Iran war live: Trump delays attacks on Iranian energy sector by 10 days
Iranian missiles, drones continue to target Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan as Trump says Iran has ‘chance to make a deal’.
- US President Donald Trump says he will further delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days – until April 6 – as he continues to claim talks with Iran on a peace deal are going “very well”.
- Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirms Islamabad is relaying messages between US and Iranian officials as part of mediation efforts to end the war, with Turkiye and Egypt also lending support.
- US President Donald Trump says he will further delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days – until April 6 – as he continues to claim talks with Iran on a peace deal are going “very well”.
- Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirms Islamabad is relaying messages between US and Iranian officials as part of mediation efforts to end the war, with Turkiye and Egypt also lending support.
- Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian tells Al Jazeera at least 1,937 people have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on his country.
- Israel has issued displacement orders for all residents of Lebanon living south of the Zahrani River – located some 50km (31 miles) from the border with Israel – as Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports more than 1,100 people killed in Israeli attacks since March 2.
- Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.
Israel claims strike on Iranian missile, sea mines production site
In its latest war update, Israel’s military says it has carried out air strikes hitting Iran’s main production facility for missiles and sea mines in the central city of Yazd.
The site, according to Israel’s military, is central to Iran’s “planning, development, assembly and storage of advanced missiles intended for launch from cruise platforms, submarines and helicopters”.
15 arrested in Isfahan for allegedly sharing sensitive information
Iranian authorities have arrested at least 15 people in Isfahan province for allegedly sending sensitive information to media networks that Tehran deems hostile.
According to Iran’s IRIB broadcaster, the detained individuals are accused of sharing the location of military sites, photographs of attack damage, and other sensitive information.
Israel reports incoming missiles from Iran
Israel’s military says it has detected a wave of missiles from Iran heading towards the country, the first salvo this morning.
Iran says Middle East hotels hosting US troops will be targeted
Iran’s military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region will be targets in its war with the United States and Israel.
“When all the Americans [forces] go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American,” armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television.
“Should we just stand by and let the Americans strike us? When we respond naturally we have to strike wherever they are.”
On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused US soldiers of using people in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as “human shields”.
“From the outset of this war, US soldiers fled military bases in the GCC to hide in hotels and offices,” he said in a post on X, calling on hotels in the region to deny them bookings.
Israel deepens Lebanon invasion, drives mass displacement further north
Another forced evacuation order has been issued in the last couple of hours, again from the Israeli military, telling people to get north of the Zahrani River, and that’s been the pattern of the last few days.
We’ve seen evacuation orders pretty much since the start of this war telling people to get north of the Litani River.
That appears to have changed in the past few days with Israeli forces pushing even further north, taking over a broad area. Clearly the intention is to take over a very significant part of southern Lebanon.
At this stage that has forced nearly one million people to flee southern Lebanon and has put incredible pressure on the country.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he instructed Lebanon’s foreign minister to issue an immediate complaint to the UN Security Council because of the encroachment.
Germany says US and Iran could meet directly for negotiations
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says the United States and Iran have already held indirect contacts and are preparing for direct talks.
Speaking to Deutschlandfunk radio, Wadephul said preparations are underway for a meeting between representatives from both sides, expected to take place soon in Pakistan.
“Based on my information there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly. That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently,” he said.
Finland warns Israel-US war risks global recession worse than COVID
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has warned the Israel-US war on Iran could trigger a “self-inflicted global recession” with consequences potentially worse than the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to Politico, Stubb criticised President Trump’s “America First” approach arguing it reduces diplomacy to short-term deals.
“Diplomacy is rarely a transaction,” he said. “I mean, interest can be transactional, but even then you should find mutual interest.”
He also signalled Europe’s reluctance to follow Washington into the conflict.
“This might sound a bit harsh, but Iran is not my war,” Stubb said. “Ukraine is my war.”
US, Iran using ‘new pressure cards’ with energy threats
Zeidon Alkinali, founding director of the Arab Perspectives Institute, says the US and Iran have tapped into new points of leverage during the war, particularly related to energy and the global economy.
“There are different and new pressure cards that have erupted from this war,” Alkinali told Al Jazeera.
For Iran it is its control over the Strait of Hormuz, while for the US it is threats of attacks against power infrastructure, he said.
The US telegraphing potential attacks against Iran’s power plants sheds light on Washington’s ability and preparedness to “further dismantle and destroy” the Iranian government’s energy infrastructure.
This would harm Tehran’s economy in a way that would weaken the government for years to come, even if the war were to end soon, said Alkinali. The issue has also become “very alarming” for the region and beyond because of its lasting economic implications, he added.
Qatar says security threat ‘eliminated’
Qatar has lowered its heightened security alert, with the ministry of interior sending a message to residents that the “threat has been eliminated and the situation has returned to normal”.
The security alert just a few minutes earlier followed a week when Qatar residents had started to step out more, with no alerts giving them confidence that no missiles or drones were incoming.
Schools are scheduled to reopen for in person classes from Sunday.
‘Remain calm’: Sirens sound in Bahrain
Bahran’s Interior Ministry says alarm sirens have been activated in the country.
“Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm, head to the nearest safe location, and follow updates through official channels,” said the ministry.
Qatar issues heightened security alert — first in a week
Qatar’s emergency services have just issued a heightened security alert, sending screeching messages on phones across the country — the first in a week.
The alert asks people to stay indoors and away from windows, and suggests an incoming missile or drone.
Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port attacked by drones
Kuwait Port Authority says drone attacks targeted Shuwaikh Port, near Kuwait City, this morning.
In a statement, the authority said the attack caused “material damage” but no casualties.
US-Israel war on Iran: What’s happening on day 28 of attacks?
As the war enters day 28, United States President Donald Trump says he has delayed planned attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days until April 6, adding peace talks are going “very well” – even as Iranian officials describe a US proposal as “one-sided and unfair”.
Pakistan says it is relaying messages between Washington and Tehran, with Turkiye and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts to try to end the war, as diplomatic efforts intensify to prevent a wider regional conflict.
Read more here.
India cuts fuel taxes as Israeli-US war drives oil shock
India has slashed fuel taxes as the Israeli-US war disrupts global energy supplies and drives up prices.
The government also imposed export duties on diesel and aviation fuel to secure domestic supply. India, which imports more than 85 percent of its crude, with Russia being the largest supplier, is feeling the strain as prices surge.
Officials insist supplies remain stable, but panic buying has triggered long queues at petrol stations. Authorities have urged the public “not to be misled” by misinformation as fears of shortages spread.
WATCH: US media divide deepens over Iran war narrative
The Trump administration has intensified attacks on mainstream outlets, accusing them of spreading “fake news” and undermining war messaging.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters “you’re either informing the people of the truth or you’re not”.
Trust in traditional media has sharply declined – from about 70 percent in the late 1970s to just 28 percent last year – while social media overtook television as Americans’ top news source for the first time, with 54 percent of people now getting news online.
Ultimately, Americans are left navigating competing narratives to determine what is credible.
Sri Lanka braces for new economic crisis as war on Iran continues
Sri Lanka imports 60 percent of its energy needs, much of it through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has halted most traffic through during the war. Sri Lanka also has no storage capacity beyond one month’s consumption needs.
With the passageway largely closed, the South Asian island nation of 22 million introduced a QR-based fuel ration arrangement, a system followed by the government during the economic crisis of Sri Lanka in 2022.
Based on this per-week ration system, motorbikes are allowed eight litres of petrol, tuk-tuks 20 litres of petrol, cars 25 litres of petrol, buses 100 litres of diesel, and lorries with 200 litres of diesel.
But even that limited fuel now comes at a higher cost: Sri Lanka has raised the price by 33 percent since the start of the war on Iran.
Read more here.
Ground invasion of Lebanon looms as Iranian missiles, Hezbollah rockets pound Israel
While [the latest attacks] were lower in terms of the intensity of Iran-fired missiles into Israel, Hezbollah has kept up the pressure on the northern Israeli front.
We’ve seen on Thursday one person killed as a result, as well as raising questions about the validity of the Israeli army’s strategy in southern Lebanon.
Since the beginning of this battle – this round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel – the Israeli defence minister has kept saying that they want to push for a security buffer zone in Lebanon.
They want to call up more reservists. They want to control and occupy areas in southern Lebanon; sometimes they say it’s the southern Litani River. Sometimes they say it’s even further north and taking up potentially as much as 15 percent of Lebanese soil.
While Israel is facing a very intensive war with Iran – still under bombardment and sending millions of Israelis to shelters and life’s disrupted – but, also, at the same time, they are pushing for more ground invasion.
That could potentially be costly to the Israeli army without achieving certain goals, which are ending or disarming Hezbollah.
That’s something even Israeli defence officials have said won’t be achieved through a ground invasion alone, but through an agreement with the Lebanese government and that does not seem to be going anywhere at the moment.
The Strait of Hormuz is not just an oil chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz is not an oil chokepoint. It is the aortic valve of globalised production – and like any valve, when it fails, the entire circulatory system collapses.
For the more than 100 million people in and around the Gulf, money cannot buy food security when the physical route is closed.
Saudi Arabia imports more than 80 percent of its food. Qatar imports 85 percent. The Gulf is wealthy, but it is structurally dependent on a single 39km passage for survival.
Read more here.
Thai cargo ship reportedly runs aground after Iran attack
A Thai-flagged cargo ship that came under attack from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and was abandoned by its crew has run aground, Iranian media report.
The Mayuree Naree came under attack March 11 with three of its mariners going missing and still not found.
The semi-official Tasnim and Fars news agencies, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported the cargo ship ran aground near the village of Ramchah on Qeshm Island.
War ‘far from any point of de-escalation’ as US-Israeli attacks continue
Air attacks are continuing across the country. In Tehran, we’ve heard the sound of air defence systems, usually triggered by drone attacks or threats, since yesterday evening. Overnight, we heard enormous blasts.
The attacks extend beyond the capital as well. The latest reports indicate at least six people have been killed in the city of Qom and a residential complex targeted in Urmia.
Attacks have also been reported in Karaj, to the west of the capital, and Isfahan, specifically its industrial area. Operationally speaking, we are far from any point of de-escalation.