TEHRAN, May 3 — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said today that the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with the Islamic republic.

The Middle East war, launched by the US and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan.

Negotiations have since stalled as the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the key Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

The Guards intelligence organisation said that US President Donald “Trump must choose between ‘an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran’”, in an online post carried by state television.

It added that the window for US decision-making “has been narrowed”, citing what it described as a “shift in tone” from China, Russia and Europe towards Washington as well as what it called an Iranian “deadline” over the US naval blockade, without elaborating.

US outlet Axios, citing two sources briefed on a recent Iranian proposal to the US, reported that Tehran had set “a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the US naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and in Lebanon”.

Today, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would be reviewing Iran’s latest proposal but added that he “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable”.

Iranian media, including the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, reported yesterday on the contents of the proposal.

According to Tasnim, Iran has said the outstanding issues between the two sides “should be resolved within 30 days” and should focus “on ending the war instead of extending the ceasefire”.

The issues, Tasnim said, included “the withdrawal of US military forces from Iran’s periphery, lifting the naval blockade, releasing Iran’s frozen assets and lifting sanctions”.

The report mentioned “ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon and agreeing a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz”. — AFP

WASHINGTON, May 2 — President Donald Trump said yesterday the US Navy ‌was acting “like pirates” in carrying out Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports during the US and Israel’s war against Iran.

Trump made the comments ‌while describing the seizure by US forces of a ship a few days ago.

“We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said in remarks yesterday evening. “We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates but we are not playing games.”

Some of Tehran’s vessels have been seized by the US after leaving Iranian ports, along with sanctioned container ‌ships and Iranian tankers in Asian waters.

Iran has blocked nearly ⁠all ships passing through the ⁠Strait of Hormuz apart from its own ⁠since the start of the ⁠war. Trump has ⁠imposed a separate blockade of Iranian ports.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own ⁠strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

The war has raised oil prices and led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠a chokepoint for about 20 per cent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Trump, who has offered shifting timelines and ⁠goals for the war that remains unpopular in the US, has ⁠faced ⁠widespread condemnation over his comments on the conflict, including when he threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization last month.

Many US experts said last ‌month that American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes after Trump threatened to target civilian infrastructure. — Reuters