US-Israel-Iran: Trump Claims US held ‘very good and productive’ talks with Iran on ending war

The top commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command said the campaign against Iran is “ahead or on plan” in the war.

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, in an interview to the Farsi-language satellite network Iran International aired early Monday, said Iran’s continued attacks on Gulf Arab states and the wider Mideast put civilians at risk.

“They could stop this war right now, absolutely, if they chose to do so,” he said of Iran.

“They need to stop putting the wonderful Iranian people at risk by firing missiles and drones from inside populated areas. ... They need to stop immediately attacking civilians throughout the Middle East region.”

He added that the U.S. and Israel were targeting missile and drone manufacturing sites as well.

“We’re also going after the manufacturing,” he said. “So it’s not just about the threat today. We’re eliminating the threat of the future, both in terms of the drones, the missiles, as well as the navy.”

AP

The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command says Iran is “operating in a sign of desperation” by targeting civilian sites in the war.

In an interview with the Farsi-language satellite network Iran International aired early Monday, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper said: “They’re operating in a sign of desperation. ... In the last couple of weeks, they’ve attacked civilian targets very deliberately, more than 300 times,” Cooper said.

Cooper also noted the slowdown in Iranian incoming fire across the Mideast as the war has entered its fourth week.

“At the beginning of the conflict, you saw large volumes in the dozens of drones and missiles,” Cooper said.

“You no longer see that. It’s all one or two at a time.”

As the 48 hours US gave Iran to open the strait of Hormuz dwindle, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social website early Monday: “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, TO PUT IT MILDLY!!!”

As airstrikes hit Iran’s capital early Monday, the Israeli military said it had “begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian terror regime infrastructure.”

It did not immediately elaborate

Following the US issuing a 30-day waiver lifting sanctions to ease global supply crunch, China’s state refiners are exploring a deal with Iran to purchase its oil, as reported by Bloomberg.

It was also reported that representatives of the National Iranian Oil Co and traders who act as intermediaries have also been exploring other potential buyers among other Asian refiners.

Even prior to the war and US actions, China has been the main buyer of Iran’s oil, buying more than 80 percent of the total supply shipped.

The US military has confirmed that it has targeted a turbine engine production site in north-central Iran’s Qom province used for drone and aircraft components linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

In a post on X, CENTCOM shared visuals and also said “the Qom Turbine Engine Production Plant produced gas turbine engines for attack drones and aircraft components used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps”.

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline on opening the Strait of Hormuz approaches, Iran on Monday threatened to attack Mideast electrical plants powering American military bases.

The statement from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard marks the latest attempt by Tehran to try and explain its attacks on the Gulf Arab countries.

Iranian state television read out the statement on air Monday morning.

“What we have done is to announce our decision that if the power plants are attacked, Iran will retaliate by targeting the power plants of the occupying regime and the power plants of regional countries that supply electricity to US bases, as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares,” the statement said, referring to Israel as an “occupying regime.”

It added: “Do not doubt that we will do this.”

Trump warned early Sunday morning that the U.S. will target Iranian power plants in 48 hours if the strait remains effectively closed by Iranian fire on shipping.

AP

Iranian Embassy in India wrote on X, "With hearts full of gratitude, we sincerely thank the kind people of Kashmir for standing with the people of Iran through their humanitarian support and heartfelt solidarity; this kindness will never be forgotten. Thank you, India."

The US president says his administration has held “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” with Iran over the past two days.

“Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the department of war to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions,” he said in all caps on his Truth Social page.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has requested Iran ensure the safety of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as concerns grow over the economic impact of the escalating conflict.

The diplomat’s remarks come as Asian stock markets tumbled, with South Korea’s currency won falling to a 17-year low amid fears of a prolonged US-Israeli war against Iran and continued disruption along the key waterway.

“The deliberate destruction of infrastructure in Lebanon represents a blatant Israeli policy of collective punishment,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

It criticised Israel’s “systemic and deliberate” strikes, including on bridges on the Litani River in south Lebanon.

Source: Al Jazeera

The Iranian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, has just reacted to Trump’s message delaying strikes on Iranian nuclear plants. The embassy says that Trump refrained from attacking after “Iran’s stern warning”.

Meanwhile, Tasmin news agency also commented: “Trump Backs Down!”

Source: Al Jazeera

Iran’s Fars news agency, citing an unnamed Iranian source, says there has been no direct contact with US President Donald Trump, “not through an intermediary”.

The source claimed Trump “backed down” after being warned that Iran would target power plants.

The report added that Trump had said talks with Iran were under way, despite the source denying any such communication.

The claims could not be independently verified, and there has been no immediate comment from US officials.

The Israeli army has just announced that it launched another wave of attack across Tehran.

We will bring you more information as we get it.

Oman’s foreign minister has said that the conflict with Iran is “not of their making” and is already causing widespread economic disruption.

In a post on X, Badr Albusaidi said the situation could worsen significantly if the war continues, adding that Oman is working intensively to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” he said, warning of growing economic fallout amid the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz.

Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has held a phone conversation with Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, discussing “recent concerning reports about military activity near the operating Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran”.

Rosatom built the first 1-gigawatt unit of Iran’s only nuclear power plant at Bushehr and is constructing additional units there.

⁠Two Indian-flagged ⁠liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers have sailed through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz although overall ⁠traffic through the critical waterway remains blocked, according to data and sources.

The Pine ‌Gas tanker sailed through the strait with the Jag Vasant following close behind, ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform ⁠showed on Monday.

The Pine Gas broadcast a message of “India ship and crew”, according ⁠to separate London Stock Exchange Group ship-tracking data.

Hundreds of ⁠ships remain stuck inside the Gulf with thousands of seafarers ‌stranded due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Hezbollah group says it targeted an Israeli army gathering near the border town of Markaba, southern Lebanon, with artillery fire.

While Trump has said there have been ongoing talks between the US and Iran, there has no official word from Tehran yet.

It’s semi-official Mehr news agency has denied that there have been negotiations between the two sides.

Trump says US will “just keep bombing” if talks with Iran fail.

US and Iran were in indirect talks mediated by Oman when the US-Israel war on Iran started end of last month.

The deputy governor of Lorestan province in Iran says at least 157 people have been killed and 2,667 wounded in the province since the start of the war on February 28.

UK’s PM Starmer says routine assessments conclude that the UK is not a target of Iran amid global tensions.

Starmer called for de-escalation of the war and coordinated plans on what to do with restriction of the Strait of Hormuz.

Air France says it has extended the suspension of its flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 31 and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until April  4.

Other major airlines, including British Airways and Lufthansa, have also cancelled their flights to these destinations into late March, April and even May.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, and promised Islamabad’s help in bringing peace to the region.

The pair have spoken several times in the last month, notably to exchange Ramadan and Eid greetings but also to reaffirm Pakistan’s hope for an end to the conflict with the United States and Israel.

Sharif said he extended greetings to Pezeshkian for the Persian new year and they also discussed “the grave situation in the Gulf region and agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy”.

In a post on X, he said Pakistan was also committed to playing “a constructive role in advancing peace in the region”.