The Latest: Trump claims Iran wants a ceasefire, Iran says remarks are ‘false and baseless’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people. Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.”
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other U.S. officials.
Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Here is the latest:
Should the U.S. decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile, it would be a complex, risky and lengthy operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.
President Trump has offered shifting reasons for the war in Iran but has consistently said a primary objective is ensuring the country will “never have a nuclear weapon.” Less clear is how far he’s willing to go to seize Iran’s nuclear material.
Given the risks of inserting as many as 1,000 specially trained forces into a war zone to remove the stockpile, another option would be a negotiated settlement with Iran that would allow the material to be surrendered and secured without using force.
Iran has 972 pounds (440.9 kilograms) of uranium that’s enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency.
Sirens sounded across central Israel in multiple rounds within minutes Wednesday afternoon. Associated Press reporters heard loud booms in Tel Aviv as the windows of buildings shook from the reverberations.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Also, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard separately issued a statement saying the Strait of Hormuz “is firmly and decisively under the control” of its forces.
“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States,” it added.
Stocks are climbing worldwide, and oil prices are easing Wednesday as hopes build that the war with Iran could end soon. Some of the moves are tentative, though, after financial markets have already seen similar bouts of optimism get quickly undercut several times.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. That followed even bigger gains for stock markets across Europe and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street’s rally from Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 292 points, or 0.6%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.
Oil prices also fell back toward $100 per barrel after President Donald Trump said shortly before Wall Street began trading that Iran “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”
In addition to gas and oil stuck in the Persian gulf, urgent food aid destined for Sudan and Afghanistan is also facing severe delays, the UN agency for hunger emergencies, World Food Program, warned.
“Think of special nutritious foods required for Sudan,” Corinne Fleischer, WFP director of supply chain, told the AP. “Mothers and children are malnourished and they need this vitamin and mineral enriched food. We produced this in Pakistan as one of the countries. That is now stuck there.”
Fleischer explained that due to the risks of attacks in the southern part of the Red Sea, carriers now have to go all the way down through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to reach West Africa.
Around 180,000 Iranian families have been displaced due to the ongoing war, but it’s hard to determine an exact figure because Iran doesn’t have a displacement tracking level as found in other countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Amy Pope, IOM’s director general, told The Associated Press the agency expects that figure to increase as more civilian infrastructure gets caught in the crossfire.
Pope also warned about the impact on migrants working in Iran who might not be guaranteed the same safety that an Iranian family is seeking.
“This is the kind of hidden consequence of a conflict like this. There are people ... who are not necessarily accounted for and ... won’t have the support they need,” she said.
President Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.
Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website.
Trump said “Iran’s New Regime President,” however. Iran still has the same president.
Trump also said a ceasefire would only happen when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, clear.”
“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he wrote.
Iran had no immediate response to Trump’s post. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
A Pakistani vessel carrying oil arrived at the southern port city of Karachi after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while a second vessel reached the port via a different route, a Karachi Port Trust spokesperson said Wednesday.
Spokesperson Shariq Farooqi said more Pakistani-flagged ships are expected this month to deliver much-needed oil from Gulf countries.
The development comes days after Pakistan’s foreign minister said Iran had agreed to allow 20 additional Pakistani-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the move as a “constructive gesture” aimed at easing regional tensions.
Pakistan is also seeking to help end the conflict between the United States and Iran by encouraging both sides to return to negotiations.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery for global oil shipments.
Iran’s capital, Tehran, held a funeral Wednesday for an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.
State television showed live footage of mourners waving Iranian flags at a funeral for Rear. Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Revolutionary Guard’s navy. An Israeli airstrike killed Tangsiri last week, with Tehran only acknowledging his death Monday.
Another funeral had been held Tuesday in Bandar Abbas, a key port city on the Strait of Hormuz.
A volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent was killed by an airstrike Tuesday in the country’s northwest, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Alireza Sohbatlou was providing services at a clinic in Zanjan province when an airstrike hit the nearby religious site Azam Hussainiya of Zanjan, the humanitarian network said Wednesday.
He was the third Red Crescent volunteer killed in Iran since the start of the war, the IFRC said.
Iran’s supreme leader vowed Wednesday his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the Mideast.
The message from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, like others since he was named Iran’s new supreme leader, came in a statement read on air by a state television anchor.
“I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy,” Khamenei said in the comments from a letter to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Khamenei has not been seen since the war began Feb. 28. U.S. and Israeli officials believe he was wounded and remains in hiding.
An Indian citizen was wounded during a drone attack Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, according to the official WAM news agency in Umm Al Quwain, one of the UAE’ seven emirates.
Shrapnel fell near an industrial area of Umm Al Thoub while air defense systems were intercepting a drone, the agency reported.
The Russian Embassy in Iran on Wednesday condemned an airstrike on the compound of the former U.S. Embassy there as it damaged a nearby cathedral.
The embassy said the blast broke doors and windows at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, just across from the compound.
An adjacent Russian nursing home sustained damage, including a collapsed roof, it added.
“We strongly condemn the ongoing US and Israeli aggression against Iran, which is increasingly affecting civilian infrastructure and religious and cultural heritage,” the embassy said.
South Korea will require public employees to alternate car use every other day starting next week.
The measure comes as officials raised the alert level over crude oil supplies, citing concerns about a prolonged crisis in the Middle East.
The climate ministry said Wednesday the government will implement an odd-even driving scheme, based on license plate numbers, for public employees using fossil-fuel vehicles starting April 8.
The government already had required public employees to keep their cars off the road at least one weekday starting March 25 to reduce energy consumption during the war.
Electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as those used by people with disabilities and pregnant women, will be exempt from the restrictions.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment to the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he is considering pulling out of NATO, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is “fully committed to NATO.”
Starmer called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.”
Starmer told reporters that “whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions I make.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will host an international diplomatic conference this week on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Starmer says 35 countries have signed a statement committing to work together on restoring maritime security to the key oil transport route.
He said Wednesday that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will lead a conference on the issue, and military planners are also working on plans for security once the Iran war ends.
Starmer said “a united front of military strength and diplomatic activity” is needed to restore stability.
Multiple drones attacked a northern Iraq fuel warehouse linked to British oil and natural gas giant BP, a firm operating the facility said.
No casualties were reported.
The attack on the motor oil warehouse occurred in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, the Sardar Group, a major automotive group in Iraq, said in a statement. It said the facility is owned by Castrol, a subsidiary of BP.
The statement said the first drone hit the facility at 7:20 a.m., before it was attacked again with two more drones while firefighters were combating the fire.
The attack started a massive fire that sent a column of black smoke into the air, social media footage shows.
The Lebanese military said its forces have largely withdrawn from some border towns as Israeli troops continue to push a ground invasion into the country.
The Lebanese military said in a statement that troops had to reposition to prevent being dispersed and cut off from support lines.
The military has gradually withdrawn from a handful of border towns. Remaining residents in the Christian-majority communities Rmeich and Ain Ebel have appealed to the Lebanese military and leadership to stay.
The military said it would maintain soldiers in those towns.
Israel has declared southern Lebanon up until the Litani River will be a “security-zone” in its ongoing war with the militant group Hezbollah and residents will not be able to return until further notice.
Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past month.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a rare national address to urge Australians to use public transport due to fuel supply uncertainties created by the Iran war.
Albanese said in a statement broadcast Wednesday by major television and radio networks that “the months ahead may not be easy.”
“You should go about your business and your life as normal. Enjoy your Easter,” Albanese said.
“And over the coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so,” he added.
Australia slashed fuel taxes from Wednesday in a bid to curb price rises at the pump.
The government maintains that Australia has all the fuel it needs, but panic buying and distribution problems have created regional shortages.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting no matter what Trump may threaten.
Trump’s April 6 deadline for the Strait of Hormuz to open still stands, otherwise he threatened to hit power plants.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” Araghchi said.
Asked if the United States would launch a ground war in Iran, Araghchi dismissed the idea.
“I do not think they would dare to do such a thing,” he said. “Very heavy casualties would await them.”
Asked about attacks across the Gulf Arab states, Araghchi again insisted Iran isn’t targeting those states, despite repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure like airports, power plants and desalination facilities.
“In reality, they are using the people of the Persian Gulf as human shields,” Araghchi said.
Oil fell below $100 per barrel and Asian shares jumped Wednesday over renewed optimism about a de-escalation of the Iran war.
Brent crude, the international standard, was down 4.7% to $99.05 per barrel.
Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 4% to $97.33 a barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi recovered its losses from earlier this week, surging 8.4% to 5,478.70, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.2% to 53,739.68.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 2.3% to 25,346.42, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.5% higher at 3,948.55.
An airstrike in Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Wednesday morning appears to have struck inside of the former U.S. Embassy compound there.
The embassy has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since the 1979 hostage crisis.
Its all-volunteer Basij force operates the compound, running an anti-American museum inside the embassy and having different operations on its grounds in newer buildings.
Witnesses saw blown-out windows surrounding the massive compound on Tehran’s Taleghani Street. However, there was no missile strike visible around the compound, with witnesses saying they believe the strike happened inside the compound.
The 444-day hostage crisis saw American diplomats held until President Ronald Reagan took office from President Jimmy Carter in 1981.
An oil tanker contracted to Qatar was struck by an Iranian cruise missile on Wednesday while two others were intercepted, authorities said.
The missile slammed into the tanker off Qatar's coast that is contracted by state-owned QatarEnergy. The ministry said the tanker’s 21-member crew was evacuated, and no casualties were reported.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said two other missiles were intercepted.
QatarEnergy said there was no environmental impact from the tanker attack.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said earlier that a projectile slammed into the side of the ship.
The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen said Wednesday they fired a barrage of ballistic missiles toward Israel.
Air raid sirens went off in southern Israel in the early morning, from Beersheba to the Mediterranean coast following the launch. There were no immediate reports of impacts.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a prerecorded statement that they fired at “sensitive targets” in southern Israel.
The attack is the third since the Houthis joined the war on Friday when they fired their first missile toward Israel since the U.S. and Israel launched massive airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Their entry has raised concerns that they could resume attacks on vessels in the Red Sea further disrupting the global shipping industry and sending oil prices much higher
A drone attack has killed a citizen of Bangladesh in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, authorities said.
He was killed Wednesday when Emirati air defense systems intercepted a drone, and shrapnel landed in a farm, the Fujairah media office said.
The fatality has brought the death toll in the UAE to nine civilians and two soldiers. A Moroccan contractor with the UAE army was also killed in Bahrain.
Earlier Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two Iranian drones.
Emergency personnel said an 11-year-old girl was severely wounded in central Israel in the latest missile attack from Iran.
Two more people suffered moderate injuries including a 13-year-old boy and a 36-year-old woman, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.
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