Iran has turned down a 48-hour ceasefire proposal from the US, as reported by the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday. The proposal, conveyed through a third party on Thursday, aimed at halting the escalating conflict. Washington intensified its diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire following an Iranian strike on a US military depot in Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island, according to Xinhua news agency.
Assessments by Fars indicate that the US proposal came after a surge in regional crisis and challenges faced by American forces due to a misunderstanding of Iran’s military capabilities. Despite no written response from Iran, the rejection was evident through continued attacks on the battlefield. The Iranian army confirmed shooting down a US A-10 “Warthog” attack plane over the southern waters near the Strait of Hormuz, leading to the aircraft’s crash in the Persian Gulf.
The tensions escalated further when the IRGC announced the downing of a US F-35 fighter jet in central Iranian airspace, followed by reports of a US Black Hawk helicopter being hit in Iranian airspace. Yadollah Rahmani, governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, urged residents to help locate “enemy pilots” in tribal and rural areas. In a prior incident, joint Israeli and US attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities resulted in casualties, prompting retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Iran against Israel and US assets in the Middle East.
