Iran war highlights: Israel, Lebanon begin 10-day ceasefire; Trump signals possible Iran talks 'this weekend'

Iran war LIVE: Lebanon’s president will not speak to Israel’s prime minister in the near future, Lebanese officials said on Thursday, dealing a blow to US efforts to expand contacts between the enemy states as Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was vital to ending the Iran war.

"Peace in Lebanon is essential for (Iran) peace talks," Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, said.

Iran war LIVE: Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than test a US naval blockade on Iranian-linked ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a top Pentagon official said, detailing a US effort meant to pressure Tehran into accepting a longterm ceasefire.

The US will enforce the blockade “inside Iran’s territorial seas and in international waters,” General Dan Caine told reporters at a briefing. He said the US had so far not had to board any ships as part of the effort.

Iran war LIVE: Since Pakistan announced a few weeks ago that it was mediating between Iran and the U.S., Sharif has tasked Munir with maintaining behind-the-scenes contacts with American and Iranian political and military leaders in an effort to de-escalate the widening regional crisis, according to Pakistani officials.

According to Charles Lyons-Jones, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sharif and Dar, the foreign minister, "may well appear to be prominent figures in the US-Iran peace talks, but make no mistake, Asim Munir is the man taking the decisions.”

Iran war LIVE: US Defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said Iran needs to choose wisely as it prepares for negotiations with the United States. "We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We'd rather not have to do it."

President Donald Trump's administration expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the Iran war, while also warning of increasing economic pressure against Iran if it remains defiant.

Iran war LIVE: Israel's defence minister warned Iran on Thursday against rejecting a US proposal focused on renouncing "nuclear armament" and vowed to stage "even more painful" strikes on new targets if it did so.

"Iran is standing at a historic crossroads: one path is renouncing the ways of terror and nuclear armament... in line with the US proposal, the other leads to an abyss," Israel Katz said.

Iran war LIVE: US and Iranian negotiators have scaled back ambitions for a comprehensive peace deal and are instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, two Iranian sources told Reuters.

The shift follows last weekend's inconclusive talks in Islamabad, where deep differences over Iran’s nuclear programme, including the fate of its enriched uranium stockpiles and how long Tehran should halt nuclear work, have continued to threaten progress, despite US officials and Pakistani mediators talking up prospects.

Iran war LIVE: Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun will not hold a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future, three Lebanese officials told Reuters on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump said leaders of both countries would speak.

Two of the Lebanese officials said that the Lebanese embassy in Washington had informed the US administration before a call between Aoun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday that Aoun would not speak to Netanyahu

Iran war LIVE: US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that China has assured the US that it won't send weapons to Iran during ceasefire.

Earlier, US president Donald Trump also asserted that he talked to China and urged them to stop sending weapons to Iran amid the middle east crisis.

Iran war LIVE: General Dan ​Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US Navy ships would pursue any Iranian flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran, he told the briefing.

Ships trying to break the blockade would be intercepted and warned that "If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force". Enforcement would occur inside Iran's territorial seas and in international waters, he said.

Iran war LIVE: HEGSETH: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that Iran's supreme leader is ‘believed to be wounded and alive.’ He was referring to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khameini.

Several reports have claimed that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still recovering from severe injuries caused by the airstrike at the beginning of the war that killed his father.

Iran war LIVE: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that Iran's motivation to stay in the ceasefire is high. While addressing a press briefing, Hegseth urged Iran to choose the peace deal.

Hegseth said that the US forces are ready to resume combat if Iran ‘chooses poorely and does not accept the deal.’

Iran war LIVE: US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on monday warned that the US is closely monitoring Iran’s military movements, including efforts to recover damaged launchers, and is prepared to resume combat operations if Tehran rejects a deal.

He said US forces are ready to "restart combat if Iran chooses poorly' and stressed that Washington “is watching.”

Iran war LIVE: US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine on Thursday said that 13 ships have made wise choice to turn around amid a blockade on Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a press conference, Caine said that US forces are ready to resume the war at a moment's notice.

Iran war LIVE: US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that US will impose a blockade on Iran ‘as long as it takes.’ US navy controls the traffic going in an out of the Strait of Hormuz because it has a navy and Iran does not.

Iran war LIVE: HEGSETH: US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that US navy controls the traffic going in an out of the Strait of Hormuz because it has a navy and Iran does not.

He also said that the enrgy indusry has not been destroyed yet, adding that Iran likes to say it has control of Hormuz, but “it has no navy.”

Iran war LIVE: US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that US forces are postured to restart combat operations if Iran chooses poorly and does not agree to the deal.

Iran war LIVE: Iran's prominent speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday that a ceasefire in Lebanon was "as important" as in Iran, according to a statement posted on Telegram.

In talks to end the war between Iran and the United States, Ghalibaf said Tehran has "been striving to compel our enemies to establish a permanent ceasefire in all the conflict zones, in accordance with the agreement.

Iran war LIVE: US military forces have widened their shipping blockade on Iran to include cargoes deemed contraband and any vessels suspected of trying to reach Iranian territory will be "subject to belligerent right to visit and search", the US navy said in an advisory on Thursday.

"These vessels, regardless of location, are subject to visit, board, search, and seizure," the navy said in an updated advisory after a blockade was imposed on Monday.

Iran war LIVE: Pakistan's prime minister, the key mediator in the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, met Qatar's ruler on Thursday during a push by Islamabad for a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

Shehbaz Sharif's office said the premier had discussed with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani "the latest regional and international developments, particularly in the Middle East".

Iran war LIVE: Iran could let ships sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack under proposals it has offered in talks with the US, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict, a source told reuters.

The proposal appeared to be more of a gesture than a move that would, on its own, offer an immediate breakthrough for hundreds of ships waiting to pass through the key waterway, which handles about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Iran war LIVE: Pakistan's powerful army chief met Iran's parliament speaker on Thursday, Iranian state television said, after Pakistani mediators travelled to Iran to press efforts to end the war with the United States and Israel.

"Field Marshal Asim Munir, Commander of the Pakistan Army, who travelled to our country yesterday, met and held talks with Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf ... this Thursday morning, March 27," the report said.

Iran war LIVE: Pakistan's prime minister, the key mediator in the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, arrived in Qatar on Thursday as he pushed for a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

The office of Shehbaz Sharif said in statements that his delegation had arrived in Doha after a trip to Saudi Arabia and he was expected to meet with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Iran war LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, according to Israel's Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party.

"The prime minister will speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of a complete breakdown in dialogue between the two countries," Gamliel told Israeli Army Radio on Thursday.

Iran war LIVE: An Israeli strike has severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters, adding that the strike "shattered" the bridge and left no possibility of repairing it.

Iran war LIVE: Iran internet blackout continued for 48th day on Thursday, internet watchdog Netblocks said. The blackout has been going on after 1128 hours.

It also said that the blackout had an economic impact of $1.8bn to date. Digital access began to crumble following a fresh wave of domestic demonstrations in early January. These restrictions were significantly tightened and "intensified after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran at the end of February."