Iran said Wednesday it would guarantee safe passage for maritime traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, announcing that the pause would be used for talks with the United States on ending the war, starting Friday in Islamabad.

"For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.

The Islamic republic's Supreme National Security Council said in a separate statement the negotiations were set to last two weeks but could be "extended by mutual agreement of the parties."

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he agreed to suspend a devastating attack on Iran by two weeks and was ready for a ceasefire in the war if Tehran completely reopens the vital Strait of Hormuz.
"I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump posted on social media a little more than an hour before his deadline, after talks with Pakistani mediators.

The United States said Tuesday it will impose new sanctions on Iran's missile and drone program after its weekend attack on Israel.

Israel's military warned residents of Tyre in southern Lebanon to evacuate late Tuesday as it continued to target the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre, specifically in Shabriha... you must evacuate your homes immediately," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, wrote on Telegram, illustrated by an image of the area to be targeted with a tower block highlighted.

Five explosions were heard on Tuesday night in the centre of Baghdad, where the US embassy is located, AFP journalists reported.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, the embassy and a US diplomatic and logistics centre at Baghdad's airport have been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones launched by pro-Tehran armed groups, most of which have been intercepted by air defences.

President Donald Trump said that the United States is in "heated negotiations" over the Iran war, declining to elaborate on the talks.

Israel's military warned Tuesday of an increased risk of inbound attacks as US President Donald Trump's midnight GMT deadline for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz approached.

"Following a situational assessment, and as part of preparations for the possible expiration of the ultimatum, there may be an increase in fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours," the Israeli military said on its official Telegram channel.

US President Donald Trump is aware of Pakistan's proposal for a two-week extension to a deadline he imposed on Iran, and a response will come, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.
"The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come," Leavitt said in a statement.

Blasts were heard in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday evening, AFP correspondents reported, while the UAE said its air defences were responding to missile threats.

"The UAE's air defences are currently dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran," the Emirati ministry of defence said in a statement on X. 

Meanwhile, AFP journalists in Doha heard several explosions hours before a US deadline for Iran to agree to a deal or suffer attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

Pope Leo said Tuesday threats to  civilian targets in Iran were "unacceptable", speaking after US President Donald Trump said a "whole civilization will die" if Tehran defies his latest ultimatum.

"Today... there was this threat against all the people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable," the pope told journalists, without mentioning the United States, which is at war with Iran.

He spoke as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, for the Vatican. 

Iran is prepared for all possibilities in its war with the United States and Israel, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said, following threats from US President Donald Trump. 

"National security and infrastructure sustainability are the subject of our precise calculations. The government has finalised the necessary measures in detail for all scenarios. No threat is beyond our preparedness and intelligence," Aref said in a post on X.

Donald Trump is no stranger to provocative language. But his threat to wipe out Iranian civilization and other recent menacing comments have prompted critics to question the US president's mental health.

The oldest elected president in American history has ramped up his apocalyptic rhetoric as his frustration grows with Tehran's refusal to make a deal to end the Middle East war.

Even some former allies have called for the 79-year-old Republican's removal from office after a series of outlandish and sometimes expletive-riddled social media posts.

(AFP)

The Iranian envoy says Tehran will 'take immediate and proportionate' action if Trump follows through on attack threats.

(AP)

In continuation of previous advisories, Indian nationals who are still in Iran must stay where they are for the next 48 hours, avoiding all electric, military installations and upper floors of multi-storey buildings, remaining indoors, and coordinating any highway movement strictly with the Embassy.

Iran has closed all diplomatic and indirect channels of communication with the United States.

Any and all message exchanges have also been suspended, reported Tehran Times.

US-Israeli strikes have hit the key Iranian oil export terminal of Kharg island, media reported Tuesday.

"The American-Zionist enemy has carried out several attacks on Kharg island, and several explosions have been heard there," Iran's Mehr news agency reported.

According to an X post by journalist Barak Ravid of the news site Axios, citing a US official, the US carried out "strikes on military targets" on the island located off Iran's western coast.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened nationwide destruction of Iran's civilian infrastructure and on Tuesday he said a "whole civilization" could be wiped out.

The main US oil contract extended its gains Tuesday on reports of US-Israeli strikes on the key Iranian oil export terminal of Kharg island.

West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May jumped 2.1 percent to $114.71 a barrel.

The international benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, for delivery in June, gained 0.4 percent to $110.22 a barrel.  

Trump warns 'whole civilization will die' in Iran if ultimatum expires

(AFP)

Two people were killed in a US-Israeli attack on a rail bridge in the central Iranian city of Kashan, a regional official told state media on Tuesday.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist aggressor attacked the Yahya Abad railway bridge in Kashan city," a senior regional security official in Isfahan province, Akbar Salehi, was quoted as saying by Iran's IRNA news agency.

"Two people were martyred and three others were injured in this attack," he added.

Two people were killed in a US-Israeli attack on a rail bridge in the central Iranian city of Kashan, a regional official told state media on Tuesday.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist aggressor attacked the Yahya Abad railway bridge in Kashan city," a senior regional security official in Isfahan province, Akbar Salehi, was quoted as saying by Iran's IRNA news agency.

"Two people were martyred and three others were injured in this attack," he added.

The Israeli military said it had completed a broad wave of strikes targeting "infrastructure sites" across Iran on Tuesday, without providing details of what the sites were.

"A short while ago, the IDF completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting dozens of infrastructure sites belonging to the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran," the military said in a statement. 

(AFP)

Overnight attacks on Saudi Arabia hit a petrochemical complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail, a witness who requested anonymity told AFP on Tuesday, hours after similar installations in Iran were struck.

"An attack caused a fire at the SABIC plants in Jubail. The sounds of explosions were very loud," the source said, referring to the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. 

Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia is home to one of the world's largest industrial cities, where steel, gasoline, petrochemicals, lubricating oil and chemical fertilisers are produced. 

(AFP)

"We will target the infrastructure of America and its partners in such a way that America and its allies will be deprived of the region's oil and gas for years

America's regional partners should also know that up until today, we have exercised a great deal of restraint for the sake of good neighborliness."

Gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said.

The Israeli army told Iranians to avoid taking trains until 5.30 pm GMT on Tuesday. "For your safety, we ask you to refrain from using trains or travelling by train throughout the country from now until 9 pm Iran time," the military wrote on its Persian-language account.

"Your presence on trains and near railway tracks puts your life in danger."

One person died and two more were injured after a truck carrying fuel exploded near a bridge that crosses the Panama Canal, authorities said. 

The incident occurred at a complex where tanker trucks are supplied with fuel, located next to the Bridge of the Americas, which traverses the interoceanic canal. 

Security camera footage of the explosion showed a fireball and a thick cloud of smoke emanating from the area.

King Fahad Causeway, a bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, has been closed following threats of attacks by Iran.

US President Donald Trump may delay the attack on Iran if he sees real signs of a deal on the horizon, a US official was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. He alone holds the decision to begin destroying Iran's infrastructure at 8pm EST on Tuesday, US media reported.

Israel's defence forces said it had conducted extensive strike in Tehran and across Iran. targeting the infrastructure of the "terror regime".

US President Donald Trump said that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.

"We have a plan -- because of the power of our military -- where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said at a press conference. "I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock (midnight), and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to."

Trump previously set 8 pm Washington time on Tuesday (midnight GMT) for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

A drone "coming from Iran" killed a couple in Iraqi Kurdistan after crashing into their home, local authorities reported early on Tuesday.

The autonomous region's Counter-Terrorism Service said in a statement that the incident took place on Monday "when a bomb-laden drone coming from Iran crashed into a civilian home in...the Dara Shakran subdistrict within Erbil Province".

Explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, Iranian media reported early Tuesday.

Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched toward the country's east, the defence ministry's spokesperson said Tuesday. 

The ministry said on X that seven "ballistic missiles launched toward the eastern region were intercepted and destroyed. Parts of ballistic missile debris fell around power facilities; damage assessment is underway".

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but in significantly watered-down form after veto-wielding China opposed authorizing force, diplomats said.

Oil prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran at the end of February, unleashing a conflict that has run for more than five weeks and seen Tehran largely close the Strait, a vital energy artery.

Efforts by Bahrain, the current chair of the 15-member Council, to secure a resolution have involved multiple drafts seeking to overcome opposition from China, Russia and others. The latest iteration, seen by Reuters, drops any explicit authorization of the use of force.

US crude futures rose more than $1 on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump heightened his rhetoric against Iran, threatening stronger action if the country fails to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.12, or 1.1%, to trade at $113.52 per barrel by 2245 GMT.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that, as per President Donald Trump directions there will be "largest volume of strikes" on Monday (local time) since the beginning of Operation Fury, adding that tomorrow's strikes will surpass today's if Iran doesn't make the deal to put an end to the war.

Donald Trump's "arrogant rhetoric" on the war on the Middle East is not hindering Iran's soldiers, Tehran's army said, after the US president on Monday threatened to raze Iran's infrastructure.

"The rude, arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats of the delusional US president... have no effect on the continuation of the offensive and crushing operations of the warriors of Islam against the American and Zionist enemies," said a spokesman for the army's Khatam Al-Anbiya central command cited by the national broadcaster.

The Pakistan government has ordered the early closure of markets and shopping malls across most parts of the country from 8 pm starting April 7, as part of energy conservation measures in response to rising global fuel costs linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict, Geo News reported.

The decision was taken during a meeting on petroleum products chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, according to an official statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, as reported by Geo News.

Iran War: Trump, who has threatened to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges, also said he believed Iranians "would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom."

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.

"We have a plan -- because of the power of our military -- where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said at a press conference. "I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock (midnight), and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to."

President Donald Trump argued Monday that Iranians were willing to suffer for their freedom, saying the United States had intercepted communications urging to "please keep bombing."

"They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom," Trump told a press conference, a day before his deadline to destroy Iran's energy infrastructure and bridges if its leaders do not comply with US demands. 

US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that the US could take out the entire country of Iran in one night, and that night might be Tuesday evening.

"The entire country (Iran) can be taken out in one night. It can be tomorrow night," Trump said.

This comes after Trump, in an expletive-laden rant, threatened to attack Iranian power plants, bridges and other infrastructure if Tehran fails to make a deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

US President Donald Trump brushed off concerns on Monday that hitting Iran's power facilities as he has threatened after a deadline expires this week would be a war crime.

"I'm not worried about it," Trump told reporters at an Easter egg roll at the White House when asked what he would say to those who allege that striking power plants would breach the laws of war.

"You know the war crime? The war crime is allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon," the president said.

(AFP)

Donald Trump has said the Tuesday deadline he has set for Iran to make a deal is final, adding that Iran’s proposal was significant but not good enough, Reuters reports.

Iran has turned down a US proposal for a ceasefire, instead sending back a ten-point response that calls for a permanent end to the war, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Tehran conveyed its position to Washington through Pakistan on Monday. The response includes demands for an end to all conflicts in the region, a protocol governing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of sanctions and a commitment to reconstruction, IRNA reported.

Books scattered across rubble. An Iranian flag barely standing amid a destroyed building. These were the images Iran's Foreign Minister shared on Sunday as he accused the United States and Israel of targeting "the MIT of Iran."

Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X that US and Israeli forces had bombed what he described as "the MIT of Iran," adding that the strikes on educational institutions had been ongoing.

Iran has formulated its positions and demands in response to recent ceasefire proposals conveyed via intermediaries, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, adding that negotiations were "incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes."

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had a set of requirements based on its national interests that had already been conveyed via intermediary channels, adding that earlier US. demands such as the 15-point plan were rejected for being "excessive."

"Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions," Baghaei said in a press conference.

"We have formulated our own responses" and will announce details in due time, he added in response to an Iranian journalist's question regarding ongoing efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Iran and the US.

Several explosions were heard on Monday afternoon coming from Iran's largest gas complex, the country's Fars news agency reported, without offering details.

The blasts were reported at the South Pars petrochemical complex at Asaluyeh in Iran's south, the agency said.

(AFP)

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that a US operation to rescue a downed airman may have been a cover to "steal enriched uranium" from the Islamic republic. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the US recovered a second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he called a "daring" search and rescue operation. 

Iran's military has called it "a deception and escape mission", insisting it was "completely foiled". On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were "many questions and uncertainties" about the operation. 

"The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran," Baqaei said. 

"The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all." He added that the operation was "a disaster" for the United States. 

Iran's military said several US aircraft had to "make emergency landings" in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission, with the US "forced to heavily bombard the downed aircraft" as a result.

(AFP)

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that a US operation to rescue a downed airman may have been a cover to "steal enriched uranium" from the Islamic republic. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the US recovered a second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he called a "daring" search and rescue operation. 

Iran's military has called it "a deception and escape mission", insisting it was "completely foiled". On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were "many questions and uncertainties" about the operation. 

"The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran," Baqaei said. 

"The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all." He added that the operation was "a disaster" for the United States. 

Iran's military said several US aircraft had to "make emergency landings" in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission, with the US "forced to heavily bombard the downed aircraft" as a result.

(AFP)

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran has finalised its demands amid recent proposals to end the war, but called US' proposal illogical.

Spokesman Esmail Baghaei stressed that Iran will not bow to pressure, IRNA news agency reported. "A few days ago, they put forward proposals through intermediaries, and the 15-point US plan was reflected through Pakistan and some other friendly countries," he said.

He added that "such proposals are both extremely ambitious, unusual, and illogical."

Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic defied threats from US President Donald Trump to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guards posted on Telegram Monday that their intelligence chief Majid Khademi had been killed "at dawn" in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz called Khademi "one of the direct perpetrators of these war crimes and one of the top three officials in the organisation", and said of Iran's leaders: "We will continue to hunt them one by one."

As a projectile landed barely 350 metres from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Saturday, the fourth such strike since the war began on February 28, concerns spanned across the Gulf region.

Bushehr, itself a city of around 2,50,000 people, is considerably closer to Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar than it is to the Iranian capital.

The three desert states, facing Iran on the opposite side of the Persian Gulf, have minimal natural water reserves and are home to more than 18 million people whose only supply of potable water is desalinated water drawn from the Gulf.

Add to this, concerns flagged by the IAEA and experts about the plant's easy-to-hit above-ground reactor design.  Should a strike hit the reactor or fuel storage pools, radiological particles, specifically the hazardous isotope Caesium-137, will be released into the atmosphere.  Food, soil and water in the impact zone would be contaminated, possibly for decades.

Read the full story here

US forces located on Kuwait's Bubiyan island were targeted by Iran, the spokesperson of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a video statement shared by state media.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari said Iran targeted satellite equipment and munitions on the island with drones, adding that US forces had relocated there from Arifjan camp after that base was repeatedly struck by Iran.

Bubiyan island is the largest of Kuwait's coastal islands chain, located in the northwest of the Gulf.

A drone struck Sulaymaniyah in Iraq, causing heavy smoke to rise over the city.

The city in northern Iraq lies has reported several attacks on sites linked to armed Iranian Kurdish groups based in the region.

Thirteen people were killed in Iran's Baharestan after US-Israel strikes hit residential units.

Iran launched the 97th wave of its Operation Twue Promise-4 against targets in neighbouring Gulf countries.

A foreign national sustained injuries when debris from intercepted projectiles fell on an office in Abu Dhabi.

The injured person was identified as a Ghanian national.

Amid a volley of deadlines being announced by US President Donald Trump, a report has claimed that Washington, Iran and regional mediators are discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war.

Per the Axios report, which quotes four US, Israeli and regional sources, the hopes of a partial deal in the next 48 hours, a timeline within which Trump's threat to hit Iran's infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened, are slim.

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are taking part in the negotiations, which also involving communication through text messages sent between Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Read full story here

The UAE's defence systems are currently engaging with missile attacks and incoming drones from Iran, the Ministry of Defence confirmed. It added sounds were heard in scattered areas of the country.

The US, Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, according to an Axios report that cites "four US, Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks".

The chances of reaching such a deal over the next 48 hours are slim, the report also quotes the sources as saying.

Gas outages hit parts of Tehran after a strike on a university, Iran's state broadcaster reported.

The attack "hit the Sharif University gas station and we are facing a temporary gas outage in the Sharif neighborhood," state broadcaster IRIB quoted the head of Tehran's District 9 neighbourhood as saying.

Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, its army said in a post on X. The General Staff of the Army noted that any explosion sounds heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting these attacks.

US President Donald Trump will brief the press on the rescue of an airman who had gone missing after a F-15E jet was downed in Iran. The airman was rescued on Sunday from the deep mountains of Iran, he had said in an earlier post.

The presser will be held at 1 pm ET or 10.30 pm IST.

Iran's culture minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri called US President Donald Trump an "unstable, delusional figure", who lacks "personal, behavioral and verbal balance". He maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to Iran's enemies.