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”
Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks ended without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
Lebanon’s health ministry says that an Israeli strike a day earlier killed at least 11 people, two of them children, as the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure, AFP reports.
In a statement, the ministry says, “Yesterday’s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child”, adding that rescuers are still clearing the rubble in the eastern town.
Lebanon’s health ministry has said that an Israeli strike a day earlier killed at least 11 people, two of them children, as the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure.
In a statement, the ministry said that “yesterday’s Israeli enemy airstrike on the town of Mashghara in West Bekaa resulted in a preliminary toll of 11 martyrs, including two girls and a woman, and 15 wounded, including a child”, adding that rescuers were still clearing the rubble in the eastern town.
Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi has conveyed a message from President Pezeshkian to the president of Tajikistan, highlighting solidarity between the two nations and Iran’s readiness to expand cooperation on water and energy, according to posts by the government of Iran on X.
The minister warned that “targeting civilian water and energy infrastructure threatens public health, food security, the environment, and regional stability,” stressing the need for stronger international protection mechanisms, the government said.
Iran’s judiciary has suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access after months of near-total blackout since the start of the war with the US and Israel, AFP reports.
The judicial decision targeted the “Special Headquarters for Organising and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace”, a body formed on May 12 by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The body had reached a decision a day earlier to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure.
An explosion close to the waterline damaged a tanker off Oman, a marine monitor has said, as tensions remain high around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.
“The crew and vessel are safe, although the master reports some bunker fuel has discharged into the sea,” UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has extended an invitation to Muslim countries to work with Tehran to find a “resolution of the Islamic world’s problems”.
In a pos on X, the supreme leader said, “I, with sincerity and purity of intention, invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation in goodness, so that by working together we may take steps toward the advancement of the Islamic Ummah and the resolution of the Islamic world’s problems”.
Iran’s foreign ministry has issued a statement warning that it will retaliate to US strikes carried out this morning, calling it a “blatant violation” of the ongoing ceasefire.
“The terrorist US military has, over the past 48 hours, committed a blatant violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the statement reads.
“Without a doubt, the Islamic Republic of Iran will leave no act of aggression unanswered and will not hesitate in the slightest in defending the sovereignty and integrity of Iran.”
A source close to Iran’s negotiating team has told Fars news agency that negotiations with the US are not possible until Tehran receives its frozen funds.
India’s equity benchmarks have fallen as fresh US strikes on Iran dampened hopes of an imminent peace deal to end the three-month-long Iran war that has upended the inflation and growth outlook for Asia’s third-largest economy, Reuters reports.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.49pc to 23,913.7 and the BSE Sensex lost 0.63pc to 76,009.7.
The indexes rose to two-week highs a day earlier after US President Donald Trump claimed that Washington and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal.
Today, 12 of the 16 major sectors fell, with heavyweight financials leading losses with a 0.7pc decline.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.4pc and 0.5pc, respectively.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told military commanders that regional countries concluded the US military presence in the Gulf “has failed to ensure their lasting security” and “relying on America for security has been an unrealistic and ineffective notion”, Al Jazeera reports.
According to a statement from Iran’s presidential office, Pezeshkian also called for updating Iran’s defence structure, warning “the enemy has acquired new technologies and tools”.
The armed forces must pursue “the technological edge and enhancing defence capabilities” through greater use of universities, scientific centres, and knowledge-based companies, it said.
Pezeshkian also thanked the military for its “commitment to professional duties and avoidance of political and partisan issues”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged Muslims to uphold the values of unity, sacrifice and collective responsibility in his message on the Day of Arafat.
The prime minister said that during the sacred moments of Haj, Pakistan as a nation prays for peace, security and stability across the world.
PM Shehbaz said the dignified gathering of Haj reflects the spirit of unity among the Muslim community. He observed that the true secret of national and collective progress and prosperity lies in the spirit of love, sacrifice and mutual cooperation.
The Israeli forces say they struck more than 100 sites in the Beqaa Valley and across southern Lebanon overnight, claiming it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
It also shared footage of one of the overnight strikes.
Iran’s senior member of the Parliament Ebrahim Azizi has said the US must take five necessary confidence-building steps before it can reach any agreement with Iran, emphasising that there will be no deal without such measures, state-run Press TV reports.
These measures include: “An end to war on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon, with guarantees that the war will not be repeated; lifting of naval blockade; acceptance of Iranian arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz; suspension of oil sanctions; and release of Iran’s blocked assets”, Azizi said in a televised interview.
He has added that if the measures are carried out, “we will enter a 30 and 60-day time-frame, followed by discussions on the details of sanctions and the remaining issues”; otherwise, the “agreement will not happen”.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has cited a source close to Iran’s negotiating team as saying $24bn of frozen Iranian assets must be released in any potential deal with the US.
The source said Tehran’s position is that half of the amount – $12bn – must be released when a memorandum of understanding is announced, with the remaining amount released within 60 days.
Egypt’s FM Dr Badr Abdelatty held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan yesterday to “discuss regional de-escalation efforts”, Egypt’s foreign ministry says.
“The two ministers exchanged views and assessments on the progress of negotiations between the United States and Iran, emphasising the paramount importance of supporting the negotiation process and relying on diplomacy and dialogue as the only way to reduce tensions and end the war,” the statement read.
“Both ministers expressed their hope that all parties would adopt wise and responsible positions and embrace diplomacy to resolve their differences,” it added.
The Israeli army has begun mobilising troops with the aim of intensifying its ground assault on Lebanon, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reports according to Al Jazeera.
“The army has requested that soldiers who were discharged in recent days report for reserve duty immediately,” it said.
