UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran are spiraling out of control, threatening to plunge the world into a broader conflict and a deeper economic crisis. He urged the sides to stop before its too late.
Tehran has reportedly called talks with Washington “illogical” at this point, adding that it seeks a permanent solution and not a temporary ceasefire.
Western media outlets had previously reported that the US has been trying to establish a one-month ceasefire mechanism with Iran and that US President Donald Trump has been seeking an off-ramp from the war and has sent Tehran a 15-point plan to end the conflict
Fars News has reported that there have indeed been increased efforts by the US to launch backchannel talks with Iran, but noted that Tehran has refused to engage in them.
Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has claimed that talks between Iran and the US could take place as early as this weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan. The discussions are expected to focus on missiles, Iran-aligned militias, and security guarantees for Tehran.
Here are the latest developments:
- President Trump claimed the US has already “won” and ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran are the reason why he postponed military strikes on Iranian power plants for five days.
- Tehran has denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and are being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets.” Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday morning.
- Iranian media claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln was hit by a cruise missile. The US has not reported any damage, saying all missiles launched at the ship were knocked down.
Tehran has said “non-hostile” ships are free to sail through the Strait of Hormuz as long as they are not linked to aggression against Iran.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
25 March 2026
RT’s Tehran bureau chief Hami Hamedi reports that the Iranian capital is calmer than in previous days, with “much less” military activity compared to Tuesday.
RT war correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity, who were injured by an Israeli strike just meters from where they were reporting in southern Lebanon, have shared a video message saying they are “back in the field, but this time we’ve got our helmets on” and “we will never go silent.”
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has appeared to question Washington’s objectives in the Iran conflict, writing on X that “the goal of the war seems to have shifted to opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war.”
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that his rescheduled meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will take place in Beijing on May 14-15, saying it was “originally postponed due to our military operation in Iran.” In a post on Truth Social, he added that he and First Lady Melania will later host Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan for a reciprocal visit to Washington, calling the talks a “monumental event.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has blasted ex‑National Counterterrorism Center chief Joe Kent, saying he “unfortunately resigned in disgrace.” Leavitt accused Kent of claiming that Trump is “being controlled by foreign countries and foreign manipulation,” calling the allegation “a ridiculous and laughable assertion.” Kent, once a vocal supporter of Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, resigned last week in protest over the US‑Israeli war on Iran, blaming the consequences of the conflict on Israel.
US Central Command has denied reports of an US F/A‑18 fighter having been shot down, saying on X that no American jets had been downed. Earlier, Press TV cited the IRGC as saying that the aircraft had been hit by Iran´s new air-defense system and crashed into the Indian Ocean.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said intelligence indicates that “the enemies of Iran,” with the backing of a regional state, are preparing an operation to “occupy one of Iran’s islands.” He warned in a post on X that all their movements are “under the watch” of Iran’s armed forces and cautioned that if they “take a single step,” all vital infrastructure of that regional country will be targeted “without limitation.”
The IRGC has claimed that a US F/A-18 fighter “crashed into the Indian Ocean” after being hit, calling it the fourth successful shootdown by Iran’s “completely indigenous” new air defense systems, according to Press TV. The state outlet has published footage of what it said was the strike on the aircraft.
Last week, the IRGC claimed it had successfully targeted a US F-35 fighter jet with anti-aircraft fire and circulated video purportedly showing the plane sustaining a hit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned of the “critical dangers” posed by any strikes on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, saying that Moscow is in contact with all parties to urge them “not to take such potentially dangerous steps.”
“There are no guarantees on this matter,” Peskov told reporters, adding that Russia is trying to convey its view of the risks behind such attacks.
Last week, a projectile landed a few hundred meters away from the facility.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said on X that “all decision‑making bodies” are “united and speak with one voice” on the war and how it should be managed.
US forces are conducting strikes to “degrade the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure and capabilities that have threatened American troops and regional partners for decades,” US Central Command has said in a statement on X, posting footage of what it said are the latest attacks.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has warned that strikes on power plants and desalination facilities in Iran and Gulf states could trigger a “multimillion” refugee crisis and a humanitarian disaster far beyond the Middle East. Up to 40% of the world’s desalinated water is produced in the conflict zone, Shoigu said in a statement to the media, calling attacks on life‑support infrastructure “absolutely unacceptable” and urging all sides to de‑escalate and return to negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that IDF units are expanding a “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon as the campaign against Hezbollah continues. In a recorded statement, he said that Israel had created “a real security zone that prevents any infiltration toward the Galilee and the northern border” and is now widening it “to remove the threat of anti‑tank missiles” and “fundamentally change the situation in Lebanon.”
UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to the Middle East war, warning that it is “out of control.” He urged Washington and West Jerusalem to halt the conflict and called on Israel to stop its operations in Lebanon, cautioning that “the Gaza model” must not be replicated there. “The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock,” Guterres said.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said 163 people were evacuated on Wednesday from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant toward the Iranian-Armenian border, leaving around 300 staff still on site. The facility on the Persian Gulf is the largest nuclear power plant in the region. Built with Russian assistance, a projectile struck close to the plant last week, prompting the IAEA to urge “maximum restraint” amid US signals that strikes on the site cannot be ruled out.
Russia may not be able to satisfy the demand for oil as more countries look for alternative sources for crude, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned.
”The demand is high,” he said, adding that “there could come a point when the additional demand will be difficult to meet.”
Previously, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev indicated that Russia plans to prioritize energy exports to its closest neighbors which face “fewer risks” and will also “reconsider the logistics of oil transportation.”
Tehran has received Washington’s 15-point settlement proposal but has dismissed it as “extremely maximalist and unreasonable,” a high-ranking diplomatic source told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
The source also dismissed media portrayals of the plan, stating that it “is not beautiful even on paper,” calling it deceptive and misleading.
Iran has put forward a list of conditions for the settlement of the conflict with the US and Israel, Iranian state media outlet Press TV has reported citing a government official.
The demands include:
- An end to aggression by the enemy
- Establishment of concrete guarantees preventing the recurrence of war
- Clear determination, guaranteed payment of war damages, compensation
- Comprehensive end to the war across all fronts, including against all resistance groups
Recognition of Tehran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz as its natural, legal right
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has rejected the call by Lebanese president Joseph Aoun to engage in direct talks with Israel, which is carrying out a military operation in the south of the country.
”When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender,” Qassem said. There can be no discussions “with an enemy that occupies our land and carries out daily attacks,” he added.
Iran “does not accept a ceasefire” with the US and considers engaging in talks with Washington “illogical” at the current time, Fars news agency has reported, citing an informed source.
The fighting will only stop after Tehran achieves its “strategic goals” in the conflict, the source stressed. The Iranian authorities are looking for permanent end to the crisis, not a ceasefire, they added.
Other sources confirmed to Fars that there have been increased efforts by the US to launch indirect talks, but Iran declined to engage in them.
Footage has emerged online, purported to show an Iranian missile hitting an industrial area in the Israeli city of Dimona, which hosts a nuclear research institute.
The Israeli government has allowed the IDF to call up 400,000 reservists in light of the conflicts with both Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Times of Israel has reported. The previous cap, approved in late 2025, stood at 280,000.
“The framework is intended to address challenges across the various arenas,” the Israeli military said.
According to the IDF, it is not planning to call up that many reservists, but the new ceiling should allow it more “flexibility” in approaching its operational needs.
isreal strikes
RT’s Marina Kosareva has looked into the Israeli tactics of decapitation strikes in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, which disregard civilian losses and lead to whole families being wiped out. “The more they kill, the more people want revenge, and so it goes in circles,” she said.
Iran has set “a high bar” for entering peace talks with the US, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Tehran’s primary demands include the closure of all American military bases in the Persian Gulf, new rules for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz that would allow the Iranian authorities to collect payments from vessels, the lifting of all sanctions against Iran, guarantees from Washington that it won’t resume military action, the cessation of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and exclusion of the issue of the Iranian ballistic missile program from the agenda of any future negotiations.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called the US-Israeli war against Iran “an absolute disaster,” which was launched to “feed the interests of the usual suspects.”
“And all for what? To undermine international law, destabilize the Middle East, reignite conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon, and bury Gaza under the rubble of oblivion and indifference,” he told the parliament.
The conflict is “an absurd and illegal war. A cruel one that sets us back from achieving our economic, social, and environmental goals,” the prime minister said.
Sanchez suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “seeks to inflict the same level of damage and destruction” in Lebanon as the IDF did on Gaza during the conflict with Hamas.
Iranian media have released a video of what they claim was a cruise missile launch aimed at the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. The US has not reported any damage. Trump earlier claimed that Tehran had launched 100 missiles at the Abraham Lincoln but that “every single one of them was knocked down.”
Iranian authorities have claimed to have arrested 39 alleged “mercenaries working for terrorist groups and the Zionist regime,” adding that they have confiscated 49 homemade bombs, two Kalashnikov guns, as well as other weaponry and ammunition.
Russia is sending a second delivery of humanitarian assistance to Iran, including 300 tons of medical supplies, the Emergencies Ministry has announced, adding that it will be transferred via Azerbaijan.
Pirhosein Kulivand, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, has confirmed the plans, adding that several other countries, including China, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan, are also stepping up.
The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has said Tehran is watching the redeployment of US troops closely, warning that “what the generals have broke, the soldiers can’t fix; instead, they will fall victim to Netanyahu’s delusions.”
The US and Israel have plans for “another two to three weeks of war” against Iran, even if talks with Tehran take place, Axios reports, citing officials from both countries.
Türkiye is “passing messages” between Iran and the US to facilitate diplomacy and de-escalation, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs of the ruling Justice and Development Party, has said.
The Israel Electric Corporation has dismissed earlier reports of damage to the country’s power grid from Iranian strikes.
Officials from EU nations have expressed annoyance over NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s public support for Trump’s war on Iran and suggestions that Europe could eventually step up to deploy naval assets to the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reports.
”It puts us in a really awkward and uncomfortable spot,” one EU diplomat told the paper. “We want to show [we are] willing, but it’s also true that we are not in a position to get involved [in the conflict] in any way.”
An Iranian missile has reportedly hit a power plant in the city of Hadera, central Israel, causing outages.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran and the US could hold talks as soon as this weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan.
“I imagine [the talks] will be broader and will not only concern nuclear power, the reason for the conflict’s inception. This time, missiles, militias allied to the Islamic Republic, and security guarantees for Iran will also be on the table,” he told Corriere della Sera.
Iran has yet to comment, but earlier denied any talks were ongoing with the US.
Iran is demanding the full lifting of sanctions and the closure of all US military bases in the Gulf as a condition for ending the war, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing sources. Tehran previously denied reports that it is engaged in any talks with the US.
The official White House rapid response account has dismissed former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s comments on the Iranian nuclear proposal, labelling him “an incompetent loser and useful idiot with absolutely no idea what he's talking about.”
Sullivan is “the architect of the most disastrous foreign policy in a generation” and “a proven liar and snake who will say anything to undermine American success,” the post on X said.
Sullivan claimed that mere days before the war, Iran presented the US a proposal that “went a long way towards resolving the nuclear issue.”
“My understanding is that our side simply didn’t understand what they were being offered, and they ignored it,” he said, pointing to what he described as discrepancies between the version of the proposal presented by Trump officials and the outline cited by Omani mediators.
The Iranian Embassy in Finland weighed in on Sullivan’s remarks, arguing that the “US team most likely understood the offer. The problem wasn’t comprehension – it was that Washington isn’t, and still isn’t, calling the shots.”
Former US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who served in the Biden administration, has suggested that what “Israel wants to do under this particular government is simply to break Iran – to cause chaos.”
He cautioned, however, that the US “cannot think about it that way” because that would lead to a broken economy and refugee flows. “There is a real difference between Israel's ultimate aims and the ultimate aims of the United States,” he said.
Iran would insist on significant concessions from the US if the two were to engage in serious negotiations, Reuters has reported, citing senior sources in Tehran.
Unnamed officials told the agency that Iran would demand an end to the war, guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz, while refusing any curbs on its ballistic missile program.
Reuters suggested that the terms would be a red line for Trump, who earlier reportedly floated his own 15-point list of demands to end the conflict.
The Iranian Red Crescent has released a video showing a building reduced to a pile of rubble by US-Israeli strikes in Tehran.
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has said he is “ready to move forward” with an additional release of oil reserves if necessary, as cited by AFP.
Brent oil prices are hovering at the $100 mark as of Wednesday morning.
US-Israeli strikes have damaged the home of renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, who won the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his drama ‘Taste of Cherry’, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has praised German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for calling the strikes on Iran “a breach of international law” and a “disastrous mistake” by the US.
“International law is dead in practice… Still, credit to President Steinmeier for condemning the violations against Iranians,” he wrote on X.
Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, has dismissed US statements and media reports of talks between Tehran and Washington. “Over more than 20 days of this aggression… there have been no negotiations with them,” he told Russia’s Channel 1.
He also suggested that US claims of ongoing talks are aimed at curbing the turmoil on the energy markets, stressing that Washington has no plans whatsoever to halt strikes.
Senate Republicans have once again blocked a Democratic effort to end the Iran war. The Senate voted 53 to 47 against the resolution demanding that Trump withdraw US forces unless Congress votes to approve the strikes.
French President Emmanuel Macron says he spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Pezeshkian, and that he reiterated his call to end to “the unacceptable attacks against the countries of the region,” urging Tehran to preserve energy and civilian infrastructure and restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I called on Iran to engage in good faith in negotiations, in order to open a path toward de-escalation, and to provide a framework that allows for addressing the expectations of the international community regarding Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program, as well as its regional destabilization activities.”
Six people have been killed and five wounded in Israeli strikes on the Lebanese town of Adloun and Mieh Mieh refugee camp, both near the city of Sidon, the local health authorities have said.
Tehran has urged Washington to stop trying to paint its “defeat” as an agreement, with a senior military official declaring that the US will find no peace in the region unless it accepts Tehran’s terms.
“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?,” said Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
“Stability comes through force. There will be no sign of your investments in the region, nor will you see the previous prices of energy and oil until you understand that stability in the region is guaranteed by the powerful hand of our armed forces,” Zolfaghari added, emphasizing that Iran will not return to the status quo ante on anyone’s terms but its own.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), explaining that it has restricted the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “belonging to or associated with the aggressors and those participating in their acts of aggression.”
“In the exercise of its inherent right of self-defence, the Islamic Republic of Iran has, in addition to targeting US military bases and facilities in the region, taken necessary and proportionate measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance hostile operations against Iran,” says the letter obtained by the AI Monitor.
Iran emphasized that navigation continues for vessels not associated with the US or Israel, adding that such vessels “do not qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage.”
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias have released footage of FPV drone strikes on helicopters and radar systems at the US-run Camp Victory near Baghdad International Airport. The video was captured by another drone that flew over the seemingly abandoned military installation unimpeded. The pro-Iranian faction claimed earlier this week that US forces requested a ceasefire to pull out of the base.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has released footage of the 80th wave of its retaliatory strikes against US-Israeli targets in the region conducted overnight.
Iranian officials have told the countries trying to mediate peace negotiations with Washington that they “don’t want to be fooled again” after the US and Israel attacked Iran twice during past talks, Axios has reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of those discussions. Trump’s decision to deploy major troop reinforcements has only increased their suspicion.
The Pentagon has officially issued orders for approximately 2,000 elite troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East, according to US officials cited by the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The contingent reportedly includes the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team and its commander, Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, along with dozens of staff members. Many of the soldiers belong to the Immediate Response Force, a unit trained to deploy within 18 hours for missions including seizing airfields, reinforcing embassies, and enabling evacuations.
Officials said the paratroopers would be positioned within “striking distance” of Iran, but did not clarify the exact location. Potential missions could include seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub in the northern Persian Gulf, where the US conducted a major bombing raid earlier this month. An additional 2,500 Marines are scheduled to arrive later this week to reinforce the potential ground operation.
The Kuwaiti army announced it is “responding to hostile missile and drone threats,” urging the public to follow safety instructions and noting that any explosions heard are the result of interceptions.
Earlier, a drone strike sparked a fire at a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, while the Kuwaiti National Guard said it had shot down five more drones in its areas of responsibility.
The US consulate in Erbil, in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq, has reportedly been targeted in a drone attack. Al Jazeera reports that the compound’s counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) defense systems were activated to intercept the threats, and one of the drones hit a residential compound nearby.
Videos circulating online appear to show at least one interception and a high-rise on fire in the area.
The Iraqi government has authorized paramilitary groups, which are part of Iraq’s security apparatus, to respond to attacks, as the death toll from a suspected US strike on a Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) base in Anbar rose to 15. Participants of the emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the repeated strikes as a “blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” according to the official Iraq News Agency (INA).
Since the beginning of the US-Israeli war against Iran, American forces have been striking sites belonging to the PMF, while pro-Iranian armed groups have been targeting US diplomatic and military sites across the country.
Meanwhile, the Iran-aligned Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which operates under the PMF umbrella, claimed 23 operations targeting US sites over the past 24 hours.
A drone strike targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire at the facility, the country's Civil Aviation Authority has announced. According to spokesperson Abdullah al-Rajhi, the damage was limited to property, with no casualties reported, and firefighting teams are working to contain the blaze.
Oil prices fell more than 5% amid conflicting claims of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Washington and Tehran, and reports of a list of 15 demands President Trump allegedly conveyed to Iran.
International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading around $95 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down at $87.50 per barrel on Wednesday morning.
At least 290 American military personnel have been wounded in the ongoing war against Iran as of Tuesday, according to US Central Command’s spokesperson Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins. The spokesperson told the media that 255 of those injured have already returned to duty, while ten remain seriously wounded.
US officials previously said that only 13 American troops had been killed so far, dismissing Tehran’s claims of heavy casualties among American personnel.
The IDF has announced another wave of strikes against unspecified infrastructure targets across Tehran.
Israel’s Channel 12 has published what its sources claim to be 14 of the 15 demands and proposals the US allegedly conveyed to Iran:
Iran must dismantle its existing nuclear capabilities.
Iran must commit never to pursue nuclear weapons.
There will be no uranium enrichment on Iranian territory.
Iran must hand over its stockpile of some 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent to the International Atomic Energy Agency in the near future, in a timetable to be agreed.
The Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo nuclear facilities must be dismantled.
The IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, must be granted full access, transparency and oversight inside Iran.
Iran must abandon its regional proxy “paradigm.”
Iran must cease the funding, direction and arming of its regional proxies.
The Strait of Hormuz must remain open and function as a free maritime corridor.
Iran’s missile program must be limited in both range and quantity, with specific thresholds to be determined at a later stage.
Any future use of missiles would be restricted to self-defense.
Iran would receive a full lifting of sanctions imposed by the international community.
The US would assist Iran in advancing its civilian nuclear program, including electricity generation at the Bushehr nuclear plant.
The so-called “snapback” mechanism, which allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions if Iran fails to comply, would be removed.
24 March 2026
Iran is refusing to sit down for any negotiations with President Trump’s top envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, given that a previous round of talks with them resulted in surprise US-Israeli bombings, the Telegraph has reported, citing unnamed Gulf sources.
“They don’t want to work with Jared and Witkoff because they stabbed them in the back,” one source said, noting that the Iranians could consider Vice President J.D. Vance a “preferred” interlocutor.
Vance has been mostly silent on the US president’s ongoing Operation Epic Fury, and a second source told the Telegraph the Iranians believed that, unlike Witkoff and Kushner, he could stick to his word.
Washington reportedly sent Tehran a 15-point proposal to end the war, via intermediaries in Pakistan, in what the New York Times described as an attempt by President Trump to “find an offramp from the conflict” amid the widening global economic fallout.
Iran has consistently denied that any talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and are being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets.”
The proposal allegedly addresses Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and the security of maritime routes. However, the NYT acknowledged that it was unclear whether Iran would accept the plan as a basis for negotiations, and whether Israel was on board with the proposal.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has claimed that the Pentagon has its own role in the alleged behind-the-scenes negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
“The air campaign that we’ve conducted, that Israel’s conducted alongside us, was one for the history books, truly,” Hegseth told reporters alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. “And it’s because we have a president of the United States that, when he sends his warfighters out to fight, he unties their hands to actually go out and close with and destroy the enemy as viciously as possible from moment one.”
And that’s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs.
Tehran will defend its sovereignty from the US-Israeli attack “until all objectives are achieved and the enemy is made to regret its violent aggression,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a phone call on Tuesday.
Iran has closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz only to enemy vessels, in accordance with international law, while allowing coordinated passage for other nations, Araghchi added. He also accused Washington of abusing its status as a permanent UN Security Council member.
“Iran’s serious expectation from Security Council members, especially China and Russia, is to take a firm stance in condemning US and Israeli aggression and prevent the continued misuse of the Council by the United States,” Araghchi told Wang.
China’s top diplomat has in turn condemned the US and Israeli attacks, denounced violations of Iran’s sovereignty, and stressed the need to end “bullying behavior” in international affairs, according to Press TV. He also offered condolences for the recent assassination of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
The Iranian armed forces have “trained in asymmetrical warfare” for more than two decades in anticipation of an inevitable US-Israeli attack, a senior aide to Leader of the Islamic Revolution in the Defense Council, Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, warned Washington amid rumors of a potential ground troop deployment.
“We have been waiting for the arrival of Americans to designated regions,” Ahmadian wrote on X earlier on Tuesday – daring the American soldiers to “come closer.”
The US Department of War is preparing to send an emergency response team of around 1,000 troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East “in the coming days,” a person with knowledge of the plans has told the Associated Press.
The force, trained to parachute into hostile territory to secure key airfields and other facilities, would allegedly include a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team as well as Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the division’s commander, and division staff, according to the source.
President Trump has described the March 4 friendly fire incident in which the US lost three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets as a “little mishap.”
“Kuwait, they had a little mishap. They shot down three planes with our missiles. They happened to be our planes,” Trump told journalists, suggesting that the jets were downed by the US-made Patriot missile defense system.
“The Kuwaitis made a mistake; they thought they were firing at the enemy… But the pilots made it. Can you imagine – the pilots saw what was coming, and they said ‘those are Patriots, we are not gonna escape Patriots.’ Pretty amazing that they got out,” he said.
While early reports initially suggested the use of ground-based systems like Patriot missiles, later analysis pointed to the possibility that a Kuwaiti F/A-18 pilot may have fired air-to-air missiles after misidentifying the US jets.
The IDF has detected another wave of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and is warning residents to seek shelter until further notice.
At least seven people, including an infant, were injured in a missile strike on the Bnei Brak area east of Tel Aviv, according to Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom.
A US-Israeli strike hit the territory of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has said.
Fortunately, the attack “resulted in no human, financial, or technical damage,” it said. “Targeting peaceful nuclear facilities is a blatant violation of international rights and regulations and a serious threat to regional security.”
Pope Leo XIV has lamented that “hatred is increasing, and the violence is getting worse and worse.”
“I want to renew the appeal for a ceasefire, to work for peace, but not with weapons, rather through dialogue, truly seeking a solution for everyone,” he told journalists.
There are more than a million displaced people and many dead... I invite all the authorities to truly work through dialogue to resolve the problems.
Trump has said that Gulf allies have met his expectations amid the ongoing war with Iran, once again criticizing NATO countries as falling short.
“UAE has been hit so hard,” he added. At least eight people there were killed and 161 injured since the US and Israel started their war on Iran.
Trump also praised several Gulf partners individually, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
Trump has previously called NATO allies “cowards” for not assisting the US in securing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route for oil.
Trump has claimed Iran had given the US a gift “worth a tremendous amount of money” related to oil and gas. However, he didn’t specify what the gift was but said it was related to the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has claimed Iran “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapons”.
“[Tehran] talking to us and they’re talking sense... It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding: “I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.”
The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify the exact location where the troops would be deployed or when they were expected to arrive in the region.
Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 36%, its lowest level since he returned to office for a second presidential term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll showed a drop from 40% in the previous week, amid rising fuel prices and growing disapproval of the war with Iran.
Support for American strikes on Iran also declined, with 35% approving and 61% disapproving, the poll found.
Public sentiment regarding the cost of living has deteriorated, with only 25% approving of Trump’s handling of the issue. This disapproval comes as petrol and gasoline prices have increased following the US strikes on Iran, which have caused disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.