Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war as U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer with an expanded threat of strikes against the Islamic Republic to include all power plants and bridges.
Trump said Monday he is “not at all” concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. EST deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the U.S. that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law, his spokesperson said Monday.
Israel carried out a new wave of attacks on Iran early Tuesday, while Iran responded with missile fire against Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.
In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.
In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Israeli issues warning to Iranians to avoid taking trains
Likely signaling a new target for their airstrikes, the Israeli military warned Iranians in Farsi on Tuesday to avoid taking trains until at least 9 p.m. local time.
“Your presence puts your life at risk,” the warning posted on X read.
Iran has shut off access to the internet for weeks, making it difficult for the average Iranians to see these warnings. However, Farsi-language satellite news networks abroad report them, allowing the information to make its way back into the Islamic Republic.
South Korean official to visit Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure oil
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is dispatching his chief of staff as a special envoy to Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia in a diplomatic push to secure more fuel and mitigate the energy crunch caused by the war in the Middle East.
Kang Hoon-sik said he will depart Tuesday evening, with the visits aimed at securing additional sources of crude oil and naphtha, a key petroleum product used in plastics manufacturing.
South Korea last month reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to receive 24 million barrels of crude and initial shipments have arrived in recent weeks.
More than 60% of crude and 50% of naphtha supplies imported by South Korea last year passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that is now largely blocked by Iran as it seeks to exert leverage against the U.S. and Israel.
Key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain closes over attack threats
The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, closed early Tuesday over threats from Iranian attacks.
The King Fahd Causeway Authority made the announcement on X.
Vehicle movements had been “suspended as a precautionary measure” over Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the authority said.
The 25-kilometer (15.5-mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.
While there has been no formal threat against the King Fahd Causeway, some hard-liners within Iran have increasingly identified it as a possible target.
That risk likely would grow if Trump carries out his threatened strikes against bridges in Iran.
Saudi Arabia acknowledges ‘debris’ falls near energy infrastructure
Saudi Arabia said early Tuesday that seven ballistic missiles from Iran targeted the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province, with “debris from the missiles” crashing into the ground near energy facilities.
The brief statement from Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi military, did not elaborate on the extent of the damage on the ground, though he said an “assessment is underway.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what energies facilities had been impacted.
Iran-US war latest: Trump vows to decimate Iran as deadline approaches
UK to host Hormuz planning meeting as Trump deadline looms for Iran
Inside Ukraine’s conscription crisis as two million dodge the draft
Ukraine war latest: Zelensky reiterates Easter truce offer as Putin’s oil network hit
Japanese national believed to be NHK journalist detained in Iran released on bail
Former Australian soldier charged with committing 5 war crime murders in Afghanistan
