Tehran: Iran has turned down a US proposal for a 48‑hour ceasefire, underscoring Tehran’s refusal to pause hostilities despite growing diplomatic pressure. The offer was relayed to Tehran through a “friendly” country on Thursday, according to the semi‑official Fars news agency, which cited an informed source in confirming the details.
The proposal came amid heightened US diplomatic efforts, particularly after an Iranian strike hit a US military depot on Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island, sharply escalating regional tensions. Fars assessed that the move stemmed from a broader regional crisis and US “miscalculations” about Iran’s military capabilities, arguing that these have created serious operational setbacks for American forces in the region.
Rather than responding in writing, Iran signaled its refusal through continued battlefield actions. In what Fars described as Tehran’s “reply,” Iranian forces claimed to have shot down a US F‑35 over central Iranian airspace on Friday, followed by the downing of an A‑10 “Warthog” attack plane over southern waters near the Strait of Hormuz; the A‑10 crashed into the Persian Gulf.
In related developments, Mehr News Agency reported that a US Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a projectile in Iranian skies while hunting for the F‑35 pilot, underscoring the risks to US forces operating near Iranian airspace.
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer‑Ahmad Governor Yadollah Rahmani urged tribal and rural residents to help locate “enemy pilots,” calling on local communities to watch for parachutes or landing sites and assist in tracking down any surviving crew.
The current escalation traces back to February 28, when joint Israel‑US strikes targeted Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing then‑Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, top commanders, and civilians. Iran responded with missile and drone barrages on Israeli and US targets across the Middle East, setting off the cycle of attacks that now defines the broader regional war and frames the failed 48‑hour ceasefire proposal.
