US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from the government in Tehran, and added that talks with the Islamic republic were "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 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well."

The Israeli military said on Thursday it requires additional troops for deployment in southern Lebanon, where forces are engaged in fighting Hezbollah as part of efforts to establish a buffer zone.

"On the Lebanese front, the forward defensive zone that we are creating requires additional IDF forces," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing, noting that the military is operating simultaneously across multiple fronts, including the West Bank, Gaza and Syria.

"For that, more combat soldiers are needed in the IDF."

Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government Thursday of steering the country toward a "security disaster" due to a shortage of combat soldiers.

"The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield," Lapid said in a televised statement, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir to the security cabinet, according to Israeli media reports. 

"The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers," Lapid said.

Trump insists Iran operations 'extremely' ahead of schedule.

(AFP)

The EU's top diplomat Thursday accused Russia of providing intelligence support to Iran in the Middle East war to "kill Americans", calling on the United States to increase pressure on Moscow.

"We see that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans, and Russia is also supporting Iran now with the drones so that they can attack neighbouring countries and also US military bases," Kaja Kallas told journalists at a G7 meeting outside Paris.

"These wars are very much interlinked... If America wants the war in the Middle East to stop, Iran to stop attacking them, they should also put the pressure on Russia so that they are not able to help them in this," she added, referring to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Iran has responded through unnamed intermediaries to a 15-point US plan to end the war, news agency Tasnim reported on Thursday, and is now waiting for Washington's reply.

The exact contents of the US plan, conveyed to Iran via Pakistan according to Pakistani officials, are not officially known.

"Iran's response to the 15 points proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response," Tasnim reported, citing an informed source.

(AFP)

The United States on Thursday confirmed the death of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri from an Israeli airstrike, according to a post on X from US Central Command.

China on Thursday urged parties to the Middle East conflict to "create conditions for starting truly meaningful and sincere peace talks".

"The pressing priority is to actively promote peace talks, seize the opportunity of peace and promote the cessation of the war," Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular briefing when asked if China was aware of any ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States.

His remarks come after China's foreign minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that he saw "a glimmer of hope for peace" in the wake of signals about negotiations between the US and Iran.

(Reuters)

South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, the government said Thursday.

"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.

(AFP)

After being stranded near the Strait of Hormuz for nearly 23 days due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Indian-flagged LPG tanker Jag Vasant is expected to reach Vadinar port in Gujarat by midnight today.

Two people were killed and three were wounded by falling debris after air defences intercepted a ballistic missile on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, the government media office said on Thursday.

"The incident resulted in the deaths of two unidentified individuals, three injuries, and damage to a number of cars," the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a post on X.

(AFP)

The Israeli military said air defences responded to missile attacks from Iran on Thursday that according to medics left six people lightly wounded and caused some damage.

A spokesperson for Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said paramedics were providing medical treatment to "six people who were lightly injured by blast effects", updating an earlier toll of two injured.

The military said Home Front Command rescuers were called to an impact site "in central Israel".

In three separate statements in around 90 minutes, the military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel".

(AFP)

The Israeli military said air defences were responding to "missiles launched from Iran" early Thursday, with sirens activated across central Israel, parts of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

"Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," a military statement said, more than 14 hours after announcing a previous missile attack.

(AFP)

Emirati air defences were responding to an Iranian missile and drone attack on Thursday, the UAE's defence ministry said.

"UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the ministry said in a post on X.

(AFP)

Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the self-ruled island's gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government.

The false social media posts, which have amassed thousands of views on Chinese-language platforms, include a persistent claim that Taiwan will run out of liquefied natural gas (LNG) within 11 days and face electricity blackouts due to Iran's restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

AFP fact-checkers found around two dozen Douyin posts from China-based accounts pushing the narrative, many of them rehashing the same video script. Some also criticised Taiwan's decision to shut down its nuclear reactor last year, while others promoted Beijing's offer for "peaceful reunification" as a path to energy security.

Taiwanese authorities have refuted the rumours, saying there are sufficient LNG reserves for March and April.

(AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate to make a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, contradicting the Iranian foreign minister who said his country was reviewing a US proposal but had no intention of holding talks to wind down the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said while there had been no dialogue or negotiation with the US, various messages had been exchanged through intermediaries.

"Messages being conveyed through our friendly countries and us responding by stating our positions or issuing the necessary warnings is not called negotiation or dialogue," Araghchi said in a state television interview on Wednesday. "It is simply an exchange of messages through our friends."

(Reuters)

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is ready to host talks to support de-escalation between the US and Iran and backs President Donald Trump's push for negotiations, adding he hopes there will be direct talks between the two sides, according to an Al-Jazeera report.

Israel's military said Thursday its forces had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including in the central city of Isfahan.

A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran".

(AFP)

Asian stocks struggled for direction while the dollar held firm on Thursday as investors treaded cautiously amid dizzying developments in the Middle East, where Iran said it would weigh a U.S. proposal to end the Gulf conflict.

The widening war has jolted global markets, sending oil prices soaring, reigniting inflation fears and scrambling global rate expectations.

It was a mixed picture in Asia in early trading with Japan's Nikkei up 0.6% while South Korean stocks were down 1.2%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.23% lower, set for a 8.7% decline in the month, its biggest monthly drop since October 2022.

The dollar held firm near recent highs and was on track for a 2% monthly gain, cementing its status as the markets' preferred safe haven.

(Reuters)

Australia banned visitors from Iran on Thursday, saying war in the Middle East increased the risk they would refuse to fly home once their short-term visas expired. 

For the next six months people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs department said. 

"The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire," it said in a statement. 

Some exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for the parents of Australian citizens. 

"There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said. 

"Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday." 

(AFP)

US President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran's denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.

"They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

"They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."

The US leader's comments came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "we do not intend to negotiate".

(AFP)

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to "surrender", as the Iran-backed group launched attacks and Israel said it was expanding a "buffer zone" inside Lebanon.

Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon for around two decades until 2000, has kept up strikes on its northern neighbour and sent ground troops to take control of a strip up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had already "created a genuine security zone" and was now expending it, pushing deeper into Lebanon.

"We are simply creating a larger buffer zone" that could prevent a ground invasion of Israel and missile attacks, Netanyahu said in a video shared by his office.

(AFP)