Israel kills 9 in Lebanon
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Thursday night that the United States violated the ceasefire by attacking several areas in Iran, and the Iranian forces responded with missile and drone strikes against U.S. destroyers near the Strait of Hormuz, reported Xinhua.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the U.S. army attacked two Iranian vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and concurrently carried out airstrikes on civilian areas in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan and Qeshm Island in cooperation with some regional states.
The attacks by the U.S. “aggressive and terrorist” army violated the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the headquarters’ spokesman, according to Iranian media.
One of the targeted vessels was an oil tanker sailing from Iran’s territorial waters near Jask toward the Strait of Hormuz, and the other was entering the waterway near Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, Zolfaghari said, adding that the targeted civilian areas were located in Bandar-e Khamir and Sirik, both in Hormozgan province.
He noted that Iran’s armed forces immediately retaliated by attacking U.S. military vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of Iran’s Chabahar port, causing significant damage to them.
He said the United States and those countries supporting it should know that Iran will give a crushing response to any aggression without any hesitation.
Iranian media reported Thursday night several explosions in Iran’s southern cities and the capital Tehran.
The official news agency IRNA reported that two massive sounds were heard west of Tehran, followed by the activation of air defense for several minutes.
The semi-official Mehr news agency reported a U.S. and Israeli attack on a naval base in Minab County in Hormozgan province early Friday.
It quoted Minab’s Governor Mohammad Radmehr as saying that no one was killed or wounded in the attack.
Earlier, Al Arabiya reported that understandings have been reached regarding easing the U.S. naval blockade in exchange for Iran’s gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,
It also quoted a Pakistani source as saying that Iran may send its response to a nine-point U.S. proposal outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistan on Thursday.
The Pakistani source said contacts with the Iranian side continue and there is no obstacle to maintaining contact or receiving responses.
The source added that U.S. President Donald Trump has urged a “swift Iranian response” to the U.S. proposal, and that discussions are ongoing and understandings could be reached.
Separately, a statement published Thursday by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s office said Pezeshkian has recently met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The meeting, held in a “cordial” atmosphere based on “trust, calm, empathy and direct dialogue,” lasted nearly two and a half hours, it said, without detailing the date of the meeting.
The statement came amid sustained media reports questioning the health condition of Mojtaba, who was appointed as Iran’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei.
In early May, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Mojtaba remains in “complete good health” and continues to carry out his duties normally.
Iran says no conclusion reached yet on US peace proposal
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Thursday the country has not yet reached a conclusion on the U.S. peace proposal and has not responded to Washington.
In an interview with the official news agency IRNA, he noted that Iran is still reviewing the messages exchanged via Pakistani mediation.
Baghaei said Iran’s latest discussions with Pakistan have focused on Tehran’s 14-point proposed plan to end the war with the United States and Israel, which has been delivered to Washington through Islamabad.
He added that the United States has shared its views on Iran’s proposal in the form of a plan.
The foreign ministry spokesperson noted that Iran is reviewing the U.S. proposal and will convey its response to Pakistan once a conclusion is reached. Based on these exchanges of messages, the next step will be decided, he said.
Baghaei’s remarks came after Al Arabiya reported earlier in the day, citing a Pakistani source, that Iran could send its response to the U.S. peace proposal through Pakistan on Thursday.
Al Arabiya also quoted sources as saying that understandings have been reached regarding easing the U.S. naval blockade in exchange for the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Feb. 28.
Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistan.
Israeli strikes kill at least 9 across Lebanon
At least nine people were killed and more than 14 others injured in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight into Thursday, according to Lebanese media and the Health Ministry.
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Haret Hreik area Wednesday night, Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen reported.
In southern Lebanon, an Israeli strike on the town of Ansariyeh killed three people and wounded seven others, the Lebanese Public Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said.
Another strike at dawn targeted a pickup truck on the road near the vehicle registration department building in the town of Habboush, killing two people, according to local reports.
An Israeli drone struck a car carrier truck near the Safa station in Mayfadoun village, reportedly killing one person.
In Nabatieh, Israeli air raids killed one more person and wounded several others, causing extensive destruction to residential buildings, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The Israeli military also issued evacuation orders for the towns of Deir al-Zahrani, Bfaroueh, and Habboush, urging residents to move at least 1,000 meters into open areas, according to the NNA.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it targeted Israeli military vehicles moving from east of al-Bayada toward the village of Chamaa in southern Lebanon with a missile salvo.
The latest exchanges came despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that took effect at midnight between April 16 and 17.
