Iran on Thursday rejected a ceasefire proposal passed along from the United States by Iraqi mediators, The New York Times reported, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, as the US staged its 13th straight night of strikes against the Islamic Republic.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had traveled to Iran that day, with a proposal formulated shortly after he met with US President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this month.

Iranian officials told the newspaper, however, that they were not interested in a “temporary deal” that would not address the final status of the Strait of Hormuz, a key sticking point in negotiations.

Al-Zaidi’s office said he visited Tehran to call for peace and dialogue, and promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran.

Trump, meanwhile, warned that the United States would use Iranian money under Washington’s possession or control to pay for “any and all damages” done to ships and cargo by strikes in and around the Gulf.

“Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded: “Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.”

“Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”

Iran officials: Escalation would mean striking Tel Aviv

Two Iranian officials cited by The Times warned that the next stage of the escalation in fighting between Washington and Tehran would include Iran striking Tel Aviv.

The newspaper reported the officials saying that if Trump follows through with his threats to hit Tehran as well as infrastructure in Iran, the Islamic Republic will retaliate by striking Tel Aviv and ask the Houthi rebel group in Yemen to impose a maritime blockade on the Bab al-Mandab strait.

During the first stage of the war, which began on February 28, the IDF took part in the strikes on Iran and Tehran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel. But........

© The Times of Israel