The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has held discussions on the evolving regional situation with Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik at the foreign ministry.
Dar underscored Pakistan’s “continued efforts to promote engagement and dialogue for peace and stability in the region and beyond”, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a post on X.
Kravik reiterated Norway’s support for Pakistan’s constructive role and its ongoing efforts toward a peaceful and durable resolution of the conflict, it added.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has emphasised that Tehran has always welcomed constructive engagement from European countries on regional security and nuclear issues, Tasnim reports.
He urged European countries to “reject” US policies and adopt an independent stance.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said that the United States must reduce its demands on the Islamic Republic, with negotiations stalled over ending the two-month-long Middle East war, AFP reports.
“At this stage, our priority is to end the war,” he said in a briefing broadcast by state television.
“The other side must commit to a reasonable approach and abandon its excessive demands regarding Iran.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei has said US allies in the region are aware that the US-Israeli war on Iran is not legal but rather a “unilateral step” that goes against international law, Al Jazeera reports.
Speaking at a news conference in Tehran, Baqaei said all countries that have taken part directly or indirectly in the war are “responsible”.
European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have confirmed the war has resulted in “massive costs” for the continent and the world, he added.
In his statement on the evacuation to Pakistan of 22 crew members from an Iranian container vessel seized by the US, Deputy PM Ishaq Dar says the actions “surely constitute an important confidence-building measure”.
“The individuals were safely flown in Pakistan last night and will be transferred to today. The Iranian ship is also being backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for its return to its original owners after necessary repairs,” Dar said on X.
He noted that the actions were “being coordinated with the support of both the Iranian and the US authorities” and expressed Pakistan’s appreciation to the US and Iran.
He affirmed that Islamabad “remains committed to facilitating dialogue, diplomacy, and mediation for the regional peace and security”.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said that with the United Arab Emirates’ airspace now fully clear, operations and flights are being scaled up in line with routing capacity, Reuters reports.
Despite disruption from the Iran war since the end of February 28, Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports have still supported more than 6 million passengers, over 32,000 aircraft movements, and more than 213,000 tonnes of cargo, with demand for travel through Dubai remaining strong, Griffiths added in a LinkedIn post.
Passengers wait for their flights at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai on April 17. — AFP/File
The Israeli military has issued a statement saying it has begun a wave of air strikes on what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.
Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported shortly after an air strike on the southern town of Barashit, in the Nabatieh Governorate.
European nations have “gotten the message” from US President Donald Trump and are now ensuring that agreements on the use of military bases are being implemented, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte says, Reuters reports.
Trump has accused some Nato nations of not doing enough to support the United States in the war with Iran. In a further sign of his discontent with European allies, the US announced last week that it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.
“Yes, there has been some disappointment from the US side, but Europeans have listened,” Rutte told reporters at a European Political Community summit in Armenia.
“They are now making sure that all the bilateral basing agreements are being implemented,” he said.
Rutte also said “more and more” European nations were pre-positioning assets such as minehunters and minesweepers close to the Gulf to be ready for a “next phase”.
The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that crew members of a seized Iranian vessel have been evacuated to Pakistan and will be handed over to Iran today under a “confidence-building measure” by the US.
In a statement posted on X, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, “As a confidence-building measure by the United States of America, twenty-two crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship, ‘MV Touska’, have been evacuated to Pakistan”.
He added that the crew members were flown to Pakistan last night and will be handed over to Iran today.
“The Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs,” the spokesperson said, adding that returns “are being coordinated in tandem with the support of both the Iranian and US sides”.
Andrabi further stated that Pakistan “will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security”.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a “coordinated” way, as the US military pressed ahead with a mission to escort ships out of the waterway, AFP reports.
“What we want above all is a coordinated reopening by the United States and Iran – that is the only solution for reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron said at a meeting of European leaders in Armenia.
“We are not going to take part in any military operation in a framework that to me seems unclear,” said the French leader, whose country has with Britain led efforts to assemble a coalition to reopen the strait once peace is secured.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a joint press conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (unseen) at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on March 13. — AFP/File
Iran has warned the US Navy against entering the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement from the unified command of Iran’s armed forces reported by state media, after the US announced it would start an effort on Monday to free ships stranded in the waterway, according to Reuters.
“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces,” the Iranian statement added.
Methane emissions from the energy sector remained at near record levels in 2025, the International Energy Agency said in a report, according to AFP.
Tackling the emissions could make billions of cubic metres of gas available to international markets, a top priority as the war in the Middle East squeezes energy supplies, the report said.
“With methane emissions from energy sector near record highs, tried-and-tested abatement measures could make 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas available annually,” said The Global Methane Tracker 2026 report.
Israeli forces have bombed the towns of Khiam and Qantara, Al Jazeera reports citing National News Agency(NNA).
The NNA said Israeli drones did not leave the skies over southern Lebanon from Sunday night through to this morning.
According to the state-run agency, Israeli forces also dropped flares over Braachit during the night and shelled the outskirts of the towns of Safad El Battikh, Yater, Majdel Selm and Chaitiyeh.
Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Habbouch on May 1, 2026. —AFP/File
The residents of the municipalities of Qana, Debaal, Qaaqaait al-Jisr and Srifa in southern Lebanon must flee their homes, the Israeli military said, reports Al Jazeera.
The displaced must move at least 1,000 metres away from their villages and towns to open areas, the statement issued on X by the army’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
Secondary school students wave the Kuwaiti flag as they gather in the grounds of the Fajr al-Sabah School to attend in-person classes in Kuwait City on May 3, 2026. High school students resumed in-person classes after a suspension of more than two months following military strikes launched by the US and Israel against Iran that assassinated its supreme leader, triggering a war that spread across the Middle East and prompting the Kuwaiti Education Ministry to implement remote learning for students. —AFP
Balloons in the colour of the Kuwaiti flag decorate the entrance to the Fajr al-Sabah Secondary School, as students arrive to attend in-person classes, in Kuwait City on May 3, 2026. —AFP
Secondary school students wave the Kuwaiti flag as they gather in the grounds of the Fajr al-Sabah School to attend in-person classes in Kuwait City on May 3, 2026. —AFP
Secondary school students attend class at the Fajr al-Sabah School, two months after classes were suspended, in Kuwait City on May 3, 2026. —AFP
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
According to the FO, the two sides discussed the prevailing regional situation and Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region.
Iran’s foreign minister appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” and “sincere mediation efforts” between relevant parties, the statement added.
Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued commitment to promoting constructive engagement, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remained the only viable path toward the peaceful resolution of issues and the achievement of lasting peace and stability in the region and beyond, it said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, on behalf of the Joint Maritime Information Centre, that the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains critical due to ongoing regional military operations, Reuters reports.
UKMTO said mariners are advised to coordinate with Omani authorities via VHF channel 16 and should consider routing via Oman territorial waters south of the traffic separation scheme, where the US has established an enhanced security area.
It is becoming increasingly uncertain how long the Iran war, now in its third month, will last. Until recently, it seemed American and Iranian interests aligned in wanting to avoid a protracted conflict, although Israel’s didn’t. That impression gained strength when they held their first, and so far only, face-to-face talks in Islamabad last month.
After that the peace process faltered and a second round of negotiations proved elusive, despite intense efforts by Pakistan, supported by key regional states. Pakistan’s active mediation subsequently involved exchanging messages and negotiating proposals between Tehran and Washington. That process continues.
The ceasefire has held, which is positive. But it is a precarious truce in a volatile environment. The hardening public postures of both sides have impeded the search for an off-ramp from the crisis. President Donald Trump has oscillated between threatening to restart military operations and signalling openness to talks.
The Iranian ship that was seized by the US after it tried to run the US blockade has been transferred to Pakistan for repatriation to Iran, along with its crew, a spokesman for US Central Command told ABC News.
“Today, U.S. forces completed the transfer of 22 crew members of M/V Touska to Pakistan for repatriation,” Captain Tim Hawkins said.
“Six other passengers were already transferred to a regional country for repatriation last week.”
US Central Command has said forces will begin supporting Project Freedom to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The mission, directed by the president, will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertiliser products are transported through the strait,” it said in a post on X.
“US military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members,” it said.
Iran warned has that it would consider any US attempt to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz a breach of the Mideast ceasefire, AFP reports.
The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission said: “Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire.”
The new Hormuz Strait initiative will not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.
US Navy ships will be “in the vicinity” in the event they need to prevent Iran’s military from attacking commercial ships moving through strait, Ravid said.
