Iran rejects US ceasefire proposal

Iran on Thursday rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal delivered in Tehran by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, hours before the U.S. Central Command completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets, according to Iranian and Iraqi officials cited by The New York Times, deepening the collapse of an interim deal Washington and Tehran signed last month.

Iranian officials told the Times they were not interested in a “temporary deal” that left the status of the Strait of Hormuz unresolved, a sticking point that has driven the fighting since a June memorandum of understanding unraveled.

The proposal was drafted after al-Zaidi met with President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this month and was carried to Tehran on Wednesday, where the prime minister met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Trump signaled hours earlier that he was in no hurry to close a deal.

In a brief interview, he told Axios he was considering a “massive attack. Bigger than ever before” and that Iran “hasn’t received enough pain yet.” Two U.S. officials told Axios no order had been given.

CENTCOM said the 13th round of strikes ran more than two hours and concluded at 9 p.m. Eastern time, targeting Iranian military command centers, drone storage sites, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities.

CENTCOM added that the strait remains open and that more than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the region.

The diplomatic breakdown came on a day when the war widened on two other fronts.

Iran-backed Houthi forces struck two Saudi tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, with Saudi authorities confirming a fire on the Encelia and reporting the crew safe.

Meanwhile, Brent crude briefly crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since May.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also claimed missile and drone attacks on U.S. military assets in Jordan and Kuwait and struck a Kuwaiti telecommunications tower, which it described as retaliation for U.S. hits on Iranian telecom sites.

Congress moved separately to constrain the president.

The House voted 214-208 to adopt a war powers concurrent resolution sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., directing the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran.

Reps. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined every voting Democrat.

A parallel Senate joint resolution failed 49-47. Because H.Con.Res. 89 is a concurrent resolution, it cannot force a withdrawal.

At the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the situation is getting out of control” and “teetering on the edge of the unimaginable,” urging the restoration of freedom of navigation and a return to diplomacy.

As of 11 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, no follow-on proposal or U.S. escalation order had been announced.