Iran war day 72: Tehran yet to reply to US plan; Israel bombs Lebanon

Israeli jets have targeted more than 10 towns in southern Lebanon as the ceasefire between Iran and the United States appears to be holding despite naval skirmishes near the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel on Saturday killed at least 24 people in a wave of attacks despite a ceasefire that took effect last month.

Meanwhile, Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to its latest proposal to end the US-Israel war on Iran, which entered day 72 on Sunday.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday threatened to target US sites in the Middle East and “enemy ships” if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.
• The Football Federation of Iran said its men’s national team would take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer but demanded that joint hosts the US, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions.
• A spokesperson for Iran’s military warned that any country enforcing US sanctions against Tehran will “definitely face difficulties passing through the Strait of Hormuz”, according to the Tasnim News Agency.

War diplomacy

• Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, said Islamabad will continue its mediation efforts between the US and Iran. “We will do all our efforts to succeed in the mediation, and we will continue to do so,” Munir said in a public address on Sunday.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Saturday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani to discuss the importance of “security across the Middle East”, the US Department of State said.
• Iran has yet to reply to the US proposal to end the war despite US President Donald Trump saying late on Friday that he expected to receive it that night.
• A reporter for the French broadcaster LCI, Margot Haddad, said on Saturday that Trump told her in a brief interview that he still expected to find out Iran’s answer “very soon”.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed Moscow’s willingness to oversee the transfer and storage of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

In the Gulf

• Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, expressed his country’s “full solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain and its support for all measures taken by the Bahraini security authorities” to uncover a cell linked to the IRGC and “espionage activities”.
• Bahrain said on Saturday that it arrested 41 people who are part of a group affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Ministry of Interior said investigations confirmed they were in contact with the IRGC and collected funds “with the aim of sending them to Iran” to support its “terrorist operations”.