Middle East crisis live: Iran launches strikes on US bases in Gulf; oil prices drop after Trump ‘peace plan’ report

From 24h agoIran says no plan to hold negotiations with USIran has dismissed a US plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV that his government had not engaged in talks to end the war – “and we do not plan on any negotiations”. double quotation markSpeaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat. That came after a report from Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster quoting an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected the US’s ceasefire proposal and had its own demands for an end to the fighting, the Associated Press reports.Earlier, two officials from Pakistan – which transmitted the US plan to Iran – described the 15-point proposal broadly.The White House press secretary insisted the US and Iran were in talks, even as Iranian officials deny it. “Talks continue,” Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.” They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be.”Leavitt warned that if talks with Iran did not pan out, Donald Trump “will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before”.Key events19h agoChina sees 'glimmer of hope' for peace20h agoIsrael carries out 'wide-scale' strikes in Iran22h agoHezbollah rejects truce talks with Israel22h agoRussia sending drones to Iran, western intelligence says – report23h agoTrump says Iran negotiators fear being 'killed by their own people'24h agoIran says no plan to hold negotiations with US1d agoMore than 5,000 Israelis injured since start of war, health ministry says1d agoIran 'waiting' for American soldiers to arrive, says military adviser1d agoThe day so far1d ago'Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,' says UN chief1d agoThe Guardian view on Israel’s war in Lebanon: allies must not accept a repeat of the crimes in Gaza1d agoIran wants Lebanon included in any ceasefire – report1d agoNetanyahu says Israel expanding occupation of southern Lebanon1d agoUN chief says it's ‘high time’ to end ‘out of control’ war on Iran1d agoIran's foreign minister says no talks being held with the US1d agoIran warns unnamed regional country against alleged plan to occupy island1d agoWhite House avoids question of whether US boots on the ground needed to reopen strait of Hormuz if talks fail1d agoWhite House insists Iran has not rejected US peace proposal1d agoWhite House: Trump's preference is peace - but is prepared to 'unleash hell' on Iran1d agoUS military 'annihilating' Iran's navy, destroyed 140 vessels - Leavitt1d agoUN chief says Middle East war is 'out of control' and says Lebanon cannot become 'next Gaza'1d agoConfusion abounds over Iran's response to US proposal to end war1d agoIran rejects US proposal and views it as 'excessive' - state media1d agoUK to host talks on mission to reopen Hormuz - AFP1d agoSummary of developments so far1d agoUS-Iran talks could take place in Pakistan as early as this weekend, says UN nuclear watchdog chief1d agoAnalysis: Trump’s war in Iran exposes US’s shift from a global guardian to an arbiter of chaos1d agoIran 'closely monitoring' any US troop deployments to Middle East, says Tehran official2d agoUN rights council set to hold urgent debate on Friday over Iran school strike2d ago'States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe' with strikes around nuclear sites, says Türk2d agoStrait of Hormuz open to 'non-hostile' vessels, says Iran2d agoTrump says Iran wants deal 'so badly' as reports suggest US ready to send soldiers to Middle East2d agoAustralia to block Iranians on tourist visas from entering country2d agoInterim summary2d agoIranian strikes bombard Gulf states overnight as frustration with war mounts2d agoIndonesia mulls cutting back free student meals to save money - reports2d agoIranian military mocks US attempts at ceasefire2d agoOil prices fall, Asian shares gain after Trump claims progress in Iran talks2d agoWTO fertiliser warning over strait of Hormuz closure: 'Harvests shrink and prices rise'2d agoOpening summaryShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureWe’re closing this blog now but our coverage continues on a new liveblog here, including a recap of the latest developments. Thanks for following along.China sees 'glimmer of hope' for peaceChina’s foreign minister has said that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the war in the Middle East, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.“With both the United States and Iran signalling a willingness to negotiate, a glimmer of hope for peace has emerged,” Wang told Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty, according to a Beijing readout published late on Wednesday and reported by Agence France-Presse.The statement came hours before Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that “so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled”.Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.Wang told Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, during the call that the rights and wrongs of the conflict in the Middle East were “crystal clear”, offering support to the country in helping to facilitate the resumption of negotiations.Turkey has engaged in “intense” diplomatic efforts to end the war by talking to both Washington and Tehran, Fidan said this month.Wang said: double quotation markProlonging this war would only result in further casualties and needless losses, leading to a further spillover of the conflict. The chief executive of Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc has described any restriction of passage through the strait of Hormuz by Iran as “economic terrorism”.“When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy,” Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech in the US, cited by Reuters. double quotation markNo country can be allowed to destabilise the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever. Al Jaber, during a meeting with US vice-president JD Vance earlier in the day, said free passage through the strait of Hormuz was the only durable solution to stabilising global markets.Israel carries out 'wide-scale' strikes in IranThe Israeli military says it has carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including extensively in the central city of Isfahan.A brief military statement said on Thursday that Israeli forces “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran”.As the oil crunch reverberates around the globe – with some countries in Asia among the most affected – South Korean president Lee Jae Myung on Thursday asked the public to conserve electric power.He said rising fuel prices could prompt a shift to electricity because its prices were comparatively stable due to a government-controlled tariff.President Lee Jae Myung (C) attends an emergency economic review in Seoul on Thursday to cushion the impact of the escalating Middle East crisis. Photograph: YONHAP/EPALee was holding an emergency economic meeting to address the fallout of the Iran war on Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which almost entirely depends on imports for energy.Meanwhile in the Philippines, a ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived, a source with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse on Thursday, days after the country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky, bearing high-quality crude from Russia’s ESPO pipeline arrived on Monday, with documents showing the consignee as Petron Corp, operator of the Philippines’ sole oil refinery, said the source.The Philippines is heavily dependent on imported fuel, the cost of which has hit historic highs since the US-Israeli war with Iran forced the partial closure of the strait of Hormuz.Bahrain says its civil defences have extinguished a fire in the north due to “Iranian aggression” and there were no injuries.The fire was in the Muharraq governorate, the interior ministry posted on X in the early hours of Thursday, a while after saying a warning siren had been sounded and urging people to head to the nearest safety shelter.Tehran has continued to press its drone and missile attacks around the Gulf and on Israel, while Israel continues striking Iran.In case you missed this earlier, the days after Nowruz – the Persian New Year – are usually a bustling time in Tehran, with spring arriving, trees blossoming, businesses reopening after the holidays and people returning to work and school.But this year Iranians are trying to maintain a semblance of ordinary life against the constant backdrop of explosions, airstrikes and a conflict many fear may drag on for weeks or months, writes Stefanie Glinski. “More and more, people are starting to normalise this war,” said Farhad, a photography editor in Tehran. double quotation markIt’s difficult, but we’re adapting and trying to return to our daily lives as much as possible. There’s no alternative. We’re tired. We just want peace. Explosions lit up the city’s skyline overnight on Wednesday as Israel launched fresh airstrikes – but by the morning, joggers were exercising again in the sprawling Pardisan Park.Schools and universities remain closed since the start of the war, but shops, restaurants and cafes are slowly reopening.See the full feature here:People visit Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran to honour their deceased relatives on the last day of Eid al-Fitr on Sunday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesHezbollah’s rejection of any ceasefire talks with Israel comes as the country has carried out fresh strikes in Lebanon and said it is expanding a “buffer zone” in the south. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes and artillery shelling in several southern locations on Wednesday, and the health ministry said at least eight people were killed.The agency also reported an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.Israel’s military said it struck a “command centre” there after a renewed evacuation warning.Agence France-Presse reports that a street was covered in debris – including shattered cement and warped metal – after the early morning strike, while an apartment building’s upper floors appeared damaged.The area has been targeted multiple times during the conflict and is largely empty of residents, who have fled.A site in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday in the aftermath of an Israeli strike. Photograph: Adri Salido/Getty ImagesIn southern Lebanon, Israel’s military said ground troops “dismantled a weapons storage facility” and the air force killed “several terrorists”.According to the Lebanese health ministry, 42 health workers are among more than 1,000 people killed in Lebanon in more than three weeks of Israeli strikes. Lebanese authorities say upwards of 1 million people have been displaced.Hezbollah rejects truce talks with IsraelHezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” as it launched fresh attacks on the country.The Iran-backed group said it launched missiles early on Thursday at military sites in central Israel, where air raid sirens sounded, Agence France-Presse is reporting.Israeli media said six Hezbollah rockets headed for central areas were all intercepted.Hezbollah said its fighters had launched more than 80 attacks on Wednesday – the largest daily number in the current round of fighting – and attacked Israeli forces in nine border towns.Israel’s military said one of its soldiers was severely wounded by rocket fire in southern Lebanon, having earlier reported an officer being lightly injured in combat.The Lebanese president has called for unprecedented direct negotiations with Israel in an effort to end the fighting but it has so far rebuffed his proposal.Qassem said Hezbollah was not interested: “When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender.”Donald Trump will meet Xi Jinping in May after the US president’s first visit to China in eight years was postponed because of the Middle East war.Trump was initially slated to travel next week but has written on his Truth Social platform that he will now visit Beijing on 14 and 15 May. He also said he would host the Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.Trump’s launch of a joint military operation with Israel against Iran created a fresh point of tension with China, Tehran’s main oil buyer.A full report’s here:Russia sending drones to Iran, western intelligence says – reportRussia is close to completing a phased shipment of drones, medicine and food to Iran, according to western intelligence reports that detail Moscow’s efforts to keep its embattled partner fighting, the Financial Times is reporting.It quotes two officials briefed on the intelligence as saying senior Iranian and Russian officials began secretly discussing delivering drones days after Israel and the US attacked Tehran on 28 February.The processing of deliveries began early this month and was expected to be completed by the end of March, the FT report says.It continues: double quotation markMoscow has close ties with Tehran and has provided its ally with crucial support including satellite imagery, targeting data and intelligence support, people familiar with the matter said. The shipments of weaponry such as drones would be the first evidence Moscow has been willing to provide lethal support to Iran since the start of the war. The FT report could not be independently verified.Fire and smoke rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility, according to authorities, in the UAE city of Fujairah earlier this month. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/APKremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov is quoted in the report as saying when asked about Moscow sending drones to Iran: “There are a lot of fakes going around right now. One thing is true – we are continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership.”Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, is quoting as saying of the Iranians: double quotation markThey don’t need more drones. They need better drones. They are after the more advanced capabilities. Trump says Iran negotiators fear being 'killed by their own people'Donald Trump has just insisted that Iran is in fact taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials are because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told a dinner for Republican members of the US Congress, cited by AFP. “But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people.”We’ve got vision here of Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi saying there are currently no negotiations taking place between the US and Iran, and that the exchange of messages through different mediators “is not called conversation, nor negotiation, or anything”.“This is simply sending messages through others,” he said.'No conversations and negotiations' have taken place with US, Iran's foreign minister says – videoAraghchi was also quoted as saying in the interview on state TV: double quotation markAt present, our policy is the continuation of resistance. We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled. Luca IttimaniAustralia’s sharemarket is treading water as hopes fade for a speedy end to the war in the Middle East.Donald Trump’s promises of a pause in his war on Iran gave US stock markets a boost overnight, and the ASX was expected to follow today, in what would have been its third consecutive day rising.Sentiment has now turned as Iran rejects negotiation, with oil prices rising – the benchmark West Texas Intermediate from US$88 to US$91 – and the ASX200 tiptoeing just under its close of 8,534 points yesterday.Share prices are falling for more than half of Australia’s 200 top companies.Most of the big banks have been holding steady in recent days, with the exception of NAB, which hit a record high market value of A$150bn in the days before war broke out and is now worth A$130bn.Iran says no plan to hold negotiations with USIran has dismissed a US plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV that his government had not engaged in talks to end the war – “and we do not plan on any negotiations”. double quotation markSpeaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat. That came after a report from Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster quoting an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected the US’s ceasefire proposal and had its own demands for an end to the fighting, the Associated Press reports.Earlier, two officials from Pakistan – which transmitted the US plan to Iran – described the 15-point proposal broadly.The White House press secretary insisted the US and Iran were in talks, even as Iranian officials deny it. “Talks continue,” Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.” They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be.”Leavitt warned that if talks with Iran did not pan out, Donald Trump “will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before”.More than 5,000 Israelis injured since start of war, health ministry saysThe number of people injured in Israel since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran has exceeded 5,000, Israel’s health ministry has said.The figure stood at 5,165 as of 6pm local time, including 247 more injuries in the last 24 hours, according to an update on social media.106 people are currently in hospital, with 12 in a serious condition, the ministry said.