We’re closing this blog now but our coverage continues on a new liveblog here, including a recap of the latest developments. Thanks for following along.
China sees 'glimmer of hope' for peace
China’s foreign minister has said that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the war in the Middle East, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.
Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.
“With both the United States and Iran signalling a willingness to negotiate, a glimmer of hope for peace has emerged,” Wang told Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty, according to a Beijing readout published late on Wednesday and reported by Agence France-Presse.
The statement came hours before Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that “so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled”.
Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.
Wang told Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, during the call that the rights and wrongs of the conflict in the Middle East were “crystal clear”, offering support to the country in helping to facilitate the resumption of negotiations.
Turkey has engaged in “intense” diplomatic efforts to end the war by talking to both Washington and Tehran, Fidan said this month.
Wang said:
Prolonging this war would only result in further casualties and needless losses, leading to a further spillover of the conflict.
Updated
The chief executive of Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc has described any restriction of passage through the strait of Hormuz by Iran as “economic terrorism”.
“When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy,” Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech in the US, cited by Reuters.
No country can be allowed to destabilise the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever.
Al Jaber, during a meeting with US vice-president JD Vance earlier in the day, said free passage through the strait of Hormuz was the only durable solution to stabilising global markets.
Israel carries out 'wide-scale' strikes in Iran
The Israeli military says it has carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including extensively in the central city of Isfahan.
A brief military statement said on Thursday that Israeli forces “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran”.
As the oil crunch reverberates around the globe – with some countries in Asia among the most affected – South Korean president Lee Jae Myung on Thursday asked the public to conserve electric power.
He said rising fuel prices could prompt a shift to electricity because its prices were comparatively stable due to a government-controlled tariff.
Lee was holding an emergency economic meeting to address the fallout of the Iran war on Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which almost entirely depends on imports for energy.
Updated
Meanwhile in the Philippines, a ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived, a source with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse on Thursday, days after the country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky, bearing high-quality crude from Russia’s ESPO pipeline arrived on Monday, with documents showing the consignee as Petron Corp, operator of the Philippines’ sole oil refinery, said the source.
The Philippines is heavily dependent on imported fuel, the cost of which has hit historic highs since the US-Israeli war with Iran forced the partial closure of the strait of Hormuz.
Bahrain says its civil defences have extinguished a fire in the north due to “Iranian aggression” and there were no injuries.
The fire was in the Muharraq governorate, the interior ministry posted on X in the early hours of Thursday, a while after saying a warning siren had been sounded and urging people to head to the nearest safety shelter.
Tehran has continued to press its drone and missile attacks around the Gulf and on Israel, while Israel continues striking Iran.
Updated
In case you missed this earlier, the days after Nowruz – the Persian New Year – are usually a bustling time in Tehran, with spring arriving, trees blossoming, businesses reopening after the holidays and people returning to work and school.
But this year Iranians are trying to maintain a semblance of ordinary life against the constant backdrop of explosions, airstrikes and a conflict many fear may drag on for weeks or months, writes Stefanie Glinski.
“More and more, people are starting to normalise this war,” said Farhad, a photography editor in Tehran.
It’s difficult, but we’re adapting and trying to return to our daily lives as much as possible. There’s no alternative. We’re tired. We just want peace.
Explosions lit up the city’s skyline overnight on Wednesday as Israel launched fresh airstrikes – but by the morning, joggers were exercising again in the sprawling Pardisan Park.
Schools and universities remain closed since the start of the war, but shops, restaurants and cafes are slowly reopening.
See the full feature here:
Hezbollah’s rejection of any ceasefire talks with Israel comes as the country has carried out fresh strikes in Lebanon and said it is expanding a “buffer zone” in the south.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes and artillery shelling in several southern locations on Wednesday, and the health ministry said at least eight people were killed.
The agency also reported an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israel’s military said it struck a “command centre” there after a renewed evacuation warning.
Agence France-Presse reports that a street was covered in debris – including shattered cement and warped metal – after the early morning strike, while an apartment building’s upper floors appeared damaged.
The area has been targeted multiple times during the conflict and is largely empty of residents, who have fled.
In southern Lebanon, Israel’s military said ground troops “dismantled a weapons storage facility” and the air force killed “several terrorists”.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, 42 health workers are among more than 1,000 people killed in Lebanon in more than three weeks of Israeli strikes. Lebanese authorities say upwards of 1 million people have been displaced.
Hezbollah rejects truce talks with Israel
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” as it launched fresh attacks on the country.
The Iran-backed group said it launched missiles early on Thursday at military sites in central Israel, where air raid sirens sounded, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
Israeli media said six Hezbollah rockets headed for central areas were all intercepted.
Hezbollah said its fighters had launched more than 80 attacks on Wednesday – the largest daily number in the current round of fighting – and attacked Israeli forces in nine border towns.
Israel’s military said one of its soldiers was severely wounded by rocket fire in southern Lebanon, having earlier reported an officer being lightly injured in combat.
The Lebanese president has called for unprecedented direct negotiations with Israel in an effort to end the fighting but it has so far rebuffed his proposal.
Qassem said Hezbollah was not interested: “When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender.”
Updated
Donald Trump will meet Xi Jinping in May after the US president’s first visit to China in eight years was postponed because of the Middle East war.
Trump was initially slated to travel next week but has written on his Truth Social platform that he will now visit Beijing on 14 and 15 May. He also said he would host the Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.
Trump’s launch of a joint military operation with Israel against Iran created a fresh point of tension with China, Tehran’s main oil buyer.
A full report’s here:
Updated
Russia sending drones to Iran, western intelligence says – report
Russia is close to completing a phased shipment of drones, medicine and food to Iran, according to western intelligence reports that detail Moscow’s efforts to keep its embattled partner fighting, the Financial Times is reporting.
It quotes two officials briefed on the intelligence as saying senior Iranian and Russian officials began secretly discussing delivering drones days after Israel and the US attacked Tehran on 28 February.
The processing of deliveries began early this month and was expected to be completed by the end of March, the FT report says.
It continues:
Moscow has close ties with Tehran and has provided its ally with crucial support including satellite imagery, targeting data and intelligence support, people familiar with the matter said.
The shipments of weaponry such as drones would be the first evidence Moscow has been willing to provide lethal support to Iran since the start of the war.
The FT report could not be independently verified.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov is quoted in the report as saying when asked about Moscow sending drones to Iran: “There are a lot of fakes going around right now. One thing is true – we are continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership.”
Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, is quoting as saying of the Iranians:
They don’t need more drones. They need better drones. They are after the more advanced capabilities.
Updated
Trump says Iran negotiators fear being 'killed by their own people'
Donald Trump has just insisted that Iran is in fact taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials are because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.
“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told a dinner for Republican members of the US Congress, cited by AFP. “But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people.”
Updated
We’ve got vision here of Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi saying there are currently no negotiations taking place between the US and Iran, and that the exchange of messages through different mediators “is not called conversation, nor negotiation, or anything”.
“This is simply sending messages through others,” he said.
Araghchi was also quoted as saying in the interview on state TV:
At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance. We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled.
Australia’s sharemarket is treading water as hopes fade for a speedy end to the war in the Middle East.
Donald Trump’s promises of a pause in his war on Iran gave US stock markets a boost overnight, and the ASX was expected to follow today, in what would have been its third consecutive day rising.
Sentiment has now turned as Iran rejects negotiation, with oil prices rising – the benchmark West Texas Intermediate from US$88 to US$91 – and the ASX200 tiptoeing just under its close of 8,534 points yesterday.
Share prices are falling for more than half of Australia’s 200 top companies.
Most of the big banks have been holding steady in recent days, with the exception of NAB, which hit a record high market value of A$150bn in the days before war broke out and is now worth A$130bn.
Iran says no plan to hold negotiations with US
Iran has dismissed a US plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV that his government had not engaged in talks to end the war – “and we do not plan on any negotiations”.
Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat.
That came after a report from Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster quoting an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected the US’s ceasefire proposal and had its own demands for an end to the fighting, the Associated Press reports.
Earlier, two officials from Pakistan – which transmitted the US plan to Iran – described the 15-point proposal broadly.
The White House press secretary insisted the US and Iran were in talks, even as Iranian officials deny it. “Talks continue,” Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.” They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be.”
Leavitt warned that if talks with Iran did not pan out, Donald Trump “will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before”.
Updated
More than 5,000 Israelis injured since start of war, health ministry says
The number of people injured in Israel since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran has exceeded 5,000, Israel’s health ministry has said.
The figure stood at 5,165 as of 6pm local time, including 247 more injuries in the last 24 hours, according to an update on social media.
106 people are currently in hospital, with 12 in a serious condition, the ministry said.
More from the Iranian foreign minister’s interview on state tv, Abbas Araghchi acknowledged that “some ideas” were put forward in the US’s 15-point peace plan.
“These [ideas] were being presented in various formats as different ideas, all of which have been passed on to the country’s senior authorities,” he said, adding:
If a position needs to be taken [regarding these ideas] it will certainly be determined.
Iran 'waiting' for American soldiers to arrive, says military adviser
Mohsen Rezaie, an Iranian military adviser and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that Iran is waiting for US troops to arrive in the region.
Rezaie in a post on X:
When they have achieved no results from their air force, which is their strength, what do they expect from a ground operation? Do American soldiers want to die for Israel? We are waiting.
Rezaie was recently appointed as the military advisor to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
The US is poised to deploy more than 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East, signalling it may consider boots on the ground despite Donald Trump’s claims of “very good” talks with Iran.
The day so far
Mixed messages have swirled today on the progress of any supposed peace talks between the United States and Iran, with each side claiming the upper hand. While White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Donald Trump was having “productive discussions” with Iran, Tehran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi – while acknowledging that the two countries have exchanged messages through mediators – told state media that that is no the same as the two sides being in talks, and said Iran has no intention of negotiating “for now”. “That they are now talking about negotiations is an admission of defeat,” he told state media. “Didn’t they claim unconditional surrender before?”
Iran reportedly received the US’s 15-point plan, which Tehran initially rejected but Araghchi later suggested it was still under review. “If a position needs to be taken, it will certainly be determined,” he said. Earlier it was reported that Tehran had rejected the “excessive” demands in the proposal. Among the demands were a complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program and strict limitations on its missile arsenal.
The White House, meanwhile, warned that Donald Trump is prepared to “unleash hell” if Iran does not accept defeat, and continued to insist that negotiations were ongoing. Leavitt said the US president prefers a peaceful path, but is prepared to “hit [Iran] harder than they have ever been hit before” if necessary.
Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, with what he described as a “larger buffer zone” to push back the threat of Hezbollah. His forces have also continued to bomb Beirut. Many in Lebanon fear that Israel’s plans could echo its previous protracted occupation, which ended in 2000.
“The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said. He also told the US and Israel it is “high time” to end the war and called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbours.
Updated
'Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,' says UN chief
More from the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, who earlier told the US and Israel it is “high time” to end the war and called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbours.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Guterres said people are living under “profound insecurity”, which he saw first-hand on a recent visit to Lebanon.
“There, too, the war must stop,” he said, calling on Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel, and on Israel to cease its military operations and strikes.
He added:
The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon.
Updated
The Guardian view on Israel’s war in Lebanon: allies must not accept a repeat of the crimes in Gaza
The intense focus on Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran has meant scant attention paid to the Israeli war in Lebanon. Yet almost 1,100 people have now been killed there by strikes, according to the health ministry, and a fifth of the population has been displaced.
When Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel shortly after the attack on its patron Iran began, Israel responded with what it called “precise and targeted strikes”. But the offensive quickly escalated. On Tuesday the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced another occupation of Lebanon – describing a “defensive buffer” running up to the Litani River, about 30km north of the border, and by implication likely to be prolonged. That would be illegal in itself. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, has called for annexation outright.
Israel says it must protect communities in its north. The international court of justice ruled that self-defence did not justify occupying Gaza. Israel sees an opportunity to finally eliminate Hezbollah – isolated without Syrian support or help from Iran, and still recovering from the decapitation of its senior leadership by the Mossad in September 2024. Yet Hamas has endured through the devastation in Gaza. Hezbollah itself was born of the 1982-2000 Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu, fighting an ongoing corruption case and determined to restore his political fortunes and legacy, appears to pursue eternal conflict. His far-right coalition partners have a maximalist vision of territorial conquest. Katz said that Israel would demolish homes along the border as it did in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza – which were essentially flattened. As in Gaza, Israel has forced civilians to flee en masse, and hit bridges and water and sanitation infrastructure. Health workers and officials accuse Israel of deliberately targeting medical facilities. Human Rights Watch says that it is using white phosphorus.
The widespread failure to take meaningful action against Israel over its atrocities in Gaza, and reluctance even to criticise it more than tepidly, has emboldened Netanyahu’s government and its rightwing supporters. The Israeli military has killed hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire was announced. The humanitarian crisis continues to grip the territory. Israel’s western allies – including the UK – must apply real pressure, instead of being complicit in a grim future for Lebanon too.
You can read the full editorial here:
Updated
Iran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire – report
Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, six regional sources familiar with Iran’s position have told Reuters, linking an end of the war to a halt to Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah that has seen it move to occupy large swathes of southern Lebanon (see my last post).
Iran’s Press TV on Wednesday cited an Iranian official saying Tehran wanted any deal with the US to secure an end to the war both on Iran and other “resistance groups” in the region.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran was still reviewing a US proposal to end the regional war, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.
The six regional sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had informed mediators as early as mid-March that it sought a deal that would also stop Israel’s attacks on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
There was no immediate response from Iran’s foreign ministry, Israel’s foreign ministry or the Israeli military to questions from Reuters on the matter.
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that ending Iran’s “proxy activities” and disarming Hezbollah were “crucial to ensuring peace and stability in Lebanon and across the region”.
One of the regional sources told Reuters that Hezbollah had received “Iranian guarantees” on its inclusion in any wider deal.
“Iran is prioritizing Lebanon – it will not accept Israeli violations in Lebanon like what happened after the 2024 ceasefire,” the source said, referring to Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon despite a 2024 truce that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel’s foreign ministry has said that “Israel has not conducted and does not conduct negotiations with the Iranian terror regime”.
A source briefed on Israel’s military strategy has previously told Reuters that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah would probably continue after the air war with Iran, describing the two fronts as unconnected.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,094 people in Lebanon, including at least 121 children, and displaced more than 1.2 million.
Updated
Netanyahu says Israel expanding occupation of southern Lebanon
Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Israel’s forces are expanding a so-called “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon as the military presses ahead with its campaign against Hezbollah.
“We have created a ‘genuine security zone’ preventing any infiltration toward the Galilee and the northern border,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
“We are expanding this zone to push the threat from anti-tank missiles further away and to establish a broader buffer zone,” the Israeli prime minister said.
Israel said on Tuesday that it would seize parts of southern Lebanon to create what it described as a “defensive buffer” – prompting fears that Israel is planning another protracted occupation.
During a meeting with the military chief of staff, Israel defence minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani”, a river in Lebanon that meets the Mediterranean about 30km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border.
Katz added that all bridges over the Litani river “have been blown up and the IDF will control the remaining bridges”.
Israel’s destruction of bridges, homes and other civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon had prompted fears that it was cutting off the region from the rest of the country, and planning another occupation – with the hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese left without homes to return to.
The previous day, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, had called for annexation outright, saying Israel should “apply sovereignty” in areas in southern Lebanon, signalling this expansionist vision that has alarmed critics at home and abroad.
Updated
UN chief says it's ‘high time’ to end ‘out of control’ war on Iran
Earlier, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said that the conflict in the Middle East is “out of control”, with the world “staring down the barrel of a wider war”.
It was “high time” that the US and Israel end their war on Iran, he said. He also urged Tehran to stop attacking its neighbours “that are not part of the conflict”.
It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder, and start climbing the diplomatic ladder, and return to full respect of international law.
Updated
in Washington
A potential $200bn request from the Pentagon to pay for the US war effort with Iran was mentioned in a briefing with US senators on Wednesday, but it remains unclear if the Trump administration will formally request that amount, the Democratic senator Tim Kaine said.
“It was discussed,” the Virginia lawmaker said after exiting a classified briefing on the conflict held for members of the Senate armed services committee. However, he noted that the defence department had not formally asked Congress for that amount, and they may ultimately request a different number.
“Until they send it, they’re not making the case,” Kaine said.
Earlier in the day, Lindsey Graham, the Republican chair of the Senate budget committee, announced the majority would begin work on a bill that could include Iran war funding and be passed along party lines using the reconciliation procedure.
Updated
Iran's foreign minister says no talks being held with the US
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said there are currently no negotiations taking place between Tehran and Washington, adding that the exchange of messages through different mediators “does not mean negotiations”.
Iran’s top authorities are currently reviewing the peace proposals that have been put forward, he said, but Tehran has no intention of holding talks with the US “for now”.
Araghchi said the US had failed to achieve its key war objectives against Iran, including securing a quick military victory and bringing about regime change.
He was also critical of the US’s regional role, saying it has failed to protect its allies in the Gulf, despite the presence of its military bases there. He urged Iran’s neighbours to distance themselves from Washington.
Updated
Iran warns unnamed regional country against alleged plan to occupy island
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has warned on X that “based on some information, Iran’s enemies, with the backing of a regional country, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands”.
The post goes on: “All enemy movements are under the full surveillance of our armed forces. If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks.”
Neither the regional country or Iranian island are specified, but many commentators remain concerned that the US could send land forces to seize the strategically important Kharg Island.
Last week, the US bombed military facilities on the island – which processes 90% of Iran’s oil exports - but stopped short of striking its oil infrastructure.
As we reported on Tuesday, the US is also preparing to send more than 1,000 additional troops from an airborne assault unit to the Middle East.
Updated
Earlier, US Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace said she will not be supporting the deployment of US troops in Iran after leaving a briefing by the House armed services committee on the war.
She said in a post on X:
I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing.
In a later post, the South Carolina representative added that the gap between what was presented to the American public and the military objectives presented today is “deeply troubling”.
The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House armed services committee. This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people.
Leavitt is then asked about Trump’s repeated comments recently that regime change has been achieved in Iran.
“Has it not?” she cuts in. “Their entire leadership has been killed, and nobody has really seen or legitimately heard from this alleged new leader, so wouldn’t you say there’s been a change in the regime?”
She goes on: “There’s been a change in the regime leadership, which is what the president said, so thank you for confirming he is right.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on 28 February, was named supreme leader earlier this month. He was injured in that attack, and has not been seen or heard in public since, though written statements have been released in his name, fuelling speculation about the extent of his injuries. Trump has speculated he could even be dead, and had previously expressed his disapproval of him as leader.
Updated
Leavitt is then asked whether Trump still believes the US should have a role in choosing Iran’s new leadership. She replies:
I think the president obviously believes the US wants to have someone in leadership in the Iranian regime that will be much more favourable, that would would be willing to with the US, that would no longer chant ‘death to America’ … These would all obviously be good.
Amid mounting confusion over the 15-point plan, Leavitt is asked a follow-up question.
Q. Just to follow up, because you said that some of the information that’s been out there about the 15-point plan is inaccurate. Can you say what is accurate with respect to ballistic missiles, the nuclear ambitions and the strait of Hormuz, which are things that the president has laid out that he wants to see a couple of times in the past?
Here is the White House press secretary’s brow-raising reply:
If you’ve heard it from the president of the United States, obviously it’s true, as well as the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
She is also pressed on criticism that Trump’s approach has shifted from demanding that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon to tighter restrictions on nuclear enrichment generally.
The president has been “quite clear” on what he wants to see from the Iranian regime, she says, without clearing anything up.
Updated
Leavitt is then asked what has changed that has made JD Vance emerge as a more active participant in negotiations with Iran.
“I don’t think anything has changed,” Leavitt says. “The vice-president has always been a key member of the president’s right hand man and a key member of the president’s national security team. He’s been part of these discussions, throughout this entire course of the administration.”
She added: “The vice-president has been by the president’s side every step of the way, and any reporting otherwise is just completely false. I see him in the room, again, the president seeks his counsel on all matters, both foreign and domestic.”
It was reported on Tuesday via Pakistani sources that Vance was being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks went ahead – after Iranian sources said they would refuse to sit down with Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, or Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the war, and with whom there was “zero trust”.
Updated
White House avoids question of whether US boots on the ground needed to reopen strait of Hormuz if talks fail
Leavitt is then asked if the only other option to reopen the strait of Hormuz if negotiations with Iran fail is to put US boots on the ground, given that the US’s allies have said they’re either unable or unwilling to assist.
Leavitt says she won’t answer a hypothetical question, and that the decision is for the president, as commander-in-chief, to make.
Updated
Next, Leavitt is asked if the United States is providing support for Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, and if Trump is concerned that more than a million people have been displaced.
On the first part of the question, Leavitt says she’s “not in a position to comment” on this.
On the second part, she says “of course” Trump is concerned and that is why it’s important to “eliminate the threat” of the Iranian regime and their proxies, including Hezbollah.
That’s why Trump “wants to see this move as quickly as possible over the next couple of weeks”, she says.
Updated
White House insists Iran has not rejected US peace proposal
Asked about reports that Iran has rejected the US 15-point plan to end the war, Leavitt says “they have not” and insisted talks are continuing.
She says:
However, I saw a 15-point plan that was floated in the media. I would caution reporters in this room from reporting about speculative points, speculative plans from anonymous sources.
The White House never confirmed that plan. There are elements of truth to it but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual.
Updated
White House: Trump's preference is peace - but is prepared to 'unleash hell' on Iran
Leavitt says that following president Donald Trump’s “powerful threat” at the weekend, it was made clear to the US that Iran wanted to hold talks.
She says Trump is “willing to listen” and says he has been engaged in constructive discussions, leading to the postponement of planned strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure.
She adds:
The president’s preference is always peace. There does not need to be any more death and destruction.
But if Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, president Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before.
Leavitt says Trump is not one to bluff and that he is prepared “to unleash hell”.
US military 'annihilating' Iran's navy, destroyed 140 vessels - Leavitt
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that the United States is “annihilating” the Iranian navy, “steadily degrading its ability to terrorist merchant ships”.
Speaking at a press conference, she said:
Just over three weeks in, it is abundantly clear that Operation Epic Fury has been a resounding military triumph.
More than 9,000 enemy targets have been struck to date. Compared to the start of the operation, Iran’s ballistic missile and drone attacks are down by roughly 90%.
She said the US is also “annihilating” Iran’s navy, having destroyed 140 vessels, including almost 50 mine-layers, adding:
This is the largest elimination of a navy on the face of the planet in a three-week period since World War II.
We are keeping an eye on the White House briefing with Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
It is due to start imminently and any lines relevant to the Middle East crisis, specifically the US-Israeli war on Iran, will be covered here.
Stay tuned.
A joint statement by Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan on has called on Iraq to take the necessary measures to immediately stop attacks launched against neighbouring countries from Iraqi territory.
The statement said the call comes to preserve “brotherly relations” and avoid further escalations.
Since the start of the Israeli-US war on Iran, Iran-backed Iraqi militias have claimed responsibility for attacks on several US bases in the region.
Russia said Wednesday it was “deeply outraged” by a reported strike on the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, which it partially constructed and helps operate.
“We are extremely outraged by this reckless, irresponsible manifestation of a disastrous course,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
A projectile landed within the plant’s compound on Tuesday night, Iran’s atomic energy organisation said, accusing the United States and Israel of being responsible.
The days after Nowruz, the Persian New Year, are usually a bustling time in Tehran, with spring arriving, trees blossoming, businesses reopening after the holidays, and people returning to work and school.
This year, however, Iranians are trying to maintain a semblance of ordinary life against the constant backdrop of explosions, airstrikes – and a conflict many fear may drag on for weeks or months.
“More and more, people are starting to normalise this war,” said Farhad, a photography editor in Tehran. “It’s difficult, but we’re adapting and trying to return to our daily lives as much as possible. There’s no alternative. We’re tired. We just want peace.”
Explosions lit up the city’s skyline overnight on Wednesday as Israel launched fresh airstrikes, but by the morning, joggers were exercising again in the sprawling Pardisan Park. Schools and universities remain closed since the start of the war, but shops, restaurants and cafes are slowly reopening.
Aylar, a 39-year-old human rights worker who spent the first weeks of the war sheltering in her apartment with her cats, said that she had paid for an expensive VPN to try to circumvent the internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities so she can talk to relatives abroad. “On the same day, I also went for coffee and chocolate cake with friends on what felt like a sunny spring day. These conflicting realities are bizarre,” she said.
Filipino defence minister Gilbert Teodoro, whose country has declared an energy emergency as a result of the Middle East war, has said that the strait of Hormuz must be reopened “immediately”.
Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on 28 February, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.
On Tuesday, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of “national energy emergency,” citing risks to the domestic fuel supply and energy stability created by the war in the Middle East.
“It is of vital importance to us that the strait of Hormuz be opened immediately and kept safe,” Teodoro told AFP in an interview in Paris.
“Not only for the seafarers, but also for Philippine consumers. The poor Filipinos who need to pay astronomical prices for electricity, fuel, and power. I think the effects are worldwide.”
Iran could open a new front in the Bab al-Mandab Strait if attacks are carried out on Iranian territory or its islands, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim cited an unnamed Iranian military source as saying on Wednesday.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group has previously launched attacks in the region where the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait is located, Reuters reported.
Iran has sent a warning to the United States that it will carpet bomb its own territory to attack any American troops landing there, according to diplomats from a third country who passed on the threat to Washington.
The US is sending thousands of ground troops to the Middle East, which could be deployed to forcibly lift the Iranian blockade of the strait of Hormuz, which is choking global oil and gas supplies from the Gulf. Kharg Island, a tiny island in the Persian Gulf, is thought by analysts to be a likely target for invasion.
Tehran is willing to bomb its own infrastructure at Kharg Island, a crucial export terminal for Iranian oil, or elsewhere, to target American soldiers there. Iran believes that, as any landing party will have limited missile defences available, this would mean a bloodbath for US forces.
“Iran says that they don’t care that they will have to blow up their own territory,” a diplomat involved told The Guardian. “They will do it to kill American soldiers.”
The presence of Americans on Iranian soil would cross a new red line for Iran. The US military could aim to seize territory, in order to make Iran open the strait. Aside from Kharg, options include deploying the forces along Iran’s coastline or taking one of the other small islands.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Wednesday that negotiating with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” for Lebanon, as Israel launched new strikes and Hezbollah said it was targeting Israeli troops.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned that “the Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon”, a comparison previously drawn by Israel officials talking about operations in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest,” Guterres told reporters at the United Nations.
Iranian officials expressed initial disapproval of a US ceasefire plan on Wednesday, even as intermediaries suggested direct talks between the two could start as early as this weekend.
Representatives from Pakistan who reportedly delivered the US plan to Iran told the Associated Press that it was a 15-point proposal that would include sanctions relief for Iran, dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, restricting its use of missiles and reopening the strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of the world’s oil.
An Egyptian official also suggested it would restrict Iran’s support for armed groups across the Middle East. Some of these proposals proved to be intractable sticking points in negotiations before the war began.
A senior Iranian official speaking to Al Jazeera described it as “extremely maximalist and unreasonable”, while other officials said the country was still reviewing the proposal, despite viewing it as too favourable to US demands.
Iran had previously scoffed at the diplomatic effort and mocked the US president, Donald Trump, claiming Washington was negotiating with itself. Overnight and on Wednesday, Tehran launched even more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries, including an attack that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait international airport, while Israel continued its bombardment of Iran.
France’s armed forces chief Fabien Mandon will hold a technical meeting by video conference “soon” with army chiefs from countries keen to play role in restoring maritime navigation in the strait of Hormuz, a French military official said on Wednesday.
The meeting would be unrelated to the United States approach to the issue and would remain in a framework of a defensive posture, the official said.
France has repeatedly said it would not take part in operations until hostilities had calmed in the region.
UN chief says Middle East war is 'out of control' and says Lebanon cannot become 'next Gaza'
The war in the Middle East is “out of control,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, warning of more human and economic pain the longer fighting goes on.
“The conflict has broken past the limits even leaders thought imaginable,” he told reporters.
“The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock. This has gone too far.”
“The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” Guterres added, urging Hezbollah to stop launching attacks at Israel and an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said are hitting civilians the hardest.
Jazeera Airways shifted operations to Saudi Arabia’s Al Qaisumah airport on 11 March after Kuwait’s airspace was closed due to the Iran crisis, the airline’s CEO said on Wednesday.
The CEO added that Jazeera Airways is currently flying to seven countries from Saudi Arabia, with flights recognised as departing from Kuwait, and said there is no indication when Kuwait’s airspace will reopen.
Confusion abounds over Iran's response to US proposal to end war
Various news agencies and Iranian state media have reported that Tehran has responded “negatively” to the US proposal to end the war, but there are contradictory statements over whether it has rejected it outright.
Reuters news agency, citing a senior Iranian official, reported that Tehran’s initial response to the proposal was “not positive” but that it was still reviewing it.
That is at odds with a report by the Iranian state-owned Press TV, which quoted a senior political security official saying Tehran has rejected the proposal, while putting forward its own conditions to end the war.
Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing a “knowledgable source”, reported that Tehran will not accept a ceasefire and believes it would not be “logical” to enter talks.
The US has shared a 15-point list of expectations with Iran via Pakistan, according to reports, with Donald Trump saying Iran wanted a deal “so badly” to end the war.
Several news agencies, including Reuters, Associated Press and AFP, have reported Pakistani officials saying the country has delivered the proposal to Iran and was awaiting a response.
So far, Iran and Pakistan have not officially made any comments on the proposal, but there are suggestions that negotiations could happen as early as this weekend. Two senior Trump administration officials told CNN that talks are under way for US vice president JD Vance to travel to Pakistan or potentially Turkey, but cautioned that the timing of the expected trip is fluid.
Updated
According to Press TV, the Iranian official outlined five conditions under which Tehran will agree to end the war.
They include:
An end to “aggression and assassinations”.
“Concrete” guarantees preventing the reoccurrence of war against Iran.
Payment for war damage and reparations.
End of war on Iran and against “all resistance groups” across the Middle East.
Recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz.
Iran rejects US proposal and views it as 'excessive' - state media
Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet, has quoted a senior political security official as saying that Tehran has reviewed and rejected the proposal put forward by the US to end the war.
The official said any cessation of hostilities will only occur on Iran’s own terms and timeline, adding that the country will not allow Donald Trump to dictate when the conflict will end.
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” the official was quoted as saying, adding that Tehran considers the US proposal as “excessive”.
The official noted previous attempts at talks and accused the US of having no genuine intention to engage in meaningful dialogue, claiming the current offer for negotiations was a ruse to heighten tensions.
UK to host talks on mission to reopen Hormuz - AFP
Britain and France will chair military talks this week involving about 30 nations to form a coalition to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a UK defence official told AFP Wednesday.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said last week they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”. A further 24 countries then endorsed this statement.
The “expectation is that there will be a further meeting, military-to-military, the chiefs of defence staff of the wider group that has now signed ... later this week,” the official told AFP.
The chief of the defence staff of Britain’s armed forces, Richard Knighton, chaired a meeting of the initial six countries plus Canada on Sunday, The Times reported.
The British defence official told AFP other countries would also now be potentially invited.
Israel’s parliament has advanced a contentious bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of terrorism to its final vote, after the Knesset’s national security committee approved the measure on Tuesday.
The legislation, initiated by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who warn it would mark a significant escalation in Israel’s penal policy. Members of Otzma Yehudit have worn noose-shaped pins in support of the bill.
Under the proposals, those sentenced to death would be held in a separate facility with no visits except from authorised personnel, with legal consultations conducted only by video link. Executions would be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.
The measure allows courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors, and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank would also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.
For Palestinians under occupation, the bill would close off avenues for appeal or clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could see their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
The committee made some amendments to the bill, which passed its first vote, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported, adding that executions would be carried out through hanging.
Following on from those comments from Grossi (see post 13.04), the IAEA chief said the talks are expected to cover missiles, Iran-aligned militias and security guarantees for Tehran.
“This time, there will also be missiles, militias allied with the Islamic Republic, security guarantees for Iran on the table,” he told Corriere della Sera, adding:
There are alternative diplomatic plans that would allow both a solution that says that at the moment there will be no more enrichment because the political, military, and trust situation does not allow it; and, in principle, to reassess the issue in five or ten years’ time.
Summary of developments so far
Iran has scoffed at reports that the US has put forward a ceasefire deal to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves. It follows reports that the Trump administration sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.
Donald Trump has maintained that talks to end the war are ongoing, claiming yesterday that Iran wanted a deal “so badly”. Iran, however, had already dismissed the claim as “fake news” a day earlier.
Despite the denials, Pakistani officials told several news agencies that Iran has received the proposal, which largely touched on sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme, restrictions on its ballistic missile programme and access for shipping through the strait of Hormuz.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said there might be talks between Iran and the US in Pakistan in the coming days. “I think there could be talks this weekend in Islamabad,” Rafael Grossi told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, without elaborating.
Iran said “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the strait of Hormuz, according to reports, as the the vital shipping lane has been effectively closed to tankers since the US-Israeli military campaign began more than three weeks ago. Thailand confirmed one of its crude oil tankers has passed safely through the narrow waterway after successful negotiations with Iran and Oman.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said Tehran was “closely monitoring all US movements in the region” following reports that Washington will deploy additional troops to the Middle East. The Associated Press reported that more than 1,000 soldiers are being deployed to the region to join the 50,000 soldiers already there. The New York Times, citing sources, also reported that 2,000 troops could be sent.
Elsewhere, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to “inflict the same level of damage and destruction” on Lebanon as Israeli forces had wrought on Gaza. He warned that the Middle East war presented a “far worse” scenario than the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
US-Iran talks could take place in Pakistan as early as this weekend, says UN nuclear watchdog chief
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said there might be talks between Iran and the US soon in Pakistan.
“I think there could be talks this weekend in Islamabad,” Rafael Grossi told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, without elaborating.
A Thai a crude oil tanker has passed safely through the strait of Hormuz following negotiations with Iran and Oman, Thailand’s foreign affairs minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, said.
“I requested that if Thai ships need to pass through the strait, could they assist in ensuring safe passage?” Phuangketkeow told reporters, according to Reuters.
“They responded that they would take care of it and asked us to provide the names of the vessels that would be transiting.”
It follows a statement last night from the Thai energy company Bangchak Corporation confirming a tanker that had been anchored in the Persian Gulf since 11 March had transited the narrow waterway safely. The company said the vessel was on its way across the Indian Ocean and is scheduled to deliver crude oil to Thailand in early April.
Iran said “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the strait of Hormuz, according to reports, as the the vital shipping lane has been effectively closed to tankers since the US-Israeli military campaign began more than three weeks ago.
Israel has continued to launch strikes on southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs against what it said were infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
During a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon overnight, the Israeli military said it hit a Hezbollah command centre in Beirut and gas stations owned by the group.
Lebanese authorities say 1,072 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since 2 March, including 121 children.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on 28 February.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to “inflict the same level of damage and destruction” on Lebanon as Israeli forces had wrought on Gaza.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the two-year war in Gaza, with millions displaced and much of the strip destroyed, leading to accusations of genocide which Israel has denied.
Speaking to the Spanish parliament earlier today, Sanchez said Israel’s expanded military offence against Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon was going down a similar path.
“This is not the same scenario as the illegal war in Iraq. We are facing something far worse. Much worse. With a potential impact that is far broader and far deeper,” said Sanchez, who has long been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
He added that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “equally dictatorial and even more bloodthirsty” than his predecessor and father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the current conflict.
The US-Israeli war on Iran “is an absolute disaster”, Sanchez said, adding: “And all for what? To undermine international law, destabilise the Middle East, reignite conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon, and bury Gaza under the rubble of oblivion and indifference.”
Analysis: Trump’s war in Iran exposes US’s shift from a global guardian to an arbiter of chaos
To shield ordinary Indians from the war in Iran, the government in Delhi redirected supplies of liquefied gas to Indian families, for which it is the main cooking fuel, limiting supplies to the plastics industry. The Nepalese government rationed gas and the Philippines trimmed the government workweek to four days. Bangladesh closed universities and rationed fuel.
They have been hardest hit by Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz. About 80% of oil and oil products transiting through the strait in 2025 was destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. But traffic through its waters has collapsed by 90%.
Europe is less reliant on fuel from the Middle East. But it is intensely dependent on imported oil and, critically, natural gas, whose price has surged since US and Israeli bombardments began in Iran.
So far, the advanced economy that has shown most resilience as war in the Middle East wreaks havoc in energy markets is that of the United States. The S&P 500 index has lost a relatively modest 5% since the beginning of Trump’s war. And that reveals a lot about where we are going.
The data speaks to the relative resilience of the US economy and, especially, its abundance of domestic natural gas, which satisfies about 36% of its energy needs and insulates it to a significant degree from the vagaries of international prices.
But it adds an uncomfortable chapter to the main narrative of the world economy. It is a story in which the United States – once a guardian of a rules-based global order – dons the role of its nemesis, recklessly spreading havoc among friends and foes while suffering relatively little harm of its own.
You can read Eduardo Porter’s analysis here:
Iran 'closely monitoring' any US troop deployments to Middle East, says Tehran official
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, posted on X that Tehran was “closely monitoring all US movements in the region” following reports that Washington will deploy additional troops to the Middle East.
A translation of his post read:
We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments.
What the generals have broke, the soldiers can’t fix; instead, they will fall victim to Netanyahu’s delusions.
Do not test our resolve to defend our land.
It follows reports by the Associated Press and the New York Times that the US could send 1,000 or 2,000 troops to the Middle East to join the 50,000 soldiers already there. Some 4,500 marines are already en route to the region, according to the reports.
Updated
Abdulmohsen Majed Bin Khothaila, the Saudi representative to the UN, said Iran’s “unacceptable and unjustifiable” attacks against Gulf nations “cannot be passed over in silence”.
He said:
We have heard attempts by Iran to evade or responsibility. And yet you cannot deny what the world clearly sees. Iran cannot escape responsibility here.
He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for a draft resolution that calls for Iran to immediately stop strikes on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz, but the New York Times reported that the de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing Donald Trump to continue the war. Citing officials familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported that the Saudi crown prince and US president held several conversations over the last week about eliminating Iran’s hard-line government.
The Qatari representative, Hend Abdalrahman Al-Muftah, meanwhile told the UN Human Rights Council that her country “refused to be part of the escalation” but that Iran has continued to launch attacks anyway.
She said:
To attack a state that is not a party to the conflict, and which has not allowed use of its territory in the hostilities, is a violation of international law and undermines international peace and security. We have dissociated ourselves from the outset from this war, and we have refused to be part of the escalation. However, Iranians continue to target us and other neighbouring countries too, thereby undermining international peace and security.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council urgent debate earlier today, the Omani representative, Idris Abdul Rahman Al Khanjari, described the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran as an “illegal war”, saying it was the “spark that ignited” the escalating violence engulfing the Middle East.
He also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks against Gulf nations.
He said:
The Sultanate of Oman would like to reiterate its full solidarity with our sister nations from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Kingdom of Jordan, and other Arab states affected by these violations. We would like to express our indignation and condemnation of the aggressive attacks these states have faced following the start of the current war in the region.
We also reject the US Israeli war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is an illegal war and represents a gross violation of the principles and provisions of international law. It was the spark that ignited the escalation currently affecting the region, and the consequences are threatening states and their vital economic interests and their security and stability.
He concluded that Oman reaffirmed its commitment for dialogue and diplomacy. The country has acted as mediator between the US and Iran in the three rounds of nuclear talks that took place in the weeks before the conflict began last month.
UN rights council set to hold urgent debate on Friday over Iran school strike
The UN human rights council is ready to hold a second urgent debate this week linked to the Middle East war, focused on a deadly strike on an Iranian school.
The council president, Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, told the United Nations’ top rights body that the council bureau had examined a request by Iran, China and Cuba for an urgent debate in connection with the airstrike on a school in the southern city of Minab on the first day of the war on 28 February, and “concluded that said urgent debate could be accommodated on Friday”.
The council would be asked to validate the decision later on Wednesday, he said.
Updated
Pakistan has delivered a US proposal to Iran, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday, but the venue of any talks between Tehran and Washington to end the war has yet to be decided.
The source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, did not disclose details of the proposal and whether it was the 15-point US framework proposal to end the war reported by news outlets.
The source also said Turkey was helping to find ways to end the war and “either Turkey or Pakistan are under consideration as the venue for such talks”.
Updated
A new strike in western Iraq killed seven security personnel, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, a day after a deadly attack on the same base targeted the former paramilitary group Hashed al-Shaabi.
Pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups, including on state-linked positions.
The defence ministry said seven security personnel were killed and 13 others wounded in the attack on the base in Anbar province, which hosts both regular security personnel and Hashed forces.
The ministry said the air strike also targeted the base’s military healthcare clinic, AFP reported.
It labelled the assault a “flagrant and dangerous violation of international law, which prohibits targeting medical facilities and their personnel”. Rescue operations were ongoing, it added.
A security official told AFP that a military doctor was among those killed, and six of those wounded belonged to the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF).
Updated
On the price of oil, the Guardian’s Joanna Partridge reports that it has dipped and Asian stock markets moved higher after claims that Donald Trump sent a 15-point framework for peace to Iran.
Oil prices had fallen by 4% with brent crude futures sinking below $100 a barrel and even moving as low as $97.57 as trading was influenced by the prospect of an end to the conflict easing the squeeze on oil supply.
Stock markets in Asia also moved higher in morning trading. Japan’s Nikkei rose by 2.9%, while the S&P BSE Sensex in India was almost 2% higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was just under 1% up.
European markets also rose in early trading. The FTSE 100 in London was up by almost 1%, while Germany’s Dax was trading 1.8% higher and France’s Cac 40 climbed by 1.5%.
Read the full report here:
'States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe' with strikes around nuclear sites, says Türk
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned strikes around Iran and Israel’s nuclear sites risk unleashing an “unmitigated catastrophe”.
Speaking via video at the UN Human Rights Council urgent debate on Iran’s attacks across the Gulf this morning, Türk said:
Many of the strikes in this conflict raised serious concerns and the international law, which prohibits attacks targeting civilians and their infrastructure and attacks on military targets where harm to civilians is disproportionate.
I also need to underscore the grave ramifications of this conflict for a number of other countries in the broader region, including Iraq and Syria, as well as the occupied Palestinian territory.
Recent missile strikes near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the immense danger of further escalation. States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe.
His comments follow reports of Iranian missile strikes on the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, both a relatively short distance – about 12 miles and 22 miles respectively - from Israel’s main nuclear research centre in the Negev desert.
The Iranian strikes on Saturday came after Tehran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz was hit. Israel denied responsibility for the strike.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, has repeated Tehran’s claims that no negotiations have taken place with the US, despite Donald Trump’s comments that diplomatic efforts were in progress to bring an end to the war.
“Based on my information, contrary to Trump’s claim, no direct or indirect negotiations have taken place between the two countries so far,” Moghadam was quoted as saying by state media, according to Reuters news agency.
He added: “Friendly countries seek to lay the ground for dialogue between Tehran and Washington, which we hope will be fruitful in ending this imposed war.”
Kuwait said it shot down several drones this morning but one hit a fuel tank at the airport, sparking a fire. The country’s civil aviation authority, citing spokesperson Abdullah Al-Rajhi, posted on social media that the damage was limited to property and there were no casualties.
Updated
The Associated Press has reported two Pakistani officials as saying Iran has received the Trump administration’s 15-point ceasefire plan.
It follows reports that the US sent the ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan, which enjoys a close relationship with Washington and Gulf countries.
The officials told the news agency that the proposal broadly touched on sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme, restrictions on its ballistic missile programme and access for shipping through the strait of Hormuz.
Separately, an Egyptian official involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the US said the proposal was a “comprehensive deal” to reach a truce, but cautioned that it is “being treated” as a base for further negotiations.
Iran has denied reports it was taking part in talks with the US, with Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Khatam-al Anbiya central headquarters, which coordinates the army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), seemingly telling Donald Trump “has the level of your internal conflict reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?”
Updated
A diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash, said the ongoing violence in the Middle East has reshaped alignments and revealed differing levels of supports from “sisterly and friendly” nations.
In a post on X, he said the UAE needed “clarity of positions” and not troops to fight Iran.
The UAE and other Gulf states have come under continued Iranian drone and missile attacks that have killed dozens of people and disrupted their economies.
A translation of Gargash’s post reads:
Since the start of the treacherous Iranian aggression, sister and friendly countries have continued to make contact, distinguishing positions between those who offered genuine support that is appreciated and thanked, and those who settled for statements without action.
The Emirates has proven its ability to confront and endure, and it does not need equipment and troops as much as it needs clarity of positions and knowledge of who can be relied upon in times of hardship.
Strait of Hormuz open to 'non-hostile' vessels, says Iran
Iran has told the UN Security Council and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the strait of Hormuz, according to reports, as the the vital shipping lane has been effectively closed to tankers since the US-Israeli military campaign began more than three weeks ago.
In its note to the IMO, Iran’s foreign affairs ministry defined non-hostile vessels as those which are “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” or belong to the US or Israel, Reuters news agency reported.
The narrow waterway carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, but fears of Iran’s retaliatory attacks on shipping has sent fuel prices soaring.
The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar reported that the UK has offered to host an international security summit to draw up a “viable, collective plan” to reopen the strait, with one defence official saying it could be held in London or at the navy headquarters in Portsmouth. You can read the full report here:
Trump says Iran wants deal 'so badly' as reports suggest US ready to send soldiers to Middle East
Donald Trump has maintained that a deal to end the war against Iran are ongoing, but Tehran has denied participating in any negotiations.
“We’re talking to the right leaders, and they want to make a deal so badly,” the US president said yesterday, claiming that talks were happening “right now”.
His remarks were at odds with statements by the Iranian leadership that had already dismissed the claims as “fake news” on Monday.
Trump’s comments coincided with reports by the Associated Press news agency and the New York Times that the US presented a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, with Pakistan acting as an intermediary. The apparent off-ramp would face enormous challenges and may well be beyond what regional and international diplomacy can pull off, as numerous previous attempts at negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme failed to reach any conclusion.
In a televised statement shortly after the Trump administration offered the 15-point plan, Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military, said: “Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you. Not now, not ever.”
The US is also reportedly taking steps to deploy at least 1,000 more troops to join 50,000 soldiers already in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported. The New York Times, citing two defence officials, put that number at 2,000.
Updated
Australia to block Iranians on tourist visas from entering country
Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, Australia’s home affairs minister said, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.
Tony Burke said the direction was necessary as there was a risk Iranians on tourist visas visiting Australia may be unable or unlikely to leave when their visa expires.
The order only applies to people with a valid tourist visa outside of the country.
The government said “sympathetic consideration” would be given to citizens with Iranian parents.
The government said it would closely monitor global developments and adjust settings as required.
Interim summary
If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of the day:
An Iranian military spokesperson mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves. Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari’s statement came after the Trump administration reportedly sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.
Even as Donald Trump claimed productive negotiations to end the war were ongoing with Tehran, Iran’s relentless bombardment of the Gulf states showed no sign of relenting. Kuwait and Bahrain were both hit with damaging strikes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, as the patience of the Gulf states after rebuffing constant attacks for almost a month began to wear thin.
The World Trade Organisation warned disruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closing of the strait of Hormuz will cause food scarcity and high prices. A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait.
Oil prices fell nearly 6% and Asian shares gained, after reports Donald Trump had sent a peace plan to Iran fuelled optimism in the market. A barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92% at $98.30, while benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01% at $87.72.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed nine people, state media reported. Citing the health ministry, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said strikes had killed people across towns and a Palestinian refugee camp.
News that Trump had approved the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East further undermined the US president’s repeated claims of successful peace talks. Iran has previously threatened to mine the gulf surrounding the island if the US appeared to be landing troops.
Updated
Iranian strikes bombard Gulf states overnight as frustration with war mounts
Even as Donald Trump claimed productive negotiations to end the war were ongoing with Tehran, Iran’s relentless bombardment of the Gulf states showed no sign of relenting.
Kuwait and Bahrain were both hit with damaging strikes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, as the patience of the Gulf states after rebuffing constant attacks for almost a month begun to wear thin.
A fire broke out at Kuwait International Airport after a drone hit a fuel tank, once again bringing air travel to a halt. Firefighters were called to the scene but initial reports said the damage was “limited”.
Air sirens were heard over Bahrain on Wednesday as more Iranian missiles and drones were headed their way. On Tuesday, a Moroccan national who was a contract worker for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was killed in a drone strike in Bahrain and five members of the UAE defencemMinistry were also injured in the attack.
Saudi Arabia said it had also intercepted at least four drones overnight.
The Gulf states had worked very hard to prevent Trump from declaring war in Iran and there is mounting frustration, both at the US and Iran, as the conflict has continued to drag on.
In a reversal of their previous positions, Saudi Arabia is reported to have given the US permission to use one of their air bases to launch attacks on Iran, as they push for the Trump administration to completely debilitate the Iranian regime.
In a press briefing on Tuesday night, Qatar’s foreign minister said they were not among the states currently involved in any of the mediation efforts between the US and Iran, adding: “if they exist”.
“Our focus at this time is entirely dedicated to defending our country and addressing the losses resulting from the various attacks that the state of Qatar has endured,” said Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansar.
Al-Ansar said Qatar was ready to help in any process that would bring the conflict to an end. However, he emphasised that it would be a complex process to rebuild a relationship between the Gulf states and Iran.
“It’s now up to the Iranians, post this war of course, to decide how they’re going to rebuild the trust that was lost due to their attacks on our sovereignty,” he said.
Updated
Indonesia mulls cutting back free student meals to save money - reports
Indonesia is considering cutting the distribution of free student meals from six days a week to five, in a bid to save its budget amid the the Middle East conflict, Reuters reports.
The finance minister, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, said on Wednesday the measure could save 40tn rupiah ($2.37bn).
The proposal came from the head of Indonesia’s national nutrition agency and would need to be approved by president Prabowo Subianto, the minister said.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the president said Indonesia was seeking an estimated 80tn rupiah ($5bn) in budget savings to help cope with the impact of the war.
Updated
Some recent photographs taken around the region, as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues into a fourth week of violence.
Updated
Following on from earlier reports, Lebanese state media said the latest round of Israeli strikes had now killed nine people.
Earlier on Wednesday, Lebanon’s official National News Agency, said strikes had killed four people in the town of Adloun and two people in a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area.
The agency, citing the health ministry, later said another said another three people were killed and 18 wounded in the town of Habboush.
Israel has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon, with more than one million people displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
In northern Israel, where repeated air raid sirens have sent residents to shelters, a woman was killed on Tuesday following rocket fire from Lebanon, Israeli authorities said.
Iranian military mocks US attempts at ceasefire
An Iranian military spokesperson has mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves, Associated Press reported.
In a prerecorded video aired on Wednesday on state television, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari claimed the US’s strategic power had turned into “strategic failure”.
The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.
Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?
Zolfaghari’s statement came shortly after the Trump administration sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.
“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” Zolfaghari said. “Not now, not ever.”
Updated
Oil prices fall, Asian shares gain after Trump claims progress in Iran talks
Oil prices fell nearly 6% and Asian shares gained on Wednesday, after reports Donald Trump had sent a peace plan to Iran.
At 0030 GMT, a barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92% at $98.30. Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01% at $87.72.
In Asia, Trump’s claims fuelled optimism in the markets: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.8% in early trading, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 3.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite index was 0.9% higher.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S+P/ASX 200 climbed 2.2%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was up 3%.
The market movements came after news the US had reportedly sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war.
News of the development, reported first by the New York Times, said the plan was delivered by way of Pakistan.
Per the NYT’s report, it is unclear how widely the plan had been shared among Iranian officials and whether Iran was likely to accept it as a basis for negotiations.
Updated
WTO fertiliser warning over strait of Hormuz closure: 'Harvests shrink and prices rise'
Disruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closing of the strait of Hormuz will cause food scarcity and high prices, the World Trade Organisation’s deputy director general, Jean-Marie Paugam, told Agence France-Press.
A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait, which has been virtually closed by Iran since the start of the war.
Paugam said there would be an impact on both quantity and prices. “The effect compounds the following year: harvests shrink and prices rise,” he said.
The gulf has ample supplies of natural gas, a key ingredient in artificial fertilisers, but production has been severely impeded by the war, with several facilities forced to shut down.
Major food exporters like India, Thailand and Brazil depend on exports of urea, a nitrogen-based fertiliser. There is currently no fertiliser shortage, Paugum said, but as the conflict drags on “we will feel a direct impact on supplies to major producer countries just as planting season begins for the crops that will be harvested next year”.
Countries which import most of their food would be in a very bad position, according to Paugum, including parts of west and north Africa. The effect would be amplified if countries begin stockpiling, as occurred during the Covid pandemic.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and its wider repercussions in the Middle East and globally.
More American troops are prepared to head to the Middle East. At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told the Associated Press. The 82nd airborne is an elite infantry division that can typically be deployed on short notice and specialises in forcible entry parachute assaults. Donald Trump has reportedly approved the deployment.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell sharply in early Wednesday trading after Trump sent a peace plan to Iran and voiced optimism about ending nearly a month of war.
After rising in Europe and the US on Tuesday, Brent crude was down 6% at $98.30, and the contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5% at $87.72.
Early on Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.
In Lebanon, state media reported Israeli strikes had killed at least six people in a town and a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area, and three more in another town. In addition, Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000, has said its military would take control of the border area up to the Litani river, around 30km (20 miles) from the frontier.
The Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon, with more than one million people displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
Here are the key developments:
The US has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war, sources told Reuters, with the New York Times saying the plan was delivered by way of Pakistan. It is unclear if Israel is on board with the proposal, nor if Iran is likely to accept it as a basis for negotiations.
Donald Trump claimed negotiations to end the Iran war are happening “right now” and that Tehran had agreed to “never” have a nuclear weapon, declaring that “we’ve won this war” to reporters in the Oval Office. He further claimed Tehran gave him a “gift” which was “oil and gas-related” which involved the strait of Hormuz, without giving further details.
This comes a day after Iranian officials denied any contact with the US had taken place and called claims of such talks “fake news” designed to “manipulate” oil markets.
News that Trump had also approved the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East further undermined the US president’s repeated claims of successful peace talks. The extra troops have not yet left the US but will be sent overseas in the coming days, sources told AP. Iran has previously threatened to mine the gulf surrounding the island if the US appeared to be landing troops.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have fired missiles at Israel and US forces in bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, state media reported. Kuwaiti officials reported a fire at the airport after a drone hit a fuel tank.
Approximately 290 US troops have been wounded so far, CNN reports, with 13 soldiers killed in action. Over 1,500 Iranians have been killed, Iran’s state broadcaster said on 21 March.
Lebanon faces an “existential crisis” after Israel announced plans to seize and occupy large swathes of the country’s south to create a so-called “security zone”, officials say. Many Lebanese fear that IDF plans to create a “buffer” south of the Litani River — 20 miles from the current Israel-Lebanon border — will become a long-term occupation.
A projectile has hit the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who were informed of the strike by Iran. There was no damage to the facility or staff and conditions at the plant remain normal, the IAEA said on X.
