the strait.

Tehran has described the American attacks as a violation of the ceasefire.

But Trump said the month-long ceasefire with Iran remains “in effect.” He suggested that negotiations with Iran were still on track despite the renewed hostilities, telling reporters, “We are in talks with the Iranians.”

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Here’s a summary of Friday’s most important headlines:

US forces have fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers following a firefight with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates reported another Iranian missile and drone attack.

The attacks have cast further doubt on a month-old ceasefire which the US insists is still in effect.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said world food prices rose to their highest in more than three years in April due to the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In case you missed it, you can read more about the biggest headlines on the war in our Friday roundup.