Iran has sent its response to the latest US proposal for ending the conflict that began at the end of February, according to state media.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to the latest proposed U.S. draft aimed at ending the war was delivered today through a Pakistani mediator,” the state news agency IRNA reported Sunday.
It gave no details of the Iranian response beyond saying that: “according to the proposed framework, negotiations at this stage will focus on the issue of ending the war in the region.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has met with a senior military commander – the second in-person meeting Khamenei has had within the last few days, according to Iranian state media.
Khamenei met with Maj. Gen. Abdollahi, the commander of military headquarters, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, and received a report “on the readiness of Iran’s armed forces.”
No photographs or video of the meeting were published. No images of Khamenei have been published by Iranian media since he was inaugurated in March after US-Israeli strikes killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to speculation about his health and whereabouts.
Abdollahi said that Iranian forces were in a state of high readiness, with “the necessary equipment and weapons to counter hostile actions by the American-Zionist enemies.”
“In the event of any strategic mistake, aggression, or attack by them, they will respond swiftly, intensely, and powerfully,” Abdollahi was quoted as saying.
Khamenei said that Iran had “thwarted the enemies from achieving their evil goals” and issued new instructions to powerfully confront the enemies, according to the Fars account.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Thursday he had held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei, marking the first reported in-person meeting between a top Iranian official and the country’s new Supreme Leader.
Pezeshkian did not specify when it took place.
CNN reported Friday that US intelligence assesses Khamenei is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, citing multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.
The reports found that precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war.
Source: CNN
-- Agencies
