Iran rejects proposed ceasefire as Israel strikes key petrochemical complex
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The news: Tehran rejected a plan to end the war on Monday, issuing its own 10-point response, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, as Israel hit a vital petrochemical plant at Iran’s South Pars natural gas field.
The context: Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei was cited by IRNA as saying: “We are calling for an end to the war and for preventing its recurrence,” after Axios first reported that the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a 45-day ceasefire as part of a deal to bring an end to the war.
Baghaei said that Iran has formed a response to the plan, describing Washington’s demands as “extremely excessive and unusual and illogical” and that any diplomatic talks are “absolutely incompatible with ultimatums, crimes, and threats to commit war crimes.” The ultimatums refer to US President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press on Monday: “We won’t merely accept a ceasefire…We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”
Israel on Monday said it had hit the South Pars petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh and killed two Revolutionary Guard commanders. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency blamed the US and Israel for the strikes.
The Asaluyeh facilities are responsible for around 50% of Iran’s petrochemical production.
The sources: Bloomberg, CNN, WSJ, Associated Press
