The US president insisted<\/a> that \u201cvery good and productive\u201d discussions on ending the war were taking place \u2014 a claim which has since been labelled<\/a> as \u201cfake news\u201d by the Iranian parliament speaker, who said there had been no talks.<\/p>\n Mr Trump has also announced a five-day pause on US military strikes on Iranian energy sites, just hours before a 48-hour ultimatum issued <\/a>by Mr Trump to Tehran over opening the Strait of Hormuz was due to expire.<\/p>\n Speaking on Monday, the president said: \u201cWe were planning tomorrow on shooting down some of their power plants, we\u2019re gonna hold that up, hopefully we won’t have to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of this [five-day] period it could very well end up being a very good deal for everybody. As good as if we went all the way and just literally annihilated the place, which if we don’t have to do that, that would be a good thing not a bad thing\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bager Galibaf, has rejected claims of talks with the US, saying: \u201cNo negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump’s special envoy travels to Pakistan: report<\/p>\n Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy to the Middle East, has travelled to Pakistan, The Times <\/a>has reported. <\/p>\n Pakistan has offered to host in-person talks between the US and Iran, but prominent Iranian officials have not signalled that they\u2019d be there, according to The Times. <\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 02:30<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump says Strait of Hormuz may be controlled by ‘me and the ayatollah’<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by \u201cme and the ayatollah\u201d.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins asked Trump Monday, \u201cWhat about the Strait of Hormuz? Who\u2019s going to be in control of that?\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said it would be \u201cjointly controlled,\u201d possibly by him. <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe me. Me and the Ayatollah. Whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is\u201d, the president said. <\/p>\n After the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed early in the Iran war, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, took over as the country\u2019s leader. <\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world\u2019s oil, has been effectively closed by Iran amid the war, and Trump has been trying to open it. <\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 02:15<\/p>\n <\/a>WATCH: Iran denies Trump’s ‘desperate’ peace-talk claimsIran denies Trump’s ‘desperate’ peace-talk claims<\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 02:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Iranian energy infrastructure damaged in strikes: report<\/p>\n Iranian energy infrastructure has been damaged in airstrikes, the Associated Press<\/a> reported, citing the Fars news agency.<\/p>\n Fars, a semiofficial Iranian news agency close to Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard, reported that natural gas infrastructure in Isfahan was hit, and a gas pipeline for the Khorramshahr power plant was targeted.<\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 01:45<\/p>\n <\/a>Kuwait’s energy ministry says ‘air defense operations’ caused a ‘partial power outage’<\/p>\n Kuwait’s energy ministry has said \u201cair defense operations\u201d caused a \u201cpartial power outage\u201d.<\/p>\n Seven overhead power lines were damaged by falling debris in several areas, the ministry said in a translated statement early Tuesday morning local time, adding, \u201cWork is underway to restore power as quickly as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 01:26<\/p>\n <\/a>Saudi Arabia shoots down nearly 30 drones in a few hours<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ministry of Defence announced that it shot down 28 drones in a few hours early Tuesday morning local time. <\/p>\n In a series of social media posts, the ministry announced the interception and destruction of dozens of drones in the eastern region. <\/p>\n Rachel Dobkin24 March 2026 01:09<\/p>\n <\/a>In pictures: Smoke rises from Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli strike Bryony Gooch24 March 2026 00:30<\/p>\n <\/a>Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon<\/p>\n An Israeli minister has called for the annexation of southern Lebanon after Israeli troops bombed bridges and destroyed homes in an escalating military assault.<\/p>\n The comments by the far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich were the most explicit yet by a senior Israeli official on seizing Lebanese territory in a fight Israel says targets Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.<\/p>\n Lebanon was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel.<\/p>\n Since then, Israel has ordered all residents to evacuate south of the Litani River as it pummels the area with air strikes, viewing it as a stronghold of Hezbollah, which has kept up rocket attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n Lebanese authorities say the Israeli air and ground assault has killed more than 1,000 people, and more than a million have been driven from their homes.<\/p>\n Reuters witnesses heard at least three blasts in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district late on Monday, as the Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah sites in the city. <\/p>\n An earlier strike in Beirut on Monday killed a commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Israeli military said.<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch24 March 2026 00:00<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI290695206.jpg\")
Smoke rises from Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli strike (REUTERS)![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI290695203.jpg\")
Israel has been ramping up its attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah in recent weeks (REUTERS)<\/p>\n