Iran war updates: Tehran says no talks as Trump threatens to ‘hit harder’

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Here are some of the day’s top developments:

• An Iranian diplomatic source described the US’s 15-point plan as “extremely maximalist and unreasonable“, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no negotiations were taking place between Tehran and Washington.
• The White House warned that the US will “hit Iran harder than before” if Iran fails to accept “the reality of the current moment”.
• At least five people have been killed and others injured in Israeli strikes in Harouf and Qounine in southern Lebanon.
• Several Gulf countries and Jordan called on Iraq to stop attacks from its territory by pro-Iran groups.
• The US has ordered the deployment of 2,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

The Trump administration is releasing oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to cause price shocks.

Al Jazeera’s chief US correspondent Alan Fisher reports:

The country’s Interior Ministry says that its civil defence controlled the fire, which broke out “at a facility in Muharraq Governorate”, without any injuries.

The fire was caused by “Iranian aggression”, a brief statement on X reads.

The Lebanese group has said it has launched several attacks on Israeli soldiers who have crossed the border into Lebanese territory.

Here are some of the recent attacks:

• An artillery attack on Israeli soldiers and their vehicles in the town of Qouzah, in the Nabatieh governorate.
• A guided missile attack on an Israeli tank in the town of Debel, in Nabatieh.
• A rocket attack on Israeli soldiers near the town of Meiss el-Jabal in Marjayoun.

Iraqi authorities say a US air strike on a military site in Anbar killed seven soldiers and wounded 13, in an attack they described as a violation of international law amid escalating strikes on Iran-aligned forces in the country.

Watch our video report below:

Antonio Guterres says on X that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz is “choking the movement of oil, gas [and] fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season”.

Iran insists the strait remains open, saying earlier today that ships not affiliated with the US, Israel or their allies are free to navigate the waterway safely.

“Across the region and beyond, civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity”, Guterres added, saying that the best way to alleviate suffering is to “end the war – immediately”.

US Central Command has said it remains “on plan or ahead of plan in achieving very clear military objectives” in its war on Iran.

Commander Brad Cooper said in a video update that these objectives are “eliminating Iran’s ability to project power in meaningful ways outside its borders”.

The US has struck more than 10,000 military targets, flown more than 10,000 combat flights in Iranian skies and has “overwhelmed Iranian air defences and our combat flights over Iran are having tangible effects,” Cooper said.

He claimed the US has destroyed “92 percent of the Iranian navy’s largest vessels”, and that its drone and missile launch rates are down by “more than 90 percent”.

Cooper added that over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval shipping production facilities and shipyards have been damaged or destroyed.

Despite the US claims, Iran has been able to keep up drone and missile attacks against Israel and US assets in the Gulf, as well as targeting energy sites across the region. Its strikes have caused casualties and damage to infrastructure while also disrupting global markets and aviation.

In its latest update, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence says air defences have intercepted and destroyed four drones in the country’s eastern region in the past two hours.

The government-run US Postal Service (USPS) has announced an 8 percent rate increase for some retail and commercial products, with the “transportation-related” move coming as global oil prices spiral due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

The price increase will affect Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select services, the agency said.

The rate increase, which must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, will be implemented on April 26 and remain in place until January 17, 2027.

“Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges,” USPS said in a statement.

Delivery giant UPS imposed a fuel surcharge in the US on March 2, while FedEx also frequently updates its fuel surcharge based on US petrol prices.

The average price of a gallon of regular petrol in the US has jumped 33.6 percent since the war began last month, according to data from motor club AAA.

The Ministry of Interior has told people to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.

The Iranians are very well aware of the deployment and gathering of US troops and warships.

They have seen it twice before, and they are watching it right now – and they know what it is going to lead to. So right now, they are much more certain of a continuation of this war than an end to it, and they say they are preparing for it.

They also are aware of the US eye on Kharg Island.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that “based on intelligence reports, our enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from a regional state”.

It says, “our forces are monitoring all enemy movements, and if they take any step, they will target all vital infrastructure of that regional state without mercy”.

According to some people explaining what he said, he’s referring here to the United Arab Emirates, that it might be cooperating with the US and encouraging it to take Kharg Island.

But also, Iranians over the last few days have been saying that they know that if this happens, they are sure that will be very destructive to that country, the United Arab Emirates, and also the US troops.

Kharg is a small, exposed island that is very close to the Iranian mainland. They are threatening that if US troops land on it, that will be the thing that [Iranians] are waiting for – and that it will be very detrimental to the safety of US troops.

We heard a long statement from the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, in which he referred to this invasion by Israel.

He talked about the danger: that Lebanon and Hezbollah are now in a war against the US and Israel. He said Hezbollah will be doing everything to defend Lebanese soil. He talked about the young fighters who are fighting down in the south.

We’ve seen that backed up. Hezbollah said they fired volleys of rockets into the western Galilee region of Israel this afternoon. We’ve also heard of numerous Israeli strikes coming into southern Lebanon.

But I think it’s a real concern here that the Israeli military has issued commands for people not just to move back north of the Litani River, but north of the Zahrani River.

That suggests they are going to create this large buffer zone, and that’s a real concern here. There are now more than a million people displaced here in Lebanon. I think many of them are clearly hoping that they are going to be able to return to their homes.

If we see continued fighting in this area, they may be displaced for much longer. That’s putting an enormous strain on Lebanese society, too.

I think while Hezbollah is a contentious subject here, there is also a grudging respect that at this stage, with all of this offensive action from the Israelis as they cross the border, they try to move up into the south of the country, Hezbollah are actually the ones putting themselves on the line to stand in their way.