Trump pauses attacks on Iran's energy plants and says talks are 'going well'

The New Arab's live blog on the US and Israeli war on Iran has now ended, and will resume at 0900am GMT.

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Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had carried out missile and drone strikes the previous day targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces.

The strikes involved long- and medium-range missiles and "destructive and roaming drones", and targeted sites in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by the IRNA and Fars news agencies.

The statement said a maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain.

Israel's military said its forces carried out strikes on "infrastructure" targets in Tehran early on Friday, nearly a month into the Middle East war.

A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".

Lebanese media reported an Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, as AFP correspondents heard several explosions from the Hezbollah stronghold, which Israel has repeatedly struck since war erupted on 2 March.

AFPTV footage showed smoke rise from the area after the raid. Israel has previously issued sweeping evacuation warnings for the area, but provided no specific warning in advance of Friday's strike, which came in the early hours of Friday morning.

A Thai-flagged cargo ship that was hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month has run aground off Iran's Qeshm Island, Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Friday.

Thailand said 20 crew members were rescued by the Omani navy, while three were missing after an explosion in the stern of the ship, Mayuree Naree, caused a fire in the engine room.

Australia on Friday defended its efforts to help the United States and other allies in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump condemned Canberra's contributions as "not great".

Trump has urged friendly nations such as South Korea, Japan and Australia to dispatch warships to secure crucial oil supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Although many have baulked at Trump's proposal, the US president singled out Australia as he vented his frustrations over the lack of support.

"Australia was not great. I was a little surprised by Australia", he said Thursday during a cabinet meeting at the White House.

Australian defence minister Richard Marles said Canberra had done all it was asked, suggesting Washington had not formally requested naval support.

"The one request we've had from the United States is to provide support for the Gulf states," Marles told Australia's Nine News.

"Which is, in fact, what we are doing -- and that's where we see our national interest."

Australia had deployed a long-range military surveillance plane to help the United Arab Emirates defend against Iranian strikes, Marles said.

Iran has not requested a 10-day pause on strikes on its energy plants and has yet to deliver a final response to a 15-point plan to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing peace talk mediators.

US President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday he was pausing attacks on Iran's energy plants for 10 days at what he cast as the Iranian government's request, and said talks with Tehran were going "very well." 

European powers on Thursday accused Russia of helping Iran target US forces in the Middle East war and said they would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France.

Rubio is joining the second day of the gathering of ministers of leading Western democracies, taking place amid wars in Iran and Ukraine, economic uncertainty and mounting unease over unpredictable U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump.

Two Western security sources and a regional official close to Tehran told Reuters that Russia has been providing satellite imagery to Iran and also helped Iran upgrade its drones to emulate the equivalent versions used by Russia against Ukraine.

Other media outlets have also reported that Russia is aiding Iran in the conflict with the United States and Israel, just as Tehran has helped Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

"We are raising this issue that we see that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters at the G7 meeting in Vaux-de-Cernay abbey near Paris.

"Russia is also supporting Iran now with the drones so that they can attack neighbouring countries and also the U.S. military bases."

Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari has resumed vehicle shipments to the Middle East after a week's pause caused by regional challenges, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 after which Iran launched strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states, which halted shipping lines as well as effectively blocking Middle East fuel exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

"Temporary logistical issues, due to challenges in the region, have been resolved," Ferrari said in a statement.

"The company has actively managed to identify solutions, including the re-routing of seafreight and the use of airfreight where needed."

Ferrari last week temporarily suspended deliveries in the region.

Maserati, the luxury brand within the Franco-Italian automaker Stellantis, also said last week it was pausing its shipments in the region, adding it was considering alternative solutions to deliver its cars safely.

Maserati did not provide an update on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was pausing attacks on Iran's energy plants for 10 days till 6 April at the Iranian government's request and said talks with Tehran were going "very well".

Iran has banned national and club sports teams from travelling to countries it considers hostile until further notice, Iranian media reported on Thursday citing the Sports Ministry, which said the move was due to concerns over the safety of Iranian athletes.

"The presence of national and club teams in countries considered hostile and unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice," the ministry said.

The ministry added that the Football Federation and clubs are required to notify the Asian Football Confederation to relocate match venues

Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government Thursday of steering the country toward a "security disaster" due to a shortage of combat soldiers.

"The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield," Lapid said in a televised statement, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir to the security cabinet, according to Israeli media reports.

"The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers," Lapid said.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that two soldiers were killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah along the border.

This brings to four the number of Israeli soldiers killed there, after the military said two were killed on 8 March.

The Hezbollah-Israel conflict has become the deadliest spillover of the US-Israeli war on Iran since the Lebanese group fired at Israel in support of Tehran on 2 March.

Israel has responded with an intensified offensive that has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and has displaced over 1 million.

Everything leads us to believe that Russia is aiding Iran's military effort that is being used against American targets, said French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday. 

The World Bank on Thursday said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to countries in emerging markets dealing with the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East.

"We are ready to respond at scale -- combining immediate financial relief with policy expertise and private sector support for the recovery of jobs and growth," the World Bank Group said in a statement.

The multilateral donor and development agency said a number of its clients in affected countries had reached out as the crisis has begun to impact commodity prices and logistics.

US President Donald Trump denied being "desperate" to make a deal with Iran on Thursday, as he mixed threats with diplomacy in a push to wrap up his war in the Middle East.

Holding his first cabinet meeting since the start of the joint US-Israeli operation, Trump insisted that Iran was being "beat to shit" and was "begging" for a deal, despite Tehran's denials.

But Trump rejected reports that he was looking for an exit ramp, as oil prices soar and political pressure mounts to avoid the kind of drawn-out Middle East war he once spurned.

"I read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal," Trump told reporters. "I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care."

Iran's security forces are recruiting children as young as 12 to man checkpoints and perform other duties during the war in the capital, a Revolutionary Guards official told state TV on Thursday.

Checkpoints have sprung up all around Tehran since the start of the war, with residents reporting teenagers in plainclothes manning some of them with machine guns.

Iranian authorities have launched a recruitment drive dubbed "For Iran" in Tehran to register people to join the security forces, lowering the minimum age of recruits to 12.

Rahim Nadali, an official with the Guards in Tehran, told state television that people as young as 12 could register to help the Guards and the Basij youth volunteer militia stand "against the global bully", a term used for the United States.

The tasks include "collecting security data and operational patrols" as well as organising caravans of cars at night in the city, he said.

"At the Basij checkpoints and patrols that you see across the cities, we had a very high number of volunteers among young people and teenagers who wanted to participate," he said.

"Considering the ages of those requesting to join, we have now lowered the minimum age to 12 years old, because children aged 12-13 want to be involved."

The World Health Organisation is finding other routes to deliver emergency medical supplies from its Dubai hub to crises such as Lebanon via long overland journeys, an official said, but rising fuel costs could hamper shipments if the Iran war persists.

The global health body's aid shipments from the United Arab Emirates were previously completely frozen as air, sea and land routes were restricted by the Iran war, which began on 28 February with US-Israeli air strikes.

Iran responded by firing drones and missiles at energy and other infrastructure across the Gulf, while militant group Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the regional war by firing on Israel in support of its patron Iran.

To tackle the shipment problems, the UAE has provided funding to truck supplies like insulin and emergency kits to Lebanon, where over 3,000 people have been wounded, via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, as well as funding to charter flights to other hotspots like Kabul, Afghanistan, said the WHO official.

"What you're getting is cost increases and lead time increases as we do the workarounds," Paul Molinaro, WHO head of Operations, Support and Logistics, told Reuters on Thursday. A UAE official confirmed it was providing partners with support.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday there were "strong signs" Iran could be convinced to make a peace deal, confirming that Washington had passed a 15-point plan to Tehran through mediator Pakistan.

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction. We have strong signs that this is a possibility," Witkoff told a cabinet meeting.

Iran's initial response to the US proposal to end the war, which was conveyed to Pakistan, was that it was "one-sided and unfair", a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that a path forward might still be found if realism prevailed in Washington.

The official said the proposal "was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran's Supreme Leader".

"In brief, the proposal suggests that Iran would relinquish its ability to defend itself in exchange for a vague plan to lift sanctions," he said, adding that the proposal lacked the minimum requirements for success.

He said there was "still no arrangement for negotiations, and no plan for talks appears realistic at this stage", while Turkey and Pakistan were trying to help "establish common ground between Iran and the United States and reduce differences".

Germany's foreign minister said on Thursday that NATO countries would seek a common position with the United States on the war against Iran, which he added would have to end as quickly as possible.

"Of course it is now important, together with our closest allies within NATO, particularly with the United States, to develop a common position," Minister Johann Wadephul said in Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey near Paris ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

There was unity with France and Britain on this, and planned talks with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday were particularly important, Wadephul added.

He said the Strait of Hormuz would have to be opened and Iran's leadership must not pose a threat to other nations in future.

Iran has responded through unnamed intermediaries to a 15-point US plan to end the war, news agency Tasnim reported on Thursday, and is now waiting for Washington's reply.

The exact contents of the US plan, conveyed to Iran via Pakistan according to Pakistani officials, are not officially known.

"Iran's response to the 15 points proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response," Tasnim reported, citing an informed source.

Iran responded by sending a five-point counterproposal, according to the source cited by Tasnim.

The five points were ending the "aggression", the establishment of a mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the United States would return to war, financial compensation, and the end of hostilities on all fronts -- meaning that Israel would stop fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and possibly Hamas in Gaza.

The source also indicated that Iran wanted its sovereignty over the vital Strait of Hormuz to be recognised.

Lebanon will file a complaint with the UN Security Council over Israel's attacks in the country, the prime minister said Thursday, as Israel continues to strike as part of a campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's government said during a cabinet session that it considers Israel's "actions and statements, under whatever label they may come... to be extremely dangerous, threatening Lebanon's sovereignty, the integrity of its territory, and the rights of its people".

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said: "I request that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants immediately file a complaint with the Security Council in this regard."

Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a "present" to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war, US President Donald Trump said Thursday.

Referring to cryptic comments earlier this week about a "gift" from Tehran, Trump said Iran allowed eight "big boats of oil" to transit the waterway earlier this week, followed by two others later on.

The EU's top diplomat, on Thursday, accused Russia of providing intelligence support to Iran in the Middle East war to "kill Americans", calling on the United States to increase pressure on Moscow.

"We see that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans, and Russia is also supporting Iran now with the drones so that they can attack neighbouring countries and also US military bases," Kaja Kallas told journalists at a G7 meeting outside Paris.

"These wars are very much interlinked... If America wants the war in the Middle East to stop, Iran to stop attacking them, they should also put the pressure on Russia so that they are not able to help them in this," she added, referring to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters that taking control of Iran's oil was an option, but said that he would not talk about it. 

The international community should encourage the US and Iran to return to the negotiating table and seek effective political settlement as both sides have the willingness to resume negotiation, China's foreign minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Wang made the remarks during a phone call with Canadian counterpart Anita Anand, in which he also called on Beijing and Ottawa to jointly play a constructive role in this regard, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Wang also stressed that the Iran nuclear issue should not be used as a justification for military action, warning that using force would cause severe consequences and threaten regional stability.

President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran to make a deal to end US and Israeli bombing or face more strikes on their country.

"They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "We'll see if they want to do it. If they don't, we're their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away."

Trump spoke after a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that Washington's proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is "one-sided and unfair", but that diplomacy continues.

The US military on Thursday said an Israeli airstrike that killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy "makes the region safer."

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), added in a statement that every Iranian serving in the IRGC navy should "abandon their post and return home to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death."

Ministers from Hezbollah and its ally Amal boycotted Lebanon's cabinet session on Thursday in protest over the government declaring the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, a Lebanese official told AFP.

The two Shia parties have a combined four ministers, with one independent Shia also represented in the cabinet present at the meeting, the official said, as the spat over the Iranian diplomat's expulsion escalated.

Hezbollah is an armed movement backed by Iran and has political representation in both the government and parliament.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that US military operations against Iran are "extremely" ahead of schedule, citing an original timeframe of four to six weeks for the war that began nearly a month ago.

"We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission. Twenty-six days in we're extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule," Trump told his first cabinet meeting since the start of the conflict.

Israeli emergency services said a rocket fired from Lebanon killed a man in northern Israel on Thursday, as Israeli forces fight Iran-backed Hezbollah across the border.

"In the Nahariya area, MDA teams have pronounced a man of about 30 dead and were treating a man of about 50 who is in serious condition," Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said in a statement.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah has continued firing rockets into northern Israel since entering the Middle East war on 2 March.

Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli soldier was also killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.

The United States on Thursday confirmed the death of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri from an Israeli airstrike, according to a post on X from US Central Command.

Statement from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander: pic.twitter.com/oVqhVjgIDL

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 26, 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the Iranians are great negotiators, but that he's not sure he's willing to make a deal with them to end the war.

A US State Department spokesperson denied on Thursday claims that the United States had targeted Iraqi security forces, a day after a military clinic was struck in the country's west, leaving seven dead.

"Any claims that the United States has targeted Iraqi Security Forces are categorically false, incompatible with the US-Iraq partnership, and offensive to the long years of friendship and cooperation between US and Iraqi forces," the spokesperson told AFP.

The Iraqi authorities have not directly accused the US of the strike that hit western Iraq earlier this week. On Wednesday, Baghdad said the incident was "undermining the ties between the peoples of Iraq and the United States".

Previously, they said they would summon the country's charge d'affaires over a different attack in the same area, which targeted a paramilitary group.

Iran has responded through unnamed intermediaries to a 15-point US plan to end the war, news agency Tasnim reported on Thursday, and is now waiting for Washington's reply.

The exact contents of the US plan, conveyed to Iran via Pakistan according to Pakistani officials, are not officially known.

"Iran's response to the 15 points proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response," Tasnim reported, citing an informed source.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it was hard to predict the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, but that some had compared the potential impact to that of the COVID pandemic.

The conflict, Putin said, was causing significant damage to international logistics, production and supply chains while putting intense pressure on hydrocarbon, metals and fertiliser companies.

"The consequences of the conflict in the Middle East are still difficult to accurately predict," Putin told business leaders in Moscow.

"It seems to me that those who are involved in the conflict cannot predict anything themselves, but for us it is even more difficult."

"However, there are already estimates that they can be compared with the coronavirus epidemic," Putin said. "Let me remind you that it has dramatically slowed down the development of all regions and continents, without exception."

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least five people on Thursday, Lebanese state media said, as Hezbollah claimed they had staged a new wave of attacks on Israel.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency, a strike on a building in the Nabatieh area of south Lebanon killed two people.

AFP images showed a badly damaged building and smoke rising from the rubble, while rescue workers and firefighters worked at the scene.

Another strike in the border area of Bint Jbeil killed another three people, the agency said.

Air raid sirens sounded and explosions rang out in several areas of Israel on Thursday as Iran launched multiple missiles, the military said, adding that the projectiles had been intercepted.

Falling shrapnel has wounded seven people since the first missile attack was detected in the morning, according to Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom.

The military said it had detected seven waves of incoming missiles over the course of the day, triggering sirens in central Israel, Jerusalem, Haifa and some areas of the occupied West Bank.

"Defence systems are operating to intercept the threat," it said as it announced each salvo.

Gulf countries said Thursday that they wanted to be involved in any talks between the United States and Iran, insisting that while they had a right to self-defence, they preferred diplomacy.

"We emphasise the necessity of involving the GCC countries in any talks or agreements to resolve this crisis, in a way that contributes to strengthening their security and stability," Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem AlBudaiwi said in a televised speech.

AlBudaiwi also said Iran had been asking vessels to pay sums of money to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is letting Malaysian tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz after talks with Iranian, Turkish and other regional leaders, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday.

"We're now in the process of releasing the Malaysian oil tankers and the workers involved so that they can continue their journey home," Anwar said in a televised address in which he also thanked Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that its forces had killed around 700 Hezbollah members since the war with the Lebanese armed group began on 2 March.

"So far, I can provide you a number of approximately 700 (Hezbollah) terrorists that have been eliminated," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.

Shoshani noted that Iran-backed Hezbollah had continued to fire rockets, "some days more than 100... mostly towards northern Israel".

Lebanon's health ministry has reported that Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,094 people, 121 children, 81 women and 892 men.

Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has not announced its casualties.

The G7 should collectively back a de-escalation of the war in the Middle East, Canada's foreign minister said Thursday, before a meeting of top diplomats from the group expected to be dominated by the conflict.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told AFP in an interview that she had spoken to all countries impacted in the region and all G7 members "to ensure that we are all collectively advocating for de-escalation and for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and for a path forwards for the Iranian people that preserves their lives."

US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Iran to "get serious soon" in talks to end the Middle East war, as he once again criticised NATO allies for not joining in the conflict.

Trump insisted Iran was actively talking with the United States on a deal to end the nearly four-week exchange of strikes, despite public denials from Iranian officials.

"The Iranian negotiators are very different and 'strange,'" he wrote in early morning post on Truth Social.

"They are 'begging' us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only 'looking at our proposal.' WRONG!!!"

Iran "better get serious soon, before it is too late," he urged, "because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!"

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Thursday that indirect negotiations were being held to end the war in Iran, using Islamabad as an intermediary.

Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, described speculation about "peace talks" as "unnecessary", adding: "In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.

"In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran. Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative," he wrote on X.

There has been unnecessary speculation in the media regarding peace talks to end ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being…

— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) March 26, 2026

US President Donald Trump said Iranian negotiators were "begging" for a deal despite what he described as having been "militarily obliterated," rejecting Tehran's public stance that it is only reviewing Washington's proposal.

"They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty," he said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that a report in the Financial Times that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was "lies".

Russia is a close ally of Iran, but denies having sent military aid to its partner since the United States and Israel began attacking the country in February.

"There are so many lies being spread by the media...Do not pay attention to them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to an AFP question.

The Financial Times, which published the report on Wednesday, cited Western intelligence officials as saying that Russia was in the process of delivering drones to Tehran and would complete the shipments by the end of March.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Moscow had passed sensitive intelligence to Tehran, including the locations of US warships and aircraft in the region.

Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that an Israeli airstrike had killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy.

"Last night, in a precise and lethal operation, the IDF eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' navy, Tangsiri, along with senior officers of the naval command," Katz said in a video statement.

Israeli sources are claiming to have killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, in Bandar Abbas, adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz - an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post​​​​​​.

Sources confirmed to the Post that the Israeli army was behind the strike that killed Tangsiri. The sources added that many of Tangsiri's top naval aides were also killed in the same attack.

Israel took Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its hit-list after Pakistan requested Washington not to target them, a Pakistani official told Reuters on Thursday.

"The Israelis had their...coordinates and wanted to take them out, we told the US if they are also eliminated then there is no one else to talk to, hence the US asked the Israelis to back off," the official said.

The Israeli military said air defences responded to missile attacks from Iran on Thursday that, according to medics, left six people lightly wounded and caused some damage.

A spokesperson for Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said paramedics were providing medical treatment to "six people who were lightly injured by blast effects", updating an earlier toll of two injured.

Earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson for MDA told public radio there was damage to several houses in the central city of Kafr Qassem, whose mayor, Haitham Taha, said it was caused by cluster munitions.

The military said Home Front Command rescuers were called to an impact site "in central Israel".

All parties should work in the same direction and "create conditions for starting truly meaningful and sincere peace talks", a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday when asked if China was aware of any ongoing negotiations between Iran and the US.

"The pressing priority is to actively promote peace talks, seize the opportunity of peace and promote the cessation of the war," Lin Jian, the ministry spokesperson, said during a regular press briefing.

An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting in south Lebanon on Thursday, the military said, after the army announced it was conducting ground operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

"Staff sergeant Ori Greenberg, aged 21, from Petah Tikva, a soldier of the Reconnaissance unit, Golani Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the military said.

In total, three Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in south Lebanon since Hezbollah drew the country into war by launching rocket attacks against Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.

Foreign ministers from the G7 meet outside Paris from Thursday, with European nations and allies seeking to narrow differences with the US on the Middle East war while keeping other crises like Ukraine and Gaza high on the agenda.

The two-day meeting of seven leading industrialised democracies at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey in the countryside outside Paris comes as the White House said President Donald Trump is ready to "unleash hell" if Iran does not accept a deal to end the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

Making his first trip abroad since the war started, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join fellow top diplomats from Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and the UK, but only on the second day.

One of the objectives of France, which holds the rotating G7 presidency this year, is "to address the major global imbalances which explain in many respects the level of tension and rivalry we are witnessing with very concrete consequences for our fellow citizens," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP on Tuesday.

With Lebanon pulled into the war as Iran-backed Shia militant group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel, Barrot also urged Israel to "refrain" from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon.

At least two people have been killed and three injured by falling debris after air defences intercepted a ballistic missile on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, in another suspected Iranian attack on the UAE.

"The incident resulted in the deaths of two unidentified individuals, three injuries, and damage to a number of cars," the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a post on X.

At least ten people have been killed and around 164 injured in the UAE since the start of the US-Israeli assault on Iran on 28 February, with hundreds of drones and missiles launched by Iran at Gulf states.

Economies across the world continue to be hard hit by the war in the Middle East, with a possible G7 meeting to discuss the crisis.

The UAE stock market reported big losses again on Thursday, as the country continues to be heavily targeted by Iranian missiles and drones.

The French economy minister said the country's growth forecast remains at 1 percent for now, but the country remains concerned about the impact of the war and called for a G7 meeting on Monday between finance ministers and central bank heads.

Countries in Asia, which are heavily reliant on Middle East oil, have been particularly hard-hit by the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Turkey said Thursday that a Turkish vessel was struck by a UAV in the Black Sea, around 15km from the Bosphorus.

Turkish media reported that the Turkish oil tanker, the M/T Altura, was struck by a drone close to Istanbul, as shipping in the Middle East is targeted, causing panic in energy markets.

The vessel was reportedly carrying oil from Russia when a drone struck, causing damage to the engine room, but with no injuries to the crew.

It is not known if the strike was related to the war in Ukraine or the crisis in the Gulf.