IRAN and the US remained at an impasse today as neither side softened their positions to end the violence in the Middle East.

But US President Donald Trump said Iran has allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “present” to show it is serious about negotiations.

It followed his cryptic comments earlier this week about a “gift” from Tehran.

He also repeated his claims that Iran’s military has been largely neutralised despite the ongoing conflict, saying: “We are absolutely obliterating Iran.

“They’re defeated; they’re not making a comeback. They now have a chance to make a deal, but that’s up to them.

“Just so we set the record straight, they are begging to make a deal, not me. And everybody who saw what’s happened over there knows why.

“I don’t know if we’re willing to do that.”

US envoy Steve Witkoff said there are “strong signs” Iran could be convinced to make a peace deal, confirming that Washington had passed a 15-point plan to Tehran through mediator Pakistan.

He blamed Iran for “stalling talks” and said that the US has “multiple reach-outs from the region and others who want to play a role in ending this conflict, peacefully.”

The US has bombed Iran twice in the last year during peace talks.

Tehran has described the US proposal as “one-sided and unfair” but signalled a path forward could still emerge.

An unnamed senior Iranian official told Reuters: “In brief, the proposal suggests that Iran would relinquish its ability to defend itself in exchange for a vague plan to lift sanctions.”

Meanwhile, the US-Israel war on Iran continued, with attacks killing two teenagers, Ilya and Amir Hossein Sharafi, in a residential area in Shiraz while Israel launched “a wave of extensive strikes” targeting Isfahan.

Two others reportedly died from debris from an intercepted Iranian missile in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.

The US and Israel announced that an Israeli air strike killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Alireza Tangsiri, but Iran did not immediately confirm the death.

Tehran’s latest missile barrage injured three people east of Tel Aviv.

Navy chiefs from France, Britain, Germany, Italy, India and Japan held talks today to “exchange views on issues related to freedom of navigation and maritime security as the sea is a vital artery for our global economy and regional stability.”

The Gulf Co-operation Council also met today, with secretary-general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi calling for a “diplomatic solution” to Iran’s retaliations that have “crossed all red lines.”

Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi warned that Yemen’s armed group could enter the war if conditions demand it.

“At the slightest development in the conflict calling for a military response, we will intervene without delay … as we did in previous phases,” he said.

Global food security is one of the biggest threats from the fallout of the war as shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continues to be heavily restricted.

Analyst Sultan Barakat from the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies said that while the world focuses on energy supplies, fertilisers to grow food are also not moving to countries that need them to keep populations fed.

“The countries that will pay the highest price will be the poorest, which have always relied on getting the most competitive price,” he told Al Jazeera.

“They will be cut out of the market first.”

The UNHCR estimates that 3.2 million people have been displaced within Iran since strikes began, and reports indicate that more than 1,500 people have been killed since the US-Israel offensive began on February 28.

Meanwhile, Israel has continued attacks on Lebanon and Palestine as part of its border expansion plans, with the army issuing a displacement threat for all Lebanese residents south of the Zahrani River.

Its military later said it is “expanding the security zone” in southern Lebanon.

A man was killed in Israel after a Hezbollah rocket was fired in the north, with another reportedly seriously wounded.