Iran asks Pakistan to help de-escalate regional tensions

Donald Trump said on Monday he did not care if peace negotiations with Iran were over, CNBC reported, citing a phone interview with the US president.

"I don't care if they're over, honestly," Trump told CNBC when asked about reports that Iranian negotiators would stop communications with the United States over Israel's military operations in Lebanon.

"I really don't care. I couldn't care less," he added.

Trump said he was "going to ask" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "what's going on with Lebanon," according to CNBC.

He also said he was not worried about oil prices after Iranian state media reported that Tehran was vowing to "completely block" the Strait of Hormuz.

"I think the oil will be dropping like a rock in the very near, you know, the very near distance," Trump said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused the United States and Israel of repeatedly violating an April ceasefire, saying attacks on Iranian commercial shipping and Israeli strikes in Lebanon amount to breaches across all fronts.

In a statement, the ministry said the April 8 agreement was supposed to end the US and Israeli war against the Islamic Republic “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Washington had since “repeatedly” violated the ceasefire, including through continued actions against Iran’s commercial shipping, it said, apparently referring to the US enforcement of a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The ministry also accused Israel of a “flagrant” breach of the truce in Lebanon, saying "a ceasefire violation on any one front constitutes a violation on all fronts."

The ministry said the United States bears direct responsibility both for what it described as violations against Iran and for Israel’s actions in Lebanon, despite what it called early US efforts after the ceasefire to pressure Israel to halt its attacks.

Iran has repeatedly warned about the “dangerous consequences” of ceasefire violations for regional peace and security, the statement added, saying Tehran would use “all capacities” to defend its interests wherever it deems necessary.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday it received a report that a cargo vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the Persian Gulf about 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr, Iraq.

UKMTO said the vessel was transiting the Persian Gulf when a large explosion occurred after the projectile hit its starboard side.

UKMTO said it was not aware of any environmental impact at this time and that authorities were investigating.

A Panama-flagged vessel experienced an explosion in Iraqi territorial waters near the port of Umm Qasr, Iraqi broadcaster Alsumaria News reported on Monday, citing a security source.

The vessel, MSC SARISKA V, encountered the explosion near buoy number 5 after completing the unloading of its cargo at Umm Qasr port, the report said.

Preliminary information indicates the incident was caused by a mechanical fault inside the vessel and there were no indications that it had been targeted, according to the source cited by Alsumaria.

No casualties were reported and damage was limited to the vessel itself, while authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident, the report added.

Iran is ready to facilitate maritime traffic and ensure shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz, President Masoud Pezeshkian told Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in a phone call on Monday, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

"Iran is fully prepared to facilitate maritime transit. The main problem stems from the restrictions and obstacles imposed by the United States on Iran's shipping and trade," Pezeshkian said, according to IRNA.

"We will strive to ensure that Japanese vessels can pass without difficulty and with greater ease," he added.

Pezeshkian said Iran had always viewed diplomacy as the most effective way to resolve existing issues, but that the United States' failure to honor its commitments and Israel through its "destabilizing actions," had challenged diplomatic efforts.