Iran has rejected proposals from foreign intermediaries to ease tensions or agree a ceasefire with the United States and Israel, insisting it is not yet the right time for peace .
A senior Iranian official said two countries had passed on ideas to reduce tensions or reach a ceasefire, but Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, turned them down .
According to the official, Khamenei told his first foreign policy meeting that there could be no peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat and pay compensation .
Khamenei’s comments came as the US Israeli war on Iran entered its third week, with at least 2,000 people reported killed and no sign of an end to the conflict .
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas, remains largely closed, while US allies continue to reject President Donald Trump’s requests to send forces to help reopen it .
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s powerful security chief and former parliament speaker, in an airstrike .
Katz also said Israel had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij volunteer militia, which plays a major role in Iran’s domestic security .
Israel’s prime minister’s office said Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the elimination of senior officials of the Iranian regime as part of the campaign .
Tehran did not immediately comment on Katz’s claims, and Iranian state media instead published a handwritten note by Larijani honouring sailors killed in a recent US attack ahead of their funeral .
If confirmed, Larijani’s death would make him the most senior Iranian figure killed since former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in the first wave of US Israeli airstrikes on February 28 .
Iran has continued to launch missiles at Israel, showing it still has the ability to carry out long range strikes despite more than two weeks of heavy bombardment by US and Israeli forces .
Iran’s army said it had used drones to hit cyber technology centres in Israel and weapons production sites belonging to Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael .
The Israeli military said it was striking Iranian regime infrastructure across Tehran and Hezbollah targets in Beirut, and that it had drawn up plans for at least three more weeks of war .
Iran has also attacked Gulf Arab neighbours, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, in what US President Donald Trump described as an unexpected escalation .
Six foreign diplomats in the region told Reuters it was widely expected that Iran would hit Gulf states if the US or Israel attacked, and said this view was shared by both regional and Western governments .
Gulf countries have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since February 28, hitting US embassies and bases, oil infrastructure, ports, airports, ships and residential and commercial areas .
Oil loading at the UAE’s Fujairah port was at least partly halted after a third attack in four days caused a fire at the export terminal, threatening one of the few outlets that bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz .
UAE authorities said debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell in Abu Dhabi’s Bani Yas area, killing one Pakistani national, while firefighters battled a blaze caused by a drone strike at the Shah gas field .
Oil prices jumped about 4 percent on Tuesday and stock futures slipped as investors worried the conflict could drive a new spike in inflation .
Trump has urged allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to limit the economic damage, but so far his appeals have been rejected .
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters that no country was ready to put its people in harm’s way in the strait and that diplomatic solutions were needed to keep it open .
She warned that failure to secure the route could trigger food, fertiliser and energy crises worldwide if transport of key commodities is further disrupted
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