Key developments
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US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran over the past day produced “key points of agreement” and that both sides want to “make a deal”.
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Trump said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner held discussions with Iran on Sunday, with talks continuing on Monday.
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The US is said to be engaging a “senior figure” in the Iranian regime, not new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, to work towards a resolution, with 15 points on the table, including denuclearizing Tehran as the first three points.
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Trump postponed planned US strikes on Iranian power plants by five days, citing “productive conversations” and continued efforts to achieve a “complete and total resolution of hostilities” in the Middle East.
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Iran denied having any direct or indirect talks with the US. The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, called Trump’s claims false, while Iran’s foreign ministry said his statements were efforts to lower energy prices and buy time for US military plans.
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Britain is sending short-range air defense systems to the Middle East to counter Iranian missile attacks
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Tensions remain high after Trump warned on Saturday to bomb Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
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Iran responded that it would “irreversibly destroy” critical Middle Eastern infrastructure if attacked and threatened to lay naval mines to block the Gulf.
Oil prices fall as Trump delays strikes on Iranian power plants
Oil prices have fallen after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day delay in strikes on Iranian energy facilities. Brent crude fell below $100, plunging 11 percent, before easing as much as 15 percent.
Israel says it is attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s capital
The Israeli military says it is carrying out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, focusing on infrastructure and positions linked to the Iran-backed group, as part of intensified operations in the ongoing conflict. The army warned residents in the southern suburbs ahead of the attacks, which marked a significant escalation of hostilities within the Lebanese capital and surrounding areas.
The civilian toll of the war in Iran remains unclear amid the communications blackout
Iran has not updated official casualty figures since March 8, when it reported about 1,200 civilian deaths from US and Israeli airstrikes. Human rights groups abroad say the death toll is likely higher, but chronic internet and phone outages are preventing accurate reporting. The US-based Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 1,407 civilians, including 214 children, have been killed.
Infrastructure damage is extensive, with 61,555 homes, 19,000 businesses, 275 medical centers and nearly 500 schools affected. Journalists cannot move freely in Iran without official permission, and authorities have reportedly threatened or arrested people who try to share information internationally.
Major civilian casualties include an airstrike on a primary school in Minab that killed at least 165 people and an attack on a flour factory in Naqadeh that killed 11 workers. Observers stress the need to focus on civilian harm amid ongoing geopolitical coverage.
Elsewhere, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed 1,029 people, while Iranian attacks have killed 16 civilians in Israel and 17 in the Gulf.
ICRC warns of ‘irreversible consequences’ as Middle East war hits critical infrastructure
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Monday for an immediate halt to attacks on critical infrastructure in the Middle East, warning that damage to nuclear and energy facilities could have “irreversible consequences”. ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said that attacks on civilian infrastructure risk amounting to war crimes and underlined that targeting essential services punishes millions of civilians.
The warning comes amid ongoing hostilities between the US-Israel and Iran, including an Iranian attack on Dimona in southern Israel, home to a nuclear facility. Spoljaric said the repeated targeting of energy sites and critical infrastructure “normalises a style of war that removes our common humanity”.
US President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended threats to attack Iran’s power plants after “very good” talks with unnamed Iranian officials, while Tehran denies any negotiations. The ICRC emphasized that intentional or accidental damage to nuclear and energy facilities is particularly alarming under international law.
The UN Security Council weighs the resolution on the use of force in Hormuz
The UN Security Council is negotiating a draft resolution, introduced by Bahrain, that would allow states to use “all necessary means” to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The text demands that Iran immediately cease attacks on merchant ships and attempts to obstruct legal passage. Since Iran blocked the strait in response to US-Israeli attacks, only a few ships have passed through. The draft also threatens targeted sanctions and could be revised during council negotiations, although its approval remains uncertain.
wrapping | The Trump-Netanyahu call
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with Donald Trump and that the US president believed the country’s military gains in Iran could be turned into a negotiated deal that protected Israel’s interests.
“President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the extraordinary achievements of the (Israeli military) and the US military in order to realize the war’s objectives in an agreement — an agreement that will protect our vital interests,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
wrapping | Israel strikes Beirut suburbs –
An Israeli attack hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, state media reported, hours after the Israeli military issued a warning to residents in the area to evacuate.
AFPTV’s live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the southern suburbs, which are considered a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
wrapping | Pakistani and Iranian leaders speak
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had spoken to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the “serious situation in the Gulf region” and promised that Pakistan was determined to play “a constructive role in advancing peace”.
wrapping | The Israeli surveillance system is malfunctioning
A malfunction in Israel’s David’s Sling air interceptor system allowed two Iranian ballistic missiles to hit the country’s south, injuring dozens of people over the weekend, the military confirmed.
The system is a key component of Israel’s multi-layered air defense shield.
wrapping | Israel attacks the country of Garda –
The Israeli military announced that it struck a site in Tehran that belonged to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and is used to run battalions of the Basij paramilitary force.
The strike came days after Israel announced it had “eliminated” the Basij’s intelligence chief in a strike that also killed the force’s top commander, Gholamreza Soleimani.
Israel has targeted the Basij force as part of efforts to undermine the control of the ruling Iranian authorities.
wrapping | Iranian parliament speaker denies US-Iran talks, calls Trump claims ‘fake news’
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim of ongoing negotiations, saying there had been no talks. Posting on X, Ghalibaf accused the US of using “fake news” to manipulate oil and financial markets and distract from the challenges facing Washington and Israel.
Trump had earlier announced “very good” discussions with an unnamed Iranian official after the postponement of attacks on Iran’s power plants. Axios, citing an Israeli source, identified Ghalibaf as Trump’s interlocutor. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei noted that messages from “friendly countries” suggested a US demand for negotiations to end the conflict, according to IRNA.
wrapping | UK sends air defense to Gulf
Britain is sending short-range air defense systems to the Middle East to counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“We are deploying short-range air defense systems in Bahrain rapidly,” Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding that Britain “is doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”.
wrapping | Trump claims “regime change” in Iran –
Trump announced “very good” talks with an unnamed Iranian official after suddenly abandoning plans to attack the Islamic Republic’s power plants.
Trump made it clear that the talks – denied by Tehran – were not with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, but with people he described as “very reasonable” and said so many senior officials had already been killed in the conflict that “there is automatically a regime change”.
