Iran demands US withdrawal, sanctions relief in response to proposal - report

Iran has not altered its negotiating position on the Strait of Hormuz or its nuclear program in a recent proposal, according to the Institute for the Study of War, which said some officials in Tehran may be seeking to pressure Washington into concessions.

In an update on Saturday, the Washington-based think tank said elements within the Iranian system could believe Tehran can impose enough economic and political costs on the United States to shift its stance.

The report said Iran is taking steps to withstand a US naval blockade, including reportedly reducing oil production as storage capacity nears its limit, while avoiding a full shutdown that could damage oil fields.

The head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, visited American service members aboard the USS Tripoli in the Arabian Sea on Saturday, the military said.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said Cooper met sailors and marines, recognized top performers and toured key areas of the amphibious assault ship, including its Combat Information Center.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday the US president’s remarks describing naval seizures as “piracy” amounted to a “direct and damning admission” of unlawful conduct, urging the international community to reject violations of maritime law.

"The President of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as “piracy,” brazenly boasting that “we act like pirates.” This was no verbal slip," he posted on X.

"It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation. The international community, UN Member States, and the UN Secretary-General must firmly reject any normalization of such blatant violations of international law," Baghaei said.

Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, told Lebanon's Al-Manar TV that the Islamic Republic’s condition in any negotiations with the United States is a guarantee that attacks on Lebanon will fully stop.

“The Iranian front and the southern Lebanon front are one, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was meant to allow the Lebanese to live in peace,” he said, referring to Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Lebanon.

Nikzad added: “Hezbollah is the soul of Iran, and Iran is the soul of Hezbollah.”

The Trump administration has moved to speed up more than $8.6 billion in weapons sales to Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran remain stalled, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The packages include an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, which fires laser-guided rockets, for Israel, Qatar and the UAE.

They also include air-defense systems for Qatar and Kuwait, which faced repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the war.

Qatar is set to buy more than $4 billion in Patriot missile interceptors, while Kuwait’s package is valued at about $2.5 billion.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio used an emergency authority to bypass normal congressional review, drawing criticism from Democrats, the New York Times reported.