The China Mail - Trump denies he's desperate for Iran deal, Israel short on troops

Israel's army and opposition leader, meanwhile, warned that their country's ground forces -- fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon while its warplanes join their US ally in strikes on Iran -- are stretched and need reinforcements.

Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff told a cabinet meeting there were "strong signs" that Tehran was ready to negotiate an end to the fighting, confirming publicly for the first time that Washington had shared a 15-point "action list" with Tehran through Pakistani officials.

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction," Witkoff said.

For his part, Trump told reporters: "I read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal. I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care."

- 'Too few soldiers' -

During a 90-minute televised meeting at the White House, Trump veered between repeated threats to "obliterate" Iran and claims the Islamic republic was already on the verge of capitulating. "They want to make a deal. The reason they want to make a deal is they have been just beat to shit," he said.

In response to a reporter's question, Trump also said the United States might take control of Iran's oil, comparing it to the deal Washington made with Venezuela after toppling Nicolas Maduro. "It's an option," he said.

Trump's tough talk came as Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warned his country's government for the first time that the war was taking too high a toll.

"The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield," Yair Lapid said, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

"The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers," Lapid said.

In a televised briefing, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said: "On the Lebanese front, the forward defensive zone that we are creating requires additional IDF forces ... For that, more combat soldiers are needed in the IDF."

Meanwhile, the Iranian news agency Tasnim said: "Iran's response to the 15 points proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response."

The Tasnim report, citing an unnamed official, said Iran's reply called for an end to US and Israeli attacks on Iran and also on Tehran-backed groups elsewhere in the region -- an implicit reference to Lebanon's Hezbollah, among others.

War reparations should be paid and Iran's "sovereignty" over the Strait of Hormuz be respected, it said, citing conditions that put Tehran's demands far beyond anything in the US plan.

- 'No turning back' -

At the US cabinet meeting, Trump said Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz to show it was serious about talks. Iran says it has blocked the vital shipping lane to all but "non-hostile" vessels.

Under near-daily bombardment since February 28, Iran was hit by a new wave of Israeli strikes Thursday -- one of which Israel said had "blown up and eliminated" the Guards' naval commander, Alireza Tangsiri, and several senior officers.

Later, an AFP reporter in Tehran heard warplanes overhead and three loud explosions.

Iranian media reported US-Israeli attacks in the central cities of Isfahan and Shiraz, in Bandar Abbas in the south and Tabriz in the northwest -- but also Mashhad and Birjand, towards the Afghan border in an area largely spared until now.

Off the coast from Bandar Abbas on Qeshm -- the largest Iranian island in the Gulf -- one local resident told AFP via Telegram he hoped the site would not be taken over by the military.

"The suffering of people, the poverty, and the political oppression have been getting worse every year," said 42-year-old Sadeq.

"I don't think war is the solution to these conditions, but ending it won't change much for us either," he said.

Fresh violence flared in the Gulf, with two killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, and drones fired at both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Iran has targeted Gulf nations it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes, including hits on oil and gas sites. Crude prices had fallen since last week, but the wavering messages on talks saw oil prices jump again Thursday.

O.Tse--ThChM