Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
NASA authorizes Artemis astronauts to head toward the Moon
In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight, on April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA gives the Artemis astronauts the green light to head for the Moon and carry out the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
The four astronauts currently circling Earth will fire up the engine of the Orion capsule at 7:49 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to send it on a trajectory towards the Moon, NASA says.
France bars planned gathering of Muslims in Paris area, citing ‘heightened tensions and increased level of terror alert’
France has banned a gathering of Muslims that was planned in the Paris area for the coming days, due to it representing a security risk, the country’s top police officer says.
“At the request of the Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, I have issued an order prohibiting the 40th edition of the Annual Meeting of Muslims of France, from April 3 to April 6 at the Paris–Le Bourget Exhibition Centre,” the Paris police chief Patrice Faure says in a post on X.
“This decision is set within a national and international context marked by heightened tensions and an increased level of terrorist alert, risks of public disorder, and the large police presence on the streets in the coming days,” he says.
The decision comes after France increased security at sensitive sites across Paris after a foiled bomb attack on Bank of America’s offices last weekend, in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Asked to comment on the situation, Makhlouf Mameche, head of the organization that planned the event, confirms the banning order and adds his organization will be making a legal appeal against the decision.
Gulf nations back UN resolution authorizing ‘all necessary measures’ to reopen Hormuz
Gulf nations back a UN resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to guarantee shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“All necessary measures” is language used by the United Nations that includes military action.
At a UN Security Council meeting, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council says Iran’s retaliatory attacks on its neighbors has exceeded “all red lines.”
Jassim Albudaiwi also stresses that the six GCC nations must be included in any discussions or agreements with Iran on ensuring regional security.
Bahrain, the current UN Security Council president and a GCC member, has said it wants a vote Friday on a resolution calling on countries “to use all necessary means” to ensure international transit “in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.”
It faces opposition from veto-wielding Russia and China.
Houthis claim they fired missile at ‘vital Israeli enemy targets’ in Tel Aviv area
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this evening’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.
In a statement, the Hotuhis claim to have targeted “vital Israeli enemy targets” in the Tel Aviv area.
According to the IDF, one missile fired from Yemen, which triggered sirens in Jerusalem — not Tel Aviv — was intercepted.
There were no reports of injuries.
Images from Petah Tikva show industrial buildings damaged by Iranian missile
Rescue forces inspect the impact site where an Iranian missile struck in a residential neighborhood of Petah Tikva on April 2, 2026. (Jack Guez/AFP)
The Iranian ballistic missile that struck Petah Tikva this evening caused damage to industrial buildings, according to footage and rescue services.
The missile struck between a residential neighborhood and the city’s industrial zone, causing a large crater, with the shockwave heavily damaging nearby buildings.
No injuries were reported.
Italy says rocket of unknown origin hit UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon
A rocket of unknown origin fell on a UN peacekeeper base in southern Lebanon, Italy’s defense ministry says, adding that no injuries were reported and there is only minor damage to infrastructure.
Italy is the second-largest contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, with some 1,000 to 1,200 soldiers.
The base was struck just days after three UNIFIL peacekeepers were killed in two separate instances, amid the Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah. The investigation into their deaths, which Israel has blamed on Hezbollah, is ongoing.
Hezbollah increasingly relying on drone technology used by Russia in Ukraine to attack IDF
Hezbollah operatives have been increasingly using first-person view (FPV) drones in attacks on Israeli troops carrying out a ground offensive against the terror group in southern Lebanon.
Recent clips published by Hezbollah show the small FPV drones, carrying an explosive charge, striking Israeli tanks and other vehicles in southern Lebanon.
Some of the drones are guided using a spool of fiber optic cable, which mitigates efforts to electronically jam their signal.
The IDF has reported several injuries among troops as a result of Hezbollah drone attacks during the fighting.
⚡️????????Hezbollah shares footage of FPV drones used to strike a Hammer jeep and an Israeli troop carriers in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/lXd8BSTfAo
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws1) March 31, 2026
For the first time, Hezbollah successfully used an FPV attack drone to target an Israeli armored vehicle, hitting a Merkava MBT. pic.twitter.com/I6wHI1HXoo
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 26, 2026
FPV drones are known as a hallmark of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Hezbollah carried out several attacks with FPV drones during the war in 2024 as well, although not as extensively.
Report says US-Iran talks ongoing as Tehran threatens Israeli highways
Indirect talks have continued between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Channel 12 news reports, adding that the negotiations are being mediated by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
According to the report, the most recent exchange took place Tuesday, when Vance allegedly conveyed that Washington is open to a ceasefire if Iran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key US demand amid the ongoing war.
Vance also warned that US President Donald Trump’s patience is wearing thin, while an American source cited in the report says the US would need roughly two to three weeks to strike all previously identified targets – during which time the US is hoping to strike a deal.
Meanwhile, the network also reports that Iran has threatened to target major highways across Israel, including Routes 1, 2, 4 and 6.
Trump fires Pam Bondi as AG, appoints his former lawyer in her stead
US President Donald Trump, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche hold a press conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025 in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
US President Donald Trump fires his attorney general Pam Bondi and designates his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche as her replacement at the head of the Justice Department.
Bondi “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” Trump announces on his Truth Social platform. “Our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General.”
IDF spokesman says Israeli strike killed head of missile forces in Iran’s Kermanshah
The commander of Iran’s ballistic missile forces in Kermanshah was killed in a recent Israeli airstrike, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
“During the holiday, we eliminated Mukram Azimi, the commander of the ballistic missile unit in the Kermanshah area. Azimi was responsible for many missile launches at Israel,” he says.
Defrin also says the IDF killed three battalion commanders in Iran’s ballistic missile forces, “who led the fire on Israel.”
Energy Ministry announces resumption of operations at Leviathan offshore gas field
View of the Israeli Leviathan gas field processing rig as seen from Dor Habonim Beach Nature Reserve on January 1, 2020. (Flash90)
The Energy Ministry announces that operations at the Leviathan natural gas field, located off Israel’s northern coast, will resume after being shuttered at the start of the Israel-US war with Iran.
The Tamar platform, off the southern coast, has been functioning since the start of the war on February 28.
The floating Karish platform remains inactive.
After US strikes bridge, Trump calls on Iran to make a deal ‘before it’s too late’
US President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
US President Donald Trump touts an American strike on what he calls Iran’s biggest bridge, pledging that similar strikes will follow if Tehran doesn’t agree to Washington’s ceasefire proposal to end the war.
“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!” Trump writes in a Truth Social post that also includes footage of the strike on a highway bridge linking Tehran to the western city of Karaj.
“IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!” Trump says.
The US to date has largely avoided targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure and even warned Israel against hitting Iranian energy sites, as Washington seeks to avoid turning Iran into a failed state.
But Trump appears determined to further ramp up the pressure against the Islamic Republic, even as the latter doesn’t appear poised to accept Washington’s ceasefire demands.
IDF releases video of airstrikes on ballistic missile launchers in Iran
The IDF publishes footage from its wave of airstrikes against Iranian ballistic missile launchers in western and central Iran during the Passover holiday, which it says thwarted additional barrages on Israel.
According to the military, Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped some 140 bombs on 50 targets of Iran’s ballistic missile array, including launchers.
A video released by the IDF shows an F-35I fighter jet identifying a ballistic missile launcher and striking it before it could be used to attack Israel.
"אלפא משלוש": תיעוד מהשמדת משגר טילים בליסטיים במרכז איראן על ידי מטוס קרב מסוג ״אדיר״ (F-35i)
במהלך החג צה״ל תקף יותר מ-50 מטרות של מערך הטילים הבליסטיים באיראן
צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף את מערכי האש של משטר הטרור האיראני ברחבי איראן.
ביממה האחרונה, חיל האוויר השלים כ-20 מטסי תקיפות… pic.twitter.com/lP2dW6LBwP
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 2, 2026
IDF intercepts ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis
A ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen at Israel was intercepted, according to the IDF.
Sirens had sounded in Jerusalem, the surrounding area, and near the Dead Sea.
No injuries are reported.
IDF detects ballistic missile attack from Yemen targeting Jerusalem area and Dead Sea
The IDF has detected a ballistic missile attack from Yemen.
Sirens are expected to sound in the Jerusalem area and the Dead Sea.
Video shows Iranian ballistic missile striking central city of Petah Tikva
Footage posted to social media shows the moment an Iranian ballistic missile struck the central city of Petah Tikva a short while ago.
Rescue forces have rushed to the scene. So far, no injuries have been reported.
Footage shows the moment an Iranian ballistic missile struck the central city of Petah Tikva this evening.
There are no reports of injuries. pic.twitter.com/c21gBIliJd
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 2, 2026
Footage posted to social media shows the moment an Iranian ballistic missile struck the central city of Petah Tikva this evening. pic.twitter.com/HLOmuAjeAt
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 2, 2026
Rescue forces head to reported impact sites in central Israel after Iran missile attack
Rescue forces are responding to reports of possible impacts in central Israel following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
At least one of the missiles is assessed to have carried a cluster bomb warhead.
According to the IDF, some of the small number of missiles were intercepted by air defenses.
Iran launches ballistic missile attack on central Israel as drone from Lebanon infiltrates into the north
The IDF has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, targeting central Israel, with sirens sounding in communities throughout the area.
Meanwhile, sirens warning of a drone attack from Lebanon sound in the Western Galilee.
IDF confirms killing senior general in charge of Iran’s ‘oil HQ’
The IDF confirms killing Jamshid Eshaghi, a top Iranian general, in an airstrike in Iran over the weekend.
The military identifies Eshaghi as the chief of Iran’s “oil headquarters.” Officially, he served as the head of budget and financial affairs at Iran’s armed forces general staff, a military body that coordinates between the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The military says the oil HQ is an “integral part of the regime’s armed forces, enabling the continuation of their activities and military buildup through profits from oil sales.”
“For years, the IRGC and additional military bodies in Iran have been financed through vast budgets sourced from oil sales, while circumventing international sanctions,” the IDF says.
Yesterday, the IRGC confirmed the killing of Eshaghi following the Israeli strike on Saturday.
Jamshid Eshaghi, an advisor to the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was killed in a targeted attack in Tehran in recent days, along with five members of his family, according to Iranian media. pic.twitter.com/e6BKMoYB64
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 31, 2026
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announce attack on Amazon cloud computer center in Bahrain
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it targeted an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain in retaliation for attacks on Iran, according to a statement carried by state media.
Two lightly hurt as Hezbollah rocket strikes northern town of Bi’ina
Two men are lightly hurt after a Hezbollah rocket struck the northern town of Bi’ina a short while ago, medics say.
Magen David Adom says it treated a man in his 30s and a man in his 40s, who were both hit by shrapnel.
The Hezbollah rocket from Lebanon also caused damage in Bi’ina.
Group of 18 European nations urges cessation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
Eighteen European countries urge Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting as their latest conflict reached one month, and with fears over Israeli plans to control part of southern Lebanon post-war.
“Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s attacks must cease,” the foreign ministers of the countries, including Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and Ireland, say in a joint statement.
“We urge Israel to fully respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and call on all parties, both Hezbollah and Israel, to halt military action,” the statement says.
Claiming neutrality, Austria denies US access to its airspace for operations against Iran
Austria has denied the US permission to use its airspace for military operations against Iran, citing its neutrality law, the Kurier newspaper reports, citing the defense ministry.
IDF says it targeted sites involved in managing funds of Iran’s military and proxies
The Israeli Air Force in the past day bombed several headquarters in Iran that manage the finances for the country’s military forces and weapon manufacturing, as well as funds intended for proxy groups, according to the IDF.
Iran, via the Quds Force — the extraterritorial arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — has transferred massive sums of money to terror organizations in the Middle East.
According to the IDF, Iran gave Lebanon’s Hezbollah around one billion dollars a year, and in 2025 that sum reached around two billion.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are transferred each year by Iran to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and West Bank; the Houthis in Yemen; and militias in Iraq.
IDF says it has killed over 1,000 Hezbollah operatives during current hostilities
The Israeli military says it has killed around 1,000 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon since hostilities escalated amid the war with Iran.
They include hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, according to the IDF.
Meanwhile, in the past day, Hezbollah fired around 130 rockets that crossed the border into Israel, according to the IDF.
Most of the rockets were intercepted or struck open areas, though some hit Israeli cities, lightly injuring several people and causing damage.
Hezbollah fired hundreds more rockets at troops operating in southern Lebanon in the past day.
Over 20 Iranian missiles at fired at Israel over Passover, marking uptick in launch rate
Iran launched some 20 ballistic missiles at Israel in the past day, during the Passover holiday, in what marked an uptick in the rate of fire compared to recent weeks.
Around half of the missiles were intercepted, and half were allowed to hit open areas, “according to protocol,” the military says. At least two missiles carried cluster bomb warheads, which spread bomblets over wide areas in central Israel, lightly injuring several people and causing damage.
The military assesses that Iran tried to launch dozens more ballistic missiles at Israel in the past day, but a wave of strikes thwarted the plans.
A large wave of strikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force yesterday afternoon in central and western Iran hit some 50 targets of Iran’s ballistic missile array, according to the IDF.
The IAF fighter jets dropped over 140 bombs on ballistic missile launchers and other related targets during the strikes, the military says.
Highway bridge linking Tehran to Iranian city of Karaj hit in fresh US airstrikes
A highway bridge linking Iran’s capital, Tehran, to the western city of Karaj was hit by fresh airstrikes a short while ago, Iranian media reports.
The strikes were carried out by the American military. The IDF denies striking the bridge.
The Fars news agency reports that the B1 bridge was hit while “rescue forces were assisting the victims of the first attack.”
Two people were killed in the earlier strike, according to Fars.
ویدیوی دریافتی: 'حمله دوباره به پل B1 در عظیمیه #کرج حدود ساعت ۱۷:۳۰'
پنجشنبه ۱۳ فروردین #Iran pic.twitter.com/8Lz3tZ2t1l— Vahid Online (@Vahid) April 2, 2026
No injuries or impacts reported after Iranian missile attack on Jerusalem area
No injuries or direct impacts are reported following Iran’s latest ballistic attack.
The missile attack, the fifth since midnight, triggered sirens in the Jerusalem area.
Argentina declares Iranian charge d’affaires persona non grata, orders him expelled
Argentina has declared Mohsen Soltani Tehrani a persona non grata and must leave the country within 48 hours.
The announcement from Argentina says the decision was made in response to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry “which contained false, offensive, and improper accusations against the Republic of Argentina.”
The Iranian statement marked a significant point of tension with Argentina, strongly condemning “the illegal and unjustified action” of President Javier Milei’s government. It described Milei’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group “an unforgivable offense against the Iranian people.”
“These constitute unconstitutional interference in our country’s internal affairs and a deliberate misrepresentation of decisions adopted in accordance with international law and national judicial order,” the Argentine statements says, while stressing the country’s “unbreakable commitment to the memory, justice and fight against terrorism, in complete adherence to international law.”
IDF detects Iranian ballistic missile fire at the Jerusalem area
The IDF has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, targeting the Jerusalem area.
Sirens are expected to sound in the coming minutes.
No injuries reported as Nahariya daycare damaged by Hezbollah rocket
A handout photo shows damage at a daycare in the northern coastal city of Nahariya that struck by a rocket fired by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group, April 2, 2026. (Israel Police)
Damage was caused to a daycare in the northern city of Nahariya by a Hezbollah rocket, according to rescue services.
Some five rockets were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon at the Western Galilee amid the attack.
No injuries are reported.
Fire reported at Iran’s Mashhad airport after projectile strikes fuel tank
A fire has broken out near Iran’s Mashhad airport in the northeast of the country after a projectile hit a fuel tank in the area, media reports.
Citing the governor’s office of the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province, Mehr news agency says there are no casualties reported as firefighting operations are underway.
Lebanon PM says his country is victim of a ‘war of others,’ decries Israeli buffer zone plans
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, center, tours areas in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel that the Lebanese army says it has cleared of the armed presence of the militant Hezbollah group, in the village of Tayr Harfa, February 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warns that Israeli statements and military actions point to “a significant expansion in the occupation of Lebanese territory, dangerous talk of establishing buffer zones or security belts, and displacement that has exceeded more than one million Lebanese.”
“It has become clear that the Israeli aggression against Lebanon will not be limited” to ongoing operations since the November 2024 ceasefire,” Salam says in a public statement following a cabinet session.
Israel, for the past 16 months, even before the renewed conflict with Hezbollah, struck southern Lebanon almost daily, targeting what it says were Hezbollah members and infrastructure.
Israel announced last week that it would enlarge a “buffer zone” up to the Litani River, effectively occupying an estimated 10% of Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he ordered Israel’s military to “further expand the existing security zone” to counter Hezbollah rocket fire.
Salam also says that his country is a victim in a “war of others.”
“We will spare no effort to mobilize Arab and international support,” he says, calling for intensified diplomatic efforts to stop the war.
Beirut has sought to implement provisions of the US‑brokered ceasefire of November 2024, requiring the Lebanese state to have a monopoly on arms and prevent Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups from conducting military operations. Lebanon’s cabinet in March 2026 banned Hezbollah’s military activities and demanded it hand over its weapons, and Lebanese authorities and the army said they completed a first phase of disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River.
But that hasn’t stopped Hezbollah from repeatedly firing into Israel from southern Lebanon in the month since Israel began its latest attacks on Iran.
“Nothing reinforces linking the conflict on our land to the wars of others” more than reports of “joint and simultaneous operations,” Salam says, referring to the cross-border fire, supported by Iran, that provoked Israel’s overwhelming response. Salam says Lebanon is “the victim of a war whose outcomes or end date no one can predict.”
Rocket warning sirens sound in Nahariya and surrounding towns
Rocket warning sirens are activated in the coastal city of Nahariya and numerous other nearby northern communities amid an apparent attack by Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Iran has arrested prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, says her daughter
This photo shared by Mehraveh Khandan shows, from left, Nima Khandan, Mehraveh Khandan, her mother, prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, and her father Reza Khandan in their home in Tehran before the arrest of her father Reza Khandan in 2023. (Mehraveh Khandan via AP)
Iranian authorities have arrested the prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, her daughter says, as activists accuse the Islamic Republic of cracking down on civil society during the war with Israel and the United States.
“Mum was arrested last (Wednesday) night while she was alone at home,” her daughter Mehraveh Khandan writes on Instagram.
Sotoudeh, who won awards including the 2012 Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament and the 2020 Right Livelihood award, has been repeatedly arrested in the past for her work. Her husband and Mehraveh’s father, Reza Khandan, has been held in prison since December 2024.
In letter to PM, parents of troops fighting in south Lebanon decry lack of air support
IDF troops of the 91st "Galilee" Regional Division operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued by the military on April 2, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Parents of dozens of troops from the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit have sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decrying the “extremely unreasonable” circumstances their children face in southern Lebanon, citing the “heavy losses and a lack of the full range of means to carry out the mission” after four soldiers from the unit were killed and several others wounded fighting Hezbollah.
In the letter, which is also addressed to Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF commanders, the parents say the soldiers in southern Lebanon have not received sufficient air cover as the Israeli Air Force focuses on striking Hezbollah’s patron Iran. They call for “the necessary changes” to be implemented.
“Without belittling the great importance of defending residents of northern communities, we believe it is illegitimate to define as a war goal the drawing of fire toward soldiers while exposing them to an immediate danger to their lives,” the parents write.
They add: “Exploiting the dedication of our children, young people who have already been fighting for three years (!!) in a tremendous war on all fronts, is a serious act of injustice that is unacceptable.”
Two troops wounded in exchange of fire with Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon
Two soldiers of the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit were lightly injured during a clash with a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon this morning, the military says.
According to the IDF, the Nahal troops exchanged fire with the Hezbollah gunman at close range, killing him.
Afterward, the army says the troops located a cache of weapons in the area.
The two wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the IDF adds.
בהתקלות פנים מול פנים: לוחמי סיירת הנח"ל חיסלו מחבל חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון
הבוקר, לוחמי סיירת נח"ל חיסלו מחבל מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בהתקלות פנים מול פנים במהלך בפעילות קרקעית ממוקדת בדרום לבנון.
לאחר מכן, הכוחות סרקו את המרחב ואיתרו אמצעי הלחימה רבים, בהם: נשקים, ווסטים, רימונים… pic.twitter.com/C42akZwDLm
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 2, 2026
Hezbollah fires five rockets at Haifa suburbs, no injuries
A barrage of some five rockets was launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at the Krayot suburbs of Haifa a short while ago.
According to the IDF, most of the rockets were intercepted and others were allowed to hit open areas, “according to protocol.”
No injuries are reported.
Katz threatens to send Hezbollah leader Qassem to ‘the depths of hell’ over rocket attacks
Supporters watch a televised speech by Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem during a rally to show their solidarity with Iran, in the southern suburb of Beirut on January 26, 2026. (Anwar AMRO / AFP)
Defense Minister Israel Katz again threatens Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, saying he will “pay a very heavy price” for the rocket fire on Israel.
“I have a clear message for Naim Qassem, Secretary-General of the Hezbollah terror organization: You and your associates will pay a very heavy price for the intensified fire toward Israeli civilians as they sit to celebrate the Passover Seder,” he says following an assessment with military officials.
“You will not live to see this because you will be deep in the depths of hell together with Nasrallah, Khamenei, Sinwar and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil,” Katz adds.
Iran’s parliament speaker claims 7 million have volunteered to fight US
A man carries an anti-Israel placard in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, during a funeral procession for Alireza Tangsiri, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, and others killed in Israeli strikes in late March. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s parliament speaker claims that seven million Iranians stood ready to fight any US ground invasion of the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has been discussed as a possible negotiating partner with the US, has offered a series of online posts challenging America since the war’s start.
“Right now, in less than a week, a powerful national campaign sweeping the country has brought forward around 7 million Iranians who have already stepped up and declared they’re ready to pick up arms and stand in defense of our nation,” he writes on X.
This claim has been circulating on social media accounts for days. Qalibaf is the first high-ranking official to mention it in Iran, a nation home to some 90 million people.
It is unclear where this figure comes from, but state media and text message campaigns have urged people to volunteer. The government has also called on retired soldiers to express their interest in fighting, while the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force has begun accepting children as young as 12 into its ranks.
UK hosting 30 nations, not including US, on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks during a virtual summit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
Foreign ministers from almost three dozen countries are meeting in an effort to exert diplomatic and political pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by Iran in response to the US-Israeli strikes.
The US is not among the countries attending today’s meeting, which comes after US President Donald Trump made clear that he thinks securing the waterway, closed as a consequence of the war, is not America’s job. Trump has also disparaged America’s European allies for failing to support the war and renewed his threats to pull the U.S. out of NATO.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the virtual meeting chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.”
Iranian attacks on commercial ships, and the threat of more, have halted nearly all traffic in the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe’s oceans, shutting a critical path for the world’s flow of oil and sending petroleum prices soaring.
Middle East’s highest bridge, linking Tehran to Karaj, hit by airstrikes
A highway bridge linking Iran’s capital Tehran to the western city of Karaj was hit by airstrikes today, Fars news reports, adding that early assessments point to several injured people and that other areas of Karaj were struck.
Fars adds that the B1 bridge is considered the Middle East’s highest bridge and was inaugurated earlier this year.
U.S. and Israeli airstrikes reportedly struck the B1 Bridge in Karaj, northern Iran, one of the country’s tallest bridges, with several injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/eWTH2DZRrZ
— BREAKING NEWS (@fabio1971121971) April 2, 2026
After agreement, Catholic leaders hold prayers in Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holds a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, March 29, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Pool Photo via AP)
Catholic leaders lead prayers in a Jerusalem church without public attendance as the city’s major holy sites continue to be closed due to the ongoing Iran war.
The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led Holy Thursday prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem without public attendance.
“There is a tension we cannot ignore: outside, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre are closed. War has turned this place into a refuge, an inside cut off from an outside weighed down by tension. We are here as within a womb of peace, while the world around us is being torn apart, and we wish we could change all of this,” says Pizzaballa.
Israel’s police said it approved a “limited prayer framework” for the church, which announced that the rest of Holy Week will be limited to a number of clergymen and church staff.
The agreement came after police caused an international uproar on Sunday by barring Pizzaballa from the church, citing safety concerns amid Iranian missile fire.
Iraq begins oil exports on tankers through Syria to bypass Hormuz
Iraq has begun exporting crude using tanker trucks through Syria, its oil ministry says, more than a month into a war that has wrought havoc on energy markets.
A founding member of the OPEC oil cartel, Iraq is hugely dependent on its oil exports, accounting for some 90 percent of its budget revenues.
Until Iranian attacks and threats all but shut the Strait of Hormuz in revenge for US-Israeli strikes, Iraq exported the majority of its oil through the strategic waterway.
Like other oil exporters in the oil-rich region, Iraq has been left scrambling for alternative routes, and in a statement, the oil ministry says it “has begun exporting oil by tanker truck through neighbouring Syria.”
Syria, it said, would “ensure the safe passage” of the oil, and added exports will “gradually” increase.
The statement gives no further details.
Macron says it is ‘unrealistic’ to open Hormuz Strait by force
French President Emmanuel Macron waves upon his arrival at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
French President Emmanuel Macron says it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump challenged US allies to work towards reopening it.
“Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied,” Macron tells reporters during a trip to South Korea.
“This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic,” he adds. “It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles,” he says.
IDF confirms Gaza strike against Hamas operatives that reportedly killed 4
The IDF carried out a drone strike against several Hamas operatives in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to the military, with Palestinian media reporting four dead.
The strike took place in the Mawasi area.
The military confirms the strike today, but does not immediately provide further details.
Also on Tuesday, a strike in northern Gaza’s Jabalia killed three, and a strike in Khan Younis killed two others, according to Palestinian media.
Those strikes also targeted low-ranking Hamas operatives, according to the military.
IDF says more than 40 Hezbollah operatives killed in strikes, clashes over past day
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hits a building near the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
More than 40 Hezbollah operatives were killed and dozens of sites belonging to the terror group in Lebanon were struck in the past day, the IDF says.
The Israeli Air Force bombed dozens of Hezbollah command centers, weapon depots, rocket launchers and anti-tank missile launch posts, according to the military.
The IDF says the Israeli Navy also struck a Hezbollah weapons depot in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, ground forces continue operations in southern Lebanon.
The IDF says troops of the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division spotted a cell of Hezbollah operatives and directed a strike against them, and the 36th Division directed a strike on three armed operatives riding motorcycles, killing some 10 more gunmen during their operations.
The military says the 146th and 162nd divisions also located numerous weapons and destroyed dozens of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in the past day.
Iran executes man convicted of setting fire in military base in January protests
A man convicted of participating in an attack on a classified military facility during recent unrest in Iran was executed, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan says, after his appeal was rejected and the Supreme Court upheld his sentence.
The judiciary says Amirhossein Hatami was found guilty of entering a restricted military site in Tehran, damaging and setting fire to the facility, and trying to seize weapons and ammunition, charges he admitted during interrogation, Mizan reports.
The first deputy chief of the Judiciary, Hamzeh Khalili, said last month that cases linked to January protests, a nationwide anti-government movement repressed in the biggest crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic, were finalized and sentences were being implemented.
‘Entrenches system of apartheid’: UAE, 7 other Muslim countries blast Israeli death penalty law
Eight Muslim-majority countries “strongly condemned” Israel’s move to pass a law making death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, a joint statement released by Pakistan said on Thursday.
Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in the statement, also emphasized the “urgent need to refrain from measures” that risk further inflaming tensions on the ground.
The countries “warned against the increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid and a rejectionist discourse that denies the inalienable rights and the very existence of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the statement says.
The apartheid charge is not regularly lodged against Israel, even by Muslim-majority countries and especially not by the UAE, which has a closer working relationship with Jerusalem than each of the other countries that signed onto the statement.
The choice to use the term indicates the extent to which the law has infuriated Israel’s Muslim neighbors.
Ministry urges public to take precautions as dust storm sweeps in from North Africa
The beach in Tel Aviv during a dust storm, February 14, 2026. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
The Environment Ministry urges Israelis to take precautions as a major dust storm is set to envelop much of the country.
The ministry says there will be heavy air pollution, with high particle levels, from early afternoon as strong winds bring in clouds of dust from North Africa and the Sahara.
Together with the Health Ministry, they recommend that populations sensitive to dust —people with heart or lung conditions, the elderly, children and pregnant women — avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
The dust storm is expected to clear by evening
Hezbollah fires more than 50 rockets into Israel
A member of Israel's Druze community assesses the damage in a building that was hit overnight by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in the city of Shfaram east of Haifa in northern Israel on April 2, 2026 (Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
Hezbollah has fired more than 50 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning, according to IDF assessments.
One rocket struck the border city of Kiryat Shmona, lightly injuring two people.
The barrage comes as Israelis celebrate the first day of the Passover festival, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into shelters.
IDF says it bombed key IRGC ground forces base
An Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes off for strikes in Iran, in a handout photo published April 1, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
During a wave of strikes in Tehran yesterday, the Israeli Air Force bombed a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, the military says.
The IDF says the IRGC Ground Forces base “constitutes a central unit within the regime’s military forces.”
Earlier this week and again today, the military says it has identified that Iran has been moving its security headquarters to mobile structures, following strikes on many of its command centers during the war.
During the wave of strikes in Tehran yesterday, the military says the Israeli Air Force bombed several of these temporary headquarters while Iranian commanders were operating at the sites.
In addition, the IDF says it struck ballistic missile storage sites in Tabriz.
Iran military spokesman insists Tehran has hidden stockpiles
A spokesman for Iran’s military, reacting to US President Donald Trump’s speech, insists that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms and munitions.
Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, makes the comment.
“The centers you think you have targeted are insignificant, and our strategic military productions take place in locations of which you have no knowledge and will never reach,” he claims.
Israel and the United States have hit thousands of targets in the weekslong war, targeting military bases, missile launchers and other sites.
Iranian missile fire has dropped, though Tehran is still able to mount attacks.
Former Iranian foreign minister reportedly wounded in airstrike
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi arrives at the European Union headquarters in Brussels 22 June 2005 for an international conference on Iraq. (Photo by GERARD CERLES / AFP)
An airstrike has severely wounded a former Iranian foreign minister who once suggested Tehran could seek a nuclear weapon, Iranian media outlets report.
The attack yesterday wounded Kamal Kharazi, 81, and killed his wife, the reports say.
It wasn’t clear if the airstrikes targeted Kharazi or another site nearby.
Kharazi served as a foreign minister for Iran’s reformist President Mohammad Khatami, then as a foreign affairs adviser to the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In 2022, he told Al Jazeera that Tehran has “the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb, but there has been no decision by Iran to build one,” sparking concern about Tehran’s intentions.
After the war began, Kharazi told CNN: “I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore. Because Donald Trump had been deceiving others and not keeping with his promises, and we experienced this in two times of negotiations — that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us.”
US embassy in Baghdad warns of attacks in city over next 24-48 hours, Americans urged to leave
The US embassy in Baghdad warns that pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq may attack the city in the coming one or two days.
“Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours,” the embassy says in a statement on X, again urging Americans in the country to leave immediately.
Two people lightly wounded by Hezbollah fire in Kiryat Shmona
Medics say two people are lightly hurt by Hezbollah fire in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
The Lebanese terror group has fired several rockets into northern Israel this morning.
הירי לצפון: נזק כבד לרכוש במתחם מסחרי סמוך לקריית שמונה | תיעוד@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/soTrGjoYMy
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 2, 2026
Iran’s military vows ‘crushing’ attacks against US, Israel after Trump threats
A poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an anti-US placard are carried in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, during a funeral procession for Alireza Tangsiri, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, and others killed in Israeli strikes in late March. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s military vows on Thursday to carry out “crushing” attacks against the United States and Israel after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country into the “Stone Ages” in the coming weeks.
“With trust in Almighty God, this war will continue until your humiliation, disgrace, permanent and certain regret, and surrender,” says the military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya in a statement carried by state TV.
“Await our more crushing, broader and more destructive actions.”
Indonesia calls Israel death penalty law ‘grave violation’ of human rights
Indonesia criticizes Israel’s approval of a death penalty bill applicable to Palestinians in the West Bank as a “grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
In a statement published on X, Indonesia’s foreign ministry urges Israel to revoke the law and reaffirms “its full support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve independence.”
No injuries reported in Iran missile salvo at northern Israel
No injuries or impacts are reported following Iran’s latest ballistic fire on northern Israel, in the fourth attack since midnight.
One of the small number of missiles carried a cluster bomb warhead, according to the IDF.
Oil rises and Asian stocks fall after Trump’s address
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Oil rises more than 4% and Asian stocks fall after US President Donald Trump says in his first national address since the Iran war began that the US will keep hitting Iran very hard.
Trump also says the United States will “finish the job” in Iran and that military operations could wrap up soon.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 is down 1.4% to 53,004.81 in early Asia trading today. South Korea’s Kospi loses 3.4% to 5,292.36. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falls 0.8% to 25,082.59.
US futures are down more than 0.7%.
Oil prices are sharply higher following Trump’s remarks. Brent crude, the international standard, jumps 5% to $106.22 per barrel. Benchmark US crude rises 4.2% to $104.36 a barrel.
Missile launch from Iran detected, sirens to sound in north
The IDF has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, targeting northern Israel.
Sirens are expected to sound in the coming minutes.
Iranian missile attack launched at northern Israel
Sirens sound in communities across northern Israel as Iran launches another ballistic missile attack on the country.
Trump: Iran was ‘the bully of the Middle East, but no longer’
US President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
Continuing his national address from the White House, President Donald Trump says the US military will strike Iran “extremely hard” over the next 2-3 weeks, with talks to continue at the same time.
“Regime change was not our goal, we never said regime change,” he insists. Nevertheless, he claims “regime change has occurred because “all of their leaders” have died and those remaining “are less radical and much more reasonable.”
“If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants, very hard, and probably simultaneously,” he says, adding that the US has refrained from striking Iranian oil installations even though they are “the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding.”
“The nuclear sites we obliterated with the B-2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust,” Trump goes on. “If we seem them even make a move — even a move — for it, we will hit them with missiles very hard again.”
“We have all the cards, they have none, it’s very important we keep this conflict in perspective,” he says, comparing previous US wars that lasted for years to the current monthlong conflict.
He also says the Iranians “were the bully of the Middle East, but they are the bully no longer,” calling the war “a true investment in your children and your grandchildren’s future” while adding that Americans can now “look forward to a day when we are finally free from Iranian aggression and the specter of nuclear blackmail.”
“Because of the actions we have taken, we are on the cusp of eliminating Iran’s sinister threat to America and the world… and when we do, it’s all over, the United States will be safer, more prosperous and greater than it has ever been before.”
In national address, Trump declares US ‘nearing completion’ of ‘core strategic objectives’ in the Iran war
US President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
In a speech addressing the American public, US President Donald Trump touts the “swift, decisive and overwhelming” blows that he says Iran has been dealt over the past four weeks of war with the United States and Israel, claiming “victories like few people have ever seen before” in the ongoing campaign.
“Tonight, Iran’s navy is gone, their air force is in ruins, their leaders, most of them… are now dead. Their command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being decimated as we speak,” he says at the White House. “Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces, very few of them left.”
Following the recent operation in Venezuela, which Trump notes that like the US has major oil reserves, he asserts America “is now totally independent of the Middle East and yet we are to help. We don’t need their oil, we don’t need anything they have. We are there to help our allies.”
“From the very first day I announced my presidency in 2015, I vowed that I would never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he emphasizes, saying the “fanatical” Islamic Republic has been chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel” since its founding in 1979. He also hits out at Iran over its role in numerous deadly attacks throughout the years, listing among them the October 7, 2023, onslaught against Israel by its Palestinian ally Hamas, while condemning Tehran for its recent brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
“For these terrorists to have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat. The thuggish and most violent regime on earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield. I will never let that happen.”
The US president touts the actions he has taken against Iran over the years, including ripping up the nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama as well as the strike during his first term in 2020 that killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who Trump calls an “evil genius, brilliant person, horrible human being however.”
“If he lived, we would probably be having a different conversation tonight,” he says of Soleimani.
Trump says that he preferred diplomacy, but the Iranian regime rejected his outreach, leading him to order the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last June amid Israel’s war with Iran.
According to Trump, Iran subsequently sought to rebuild its nuclear program and was “right at the doorstep” of obtaining an atomic bomb.
“For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, but in the end, those are just words if you’re not willing to take action when the time comes.”
“There has never been anything like it militarily, everyone is talking about it,” Trump adds in regard to the current military campaign, saying that the “core strategic objectives are nearing completion.”
“We are getting very close to finishing the job, and I want to thank our allies in the Middle East: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. They’ve been great and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way shape or form.”
‘Let them do it’: Trump says China, Japan and South Korea should be involved in reopening Hormuz
US President Donald Trump says China, Japan and South Korea should also be involved in opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has previously directed much of his anger at NATO allies for their reluctance to get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz until the US and Israel finish prosecuting their war against Iran.
But in his remarks at the private Easter lunch he hosts at the White House, Trump also expresses frustration with some Asian countries that are more reliant on Gulf oil than the US.
“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump says. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”
No injuries reported after latest Iran missile fire as medics say 4 lightly hurt, including 2 babies, in earlier attack
There are no immediate reports of injuries following the latest ballistic missile fire from Iran, though the Magen David Adom ambulance service says a 12-year-old and two 7-month-olds were lightly injured from shattered glass in the earlier
A 24-year-old was also lightly injured in the same overnight incident in Bnei Brak, according to MDA. On Wednesday morning there, an 11-year-old girl was injured by shrapnel in another missile strike and she remains in critical condition, the medical service adds.
Iran fires ballistic missiles at central Israel, Jerusalem area and the north
Iran fires more ballistic missiles at Israel, with sirens activated in the center of the country, the Jerusalem area and large swaths of the north that sirens will soon be activated.
No injuries reported in Iran missile attack; bomblet from cluster warhead damages water main in Bnei Brak
No injuries are immediately reported after an Iranian ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead spread bomblets across central Israel.
One impact in Bnei Brak appears to have struck a water main, causing damage.
עוד פעם בני ברק.
אין מנוחה לעיר הזאת! pic.twitter.com/dq4RKs02CK— A dios Le pido ???? (@Yaronara) April 1, 2026
Rescue forces head to possible impact site in Bnei Brak after Iran cluster bomb attack
The Iranian ballistic missile fired at central Israel a short while ago carried a cluster bomb warhead, according to the IDF.
Rescue forces are responding to reports of a possible bomblet impact in Bnei Brak.
Meanwhile, sirens sound near Haifa amid a Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon.
NASA Artemis II astronauts blast off to moon, the first crewed lunar mission in decades
The Artemis II crewed lunar mission launches at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP)
Four astronauts blast off aboard a massive NASA rocket on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
With an intense roar that reverberates far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 p.m. local time, according to an AFP journalist onsite.
“We’re going to the Moon!” yells a spectator.
IDF detects Iranian missile attack targeting central Israel
The IDF has identified a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, targeting central Israel, following a lull of seven hours.
Sirens are activated in Tel Aviv and dozens of other communities across the area.
US intel agencies reportedly believe Iran unwilling to hold serious talks on ending war
Mourners wave Iranian flags in Tehran, Iran, April 1, 2026, as they gather during a funeral procession for Alireza Tangsiri, head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, and others killed in Israeli strikes in late March. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Multiple US intelligence agencies have assessed in recent days that the Iranian government is not currently willing to engage in substantial negotiations to end the war, the New York Times reports, citing US officials.
The officials tells the US newspaper that the Islamic Republic thinks its in a strong position and does not have to agree to US demands for a deal. They also say that while Tehran is willing to maintain diplomatic channels, it doesn’t trust Washington or believe US President Donald Trump is serious about talks.
As the report comes out, a senior Iranian source tells Reuters that Iran is demanding a guaranteed ceasefire to end war permanently.
According to the source, intermediaries contacted Iran on Tuesday, with discussions focused on continuing diplomacy. The source adds that no talks have taken place via mediators for a temporary ceasefire.
At the same time, Iran’s foreign ministry accuses the United States of making “maximalist and irrational” demands and denies negotiations on a ceasefire are taking place.
“Messages have been received through intermediaries, including Pakistan, but there is no direct negotiation with the US,” says foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the ISNA news agency.
He adds in comments carried on state television that Iran is ready for any attack, including an invasion by ground forces.
Houthi official warns that Yemen rebels could close Bab el Mandab if Gulf states join war
A senior Houthi official warns that the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen could move to close the Bab el Mandab strait if any Gulf countries join the US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
“We bear a religious, moral and humanitarian responsibility that precludes us from standing idly by,” Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour tells Al-Monitor.
“The option of closing the Bab el Mandab strait is a Yemeni option that can be implemented should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate savagely, or if any Gulf state becomes directly involved in military operations in support of the [Zionist] entity or the United States,” Mansour says.
Arkia flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok makes emergency landing in Ethiopia due to sick toddler on board
The Israeli Arkia airline says its flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok made an emergency landing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia earlier this evening due to a sick toddler on board.
The two-year-old’s family got off the plane to seek medical attention, and the flight has since continued on to Bangkok, the airline says.
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