War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says controlling the Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s “definitive strategy” in the war with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

“Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House’s supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Iran,” the IRGC said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

US President Donald Trump said it was unclear who was running Iran as he cancelled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan for negotiations towards ending the war.

“There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership’. Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he said.

“If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi termed his visit to Pakistan “very fruitful”.

In a post on X, he said, “Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value.

“Shared Iran’s position concerning a workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,” he said.

US President Donald Trump says cancelling his envoys’ trip to Islamabad for talks does not automatically mean war with Iran would restart, despite the setback in peace efforts, AFP reports.

Asked whether the cancellation meant he would resume the war, Trump tells Axios: “No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet.

Israeli warplanes have launched three consecutive air strikes on the town of Kunin, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports, citing the state-run National News Agency.

NNA says Israeli air raids have continued to hit southern Lebanon, despite a 10-day ceasefire having been extended for another three weeks.

US President Donald Trump tells Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will no longer be heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran.

“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’,” Trump says.

Hezbollah has issued a statement claiming it targeted and hit an Israeli vehicle in the town of Qantara, Al Jazeera reports.

The news comes as clashes between Israel and the group continue despite a three-week ceasefire extension.

Lebanon’s health ministry has announced that the death toll from Israeli attacks has risen to 2,496, with 7,725 people injured since the escalation of fighting on March 2, Al Jazeera reports.

In its daily report, it said the total number of displaced people sheltering in evacuation centres has exceeded 120,000, while the number of displaced families in these centres has reached around 31,000.

A Republican lawmaker has told Bloomberg that US-Iran talks on ending the conflict, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, seem unlikely to make major progress soon.

“I don’t see any big breakthrough in the near term,” Texas Representative Michael McCaul, a former chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security panels, said.

“I think to lower the expectations is smart.”

The BBC reports that hundreds of people are protesting near a British military base that is being used by the United States Air Force (USAF) to launch operations against Iran.

Up to 200 people have gathered at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire for the demonstration organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

The base has been used to deploy US bombers since the Middle East conflict began on 28 February.

Read more here.

An Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left Islamabad after meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Washington’s motive for targeting infrastructure and imposing blockades is to create dissatisfaction among the people, the state-run IRNA news agency reports.

“The enemy has a plan to turn the people’s current satisfaction into dissatisfaction. To counter this plot, we must ensure that no conditions are created that could lead to public discontent,” Pezeshkian has said during a visit to the interior ministry.

He has also expressed gratitude to provincial governors across the country for their role amid the war, stating, “We have granted full authority to the governors, and in terms of management, they have the same powers as the president.”

US Senator Chris Murphy has alleged that both US negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have “massive financial conflicts of interest, their fortunes tied to the Middle East dictators that make them rich”.

“No diplomatic experience. In way over their head,” he wrote on X.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on the social media platform X that he and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had a “most warm, cordial exchange of views on the current regional situation”.

“We also discussed matters of mutual interest, including the further strengthening of Pakistan–Iran bilateral relations,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “approximately two hours”.

“The prime minister emphasised on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peace and stability in the region and beyond,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated that he is focused on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, adding that panic caused by geopolitical uncertainty could itself lead to energy shortages, Al Jazeera reports.

“Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with international law, guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on the Strait of Hormuz. Then things can gradually return to normal,” Macron says, speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has said that despite attacks on infrastructure, such as bridges, the country would be rebuilt better than before.

“The enemy struck the bridges, unaware that the people of Iran mend what is broken,” he has said on X.

He adds that a supplier for construction material has come forward donating cement, while a villager is offering free rebar work.

“This goes beyond rebuilding with concrete and steel — it is the nation and the state standing side by side. With this spirit, we will rebuild Iran more magnificently than before,” Aref writes.

The Israeli military says alert sirens have been activated in the “Menara, Margaliot, and Misgav Am areas”, and that details are under review, Al Jazeera reports.

Israeli media reports that three rockets were fired.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with bilateral ties, expanded cooperation and regional and international developments being discussed, according to the Iranian government.

According to Tehran, Araghchi expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s efforts to ensure a ceasefire with the US and for hosting talks.

Tehran’s top diplomat “reaffirmed Iran’s stance on ending the war, and stressed stronger ties with neighbours”.

Germany will soon send a minesweeper to the Mediterranean for a possible mission in the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

Several countries have said they are ready to take part in a “neutral” mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which the US said last week it was in the process of de-mining together with Tehran, although this has not been confirmed by Iran.

The German navy’s “Fulda” will be deployed “in the coming days”, the spokeswoman said.

The aim is to make a “significant and visible contribution to an international coalition seeking to protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.

Minesweepers are specialised vessels used to detect and set off naval mines.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has asked people to “reduce electricity and energy consumption”, Al Jazeera reports, citing semi-official Mehr news agency.

“The enemies are attacking our infrastructure and surrounding us so that people become dissatisfied and the current satisfaction turns into dissatisfaction; people must not allow the grounds for dissatisfaction to arise,” he said.

“We need consumption control; at home, instead of 10 lights, 2 lights should be on — what’s the problem with that?”

Four people were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state news agency reported, according to Reuters.

On Friday, six people were killed in Lebanon, the deadliest day during the ceasefire that was recently extended.