Iran denies damage to its infrastructure and Rubio describes little progress in negotiations

Iran denied that its infrastructure had been damaged by a US attack, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that negotiations with Tehran had made little progress, according to BBC News Arabic.

In a press conference held in Tehran on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said that Iran is in control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that ships that want to transit must coordinate with the competent Iranian authorities. He also stressed that his country is countering hostile drones and shooting them down.

In a related context, The Iranian Electricity Company "Tavanir" denied that there had been a cyberattack or interruption of the electricity network in the capital Tehran, and technical investigations indicated that the accident that occurred at the Tehran refinery was related to the internal operations of the industrial complex.

For its part, the Iranian army stated that an oil tanker caught fire after colliding with a naval mine in the east of the Strait of Hormuz, and the naval forces confirmed that the strait will remain closed to violating ships until the removal of any threat.

Rubio called Iran's demands “unacceptable.” He said he did not see an imminent breakthrough on the dossier, adding that President Donald Trump favors a diplomatic solution. According to CNN, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would order new attacks on Iran as long as talks progressed.

These developments come as Trump meets with the Prime Minister of Qatar at the White House, after a pivotal role for Qatar in transferring proposals between Washington and Tehran.

Source: BBC News Arabic - https://www.bbc.com/arabic/articles/cw98z810nv68o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss