US 'close to major war with Iran'; Tehran says 'drafting framework to advance' US talks | LIVE

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Iran 'would be well advised' to reach deal, says White House

Iran “would be well advised” to reach a deal with the United States, the White House spokesperson said Wednesday, adding that there were “many reasons” to strike Iran.

“There are many reasons and arguments in favor of a strike against Iran,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters, adding: “Iran would be well advised to reach a deal with President Trump and his administration.”

US-Iran tensions: US imposes visa restrictions on 18 Iranian officials

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on 18 Iranian officials and telecommunications executives, the State Department announced Wednesday, in the latest measure taken against Tehran, Reuters reports.

Trump to host first meeting of Board of Peace on Thursday, White House confirms

U.S. President Donald Trump will host the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, according to the White House, as reported by Reuters.

He will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion to reconstruct Gaza, the institution added.

The Board of Peace, headed by Trump, was conceived to end the Gaza war, but its charter assigns it a much broader objective: resolving armed conflicts worldwide.

This body, launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, has "limitless potential," Trump declared last Sunday on Truth Social.

Israel raise alert level in face of possible joint US-Israeli attack against Iran, according to sources

Israel has raised its alert level and intensified its military preparations as signs of a possible joint U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran multiply in the coming days, two Israeli sources told CNN.

Satellite images show Iran repairing and fortifying sites amid US tensions

Satellite images show that Iran has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covered it in soil, experts say, advancing work at a location reportedly bombed by Israel in 2024 amid tensions with the U.S.

Images also show that Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the U.S. during Israel's 12-day war with Iran last year, fortified tunnel entrances near another, and has repaired missile bases struck in the conflict.

They offer a glimpse of Iranian activities at some of the sites at the centre of tensions with Israel and the U.S., as Washington seeks to negotiate a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program while threatening military action if talks fail.

More on this here.

Iran 'drafting framework to advance' future US talks

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran was "drafting" a framework to advance future talks with Washington, during a phone call with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

In the call with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Araghchi "stressed the Islamic Republic of Iran's focus on drafting an initial and coherent framework to advance future talks," a day after a second round of resumed negotiations with the United States.

Road block in Mais al-Jabal over delayed Hezbollah compensation payments

A group of young men briefly blocked the main road in the town of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) on Tuesday in protest against delays by Hezbollah in paying compensation, amid daily Israeli violations of the cease-fire, our correspondent reported.

More than a year after the Nov. 27, 2024 ceasefire, reconstruction in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa has stalled, leaving residents who lost their homes without the promised payments.

US administration ‘close to a major war with Iran,’ Axios reports

The Trump administration is "closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize,” U.S. outlet Axios wrote. Citing anonymous sources, journalist Barak Ravid said that a potential U.S. operation against Iran would likely be massive, consisting of a weeks-long campaign that would resemble open warfare far more than a limited strike, such as the one carried out in Venezuela.

According to two Israeli officials, the Israeli government is preparing for the possibility of war in the coming days.

"The boss is getting fed up. Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90 percent chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks," a Donald Trump adviser was quoted as saying.

Axios also highlighted the military armada mobilized by Trump in the region, which now includes two aircraft carriers — one still en route — around a dozen warships, hundreds of fighter jets and several air defense systems.

"Just in the past 24 hours, another 50 fighter jets – F-35s, F-22s and F-16s – headed to the region,” the outlet reported.

US to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions 'one way or the other': US energy secretary

The United States will deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons "one way or the other," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Wednesday.

"They've been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It's entirely unacceptable," Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency.

"So one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran's march towards a nuclear weapon," Wright said.

U.S. and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at averting the possibility of U.S. military intervention to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran said following the talks that they had agreed on "guiding principles" for a deal to avoid conflict.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's red lines.

Israeli soldier killed in Gaza, likely as a result of 'friendly fire'

An Israeli soldier was killed in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army announced, likely as a result of “friendly fire,” according to a military source.

“Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, a 21-year-old soldier from the Paratroopers’ reconnaissance unit and a native of HaYogev, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement. The soldier was “apparently killed by friendly fire,” a military source told AFP, without providing further details, adding that the circumstances of his death are under investigation.

Yafe’s death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed since a cease-fire with Hamas came into effect on Oct. 10.

On the Palestinian side, Israeli strikes and gunfire on the enclave since the cease-fire have killed 623 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israeli gunfire targets pickup truck near Wazzani, no injuries reported

Israeli gunfire targeted a pickup truck while it was traveling on the outskirts of the town of Wazzani (Marjayoun), our correspondent in the south reported. No injuries were reported.

Iran and Russia to hold joint naval drills in the Sea of Oman on Thursday

Iranian and Russian naval forces will begin a series of joint naval exercises on Thursday in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported, days after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out similar drills in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Creating convergence and coordination in joint measures to counter activities that threaten maritime security and safety … as well as combating maritime terrorism, are among the main objectives of this joint exercise,” said Iranian Navy commander Hassan Maghsoodloo, according to the agency.

Smotrich calls for Palestinian 'migration' from West Bank and Gaza

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organised by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

Iranian foreign minister says ‘new window of opportunity’ has opened for agreement

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday evening from Geneva, during a disarmament conference held after talks with the United States, that a “new window of opportunity” had opened to reach a nuclear agreement, Reuters reported.

He added that he hoped the discussions would lead to a “lasting” solution ensuring full recognition of Iran’s legitimate rights. “Different ideas were put forward, they were discussed in depth, and we ultimately reached a general agreement on certain guiding principles,” he told Iranian media a few hours earlier after the second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.

For his part, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said Iran would present “detailed proposals within the next two weeks” to bridge the remaining gaps between the two sides. “Progress has been made, but many issues remain to be discussed,” the source said.

More than 80 states denounce at the UN Israel’s plan to 'expand' in the West Bank

85 member states of the United Nations on Tuesday strongly condemned, in a joint statement, Israel’s adoption of new measures aimed at “expanding its illegal presence” in the occupied West Bank, warning of a possible annexation of Palestinian territory that could alter its “demographic composition.”

A week after approving legislation facilitating land purchases by settlers, the Israeli government decided on Sunday to accelerate the land registration process in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

“We strongly condemn the unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel’s illegal presence in the West Bank. These decisions violate Israel’s obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed,” the 85 U.N. member states said at U.N. headquarters in New York. The signatories include France, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as organizations such as the European Union and the Arab League.

“We reiterate our rejection of all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem,” they added.

Israeli overnight infiltration in Yarin, south Lebanon

Israeli soldiers infiltrated the border village of Yarin (Bint Jbeil district) at dawn and detonated a house that had been damaged during the war, according to our correspondent.

Vance: Talks with Iran ‘successful in some ways,’ but Tehran still refusing to accept certain red lines

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the latest negotiations held Tuesday in Geneva with Iran were successful "in some ways,” in an interview with Fox News, while stressing that Tehran continues to reject some of the nuclear red lines set by President Donald Trump.

“Our primary interest here is we don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon. We do not want nuclear proliferation. If Iran were to obtain a nuclear weapon, many other regimes would then acquire nuclear weapons as well … This is one of the things the president has said he will prevent,” Vance said. He added that while diplomacy remains the preferred option, the United States is keeping “all options on the table,” including military confrontation. “We would very much like, as the president has said, to resolve this through dialogue within a diplomatic negotiation, but the president is keeping all options on the table.”

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the news in the Middle East

We will be following the evolving tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as the situation in southern Lebanon and Gaza, which continue to be bombarded by Israel despite cease-fires in place.

Catch up with our Morning Brief here.