Iran denied on Thursday attacking a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz this week, as US President Donald Trump said a deal to end the war was “very possible” but warned Washington would resume bombing if talks failed.
Tehran’s embassy in Seoul said it “firmly rejects and categorically denies” allegations that its armed forces were behind a blast aboard the Panama-flagged HMM Namu, which caught fire on Monday while transiting the strategic waterway with 24 crew members on board.
Trump later claimed Iran had “taken some shots” at the vessel and urged South Korea to join US-led efforts to restore shipping through the strait.
The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, saw Iran respond with attacks across the Middle East and impose a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, rattling global energy markets.
Despite Trump’s optimism, Iran has yet to respond to a new US proposal, with its chief negotiator warning that Washington was seeking to force the Islamic republic’s “surrender.”
Signs that the foes could return to the table after weeks of deadlock grew after Trump halted a short-lived military operation to reopen the strait, citing hopes for a deal.
‘Very possible’
“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.
But he had warned earlier that if Iran did not honour what had been agreed, bombing would resume “at a much higher level and intensity.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the US proposal remained “under review” and Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan “after finalising its views.”
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led Iran’s negotiations, warned that Washington sought “through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender.”
US news outlet Axios, citing two officials, reported both sides were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for nuclear negotiations.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key figure in initial talks in Islamabad, said he was “very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”
