IRGC announces \u2018new rules\u2019 over the coastline in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz
\n tehran
\nIran said on Saturday that it was up to the United States whether to pursue a negotiated settlement or to return to open war, but that Tehran was ready for either outcome.
\n\u201cNow the ball is in the United States\u2019 court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,\u201d Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
\n\u201cIran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,\u201d he said.
\nIranian armed forces earlier said that it was \u201clikely\u201d the US-Israel war on the country would resume as \u201cevidence shows the US is not committed to any agreements or treaties\u201d, according to Al Jazeera.
\n\u201cThe actions and statements of US officials are primarily media-driven, aimed first at preventing a drop in oil prices and second at extricating themselves from the mess they have created,\u201d Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy of the military headquarters, said in a statement carried by Iran\u2019s Fars news agency.
\n\u201cThe armed forces are fully prepared for any new adventures or foolishness from the Americans.\u201d
\nIran executes two on espionage charges
\nTwo people were executed for allegedly spying for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad during the US-Israel war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera.
\n The pair were identified by Fars news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as Yaqoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekerzadeh.
\nThe latter was charged with collecting details of \u201cimportant government, religious, and provincial figures\u201d and providing information on \u201cimportant centres\u201d in the Natanz region, where a major nuclear site is located, according to Al Jazeera.
\nKarimpour allegedly passed sensitive information to a Mossad officer.
\nIran announces new maritime rules amid Strait of Hormuz tensions
\nIran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced \u201cnew rules\u201d over the country\u2019s coastline in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the move comes at the directive of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
\nThe IRGC Navy said it will exercise control over \u201cnearly 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles) of Iran\u2019s coastline\u201d in these areas, making \u201cthis body of water a source of livelihood and strength for the noble people of Iran, and a source of security and prosperity for the region,\u201d according to state-run Press TV on Friday evening.
\nNo further details have been revealed.
\nTensions have been running high regarding the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran restricted passage across the strategic waterway in a retaliatory move against the US-Israeli strikes that began on Feb. 28.
\nA ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by talks in Islamabad on April 11\u201312, but no agreement was reached.
\nUS President Donald Trump later unilaterally extended the truce without setting a new timeframe, at Pakistan\u2019s request.
\nSince April 13, the US has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the waterway.
\nUS withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, US officials say
\nThe United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as \u200ba rift over the Iran war widens between Trump and Europe.
\nTrump had threatened a drawdown in forces earlier this week after sparring with German \u200cChancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war and that he did not see what exit strategy Washington was pursuing.
\nA senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German rhetoric had been \u201cinappropriate and unhelpful.\u201d
\n\u201cThe president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks,\u201d the official said.
\nThe Pentagon said the withdrawal was expected to be completed over the next six to 12 \u200bmonths. Germany is home to some 35,000 active-duty U.S. military personnel, more than anywhere else in Europe.
\nThe official said the drawdown would bring US troop levels in Europe \u200bback to roughly pre-2022 levels, before Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine triggered a buildup by then-President Joe Biden.
\nThe official also cast the decision in terms of the Trump administration\u2019s push for Europe to become the main security provider on the continent. But it is nonetheless another potent reminder of Trump\u2019s willingness to respond to perceived \u200bdisloyalty by allies.
\nReuters exclusively reported last week an internal Pentagon email that outlined options to punish NATO allies that Washington believes failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending \u200bSpain from NATO and reviewing the US position on Britain\u2019s claim to the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IRGC announces \u2018new rules\u2019 over the coastline in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz tehran Iran said on Saturday that it was up to the United States whether to pursue a negotiated settlement or to return to open war, but that Tehran was ready for either outcome. \u201cNow the ball is in the United States\u2019 court […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-544333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n