Iran-US war latest: Trump warns Tehran ‘can’t blackmail us’ as gunboats ‘fire at tanker’ in Strait of Hormuz

Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of direct talks with the US, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday, citing Washington’s refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the United States, against claims made by Donald Trump.

“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is a non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.”

Khatibzadeh said there have been many exchanges of messages between the sides but accused the United States of holding firm on demands Iran deems to be excessive.

“We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position.”

Britain will make “a wide-ranging military contribution” to an international mission to protect shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz trade artery, the UK ambassador to the US has said.

The commitment by Sir Christian Turner comes amid long-running concerns over the state of the nation’s armed forces and warnings of under-funding.

Only this week, Labour former defence secretary and Nato chief Lord Robertson of Port Ellen accused his own Government of “corrosive complacency” in the face of “the bright red signals of danger”.

A reporter says Donald Trump ordered her ‘out’ after she asked him about the two ships reportedly fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz.

As Trump spoke on psychedelic drug legislation in the Oval Office, CBS reporter Olivia Rinaldi asked him about the reports of ships being struck in the channel earlier today.

Trump is seen in a video of the moment looking away before ordering: “Out.” He thanks the other reporters, indicating the time to leave.

Trump only yesterday said Iran had vowed never to close the strait again – before the regime reasserted itself, citing the continued US military blockade.

A French soldier was killed and three others wounded while clearing a road in southern Lebanon in an attack that peacekeepers and French officials said was likely carried out by Hezbollah.

French President Emmanuel Macron identified the fallen soldier as Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban.

“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron said, adding: “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and take their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”

UNIFIL said initial assessments indicated the fire came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it called “a deliberate attack.”

Hezbollah denied it was responsible for the attack.

Trump said the US was having “very good conversations” with Iran, even as Tehran closed the strait again on Saturday.

The reversal has left diplomacy uncertain, with just three days until the US-Iranian ceasefire is due to expire.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no date had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.

State television also quoted the Supreme National Security Council as saying the US had put forward new proposals after talks mediated by Pakistan in recent days.

Tehran was considering them but had not yet responded, it said.

There was no immediate sign of direct talks taking place at the weekend, despite Trump saying on Friday that negotiations would take place.

Tankers in the Gulf came under fire on Saturday as Iran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after declaring the vital waterway had reopened to commercial traffic.

At least two vessels reported being struck by gunfire as they tried to cross the strait, after Tehran said it would be shutting the strategic chokepoint in response to the continued US blockade on Iranian ports.

Hopes for diplomacy were dashed as Iran’s new supreme leader Mojataba Khamenei said the nation’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies, with the US-Iranian ceasefire set to expire within days.

Read the full story of today’s events here:

US officials have told the Wall Street Journal that the US military is preparing to board ‘Iran-linked’ oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters within days.

The report emerged on Saturday as Iran reasserted itself in the Strait of Hormuz.

Intercepting Iran-‘linked’ ships in international waters would represent a widening of the conflict, which has been mostly contained to the Strait in recent weeks.

Iran is not ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with US officials, a senior Iranian minister has said, citing Washington’s refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues.

In an interview with the Associated Press on the margins of a diplomacy forum in Turkey, deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the US, rejecting claims by Donald Trump.

“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Mr Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are non-starters.”

On Friday, Mr Trump said the US will go into Iran and “get all the nuclear dust”, referring to the 970lb of enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites badly damaged by American military strikes last year.

Mr Khatibzadeh said there have been many exchanges of messages between the sides but accused the US of holding firm on demands Tehran deem to be excessive.

“We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position,” he said.

Iran was seeking the finalisation of a “framework agreement” before moving to an in-person meeting, he added.

He would not go into specifics of the negotiations with the US or say which issues remain unresolved but called on Washington to address Tehran’s concerns, including sanctions imposed on Iran.

“The other sides also should understand and address our main concerns, which are illegal unilateral sanctions that Americans have imposed on Iranians and this economic terrorism which has targeted Iranian people to suffocate them and make them to revolt against the political structure inside Iran,” Mr Khatibzadeh said.

Read out on state TV on Saturday (April 18), a newsreader quoted a statement attributed to Khamenei saying, “The army stood against the sinister plans of the United States, the remnants of the Pahlavi regime, and separatists who wanted a dismembered Iran, and created epic achievements.”

At least two merchant vessels reported they were hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, maritime security and shipping sources said, shortly after Iran said it was once again tightening control of the waterway.

Asked about developments in the Strait of Hormuz today, Donald Trump said: “we have very good conversations going on”.

He added: “It’s working out very well – they got a little cute as they have been doing for 47 years.”

The president continued: “They wanted to close up the strait again, as they’ve been doing for years, they can’t blackmail us.

“We’ll have some information by the end of the day. We’re talking to them, we’re taking a tough stand.”