Iran and US continue to contradict each other on negotiation claims

IN BRIEF

• The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was reviewing a US proposal but had ​no intention of holding talks to wind down the war – while the US President insisted Iran was already negotiating. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people. READ MORE BELOW

• Israel said an airstrike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy. READ MORE BELOW

• Hezbollah said negotiations with Israel would amount to "surrender" as Israel said it had "created a genuine security zone" in southern Lebanon. READ MORE BELOW

• China insisted once more that "a drawn-out conflict serves no one's interests" and asked all sides to "seize the opportunity for peace and end the fighting." READ MORE BELOW

• Pakistan's defense minister appeared to deride the US military operation, in a post on social platform X. READ MORE BELOW

• Russia said a report that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was "lies". READ MORE BELOW

• South Korea aims to roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts to counter rising energy prices.

• Oil prices jumped and equities fell Thursday, with Brent just above $100 and WTI around $90. 

• Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan demanded in a joint statement that Iraq act immediately to stop attacks from its territory by armed pro-Iran groups.

IN DETAIL

Iran says US ceasefire plan under review but there are no negotiations

The US president and Iranian foreign minister have given contradicting views over a potential deal between their countries to end the near four-week conflict.

​Donald Trump said Iran was desperate for a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, whereas Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was reviewing a US proposal but had ​no intention of holding talks to wind down the war.

Araghchi said while there had been no dialogue or negotiation with the US, various messages had been exchanged through intermediaries.

"Messages being conveyed through our friendly countries and us responding by stating our positions or issuing the necessary warnings is not called negotiation or dialogue," Araghchi said in a state television interview on Wednesday.

Trump, speaking later on Wednesday at an event in Washington, said Iranian leaders "are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal ⁠so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they will be killed by their own people. They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."

Even if they happen, any negotiations would likely prove very difficult, given the maximalist positions laid out by both sides.

A 15-point US proposal to end the conflict, sent to Iran via Pakistan, includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear program and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports.

But Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait, Iranian sources say. It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said.

Trump has not identified who the US is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed across the Middle East since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. 

An Iranian embassy official in Islamabad said talks in Islamabad were still on the table and Pakistan was the preferred venue for Tehran, although nothing had been finalized.

A senior Israeli defense official said Israel was skeptical Iran would agree to terms proposed by the US, and that Israel was concerned US negotiators might make concessions. Israel also wants any agreement to preserve its option to conduct pre-emptive strikes, a second source said.

Iran and Israel launch waves of missiles at each other

On Thursday, Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people.

In Iran, local media reported attacks in the central cities of Isfahan and Shiraz, as well as Bandar Abbas in the south, Tabriz in the northwest and Mashhad in the northeast – an area largely spared until now.

Fresh violence also flared in the Gulf, with two people killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia said it shot down at least 18 drones, and Kuwait reported a new missile and drone attack.

Israel's military said it had completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Iran. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US forces in the Middle East, told reporters that Iran's drone and missile launch rates were down more than 90%.

Israel said an airstrike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy.

"Last night, in a precise and lethal operation, the IDF eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' navy, Tangsiri, along with senior officers of the naval command," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video statement.

"The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated."

Since the start of the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the killing of several top Iranian officials, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic republic's powerful security chief, Ali Larijani.

Israel took Iran's foreign minister Araghchi and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its hit-list after Pakistan asked Washington not to target them, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussion told the Reuters news agency.

"The Israelis had their... coordinates and wanted to take them out, we told the US if they are also eliminated then there is no one else to talk to, hence the US asked the Israelis to back off," the source said.

Hezbollah meanwhile launched a new volley of missiles early Thursday at military sites in central Israel, after its chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel would amount to "surrender".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had "created a genuine security zone" in southern Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed in the fighting on Thursday.

China: 'Seize the opportunity for peace'

All parties should create conditions for truly meaningful and sincere talks amid ongoing tensions involving Iran and the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

"China has stressed more than once that a drawn-out conflict serves no one's interests. It will only lead to more casualties, unnecessary loss, and the spillover of the situation. The pressing priority is to actively promote peace talks, seize the opportunity for peace and end the fighting," he said.

"China supports all efforts conducive to deescalation. All parties should work and create conditions for truly meaningful and sincere talks. China will continue to play a constructive role to that end."

Pakistan defense minister mocks US 

Despite his government offering to host mediation between the US and Iran, Pakistan's defense minister appeared to take a jab at the US operation that has led to the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"The goal of the war seems to have shifted to opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war," Khawaja Asif posted on X, alongside hand-clapping emojis.

Russia decries 'lies' claiming it is sending drones 

The Kremlin said Thursday that a report in the Financial Times that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was "lies".

Russia denies having sent military aid to Iran since the United States and Israel began attacking the country in February.

"There are so many lies being spread by the media... Do not pay attention to them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Financial Times, which published the report on Wednesday, cited Western intelligence officials as saying that Russia was in the process of delivering drones to Tehran and would complete the shipments by the end of March.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Moscow had passed sensitive intelligence to Tehran, including the locations of US warships and aircraft in the region.