Iran mocks US attempts at ceasefire – reports
An Iranian military spokesperson has ridiculed US efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, asserting that Americans were essentially negotiating among themselves, according to the Associated Press.
In a prerecorded video broadcast on Wednesday on state television, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari stated that the US’s strategic power had transformed into a "strategic failure."
"The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.
Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?"
Zolfaghari’s remarks followed reports of the US sending a peace proposal through Pakistan.
He added,
"Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you. Not now, not ever."
Oil prices fall, Asian shares gain after Trump claims progress in Iran talks
Oil prices declined nearly 6%, while Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday following reports of progress in talks between the US and Iran.
At 0030 GMT, Brent crude futures dropped 5.92% to $98.30 per barrel. The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, fell 5.01% to $87.72 per barrel.
In Asia, optimism fueled by former President Donald Trump’s claims led to gains: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 increased by 2.8% in early trading, South Korea’s Kospi rose 3.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.2%, and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.9%.
Additionally, Australia’s S+P/ASX 200 climbed 2.2%, and Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 3%.
These market movements followed news that the US had reportedly delivered a 15-point peace plan to Iran via Pakistan.
According to the New York Times, it remains unclear how widely the plan has been disseminated among Iranian officials or whether Iran is likely to accept it as a basis for negotiations.
WTO fertiliser warning over strait of Hormuz closure: 'Harvests shrink and prices rise'
Jean-Marie Paugam, deputy director general of the World Trade Organisation, warned Agence France-Presse that disruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would lead to food shortages and increased prices.
A third of the world’s fertilisers typically transit through the strait, which has been effectively closed since the beginning of the conflict.
Paugam explained the consequences:
"The effect compounds the following year: harvests shrink and prices rise."
Although the Gulf region has abundant natural gas, a key component in artificial fertilisers, production has been severely disrupted by the war, with several facilities forced to cease operations.
Major food exporters such as India, Thailand, and Brazil rely on exports of urea, a nitrogen-based fertiliser. Currently, there is no fertiliser shortage, Paugam noted, but as the conflict continues,
"we will feel a direct impact on supplies to major producer countries just as planting season begins for the crops that will be harvested next year."
Countries that import most of their food, including parts of West and North Africa, would be particularly vulnerable. The impact could worsen if nations begin stockpiling supplies, as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Middle East crisis and its broader implications regionally and globally.
More than 1,000 troops from the US 82nd Airborne Division are scheduled to deploy in the coming days, according to three individuals familiar with the plans who spoke to the Associated Press. The 82nd Airborne is an elite infantry unit capable of rapid deployment and specialized in forcible entry parachute assaults. Former President Donald Trump has reportedly approved this deployment.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices sharply declined in early Wednesday trading after Trump sent a peace plan to Iran and expressed optimism about ending nearly a month of conflict.
Following gains in Europe and the US on Tuesday, Brent crude fell 6% to $98.30 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 5% to $87.72.
Early Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced a new series of attacks targeting locations in Israel, including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.
In Lebanon, state media reported that Israeli strikes killed at least six people in a town and a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area, with three more casualties in another town. Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000, has declared its military would expand operations approximately 30 km (20 miles) from the border.
The Israeli campaign has resulted in at least 1,072 deaths in Lebanon and displaced over one million people, according to Lebanese authorities.
The US reportedly sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war, sources told . The New York Times reported the plan was delivered via Pakistan. It remains unclear whether Israel supports the proposal or if Iran is likely to accept it as a negotiation basis.
Donald Trump stated that negotiations to end the Iran conflict are ongoing and that Tehran had agreed to never develop nuclear weapons, declaring,
"we’ve won this war."He also mentioned that Tehran provided him with a "gift" related to oil and gas involving the Strait of Hormuz but did not provide further details.
This followed Iranian officials’ denial of any contact with the US, labeling such claims as "fake news" intended to "manipulate" oil markets.
Reports that Trump approved the deployment of over 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East contradict his repeated assertions of successful peace talks. The troops have not yet departed the US but are expected to be sent overseas soon, sources told AP. Iran has previously threatened to mine the Gulf surrounding the island if US troops land.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have launched missile attacks on Israel and US forces stationed in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, according to state media. Kuwaiti officials reported a fire at the airport after a drone struck a fuel tank.
Approximately 290 US troops have been wounded, with 13 soldiers killed in action, CNN reports. Iran’s state broadcaster reported over 1,500 Iranian fatalities as of 21 March.
Lebanon faces an "existential crisis" after Israel announced plans to seize and occupy large areas of the country’s south to establish a so-called "security zone," officials say. Many Lebanese fear that Israeli Defense Forces’ plans to create a buffer south of the Litani River—about 20 miles from the current border—could lead to a prolonged occupation.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, based on information provided by Iran. The IAEA confirmed there was no damage to the facility or personnel, and conditions at the plant remain normal, as stated on X.
