France's foreign minister on Tuesday urged Israel to "refrain" from taking control of areas of southern Lebanon, warning such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences". Israel said earlier its military would take control of parts of the south to create a buffer zone up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Oil prices drop more than 5% after Trump sends peace plan
Brent crude oil, the global market benchmark, dropped close to six percent Wednesday after US President Donald Trump sent a peace plan to Iran.
At around 0030 GMT, a barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92 percent at $98.30. Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01 percent at $87.72.
Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes kill 6 in Sidon area
Lebanese state media reported on Wednesday that Israeli strikes killed at least six people in a town and a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area.
Citing the health ministry, the official National News Agency said four people were killed in an "Israeli enemy raid" on the town of Adloun, and another two in a strike on an apartment in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp.
Drone attack hits fuel tank, sparks fire at Kuwait Airport: aviation agency
Israel military says striking Tehran
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it was striking targets in the Iranian capital Tehran, shortly after it announced a salvo of missiles had been fired towards Israel by Iran.
"Initial report -- the IDF has begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," the Israeli military wrote on its official Telegram channel.
Iran tells UN: 'non-hostile' ships can transit Strait of Hormuz
Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The US-Israeli war against Iran has all but halted shipments of about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas through the strait, causing oil supply disruption.
The note from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent to the 15-member Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday. It was then circulated on Tuesday among the 176 members of the London-based UN shipping agency responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution.
"Non-hostile vessels, including those belonging to or associated with other States, may - provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations - benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities," it read.
Iran has "taken necessary and proportionate measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance hostile operations against Iran," the note read, adding vessels, equipment, and any assets belonging to the US or Israel, "as well as other participants in the aggression, do not qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage."
US sends Iran a plan to end war: reports
The United States has sent to Iran a 15-point plan to end the war that would include strict limits on its nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reports said Tuesday.
The New York Times, quoting two anonymous officials, said that the proposal was sent to Iran via Pakistan, which has offered to mediate.
Israel's Channel 12 said that the United States and Iran would declare a month-long ceasefire during which they would negotiate on the basis of the proposal.
The plan calls for the end of any uranium enrichment on Iranian soil and the handing over of enriched material, which Israel and the United States say could be developed into a nuclear bomb, Channel 12 said.
It said that Iran would also allow unimpeded access through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokeway into the Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's oil flows, after its retaliatory partial blockade sent global energy prices soaring.
Iran in turn would see an end to all sanctions, the Israeli report said.
Iran would also receive assistance in developing civil nuclear energy at Bushehr, a key site that Tehran on Tuesday accused Israel of striking.
Israeli military warns of inbound missiles from Iran
Israel's military warned late on Tuesday that Iran had fired missiles towards the country and that anti-missile defences were active following a day of more than a dozen missile alerts.
"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the Israeli military said on its official Telegram.
Israel military warns Beirut southern suburbs ahead of strikes
Israel's military on Tuesday warned residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, long a stronghold of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, of imminent strikes and called for them to evacuate.
"The IDF continues to operate and attack the military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah throughout the suburb with increasing force. The IDF does not intend to harm you, therefore, for your safety, you must evacuate immediately," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his official Telegram channel.
UN nuclear watchdog urges 'maximum restraint' after Iran says strike hit Bushehr plant
The UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had informed it that "another projectile hit the premises" of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday, without causing damage to the plant itself.
"IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterates call for maximum restraint to avoid nuclear safety risks during conflict," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a post on X.
Macron calls on Iran to 'engage in good faith negotiations'
Pope Leo laments that Iran war 'getting worse and worse'
Pope Leo expressed concern on Tuesday about a rising tenor of animosity in the expanding Iran war, lamenting that "hatred is increasing, and the violence is getting worse and worse."
"I want to renew the appeal for a ceasefire, to work for peace, but not with weapons - rather through dialogue, truly seeking a solution for everyone," he told journalists as he was leaving his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
Iran says US and Israel attacked vicinity of Bushehr nuclear plant
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said that US and Israel attacked the vicinity of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, IRNA reported.
It said the attack caused no technical damage or human casualties based on initial reports.
Iran says non‑hostile ships may transit Strait of Hormuz with coordination
Iran has told International Maritime Organization member states that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing a letter.
Israel army says plans in Iran, Lebanon unchanged regardless of talks
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it was operating "according to an unchanged plan" in Iran and Lebanon, regardless of any talks aimed at reaching an agreement to end the hostilities.
"Regarding this or that agreement, we are currently operating according to an unchanged plan," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said during a televised briefing when asked about efforts to launch a diplomatic process that could put an end to the war.
"We are acting, and will continue to act... to deepen the damage and remove existential threats," Defrin added. "We are striking both in Iran and in Lebanon".
Trump says US is talking to the right people in Iran, Tehran badly wants deal
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States was talking to "the right people" in Iran in order to reach an agreement to end hostilities, adding that the Iranians want to reach a deal very badly.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said "we're in negotiations right now" over Iran but would not provide details, particularly on whether U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner planned talks this week.
"We're actually talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make a deal," Trump said of the Iranians.
Israel military says Iranian missile fell in Beirut on Tuesday
The Israeli military said a ballistic missile launched from Iran fell in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, as the Middle East war dragged into its fourth week.
"Following an assessment and based on the data available to the IDF, alongside the launches carried out toward the State of Israel earlier today, a ballistic missile fired by the Iranian terror regime fell in Beirut," a military statement said.
US expected to send thousands of additional soldiers to Middle East
The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to the massive military buildup even as the Trump administration seeks talks with Iran.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not specify where in the Middle East the troops would be sent to and when they would arrive in the region.
The US military referred to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'We do not have a single war on Iran: We have an Israeli war and an American war'
Delano D'Souza speaks with Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies and International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. Mr. Lucas warns there has been no breakthrough whatsoever in diplomacy.
The expectation that escalation will produce capitulation misunderstands both the resilience of the Iranian political system and the divergence of US and Israeli objectives.
Woman killed in northern Israel after rockets fired from Lebanon, say first responders
Israeli emergency services said a woman was killed in the north of the country on Tuesday following rocket fire from Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"Following a launch toward northern Israel... teams are reporting a woman of about 30 with no signs of life and severe multi-system trauma, and have pronounced her dead at the scene," Israel's Magen David Adom said in a statement, adding that teams were treating two other people in mild condition with shrapnel injuries.
The Israeli military told AFP that dozens of rockets from Lebanon were fired at the area at the time the incident occurred.
Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'immediately reverse' Iran ambassador's expulsion
Hezbollah on Tuesday called the decision by Lebanon's foreign ministry to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "sin", and demanded the authorities "immediately reverse" the move.
"Hezbollah calls on the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister to demand that the Minister of Foreign Affairs... immediately reverse this decision because of its dangerous repercussions," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, calling the move a "national and strategic sin".
The foreign ministry had earlier given the Iranian diplomat until Sunday to leave the country.
The UN Security Council is negotiating on a draft resolution introduced by Bahrain to authorise states to use "all necessary means" to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, diplomatic sources said Monday.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told US news broadcaster CNBC on Monday that there was currently engagement with Iran on a potential solution to the Middle East conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he spoke with US President Donald Trump, saying that the US president believed US-Israeli military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protects Israel's interests.
