War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran notes that bilateral ties between Islamabad and Tehran have become “even more important than before” since the war began, with Pakistan serving as the key mediator.

Asked about Pakistan’s invitations to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and FM Abbas Araghchi to visit Pakistan, the spokesperson said, “This visit will take place whenever the time is right. Bilateral relations are mainly considered.

“The relationship between Iran and Pakistan is a very important one,” Baqaei said, stressing that such “visits are a natural part of the good relationship between the two neighbours”.

On another question during the press briefing, Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was “not negotiating with the United States” currently, according to IRNA.

He added, “Of course, it is natural to exchange messages through mediators on current issues, but what the next step will be depends on the circumstances. Currently, we are focused on negotiations with Oman to determine the shipping route.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said that negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz are ongoing in a “very smooth and constructive manner”, IRNA reports.

“I had previously said that an understanding has been reached regarding the traffic map, and there are still some technical points that are being discussed regarding the joint statement, but the negotiations are taking place in a very smooth and constructive manner,” he said.

“We are not discussing such details at this stage. Discussions are still ongoing,” Baqaei replied when asked if the transit fee will be divided between Iran and Oman.

He continued: “What is clear is that mechanisms will be created that, in addition to monitoring the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, will provide cooperation on environmental issues, provide maritime services, and combat crime. As a rule, when you provide maritime services, you must receive compensation from us.”

Esmaeil Baqaei also paid tribute to the journalists killed in Iran, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, Al Jazeera reports.

“During the last two years, we have lost so many of your colleagues in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. They have lost their lives for the sake of doing their jobs. We have lost so many of our loved ones,” he told a press conference.

“We send a big salute to all of our martyrs who have lost their lives for the sake of our country and for the sake of the mission of journalism,” he added.

“This region doesn’t need players from outside and this development in itself must attract attention,” Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says, Al Jazeera reports.

“The region must not be left under the illusion of achieving security through America. America is part of the lack of security in the region,” he was quoted as saying.

He further said that the US creates the conditions for Israel to wage war with impunity.

“The Americans are supporting the Zionist entity politically and on the security level; without the Americans, the Zionist entity will never be able to do what they did and continue their crimes.”

He added that no one can hold them accountable “or take them to court”.

Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has said that the joint defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye shows a “change in perception” towards the US, AFP reports.

He further said that Iran has “deep ties with Turkiye, Pakistan, and even Saudi Arabia, and there is no reason to be concerned about the Makkah Pact”, according to Fars.

Fars quoted him as saying that regional countries have “realised over the past three years that security is not a commodity to be purchased from false brokers”.

“Any plan that is based on facts and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat will contribute to regional security and prevent instability from the Zionist enemy,” he added.

Oil prices are little changed after surrendering earlier gains, as optimism over talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was tempered by Iran’s insistence that the United States satisfy several demands before the waterway could reopen, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures stood at $83.54 a barrel, off 1pc, by 11:43am PKT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 15 cents, or 0.2pc to $78.03 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had fallen more than 7pc last week on hopes that Iran and Oman were close to reaching a deal that would result in a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil before the war.

Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s economic operation “is devastating the Iranian economy”, claiming that the Iranian side keeps coming to the negotiating table asking for cash, Al Jazeera reports.

“When Iran is coming to the table with our negotiators, they are talking about cash, cash, cash. Because they’ll absorb the bombings,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. “I say this jokingly but seriously as well – the Iranians are more afraid of Secretary Bessent than they are of [Defence] Secretary Hegseth right now.”

The US envoy claimed that Iranian leaders “don’t care about” their military or the Iranian people. Instead, they mainly care that “their currency is tanking” and that “inflation is the highest [it has been] in 80 years”, he said.

“They are constantly asking for access to cash, access to their assets that we have frozen … that’s the squeeze. That, coupled with the blockade, that’s what’s going to eventually get the Iranians to move.”

Israeli forces have opened fire using machine guns this morning towards the southern Lebanese town of Wadi al-Salouqi, Al Jazeera reports, citing Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

It said Israeli forces also fired shells at the town of al-Mansouri overnight.

The report did not say whether there were any casualties or injuries.

The Israeli military issued a forced displacement order for the town of al-Mansouri on Wednesday, marking its first displacement directive in weeks.

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has said that President Donald Trump has “lost this war” with Iran, arguing that continued fighting is weakening the US while strengthening Tehran, according to Anadolu Agency.

“America is weaker. Iran is stronger,” Murphy told NBC, saying he would support even a “bad deal” to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He said the cost of reopening the strategic waterway was rising as negotiations remained stalled.

“The war needs to end because every day that the war continues, America gets weaker, Iran gets stronger, and people here in the United States get screwed as prices go up and up and up,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he would oppose funding to continue the war but would support replenishing US munitions after the conflict ends.

The US reaffirmed its support for Yemen in confronting Houthi attacks, with Washington highlighting maritime security and counterterrorism among its priorities in the country, Anadolu reports.

US Mission to Yemen Chargé d’Affaires Neil Hop made the remarks Sunday during his first meeting with Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

In a statement on the US social media platform X, the embassy said Hop outlined US President Donald Trump’s policy priorities and affirmed support for partnerships with Yemen on maritime security and counterterrorism.

Joe Kent, who resigned as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center in March in protest against the US-Israel war on Iran, has said: “The most powerful thing President Trump can do right now is to just walk away— it’s his best option to end the war with Iran.”

In a post on X, he said, “Trump has the political power to frame this maneuvering as a win, but his time to do so successfully is running out.”

Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the US must meet other conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened, Reuters reports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said an agreement with Oman on the strait was in its “final stages” but reiterated comments made earlier that Tehran would not reopen the channel unless the US met certain demands made by Tehran.

A Houthi attack on Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mocha killed seven people and wounded 30 others, the Yemeni military says, according to Al Jazeera.

Air defences intercepted 11 Houthi drones during the attack.

Oil prices rise as uncertainty continued over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as Iran said a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes was in its final stages, but the US must still meet other conditions, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures rise $1.20, or 1.44 per cent, to $84.79 by 2206 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate is at $79.29 a barrel, or 1.08pc, rising $1.12.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as his political adviser.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed Dr Mohsen Rezaei as his representative in Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

The Yemeni transportation ministry has said in a statement that the Houthis’ attack on Mocha caused severe damage to the port’s infrastructure, Reuters reports.

“This marks yet another assault on a vital civilian facility that serves citizens and contributes to boosting commercial and maritime activity in the Red Sea,” the ministry said.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik discussed the “close fraternal relationships between the two countries” as well as exchanged views on “a number of issues of mutual interest”, Qatar says.

The Oman sultan undertook a one-day visit to Qatar.

Oman’s foreign ministry said they “discussed the course of bilateral relations and all matters aimed at developing aspects of existing cooperation in various sectors, in service of shared interests and aspirations”.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,335 people and wounded 12,277 others since March 2, Al Jazeera quotes Lebanon’s health ministry as saying.

After months of US military strikes on Iran, sanctions and a blockade, President Donald Trump says that his administration is watching economic pressure mount on Iran, according to an interview with Axios.

“We are low-keying it,” Trump was quoted as saying during a brief phone call.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

He stressed that Iran “is in very bad shape” economically and has no money to pay its troops. Trump said the US naval blockade has exacerbated Iran’s economic crisis.

At the same time, Trump said that with oil down to slightly over $75 a barrel, US consumers are feeling less pain from the war.

“It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” Trump said of the back-and-forth with Iran.

Deputy PM Ishaq Dar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand have discussed the “evolving situation” in the context of the US-Iran war, the Foreign Office says.

They also exchanged views on the regional situation, including the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

The spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has announced the approval of a strategic action plan to ensure the security and sustainable progress of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, IRNA reports.

The spokesperson added: “In this meeting, the oral and written views of the relevant agencies and institutions were discussed and reviewed in the presence of representatives at the National Security Commission meeting, and ultimately this plan was approved without any dissenting votes.”

Reuters