The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently became a mother and shared a photo of her baby on social media platform X, revealing her name.
“On May 1, Viviana, aka ‘Vivi’, joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love. She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” Leavitt wrote.
Four days after her post, Iran sent congratulations even as the prospect of renewed conflict looms in West Asia. However, along with the message, Iran also referred to the Minab killings of schoolchildren, which it alleges were caused by a US attack.
A school in Minab, Iran, was bombed into rubble on February 28 the day the Iran-US-Israel war broke out. Over 160 children, aged five to seven, were killed.
Iran’s embassy in Armenia shared Leavitt’s post on X and wrote: “Congratulations to you. Children are innocent and lovable. Those 168 children that your boss killed in the school in Minab, and you justified, were also children. When you kiss your baby, think of the mothers of those children.” At the time of filing this report, Leavitt had not responded to the post.
US awaits Iran’s response to its proposal
Relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday after days of flare-ups, as the US awaited Iran’s response to proposals aimed at ending over two months of conflict and opening peace talks.
Marco Rubio said Washington expected a response within hours, but Tehran has shown no movement on the plan, which seeks a formal ceasefire before addressing contentious issues like its nuclear programme.
Rubio also met Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Miami on Saturday, where both sides discussed efforts to deter threats and promote stability across the Middle East, according to the US State Department.
Iran sent new warnings to the US
Amid the peace talks, Iran’s army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia warned that any fresh attack on the country would be met with “surprise” weapons, new methods of warfare and expanded battlefronts, according to Tasnim, Reuters reported. The spokesperson also cautioned that countries complying with US sanctions on Iran could face difficulties crossing the Strait of Hormuz, amid rising tensions over shipping and regional security in the Gulf.
