Trump holds phone call with Qatari emir on Iran war

The Iran war mediator, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has stressed the importance of continued dialogue and relying on diplomatic solutions to settle disputes and spare the region further escalation in a call with US President Donald Trump Friday.

The exchange was the latest in a flurry of phone calls that saw Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to several Gulf leaders amid fears that Washington could resume strikes.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters his country had sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only after American commitments to seven demands are fulfilled.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said earlier during his visit to Russia that Tehran will neither open the Strait of Hormuz nor hold negotiations as long as the US does not execute the conditions.

At sea, a tanker reported explosion at its port-side waterline while transiting the strait near Oman's Khasab late Thursday.

This after the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by state TV two oil tankers caught fire as they sought to cross "unauthorised" route.

The Guards said bids by the US military to compel oil tankers to cross the waterway through the mined route will lead to nothing but "consecutive and abject" defeats.