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A day after Tehran dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan, the American leader claimed that Iran was “begging to make a deal,” and that he wasn’t the one pushing for negotiations. Earlier Thursday, Trump told Tehran to “ get serious soon ” on negotiating a deal to end the war.
Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the U.S. and Israeli war effort from the Strait of Hormuz, but it’s letting a trickle of others through the crucial waterway. Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Gulf Arab nations, said Iran was charging for safe passage through the strait.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was preparing for the arrival of thousands of troops that could be used on the ground in Iran.
The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 people in Lebanon, with dozens more killed in Israel and elsewhere in the region. Thirteen US. military members have died. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
