U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he "expects to hear very soon" Iran's response to Washington's latest peace initiative, while Iranian officials issued warnings against what they termed "aggressive" American actions in the Persian Gulf.
In a phone interview, Trump expressed optimism that Tehran remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive agreement.
The Iranians "still very much want to make a deal," Trump said in the phone call with French TV station LCI. "I'm getting a letter supposedly tonight. So we'll see how that goes," he added.
In a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the United States' "destructive approach" weakens diplomatic efforts and reinforces the Iranian nation's suspicion of Washington's intentions. He further said that an end to illegal aggressions and excessive and unreasonable demands is necessary for advancing the ongoing diplomatic process.
Echoing this hardline stance, Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, took to social media on Saturday to caution international governments against endorsing the U.S.-backed proposal.
"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital lifeline; do not risk closing it on yourselves forever," Aziz warned.
In a letter dated Friday addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the president of the UN Security Council, Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani documented American attacks on two Iranian oil tankers and multiple sites along Iran's southern Persian Gulf coastline.
Iravani reaffirmed that Iran possesses an "inherent right to self-defense" and is entitled to take appropriate protective measures in response to U.S. hostile actions in the Strait of Hormuz and broader Persian Gulf region. He characterized recent American operations as blatant violations of both the ceasefire agreement and the UN Charter, describing them as tantamount to piracy.
Iran calls upon the United Nations to "explicitly and unequivocally condemn" U.S. actions, Iravani wrote, urging the United States to fulfill its obligations under international law and refrain from all further provocations.
Trump expects to hear from Iran soon, Iran warns US against destructive approach
Trump expects to hear from Iran soon, Iran warns US against destructive approach
China's economic development picked up steadily in April, with key indicators pointing to broad-based improvements in infrastructure activity and a sharp move of capital toward advanced technology sectors, according to the data released Sunday by the State Information Center(SIC), a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The data showed that in the investment landscape, the average operating rate of national construction machinery rose by 3.6 percentage points month on month in April.
Port logistics, heavy lifting, and civil construction all recorded rebounds, signaling steady progress in infrastructure construction.
Concrete equipment, as key construction machinery, saw a notable rebound in activity, with its operating rate increasing by around 5 percentage points both year on year and month on month.
"Municipal infrastructure, transport projects, industrial parks, urban renewal -- all types of projects are being rolled out across the board. For major projects in various regions, efforts are being made to seize the construction window and accelerate the pace. This also reflects that physical investment in infrastructure, industry, and urban construction is picking up speed, and investment vitality is steadily improving," said Shen Chunfeng, a big data expert from iRootech, a company that helps businesses achieve intelligent transformation by applying technologies such as industrial intelligence and embodied intelligent robots.
April marks the peak construction season in many regions.
More than 10 provinces and municipalities, including Anhui, Beijing, Ningxia, and Zhejiang, ranked among the top in terms of comprehensive operating rates. "Domestic engineering construction is moving from localized improvement to nationwide pickup. The coverage of projects starting work has expanded greatly, market activity is broadening, and the positive trend in real economy investment and infrastructure construction is further consolidating," said Shen.
Investment is also moving faster from traditional sectors toward new arenas.
According to fresh data from the SIC, capital investment in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots jumped 175.2 percent year on year in April.
The value of winning bids for infrastructure projects in data, computing power, and networks rose 61.7 percent year on year, continuing to activate new drivers of economic growth.
"In April, China saw strong investment momentum in frontier fields. Investment activity in digital infrastructure grew rapidly, and the ability of sectors such as AI to attract capital is notable. This shows that, with coordinated efforts from both the government and the market, investment is concentrating more quickly on new tracks -- providing a strong boost to the development of new quality productive forces and steadily strengthening the foundations for high-quality economic development," said Xing Yuguan, an associate researcher of the Big Data Development Department under the SIC.
China’s economic momentum strengthens as infrastructure activity rises, frontier investment surges
