Middle East crisis live: Trump insists Iran wants a deal despite initial rejection; US military says 10,000 targets struck

2026-03-26 - 04:10

US president claims Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side; US military command claims to have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities Iran rejects US ceasefire plan and submits its own amid push for talks Analysis: Trump pitches Iran peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-ramp Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the consequences for the region, the world and the global economy. Donald Trump has insisted Iran is still interested in a deal, after Tehran dismissed a US ceasefire proposal, countered with a plan of its own and claimed it had no intention to negotiate. Israel’s military said on Thursday its had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including extensively in the central city of Isfahan. It said Israeli forces “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran”. Kuwait said it had arrested six people over an alleged Hezbollah plot to assassinate leaders in the Gulf state. The interior ministry said five of those arrested were Kuwaiti citizens. It added that 14 more members of the group had fled the country: five Kuwaitis, five more Kuwaitis whose nationalities have been revoked, two Iranians and two Lebanese. Iran reportedly received the US’s 15-point plan, which Tehran initially rejected but Araghchi later suggested was still under review. “If a position needs to be taken, it will certainly be determined,” he said. Earlier it was reported that Tehran had rejected the “excessive” demands in the proposal. Among the demands were a complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program and strict limitations on its missile arsenal. The White House, meanwhile, warned that Trump was prepared to “unleash hell” if Iran did not accept defeat, and continued to insist that negotiations were ongoing. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt Leavitt said the US president preferred a peaceful path but was prepared to “hit [Iran] harder than they have ever been hit before” if necessary. Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, with what he described as a “larger buffer zone” to push back the threat of Hezbollah. The Israeli prime minister’s forces have also continued to bomb Beirut. Many in Lebanon fear that Israel’s plans could echo its previous protracted occupation in the south, which ended in 2000. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” as the Iran-backed group launched fresh attacks on the country. Hezbollah said it launched missiles early on Thursday at military sites in central Israel, where air raid sirens sounded, Agence France-Presse reported. Russia 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 reported. China’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. 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. “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said. He also told the US and Israel it was “high time” to end the war and called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbours. Continue reading...