Image used for representational purposes only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Majid Khademi, the Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organisation. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran’s president had asked for a ceasefire, but ruled out any truce until the vital Strait of Hormuz was reopened for crucial energy shipments.

But his assertion was flatly denied by Iran, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei rejecting it as “false and baseless”.

Trump made the remarks ahead of a prime-time speech at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Thursday) — his first since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 ignited a regional war and sparked a global energy crisis.

Tehran has insisted there are no ongoing negotiations to end the war, and launched fresh missile attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf nations on Wednesday, as AFP journalists reported massive explosions in the Iranian capital.

But ahead of his national address, Trump said that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked for a truce.

“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s tone has see-sawed between combative and conciliatory since the war began.

Late on Tuesday, he said that the month-long conflict could be over in “two weeks, maybe three.”

Pezeshkian had said Iran had the “necessary will” for a ceasefire, but only if its foes guaranteed that hostilities would not return.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that the Hormuz, a narrow strait through which one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, would remain closed to the country’s “enemies”.

The Guards also confirmed they hit an oil tanker in the Gulf they said belonged to Israel. A British maritime security agency said the vessel was struck off Qatar, reporting damage but no casualties.

– ‘Every day we hear drones’ –

An airport in central Iran was damaged in an attack on Wednesday evening, the deputy provincial governor of Isfahan province, told local news agency of Mehr.

Iranian media also said steel complexes in central and southwest Iran were damaged in separate attacks.

An AFP journalist reported huge explosions in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon and earlier strikes near the former US embassy, now a symbol of decades of US-Iranian tensions.

The Israeli military confirmed it struck Tehran, while emergency services in Israel said an Iranian missile attack wounded 14 people, including an 11-year-old girl.

Israel also said its air defences had responded to a missile fired from Yemen — the third attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since they entered the war over the weekend.

In Lebanon, seven people were killed in strikes around south Beirut, the health ministry said Wednesday, with the Israeli military saying it had struck a senior Hezbollah commander.

A Lebanese security source and a Hezbollah source both told AFP that the strike had killed Hezbollah’s top commander for Iraq military affairs.

AFP correspondents at the scene saw a blackened, debris-strewn street.

“Nobody knows what’s happening,” resident Hassan Jalwan told AFP, adding that “displaced people have been sleeping in the open” in the area.

Israel launched broad strikes and a ground offensive against Lebanon after attacks on March 2 by the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The Lebanese health ministry said Wednesday that Israeli attacks had killed more than 1,300, among the thousands reported killed across the region since the war began, mostly in Iran.

Iran has also carried out retaliatory attacks on nations in the Gulf it says have been launchpads for strikes.

A Bangladeshi national was killed on Wednesday by falling shrapnel from an intercepted drone in the United Arab Emirates.

Strikes in Kuwait caused a large fire in fuel tanks at its international airport, Bahrain’s interior ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility, and Saudi Arabia said several drones were intercepted.

Meanwhile, a drone strike caused a massive fire at the storage facilities of an engine oil firm in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan.

“Every day, we hear the sound of drones,” Waad Abdulrazaq, a 31-year-old truck driver, told AFP near Iraq’s Erbil international airport.

“We hear them in the morning, and we hear them at night. We can no longer sleep or live in peace.”

– Energy crisis –

Optimism sparked by Trump’s comments on the timeline for the end of the war pushed oil prices down Wednesday, and stock markets rallied in Europe and Asia.

But Iran’s chokehold on Hormuz, through which Gulf oil and gas exports reach global markets, has sent energy prices soaring and unleashed global economic turmoil.

Average US gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon for the first time in four years this week, while European inflation spiked and governments around the world started to unveil support measures.

“We’re a small outfit,” driver Nicolas Barthes told AFP at a protest against soaring fuel prices in the French city of Toulouse. “The additional diesel cost for me this month is EUR15,000, and we’re not managing to pass all of that on.”

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said prices were still about 50 percent above pre-war levels, showing “scepticism still remains about Trump’s claims of progress”.

Trump has criticised allies for not helping in the war, and President Emmanuel Macron repeated Wednesday that France would not take part.

Britain said Wednesday that it would host a meeting of about 35 countries this week to discuss how to reopen the strait.

Washington has not said who it is speaking with in Iran, which has denied it is in talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera he still receives messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff, “directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations”.

Trump threatened earlier this week to “obliterate” Iran’s oil wells, its main Kharg Island export terminal, and possibly water desalination plants if the Islamic republic didn’t make a deal.

burs-np/smw

(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)

Over 8 million people are estimated to have gathered in protest, at the ‘No Kings’ rallies held across the United States and in over a dozen other countries, against the Trump administration. American commentators point to a notable departure in the third ‘No Kings’ protest, where a majority — over 70 % — cited peace and anti-war positions as reason for their participation.  View the protest photos here for an idea of how opposition to Mr. Trump is gaining momentum within the U.S.  

But history has repeatedly shown us that tyrants and bullies are seldom good listeners.  That is also perhaps why Mr. Trump finds himself trapped in a war he cannot sustain. After miscalculating Iran’s ability to respond, he is unable to find the exit route he desperately wants. Mr. Trump is also unable to rein in Israel, which is determined to persist with the ongoing war on Iran, despite Iran decidedly standing up to the two powers.  Amid reports of the Pentagon preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, the threat of a prolonged war continues, even as the rest of the world struggles to cope with its impact, especially with shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20 % of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes every day — being brought to a near-standstill.  

Speaking to Stanly Johny, Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, tells us why this war is unsustainable, regardless of what the U.S. or Israel might believe. A month since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, President Trump doesn’t have any easy exit options, he says, adding that Israel and the U.S. have different objectives in the war. If the U.S. launches a ground offensive in Iran, it would be more difficult for Mr. Trump to declare victory and exit, he noted. Contrary to Mr. Trump’s frequent claims, “the United States is not winning the war,” Mr. Parsi asserts.  Read the full interview here

You can also watch the conversation here

One month of Israel-U.S. war on Iran – our desk compiled a timeline from February 28, 2026, to March 28, 2026.  Have a look to understand how the conflict, which began with joint Israel-U.S. strikes on February 28, spread throughout West Asia and sent ripples through the global economy. 

Mediating between warring sides  

As global headlines spotlighted Pakistan as a mediator between the two warring sides, India was quick to dismiss Pakistan’s role. Parrying the questions raised by the Opposition regarding the reported central role played by Pakistan in mediating between the U.S. and Iran, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar termed the neighbouring country a “dalal” or broker, often used in a derogatory manner, Sobhana K. Nair and Suhasini Haidar report. Further, responding to criticism over India’s “silence”, Mr. Jaishankar asserted that with nearly one crore Indians living in West Asian countries, it was crucial for India’s strategic and economic interests to maintain a balanced position. Whether in Gaza in the case of Iran, where there is little ambiguity over who the aggressor is, “balance” or “neutrality” appear woefully weak choices, especially for a country that commands attention on the global stage.   

However, Washington’s decision to engage Pakistan as a facilitator for talks may also be rooted in history, given Islamabad, and a different General’s role in facilitating U.S. talks with China 55 years ago, at the height of the Cold War, writes Suhasini Haidar in this flashback piece. At that time, U.S. President Richard Nixon had begun to work on his plan to open up relations with Beijing (U.S. still formally recognised Taiwan as the Republic of China (ROC)), but direct Sino-U.S. Ambassadorial talks had floundered. Pakistan was not the first option, as he and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger considered others, including Poland, France and Romania. 

Meanwhile, following The New York Times’s recent report on U.S. businessman Elon Musk being present during a call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump, India said that the conversation was only between the two leaders. However, the government did not deny or confirm Mr. Musk’s presence during the call, in which the two leaders discussed the West Asia conflict, reports Suhasini Haidar. New Delhi’s response did not answer the many questions that have risen since, such as why Mr. Musk was present while the two leaders were speaking, presumably on the Iran war; whether India knew of and was comfortable with his presence, and what influence that leaves India with.  

Watch: War in West Asia: Is India’s energy diplomacy holding up? Suhasini Haidar examines where New Delhi stands, in the latest episode of Worldview

Top 5 stories we are reading this week   

1. Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr | Ascent of the Guardsman – Stanly Johny writes on the rise of the former IRGC commander as the Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, that suggests the Guards are tightening their grip on Iran’s state machinery  

2. Situating Nepal’s current political moment in the long history of feudalism to republican democracy – by Srinivasan Ramani  

3. The Hindu editorial on India-Nepal ties in the new context  

4. Writing on world affairs from the Global South – Srinivasan Ramani urges editorial writers depending on the West for reports to critically reject their imperial frame of reference  

5. G. Sampath profiles Pedro Sanchez, Europe’s only anti-war Prime Minister   

Published – March 30, 2026 02:08 pm IST

File photo of Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A person holds a placard featuring images of U.S. President Donald Trump and the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi, as people protest at an International Women’s Day march to show support for women in Iran, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in London, Britain, on March 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Due to the current situation in parts of the Middle East–Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, the board has decided to postpone Class 12 exams on March 9, 10 and 11,” CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said. FIle

“India condemns the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia in violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.

Explosions rocked Iran’s capital as Israel said it would carry out “non-stop strikes” against its leaders and military. Iran meanwhile fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing.

The killing of Khamenei, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, marked the start of a stunning new U.S. intervention in West Asia and potentially a prolonged war.

Also read: Iran vs Israel | Chronicles of a war foretold

The weekend attacks were the second combined strikes in eight months from the U.S. and Israel against Iran. In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defences, military leadership and nuclear programme. But the killing of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability. 

With inputs from Agencies

Published – March 02, 2026 12:34 pm IST

The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran rattled world markets on Monday (March 2, 2026), with U.S. futures initially falling more than 1% and oil prices soaring, though both moderated as trading picked up.

The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.8% by mid-morning in Bangkok.

Follow Iran-Israel conflict LIVE updates on March 2

Asian shares opened lower.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially fell more than 2%, but by midday Tokyo time it was down 1.5% at 57,981.54.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.6% to 26,215.91, and the Shanghai Composite index was flat at 4,163.01.

Taiwan’s benchmark lost 0.6% and Singapore’s dropped 1.9%. In Bangkok, the SET fell 2.1%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 9,173.50.

Markets were closed in South Korea for a holiday.

The price of gold, usually viewed as a safe haven for investment in times of uncertainty, rose 2.4% to about $5,371 per ounce.

Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in West Asia would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world.

“Roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas) flows squeeze through the Strait of Hormuz. This is not an obscure canal. It is the aorta of the global energy system,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

The price of a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude oil initially surged about 8%. It later traded 5.9% higher at $71.00 per barrel. Brent crude jumped 6.2% to $77.38 per barrel.

A prolonged war would likely result in higher prices for other fuels and gasoline and could cascade throughout the global economy, adding to production costs overall.

Likewise, prolonged interruptions to oil flows through West Asia would have “huge implications for oil and LNG and every market everywhere if it occurs. Energy is an input to ALL production,” RaboResearch Global Economics & Markets said in a report.

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China. It may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.

But China has ample oil reserves of up to 1.5 billion barrels, and it can offset a decline in oil from Iran by increasing imports from Russia, said Michael Langham of Aberdeen Investments.

The attacks were anticipated, with a massive buildup of U.S. forces in West Asia, so traders had adjusted their positions to take that risk into account.

The conflict has shifted attention, for now, away from issues surrounding artificial intelligence that have dominated markets in recent months.

On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to finish just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow industrials dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.

Treasury yields fell in the bond market as investors sought safer places for their money.

“When markets are fragile, they do not need a knockout blow. They just need another weight on the bar,” Innes said.

Also hurting the broad market was a report on Friday (February 27) showing that inflation at the U.S. wholesale level was at 2.9% last month, much higher than the 1.6% that economists expected.

That could pressure the Federal Reserve to hold off longer on its cuts to interest rates. Lower rates would give the economy and prices for investments a boost, but they risk worsening inflation at the same time.

In other dealings early on Monday (March 2), the U.S. dollar rose to 156.34 Japanese yen from 156.27 late on Friday (February 27). The euro slipped to $1.1789 from $1.1762.

Published – March 02, 2026 10:52 am IST