• Iran wants end to US blockade, nuclear talks postponed.
• President Trump has made Iran nuclear deal a priority.
• US and Israel have suspended bombing for four weeks.
  

Iran said on Sunday it had received a US response to its latest offer for peace talks, a day after President Donald Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because “they have not paid a big enough price”.

Iranian state media reported that Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or Islamabad of the US response.

“At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” state media quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war ends and the foes agree to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping.

On Saturday, Trump said he had yet to review the exact wording of the Iranian peace proposal but was likely to reject it.

“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years,” he wrote on social media.

Strait in stress

The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have so far failed.

Iran handed over its latest proposal on Thursday, and a senior Iranian official confirmed on Saturday that Tehran envisions ending the war and resolving the shipping standoff first, while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later.

Though Trump initially said on Friday that he was not satisfied with the Iranian proposal, he said on Saturday he was still looking at it.

“They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now,” he told reporters. Asked if he might restart strikes on Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”

Iran’s proposal vs Washington’s demands

The proposal to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later phase would appear at odds with Washington’s repeated demand that Iran accept stringent restrictions on its nuclear programme before the war can end.

Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make a bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, though it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions, as it had accepted in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.

While repeatedly he is in no hurry, Trump is under domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up US gasoline prices. Trump’s Republican Party faces the risk of a voter backlash over higher prices in midterm congressional elections in November.

Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon and creating a new control mechanism for the strait.

Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomacy, the senior Iranian official said Tehran believed its latest proposal to shelve nuclear talks for a later stage was a significant shift aimed at facilitating an agreement.

“Under this framework, negotiations over the more complicated nuclear issue have been moved to the final stage to create a more conducive atmosphere,” the official said.

Israel orders Lebanon evacuations

On Sunday, Israel ordered thousands of Lebanese to leave villages in southern Lebanon, an escalation of a war between Israel and Iran’s Hezbollah allies there that has run in parallel to the Iran war and could further complicate wider peace efforts.

Iran has said talks with Washington cannot resume unless a ceasefire also holds in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March to attack Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed Lebanese group fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Lebanon and Israel agreed to a separate truce last month, but fighting has continued, though on a smaller scale. The Israeli military issued an urgent warning on Sunday to residents of 11 towns and villages in Lebanon’s south, urging them to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) away to open areas.

The military said it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it described as a violation of the ceasefire, warning that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk.

Two US service members participating in the African Lion joint military exercises were reported missing near the city of Tan Tan in southern Morocco, the US Africa Command (Africom) and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said on Sunday.

US, Moroccan and other partner forces launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations, including ground, air and maritime assets, to find the service members, who went missing near the training site of Cap Draa, the two militaries said in separate statements.

The Moroccan army said the service members went missing near a cliff.

“Initial reports indicate the two soldiers may have fallen into the ocean,” a US defence official told Reuters by email. “I can confirm this incident is not related to terrorism.”

African Lion is the US Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise, aimed at improving interoperability among US forces, Nato Allies and African partner nations.

This year’s edition runs from April 27 to May 8 across the four nations of Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.

The largest part of the drills takes place in Morocco, involving approximately 5,000 personnel from over 40 countries, according to Africom.

• Plan aims at “Israel’s air superiority”: defence minister.
• Netanyahu vows to increase defence budget to $118bn.
• Israel to make “blue-and-white” groundbreaking aircraft: PM.
  

Israel on Sunday approved a multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire two combat squadrons of fighter jets from the United States, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it would “reinforce” its air superiority.

The purchase includes a squadron of F-35 multi-role stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin and another of F-15IA warplanes from Boeing, Israel’s defence ministry said.

The plan aims to “ensure Israel’s air superiority for decades to come,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

“The F-35 and F-15IA acquisitions are central to the ‘Shield of Israel’ plan, which is designed to give the IDF (Israeli military) a lasting qualitative edge,” he said.

The F-35, a joint project between the United States and a number of allies, is one of the world’s most advanced military aircraft. Israel already operates several dozen of the jets.

Netanyahu said it would bolster Israel’s “overwhelming air superiority” but pledged to start building its own weapons and fighter planes.

“Our pilots can reach anywhere in the skies of Iran and are ready to do so, if needed,” he said.

“Over the next decade, we will add 350 billion shekels ($118 billion) to the defence budget in order to manufacture such weaponry in Israel and not be dependent on foreign suppliers,” he said.

“At the same time, we will develop ‘blue-and-white’ groundbreaking aircraft. This will change the entire picture,” he said, using a term for products developed in Israel.

Israel’s air force played a central role in the war in Gaza, carrying out one of the most intense aerial bombardment campaigns in recent history.

Thousands of strikes targeted what Israel said were Hamas positions, including tunnels, command centres and rocket launch sites, but vast areas of the densely populated territory were devastated, including homes, hospitals and schools.

Israel has also fought two wars against Iran in less than a year, during which its air power has been used for long-range strikes deep inside Iranian territory.

Israel recently approved its 2026 budget, which includes an increase in defence spending of billions of dollars.

Israel’s military spending has steadily increased since the war in Gaza began.