U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in Iran was “very close to over” in clips of an interview set to air Wednesday, while the U.S. military said its blockade on Iranian ports had been “fully implemented.”
Pakistan said Tuesday it was pursuing efforts to help the U.S. and Iran negotiate an end to the war, after Trump told the New York Post earlier that a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days.”
Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad said talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington were “constructive,” and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts after the two-hour meeting, saying “we’re on the same side of the equation.”
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and has said it won’t abide by any agreements made as a result.
The fighting in the Middle East has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members also have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Russia reiterates readiness to take Iran’s enriched uranium
Russia’s top diplomat on Wednesday reiterated that Moscow was ready “to play a role in solving the problem of enriched uranium” in Iran.
“This role can take on many forms, including reprocessing highly enriched uranium into fuel-grade uranium, transferring a certain amount to Russia for storage. Anything that is acceptable to Iran without, I repeat, violating its inalienable right, like the right of any other state, to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes,” Lavrov told reporters in Beijing, where he was on a two-day visit.
Russia was part of the 2015 deal between Iran and six nuclear powers offering sanctions relief for Tehran in exchange for curbing its atomic program and opening it to broader international scrutiny. As part of the deal, Moscow removed large amounts of enriched uranium from Iran.
The Kremlin offered political support to Iran when the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Trump’s first term.
China said it welcomes further potential Iran-U.S. talks
Responding to reports that there may be a second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, China said it “welcomes all efforts conducive to a ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities,” at a regular press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also praised Pakistan for its “role in facilitating a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran and playing a fair and balanced mediating role.”
Beijing has been working behind the scenes to bring Iran to the negotiation table. Trump also said that he believed China helped to encourage Iran to agree to the ceasefire.
Efforts to extend ceasefire make progress, officials say
Mediators’ efforts to extend a ceasefire between the United States and Iran have made progress as the warring sides are expected to return soon to the table for another round of negotiations, regional officials said.
The officials said mediators aim to extend the ceasefire, which is due to expire on April 22, for at least another two weeks to allow diplomacy another chance. They said that both sides gave an “in principle agreement” to extend the ceasefire.
One of the officials, who is involved in the mediation efforts, said mediators were working on a compromise to the three main disputed points, including the nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and war compensation.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
Russia’s top diplomat says Iran has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium for civilian purposes
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that “the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes is an inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Whether Iran, in its negotiations with the United States, decides to “pause” or “insists on preserving this right,” Russia will accept “any approach based on this principle, the principle of the universality of the right to enrichment,” Lavrov told reporters in Beijing, where he was on a two-day visit this week.
Lavrov emphasized that Russia and China “firmly support” the talks to end the Mideast war, “so that the parties can advance realistic and fair goals, fully respecting the legitimate rights of each party, in accordance with international law.”
Iran is a signatory to the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives countries the right to peaceful nuclear energy programs with safeguards, but does not explicitly mention enrichment.
3 wounded in Tehran by improvised explosive devices
Two remotely operated, improvised explosive devices detonated in Tehran early Wednesday, Iran’s state media reported.
A Revolutionary Guard security source said the explosions slightly injured three people including a member of the paramilitary Basij, an all-volunteer force loyal to the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Republic News Agency said.
The state media agency reported a third device was defused.
Mohammad Balideh, a Revolutionary Guard commander for Tehran region 10, told the Hamshahri newspaper “the situation is normal and under control.”
“Nothing extraordinary happened here, just a limited explosion on the street at the hands of traitorous and unpatriotic elements, with no fatalities or serious damages,” Balideh said.
UN nuclear chief urges strict Iran checks in any deal to end war
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says “very detailed” measures to verify Iran’s nuclear activities must be included in a potential U.S.-Iran agreement to end their war in the Middle East.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in Seoul on Wednesday that “Iran has a very ambitious, wide nuclear program so all of that will require the presence of IAEA inspectors.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round of talks with Iran could happen over the next two days.
The Trump administration has said preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon is a key war aim.
Iran has said it isn’t developing such weapons, but rejected limits on its nuclear program.
Saudi Arabia to deposit $3 billion in Pakistan’s central bank
Saudi Arabia will deposit $3 billion into Pakistan’s central bank, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Wednesday.
The funds will provide a much-needed financial boost to Pakistan, where the economy has come under strain during regional tensions linked to the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Aurangzeb is in Washington to attend meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Aurangzeb said an existing $5 billion Saudi deposit will no longer be subject to an annual rollover arrangement and will instead be extended for a longer period, a government statement said.
Pakistani authorities said earlier this month that the country would return $2 billion deposited by the United Arab Emirates in Pakistan’s central bank in 2019.
Pakistan prime minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey this week during a diplomatic push to secure a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.
The trip comes days after Islamabad hosted rare negotiations that ended without a formal agreement.
Sharif is attempting to facilitate a second round before a temporary ceasefire expires on April 22.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the visits starting Wednesday and ending Saturday will focus on bilateral relations.
Sharif is expected to discuss ongoing cooperation and regional peace and security with leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In Turkey, Sharif is expected to participate in the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum and hold meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other world leaders.
South Korea provides information about vessels stuck in strait
South Korea says it provided information to Iran, the United States and Gulf nations concerning 26 vessels from South Korea that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea is attempting to secure their safe passage out the strait.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in a legislative hearing Wednesday that officials consider the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a window to ensure the safe exit of the ships from the region.