New mechanism to govern Strait of Hormuz in Iran peace proposal – RT reporter (VIDEO)
Iran is seeking a decisive and permanent end to the conflict with the US, rather than a previously proposed two-month ceasefire, RT correspondent Saman Kojouri has reported from Tehran regarding a 14-point peace plan put forward by the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has submitted a new peace proposal to Washington via Pakistani mediators in response to a US offer, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed on Saturday, adding that “the ball is in the US court.”
RT’s Saman Kojouri said key provisions of the plan include guarantees against future attacks by Israel and the US, the lifting of sanctions, the withdrawal of American forces from areas surrounding Iran, and a new mechanism to govern the Strait of Hormuz. “The plan includes a demand to resolve all issues and end the war within 30 days,” says Kojouri, adding that “the space for compromise between Tehran and Washington is narrowing.”
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would review the offer but cast doubt on its prospects. Trump posted later on social media that he “can’t imagine” the proposal will be acceptable and said that Iran had not yet “paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity and the world over the last 47 years.”
Watch the full report of by RT’s Saman Kojouri on the latest peace efforts to end the war in Iran:
‘Immortal Regiment’ march held in Washington (PHOTOS)
Several hundred people have taken part in an ‘Immortal Regiment’ march in Washington, commemorating those who fought for the Soviet Union in the Second World War, the Russian Embassy in DC has said.
The marches were first held in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012. In the past, WWII veterans had been honored guests at Victory Day parades commemorating Hitler’s defeat, but their numbers had dwindled, so local organizers came up with the idea of inviting their loved ones to march instead, holding their portraits. Since then, the idea has spread across Russia and to other nations.
The marches are traditionally held on May 9 in Russia, when the country celebrates Victory Day. In Washington, however, it was staged on Saturday, a week before the 81st anniversary of the end of the bloodiest conflict in history.
The demonstrators walked past the White House carrying portraits and red Victory Banners, and made their way towards the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, where they laid flowers, the embassy said in a statement.
The Russian diplomats thanked the organizers of the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march and all those who participated in what they described as an “important initiative, aimed at countering attempts to rewrite history and whitewash the Nazis and their collaborators, who are now being honored in some countries.”
Last year’s procession in the US capitol was marred by provocations from pro-Ukrainian activists. No incidents have been reported during the current event.
An ‘Immortal Regiment’ march also took place in New York City on Saturday, with several dozen people gathering outside the office of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN.
The previous administration of US President Joe Biden had refused to permit the processions, citing coronavirus restrictions and a difficult political situation. But the ‘Immortal Regiment’ marches resumed after Donald Trump’s return to office.
ICE hires firm accused of torture to track down immigrant children – Guardian
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signed a contract with a private security firm to locate migrant children who arrived in the US without their parents, although the company is facing accusations of ‘torture,’ The Guardian has reported.
The agency, which is part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), hired the Virginia-based company MVM in mid-April to assist with its expanding effort to track down minors who had been released into communities pending immigration court proceedings, the paper said in an article on Saturday.
A one-year deal was signed between ICE and the contractor, which provides detention and transport services to federal immigration agencies, it added.
MVM is currently being sued over the separation of two Guatemalan fathers from their respective children in 2017. The lawsuit, which had been filed in a California court two years ago, alleges “torture, enforced disappearance and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment” on the part of the company.
Its employees “physically took thousands of children away from their parents” before transporting them “using unmarked vehicles, commercial airlines, and makeshift detention centers,” the document read.
A DHS spokesperson said that MVM has “zero immigration enforcement authority” and that the partnership with the firm represents the agency’s “commitment to protect vulnerable children from sexual abuse and exploitation.”
“The primary focus of this initiative is to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure thaat they are safe and not being exploited or abused,” the spokesperson stressed.
The Guardian said that it had reviewed an internal ICE document last year, which suggested that it actually runs an operation aimed at deporting the children or pursuing criminal cases against them or the adults providing for them.
"Accusations that ICE is ‘targeting’ and arresting children are false and an attempt to demonize law enforcement,” the DHS spokesperson insisted.
Democratic lawmaker Delia Ramirez, who is of Guatemalan descent, has called upon Congress to monitor the arrangement between ICE and MVM.
"DHS continues to be a threat to our collective safety. It is beyond reckless to hire a company of dangerous bounty hunters, with a concerning track record of abuse, to ‘track’ immigrant children,” she wrote on X on Sunday.
