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China offers $200,000 emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran after school attack.
Iran says death toll of US-Israeli strikes reaches 1,230.
Iran's IRGC official says will burn any ship trying to pass through Strait of Horm.
TEHRAN -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday its air defense has struck a US F-16 Fighting Falcon and an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's southern airspace.
Making the announcement in a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the US fighter jet and drone were hit during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division against heavy industries belonging to the United States and Israel.
It added that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also confessed that its F-16 Fighting Falcon was targeted.
In a post on social media platform X, CENTCOM said, "A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at a base in the Middle East after a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury."
The development came amid heightened tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.
TEHRAN -- A heavy water research reactor facility in central Iran's Khondab was attacked by US-Israeli airstrikes on Friday, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.
No casualties or danger to residents in the area have been reported so far, Fars added, citing local authorities.
The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran later confirmed the attack.
Meanwhile, a yellowcake production plant in central Iran's Yazd province was also hit by US-Israeli strikes, with no radioactive leaks reported so far, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The plant, inaugurated in May 2023, produces yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions and serving as an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores.
Separately, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Friday that two people were killed and two others injured in US-Israeli strikes on a cement plant in the southwestern Fars province.
Earlier in the day, Fars news agency reported that two steel plants in Iran's Isfahan and Khuzestan provinces came under separate US and Israeli strikes on Friday.
The fresh attacks came amid a nearly month-long US-Israel-Iran conflict starting from Feb 28, with heavy fighting continuing between the relevant parties and no breakthrough on a ceasefire.
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering deploying up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give US President Donald Trump more military options beyond diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The force, likely to include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division already ordered to the region, said the report, citing Department of Defense officials.
It is unclear exactly where the forces will be deployed in the Middle East, but they are expected to be within striking distance of Iran and its Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub, the report added.
"All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War. As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal," Anna Kelly, deputy White House press secretary, was quoted as saying.
Trump said earlier on Thursday that he would pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 more days, until April 6 at 8 pm Eastern Time, claiming that talks between the two sides were "going very well."
Iran has publicly rejected a 15-point peace plan proposed by the White House but is privately considering meeting with unspecified US negotiators in Pakistan in the coming days, said a report from The New York Times.
The United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, driving up oil prices and shaking the global economy.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, claiming that talks between the two sides are "going very well."
"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 PM, Eastern Time," Trump said on social media platform Truth Social.
"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," Trump wrote.
US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a social media post on Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the United States and Israel began massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28.
Trump on Saturday gave Tehran 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that otherwise Washington could strike Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. Tehran responded by signaling it would retaliate across the region if such attacks went ahead.
On Monday, Trump said that he had ordered the military to delay strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities for five days after what he called "productive" talks with Iran, though Iran denied any such contact.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran has allowed 10 "boats of oil" through the Strait of Hormuz, including eight bearing Pakistani flags, touting this as a "present" to the United States amid reported US-Iran "indirect talks."
The development marked proof that Washington had engaged in "very substantial talks" with Iranian negotiators, Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting.
"I guess we're dealing with the right people," Trump added, declining to name who the United States is talking with.
"They said, 'To show you the fact that we're real and solid and we're there, we're going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight boats, eight big boats of oil,'" Trump said. "They were right and they were real."
Iranians also sent two additional boats "to apologize for something they said," Trump claimed.
The president also suggested that taking over Iran's oil supply is "an option."
"I mean, I wouldn't talk about it, but it's an option," Trump said.
Trump added that the raid and forcible seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan 3 has helped the United States bring in "billions and billions of dollars."
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that the US-Iran "indirect talks" are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.
The United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, sending oil prices soaring and shaking the global economy.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated the four-to-six-week timeframe he claimed to have set at the outset of the war against Iran, which is now in its fourth week with no clear end in sight.
"We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission, and we're way ahead of schedule," Trump said during a meeting at the White House.
"If you look at what we've done in terms of the destruction of that country, I mean, we're way ahead," Trump said. "Twenty-six days in, we're extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule."
Meanwhile, Trump dismissed reports that he was eager to end the war through diplomacy, saying it was Iran that had moved to restart talks and that it is up to Iran to convince him to stop the strikes.
"They are begging to work out a deal," Trump claimed.
Trump has told associates that he wants the war to be brought to an end in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
A CNN report said Wednesday that the White House was working to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off-ramp to end the war.
The United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, sending oil prices soaring and shaking the global economy.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday confirmed that the White House has sent a 15-point plan to Tehran via Pakistan in an attempt to end the war with Iran.
"I can report to you today that we have, along with your foreign-policy team, presented a 15-point action list that forms the framework for a peace deal. This has been circulated through the Pakistani government, acting as the mediator," Witkoff told Trump at a cabinet meeting at the White House.
The plan has "resulted in strong and positive messaging and talks," said Witkoff.
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar confirmed on X that his country is serving as an intermediary, saying the 15-point plan is "being deliberated upon by Iran."
However, at the start of the cabinet meeting, Trump dismissed reports that he was seeking to end the war through diplomacy, saying it was Iran that had moved to restart talks and that it is up to Iran to convince him to stop the strikes.
"They are begging to work out a deal," Trump argued.
"We'll see if they want to do it," said Trump. "In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away unimpeded."
A CNN report said Wednesday that the White House is trying to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off-ramp to end the military conflict with Iran.
US Vice President JD Vance may travel to Pakistan for the talks, said the report.
Under President Ilham Aliyev's instructions, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Emergency Situations has sent humanitarian aid to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The humanitarian aid includes about 30 tons of food products.
According to Emil Hasanzade, Director of the Reserves Control Department of the State Reserves Agency of Azerbaijan, the aid includes 10 tons of flour, 6 tons of rice, 2.4 tons of sugar, more than 4 tons of drinking water, about 600 kilograms of tea, as well as about 2 tons of medicines and medical supplies.
He underlined that the vehicles loaded with humanitarian aid are already being dispatched and will be delivered to their destination in the shortest possible time.
The humanitarian aid was organized following a telephone conversation between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian on March 8 to support the current needs of the neighboring and friendly Iranian people.
The humanitarian aid convoy is being accompanied by authorized officials of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers Niyazi Rahimov and Gurban Sadigov to the Iranian city of Astara.
AZERTAC
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump will "unleash hell" if Iran refuses to make a deal over the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell," she said at a White House press briefing. "Any violence beyond this point," she said, will be because Iran "refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."
Leavitt declined to reveal whom Washington is negotiating with over how to end the war with Iran.
"We're not going to get into the details of these negotiations and conversations that continue to take place as, of course, you can imagine, they are very sensitive diplomatic discussions," she said.
Leavitt argued the war, breaking out on Feb 28, remains on track to endure for four to six weeks.
There are no talks or negotiations between Iran and the United States, said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei in an exclusive interview with India Today on Wednesday.
"No one can trust US diplomacy," Baghaei said, noting that Iran had a very catastrophic experience with US diplomacy, evidenced by US attacks during negotiations over the nuclear issue in the past.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman of Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the United States is negotiating with itself due to its internal strife.
He urged the United States to stop disguising its defeat as "an agreement," adding, "the strategic power the enemies would brag about has turned into a strategic defeat."
BEIRUT -- Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had destroyed eight Israeli Merkava tanks in the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon as its clashes with the Israeli forces continued along the border.
Hezbollah later reported that it had targeted the forces assigned to recover destroyed vehicles and evacuate the wounded, hitting them with rocket salvos and artillery shells.
Earlier in the day, Naim Qassem, secretary-general of Hezbollah, said that the group will continue what he described as a "defensive battle" against Israel, urging national unity and rejecting calls to disarm amid ongoing hostilities.
Hezbollah entered the confrontation on March 2 by launching rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire on Nov 27, 2024, prompting Israel to carry out an intensified military campaign targeting multiple areas across the country.
TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the beginning of the US and Israeli attacks on the country late last month.
He made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV.
"Since a few days ago, the American side has started sending different messages through different intermediaries. When messages are relayed to us through friendly countries and we, in response, declare our positions or issue the necessary warnings, it is called neither negotiation nor dialogue. There has merely been an exchange of messages through our friends, and we have repeated our principled positions," Araghchi said.
He added that in some messages, Iran warned the United States against attacking its infrastructure, which caused Washington to withdraw its warning to strike Iranian power plants within 48 hours.
Araghchi said that Iran does not seek war, stressing "We did not begin this war and want an end to it, however, in a way that it is not repeated."
He noted that Iran does not want a ceasefire as it would be a repetition of the same "vicious circle" of negotiation, war, and truce, emphasizing that "We want an end to this war on our own terms."
Araghchi said that Iran's current policy is to continue resistance and defend the country, and there is no plan for holding negotiations.
On the Strait of Hormuz, he noted that the waterway is considered part of the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, adding that Iran is studying "new arrangements for safe passage through the strait."
The Iranian foreign minister's remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed that Tehran is negotiating with the United States and wants a deal to end the war.
On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East, and exercising tight control over the Strait of Hormuz, not allowing safe passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.
TEHRAN -- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday certain data demonstrate that the "enemies" are preparing for an operation to occupy an Iranian island with the support of a regional state.
"If they take any step forward, all of the vital infrastructure of that regional country will come under (Iran's) unrelenting attacks without any restriction," Ghalibaf made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
In a separate post earlier in the day, Ghalibaf said Iran is closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially its troop deployments.
"What the generals have broken, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's delusions," he said, warning, "Do not test our resolve to defend our land."
Ghalibaf's remarks came amid reports that Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.
BEIJING -- China will double down on playing a constructive role in promoting peace and an end to hostilities, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday in response to a related query about the developments of the situation in the Middle East.
Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing, adding China's diplomatic mediation efforts will not stop so long as the conflict rages on.
China's envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and urged renewed international efforts toward a two-state solution, warning that escalating tensions across the Middle East are increasing humanitarian and economic risks.
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East that the current situation is "dealing a serious blow to regional stability and the global economy."
Fu said that the Palestinian question is "deteriorating at an accelerated pace," with ongoing hostilities in Gaza and expanding settlement activities in the West Bank undermining the basis for a two-state solution.
"Parties concerned, especially Israel, must fully observe the ceasefire agreement and achieve a genuine, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire," Fu said, urging Israel to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, fully open border crossings, lift restrictions on humanitarian supplies, and stop attacks and pressure on humanitarian agencies, in particular" the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
He also noted the developments in the West Bank, saying that settlement expansion and settler violence have displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. "Settlement activities seriously violate international law and Security Council Resolution 2334," he said.
Reaffirming China's position on a political settlement, Fu said "the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian question is the two-state solution." He added that "any arrangement must uphold the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine, respect the will of the Palestinian people, and contribute to, rather than undermine, the two-state solution."
Ahead of the meeting, representatives of Bahrain, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Pakistan, Somalia and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement opposing "the annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and any forcible displacement of the Palestinian people." The statement reaffirmed that such actions "violate international law, undermine peace efforts, and jeopardize the prospect of achieving a just and lasting peace."
The countries reiterated their commitment to a negotiated settlement based on relevant United Nations resolutions and the principle of two states living side by side in peace and security.
Dangerous situation
On Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned of the dangerous situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and called for the conclusion of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Israeli authorities' plans to implement the "Greater Israel" project pose a threat to the entire region and the world, undermine the entire political process, and violate UN resolutions and international law, Abbas said in a phone call with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Calling for an international stance to compel Israel to abandon its destructive policies, Abbas stressed the need for a comprehensive international conference to achieve peace, stability and security in the region, including ending the occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and independence.
Abbas welcomed the Gaza peace plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803 to halt the war and alleviate the Palestinians' suffering, adding, "We also welcomed Indonesia's participation in promoting stability and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip."
Xinhua contributed to this story.
Iran has received a message from Washington through mediators about possible talks between the two warring countries, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.
"We received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed," an Iranian official was quoted by CBS News as saying.
Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the US and Iran had "very good and productive conversations", only for Iran to immediately dismiss it as a ploy to depress energy prices and buy time for military planning.
Despite the positive developments that offer hope for ending the crisis, which has entered its fourth week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon to protect its "vital interests" even as the US weighs a ceasefire.
Following a phone call with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu released a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to build on the major gains of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran to achieve the goals through a diplomatic agreement.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that all parties would seize every opportunity and window for peace and act as soon as possible to start peace talks, during a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
Araghchi briefed Wang on the latest developments in the regional situation and thanked China for providing emergency humanitarian assistance.
He said the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all and that vessels can pass through safely, though countries that are at war with Iran are not under consideration.
Wang emphasized that all hot-spot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation rather than by force. It is always better to talk than to keep fighting, he said.
Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens. Israel, meanwhile, pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon. Israel's military said on Tuesday its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centers.
Meanwhile, Iran named on Tuesday a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as the new chief of the Supreme National Security Council to replace his slain predecessor Ali Larijani, state television said.
Oil prices briefly fell below $100 a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the crisis. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude back to $104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 percent since the war started.
Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, tracking gains in Europe and on Wall Street in the aftermath of Trump's announcement.
Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament. The outlet and Reuters further reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week.
But Ghalibaf said on Monday that "no negotiations" were held with the US. "Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he said on X.
Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the US and Israel were seeking to stoke divisions.
"We must act wisely. Their nature is to sow discord to erode public trust in officials and fabricate the appearance of such actions, when none have occurred," he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars News Agency.
Trump's extension of the deadline came as a contingent of thousands of US Marines is en route to the region, due to arrive by Friday, fueling speculation that Washington may attempt to seize Kharg Island — a strategic Iranian oil hub off its coast.
"As Trump has, in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready," wrote the New York-based think tank The Soufan Center in an analysis.
Tehran had vowed to strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation.
Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence expert on Iran, wrote on X: "Trump blinked first — out of clear recognition that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger direct and severe retaliation."
Meanwhile, Zhai Jun, Chinese government's special envoy on the Middle East issue, met with Israeli Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba in Beijing on Tuesday. The two sides exchanged views on the current tensions in the Middle East.
Zhao Jia in Beijing contributed to this story.
THE HAGUE -- Escalating tensions in the Middle East following recent military confrontations are raising concerns across Europe about the risk of a new refugee crisis.
On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations migration agency, said that more than 130,000 people have crossed into Syria and over one million people have been displaced inside Lebanon since early March.
Although large-scale migration toward Europe has not yet materialized, the agency warned that conditions for broader displacement already exist in a region long affected by conflict.
"There are no signs" of an imminent surge of refugees to Europe, but "things can change very quickly," Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell told Euronews earlier this month.
Cyprus's Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides warned on March 13 that the European Union "cannot overlook the possibility of a new refugee crisis."
EU leaders have also stressed vigilance, though the conflict "has not translated into immediate migratory flows towards the EU," according to conclusions adopted after a European Council meeting.
Drawing on lessons from the 2015 migration crisis, when more than 1 million refugees and migrants entered Europe, the EU has pledged to strengthen external border controls and mobilize diplomatic, legal, operational, and financial tools to manage potential migration pressures.
"The security and the control of the EU's external borders will continue to be strengthened," the bloc said last Thursday.
The EU is also preparing to implement its Migration and Asylum Pact in June. The pact introduces stricter border procedures and a "mandatory solidarity" mechanism under which member states will share responsibility by relocating asylum seekers or providing financial and operational support to countries under strain.
Memories of the 2015 migration crisis continue to shape policy thinking. The influx overwhelmed border and asylum systems, triggering political divisions within the bloc.
Nedzad Korajlic, an associate professor at the University of Sarajevo, said Bosnia and Herzegovina faces challenges as a transit country, including limited border control capacity and fragmented security structures. He said the main issue is not migration itself but criminal networks that exploit migrants through smuggling.
Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, has rung the alarm. "Migrant smuggling networks are operating with increasing complexity, both online and offline," Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said Tuesday in The Hague. "They have a significant global dimension and rely on multi-layered financial infrastructures, including underground banking systems, to move and conceal their criminal profits."
Europol launched the European Center Against Migrant Smuggling on Tuesday in The Hague to enhance intelligence-sharing and operational coordination across member states.
"With the establishment of the European Center Against Migrant Smuggling, Europol is now stepping up its efforts, enhancing its capacity to support member states and reinforcing the collective response to this complex and evolving threat," De Bolle said.
Korajlic said Europe is better prepared than in the past despite ongoing risks. The creation of the center marks "a shift from reactive to preventive measures," with a stronger focus on intelligence-sharing and coordinated action, he added.
JERUSALEM -- Washington has delivered Iran a 15-point plan for a month-long ceasefire deal, Israel's Channel 12 reported Tuesday night.
The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said US President Donald Trump's advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are promoting a plan for an immediate pause in hostilities, using a 30-day window to finalize a 15-point agreement.
The plan reportedly demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear capabilities, cease all uranium enrichment, and provide a permanent commitment to never seeking nuclear weapons.
Additionally, Tehran would be required to end the funding and arming of allied groups in the region and ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains an open international waterway. The plan also demands that Iran limit its missile production and restrict future use strictly to self-defense.
In exchange, Washington is offering full sanctions relief, assistance in developing a civilian nuclear energy project at southern Iran's Bushehr, home to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, and the removal of the "snapback" mechanism threat that enables the reimposition of previously lifted UN sanctions on Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of any deal with Iran, has not issued an official comment. He warned on Monday of a diplomatic agreement with Iran, claiming Iran's "current regime" must not be trusted.
The development came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies have responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.
TEHRAN -- The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, said on Tuesday that any vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz must fully coordinate with Iranian maritime authorities.
Writing on X, Tangsiri said IRGC naval forces had blocked a foreign container ship, identified as the "SELEN," after it failed to comply with required protocols and obtain a transit permit.
NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held conversations over the phone on Tuesday, discussing the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, according to US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.
In a post on social media platform X, Gor wrote that the two leaders "discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open".
Separately, Modi on March 21 also spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on regional developments, where he reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.
Iran and Israel continued exchanging strikes on Tuesday, even as United States President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on strike threats and hailed "very good" talks with an unidentified Iranian official — a claim Tehran immediately dismissed as a ploy to depress energy prices and buy time for military planning.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon to protect its "vital interests" even as the US weighs a ceasefire.
Following a phone call with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu released a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to build on the major gains of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran to achieve the war's goals through a diplomatic agreement.
"(But) we are crushing the missile and nuclear programs, and we continue to strike Hezbollah hard," he said, adding that two more Iranian nuclear scientists were recently killed.
Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens. Israel, meantime, pounded southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon. Israel's military said on Tuesday its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centers.
Oil prices briefly fell below $100 a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the war. But that respite was short lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, back to $104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 percent since Israel and the US started the war on Feb 28.
Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, tracking gains in Europe and on Wall Street in the aftermath of Trump's announcement.
US news website Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament. The outlet and Reuters further reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week, with US Vice-President JD Vance potentially joining.
But Ghalibaf said on Monday that "no negotiations" were held with the US. "Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he said in a post on X.
Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the US and Israel were seeking to stoke division.
"We must act wisely. Their nature is to sow discord to erode public trust in officials and fabricate the appearance of such actions, when none have occurred," he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars news agency.
Trump's extension of the deadline came as a contingent of thousands of US Marines is en route to the region, due to arrive by Friday, fueling speculation that Washington may attempt to seize Kharg Island — a strategic Iranian oil hub off its coast.
"As Trump has in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready," wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Center in an analysis.
Tehran had vowed to strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.
Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence expert on Iran, wrote on X: "Trump blinked first — out of clear recognition that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger direct and severe retaliation."
While some view the five-day pause as offering a window for potential talks, experts warned that common ground between the US and Iran remains elusive given deep-seated distrust.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war", but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported on Monday.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, pointed to Trump's 2018 "betrayal" of Iran — when he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling maximum sanctions on Tehran.
"Then last June, near the end of negotiations, Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran; and again, a few weeks ago, we saw the same pattern," he said.
