Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to begin peace talks to end the war, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, as two carriers were allowed to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
The response, sent to mediator Pakistan, focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, and on the safety of shipping through the strait, Iranian state TV said, without indicating how or when the vital waterway might reopen.
It followed a US proposal to end fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear program. There was no immediate US comment on the Iranian response.
After some 48 hours of relative calm following sporadic clashes last week, hostile drones were detected over several Persian Gulf countries on Sunday, underlining the threat still facing the region despite a month-old ceasefire.
Still, the QatarEnergy-operated carrier Al Kharaitiyat passed safely through the strait and was heading for Pakistan's Port Qasim, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler, the first Qatari vessel carrying liquefied natural gas to cross the strait since the US and Israel started the war on February 28.
Sources said earlier the transfer, which offered a modicum of relief to Pakistan after a wave of power blackouts caused by a halt to vital gas imports, had been approved by Iran to build confidence with Qatar and Pakistan, both mediators in the war.
In addition, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier bound for Brazil that had previously attempted to transit the strait on May 4, passed through, using a route designated by Iran’s armed forces, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
With US President Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which has ignited a global energy crisis and poses a growing threat to the world economy.
But, despite diplomatic efforts to break a deadlock between the two sides and the passage of the two vessels, the threat to shipping lanes and the economies of the region remained high. On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two drones coming from Iran, while Qatar condemned a drone attack that hit a cargo ship coming from Abu Dhabi in its waters. Kuwait said its air defences had dealt with hostile drones that entered its airspace.
Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world's oil supply and which has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who discussed Pakistan's mediation efforts to end the war with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Miami on Saturday, told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi that using the Strait of Hormuz as a "pressure tool" would only deepen the crisis.
He told Araqchi in a phone call that freedom of navigation should not be compromised, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Sunday, without specifying the exact date of the call. Turkey's foreign minister also spoke to Araqchi, an official in the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Iranian lawmakers have said they are drafting a bill to formalise Iran's management of the strait, with clauses including forbidden passage to vessels of "hostile states".
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the strait since a ceasefire began a month ago: the UAE came under renewed attack on Friday and sporadic clashes were reported between Iranian forces and US vessels in the strait.
Clashes have also continued in southern Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reignited on March 2 when the Lebanese group opened fire after Tehran came under US-Israeli attack. The latest talks between Israel and Lebanon are due to start in Washington on May 14.
Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month but Tehran has so far taken its time before responding to calls to end a war.
A CIA assessment indicated Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a US blockade for about another four months, according to a US official familiar with the matter.
However, a senior intelligence official characterised as false the "claims" about the CIA analysis, which was first reported by the Washington Post.
The US has also found little international support in the conflict, with NATO allies refusing calls to send ships to open the Strait of Hormuz without a full peace deal and an internationally mandated mission.
Britain, which has been working with France on a proposal to ensure safe transit through the strait once the situation stabilises, said on Saturday it was deploying a warship to the Middle East in preparation for such a multinational mission.
(Reporting by Reuters Newsrooms; Writing by Kim Coghill and James Mackenzie; Editing by William Mallard, Philippa Fletcher, Aidan Lewis)