Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that no specific initiative has been proposed to halt the war with the US and Israel, but that "we welcome any regional initiative that leads to a just end" to the conflict.
His remarks came as Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty departed for Doha to begin a Gulf tour aimed at co-ordinating positions on "fast‑moving regional developments", his ministry said in a statement. Mr Abdelatty will meet senior Qatari officials before travelling on to other Gulf states, the ministry added.
It said the trip reflects Egypt’s support for all Arab countries and emphasised Cairo's efforts to ensure de-escalation. The visit is the first by a senior Egyptian official to the Gulf region since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. Egypt is bound to Gulf Arab states by close political, economic and military relations.
None of the parties has offered any indication that the war will end soon. US President Donald Trump said Iran appeared ready to make a deal to end the conflict but that "the terms aren't good enough yet".
"The end of the war depends on guaranteeing that it will not be repeated and on paying compensation," Mr Araghchi was quoted as saying on his Telegram channel. He said Iran was in communication with various Gulf states.
"If our energy facilities are targeted, we will also target American companies' facilities in the region," he added. The Iranian minister said that Tehran is ready to form a committee with regional countries to investigate the targets that have been attacked. "Our attacks only target American bases and interests in the region," he said.
Gulf countries have called on Iran to cease its attacks on their territories, which have not only sustained strikes on US military bases but also caused damage to energy facilities and residential areas.
On Sunday, the UAE’s air defence systems intercepted four ballistic missiles and six drones launched by Iran, the Ministry of Defence said. Since the start of the conflict, the UAE has intercepted 298 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,606 drones.
Saudi Arabia also intercepted more than 20 drones, including several over Riyadh, and six missiles. Kuwait said it intercepted all but six of the 14 drones that entered its airspace since Saturday, three of which damaged the radar at its international airport. Bahrain said it has intercepted 125 missiles and 211 drones since the start of the war.
The Iranian Foreign Minister said the Strait of Hormuz was open to everyone except ships linked to the US and its allies. Iran's ability to halt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes, poses a major problem for the US and its allies.
Energy prices are soaring as the war causes the biggest-ever disruption in oil supply, and the energy crisis looks set to continue. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his assassinated father, has said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed. Responding to rumours about the fate of the new leader, Mr Araghchi said "the leader of the revolution is in full health and is fully managing the situation".
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it struck ballistic missile and drone sites of the Iranian regime in western and central Iran. The army said an Israeli Air Force aircraft, acting on precise real-time intelligence, identified a drone launch cell operating from a hangar located within a drone launch site in western Iran.
"The aircraft struck the hangar and then identified the operatives of the launching cell fleeing the structure. It added that the Israeli Air Force carried out additional strikes and eliminated the drone launch cell.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that they had carried out missile and drone strikes on targets in Israel and three US bases in the region, calling the attacks the first round of retaliation for workers killed in Iran's industrial areas. The Israeli military said it was intercepting incoming projectiles.
The IRGC has also vowed to "hunt down" and kill the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the war in its third week. In a statement carried by state media, the IRGC said: “If this criminal, the killer of children, is still alive, we will continue working to hunt him down and kill him with all our strength.”
Israeli media reported four people were injured in an Iranian missile attack on central Israel on Sunday.
