Iran has rejected a 15-point US peace plan to end the Middle East war, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified senior official. Tehran put forward a counterproposal with five conditions including an end to the "assassinations" of the country's leaders as well as compensation for the destruction already caused. Follow our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This liveblog is no longer being updated.
This liveblog is no longer being updated.
Israel carries out wave of strikes across Iran
Israel's military said Thursday its forces had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including in the central city of Isfahan.
A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran".
Trump claims Iran negotiators fear being 'killed by their own people'
US President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials were due to fears that its negotiators could be killed by their own side.
“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.
Australia bans Iranian visitors over Middle East conflict concerns
Australia has banned visitors from Iran, citing increased risks that short-term visa holders may refuse to return home amid the war in the Middle East.
For the next six months, people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs Department said.
“The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire,” it said in a statement.
Some exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for parents of Australian citizens.
“There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.
“Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday.”
US says majority of Iran’s missile, drone and naval facilities hit
The United States has hit two-thirds of Iran’s production facilities for missiles and drones, and a similar proportion of its naval production, a top officer said on Wednesday.
In a video posted on X, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, estimated that 92 per cent of the Iranian navy’s largest vessels had been damaged or destroyed.
“And my operational assessment is that they’ve now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world,” he said.
With the war now in its fourth week, he added that “we remain on plan or ahead of plan in achieving very clear objectives” for the conflict launched with Israel.
Kuwait arrests six over alleged Hezbollah-linked assassination plot
Kuwait arrested six people linked to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group who were planning “assassinations” in the Gulf state, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
Those arrested were planning “assassinations targeting symbols and leaders of the state and recruited people to carry out these missions,” the ministry said in a statement.
Five of the six people were Kuwaiti nationals, it said.
This is at least the third set of arrests in Kuwait linked to Hezbollah in recent weeks.
Iran wants war to end 'on our own terms', guarantee of no repeat says FM
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran wanted to the end the war on its own terms and in a way that ensured no further war.
"We seek an end to the war on our own terms, of course, and in a way that it will not be repeated here again," he told state TV.
Iran FM says 'we do not intend to negotiate' with US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Iran did not plan to negotiate with the United States and that Tehran intended to keep fighting, after US President Donald Trump said Washington had proposed a peace plan.
"At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance", Araghchi said on state TV, adding: "We do not intend to negotiate -- so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled."
"Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat," he said.
Iran's foreign minister says no talks being held with the US
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on Wednesday that no talks were being held with the US, adding that the exchange of messages through mediators "does not mean negotiations with the US".
Iran speaker warns 'enemies are preparing to occupy' island
Iran's powerful parliament speaker warned on Wednesday of the possible invasion of an Iranian island with the support of an unnamed regional country.
"Based on some intelligence reports, Iran's enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional states," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in an X post.
"Our forces are monitoring all enemy movements, and if they take any step, all the vital infrastructure of that regional state will be targeted with relentless, unceasing attacks."
Vance has been central to discussions about Iran, White House says
US Vice President JD Vance has been part of national security discussions related to Iran throughout the entirety of the Trump administration, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
"The vice president has been by the president's side every step of the way, and any reporting otherwise is just completely false," Leavitt told reporters.
US says talks 'continue' despite Iran's reported rejection
The United States and Iran are still engaged in peace talks, the White House said Wednesday, despite Iranian state media saying Tehran had rejected Washington's plan to end the war.
"Talks continue. They are productive," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about the Iranian report, adding that there were "elements of truth" to media reports on the details of a 15-point US plan setting out demands on Tehran.
Trump to 'unleash hell' if Iran doesn't makes deal, says White House
US President Donald Trump is ready to "unleash hell" on Iran if Tehran does not accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East, the White House warned on Wednesday.
"If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again."
Russia 'deeply outraged' by reported strike on Iran nuclear plant site
Russia said Wednesday it was "deeply outraged" by a reported strike on the grounds of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, which it partially constructed and helps operate.
"We are extremely outraged by this reckless, irresponsible manifestation of a disastrous course," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
A projectile landed within the plant's compound on Tuesday night, Iran's atomic energy organisation said, accusing the United States and Israel of being responsible.
Iran would target Red Sea shipping in event of US invasion, says local media
Iran would target shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial conduit for global oil and other goods leading up to the Suez Canal, if the US launches a ground invasion, an unnamed military official told local media on Wednesday.
"If the enemy attempts a ground operation on Iranian islands or anywhere else on our territory, or if it seeks to impose costs on Iran through naval manoeuvres in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, we will open other fronts as a 'surprise'," the official was quoted as saying by the Tasnim agency.
"The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is among the most strategic straits in the world, and Iran has both the will and the capability to pose a fully credible threat against it," the official continued.
Israel strikes Iran with banned war weapon
As the regional conflict between Israel and Iran enters a volatile new phase, a banned weapon of war is reappearing over civilian centres. The cluster ballistic missile is testing the limits of safety by releasing hundreds of "bomblets" and turning neighbourhoods into active minefields long after the sirens stop.
Netanyahu says Israel is expanding 'buffer zone' in Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his country's forces were expanding a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon as the military pressed ahead with its campaign against Hezbollah.
"We have created a genuine security zone preventing any infiltration toward the Galilee and the northern border," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"We are expanding this zone to push the threat from anti-tank missiles further away and to establish a broader buffer zone."
France's army chief to hold talks with other militaries on Hormuz
France's Armed Forces chief Fabien Mandon will hold a technical meeting by video conference "soon" with army chiefs from countries keen to play a role in restoring maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a French military official said on Wednesday.
The meeting would be unrelated to the United States approach to the issue and would remain in a framework of a defensive posture, the official said.
France has repeatedly said it would not take part in operations until hostilities had calmed in the region.
UN chief says Lebanon must not become next Gaza amid fighting
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah must not condemn Lebanon to the same fate as Gaza, the Palestinian territory devastated by years of conflict.
"The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon," Guterres told reporters, urging Hezbollah to stop launching attacks at Israel and an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said are hitting civilians the hardest.
Israel repeats talk of invasion of southern Lebanon, says it will control the remaining bridges over Lebanon's Litani River and the area south of the river.
Israel targeted seven areas of Beirut's southern suburbs overnight, Lebanese state media reported on Tuesday.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.
