07/04/2026

TUESDAY | APR 7, 2026

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US, Iran weigh peace plan

N. KOREA DISTANCES ITSELF FROM IRAN SEOUL: North Korea appears to be distancing itself from Iran and managing its public messaging to preserve the possibility of a new relationship with the US. Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said North Korea had not sent weapons or supplies to Iran since the conflict started on Feb 28 and did not issue public condolences. The NIS assessed this restraint as preparation to secure diplomatic space after an anticipated May summit between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump. At North Korea’s Ninth Workers’ Party Congress in late February, Kim appeared to leave an opening for talks with Washington, saying there was no reason the countries “cannot get along well”, if the US recognised North Korea’s status as a nuclear state and withdrew its hostile policy. – Reuters DUBAI: Iran has executed a man named Ali Fahim convicted over an attempt to storm a military facility and access an armoury in January, after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence. Iran has already executed three others linked to the incident, including Amirhossein Hatami earlier last week, and Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast on Sunday. Another man linked to the case is believed to face execution soon. Authorities said the defendants had tried to seize weapons and military equipment during protests, describing them as “rioters” acting against national security. Amnesty International said several defendants were facing execution over the unrest and that trials had been grossly unfair. - Reuters TEHRAN EXECUTES MAN OVER ATTACK

president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said any settlement must guarantee access through the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that a deal that failed to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East”. Fresh aerial strikes were reported across the region yesterday, more than five weeks since the US and Israel began pounding Iran in a war that has killed thousands and damaged economies by boosting oil prices. Iranian state media said the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organisation, Majid Khademi, has died. Israel yesterday claimed responsibility for his death. Israel and the US have carried out assassinations of Iran’s leaders since the start of the war on Feb 28, killing several high-ranking members of the Iranian ruling system, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was

“all night long” with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the source said. Iran won’t reopen the Strait as part of a temporary ceasefire, a senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday, adding that Iran won’t accept deadlines as it reviews the proposal. Washington lacks the readiness for a permanent ceasefire, the official said. Axios first reported on Sunday that the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing US, Israeli and regional sources. In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait. Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the

replaced by his son, Mojtaba. A US-Israeli attack hit the data centre at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, damaging infrastructure underpinning the country’s national artificial intelligence platform and thousands of other services, Fars News Agency said on Sunday. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz in a statement issued yesterday threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leaders “one by one”. Trump has repeatedly warned Iran he could expand US strikes to include civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges. Experts say such attacks could constitute war crimes but the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction because the countries involved are not members of the court. The Geneva Conventions say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives”, and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden. – Reuters

DUBAI: With a US deadline approaching, the United States and Iran received the framework of a plan to end their five-week-old conflict, though Tehran rejected any immediate move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal by the end of today that would allow traffic to start moving again through the vital route for energy supplies. The Pakistani-brokered plan emerged from intense overnight contacts and proposes an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations on a broader settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days, a source aware of the proposals said yesterday. Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact o Trump ‘hell’ warning nears deadline

BR I E F S

TEL AVIV: Four people were killed in the Israeli port city of Haifa after what Israeli media said was an Iranian missile strike that hit a residential building on Sunday. Four bodies were recovered following hours of intensive rescue operations, the Israeli military said yesterday. The direct hit on a seven-storey building tore through sections of the structure which has partially collapsed, the military and rescue services said. Dozens of Israeli security and members of rescue forces were deployed at the site of the strike. Images and footage show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties. Paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders “managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands”. His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, “we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground”. The military yesterday detected fresh waves of missiles fired from Iran, and each time it said its “defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat”. – Reuters/AFP Four killed in Haifa missile strike

Israeli emergency personnel working at the site of a missile strike in Haifa yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Use of Hormuz must be guaranteed, says UAE security is not a regional bargaining chip but a global economic imperative.

DUBAI: UAE official Anwar Gargash said any settlement of the US-Iran war must guarantee access through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that a deal that fails to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East”. Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a weekend briefing that the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil artery, cannot be weaponised, stressing that its

most unlikely worst-case scenario for the UAE had been a full Iranian attack. Despite that, he said, the country was coping well, demonstrating resilience and resourcefulness under pressure. He said the UAE’s economic fundamentals remained strong and positioned the country for a recovery, though he acknowledged it would require effort. Gargash said Iran’s strategy was likely to harden the Gulf’s security alignment with Washington. – Reuters

“We don’t want to see more and more escalation,” he said. “But we don’t want a ceasefire that fails to address some of the main issues that will create a much more dangerous environment in the region.” Gargash said the United Arab Emirates was ready to join any international effort to secure shipping through the strait. The UAE has come under heavier Iranian strikes than any other Gulf state, according to regional officials. Gargash said that for decades, the

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by any country,” said Gargash, adding that freedom of navigation through the waterway “has to be part and parcel of the settlement of any conflict with clear agreement on that”. Gargash said the UAE wants the war to end, but warned against a ceasefire that leaves the root causes of instability unresolved.