TEHRAN -- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday certain data demonstrate that the "enemies" are preparing for an operation to occupy an Iranian island with the support of a regional state.

"If they take any step forward, all of the vital infrastructure of that regional country will come under (Iran's) unrelenting attacks without any restriction," Ghalibaf made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.

In a separate post earlier in the day, Ghalibaf said Iran is closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially its troop deployments.

"What the generals have broken, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's delusions," he said, warning, "Do not test our resolve to defend our land."

Ghalibaf's remarks came amid reports that Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.

BEIJING -- China will double down on playing a constructive role in promoting peace and an end to hostilities, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday in response to a related query about the developments of the situation in the Middle East.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing, adding China's diplomatic mediation efforts will not stop so long as the conflict rages on.

China's envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and urged renewed international efforts toward a two-state solution, warning that escalating tensions across the Middle East are increasing humanitarian and economic risks.

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East that the current situation is "dealing a serious blow to regional stability and the global economy."

Fu said that the Palestinian question is "deteriorating at an accelerated pace," with ongoing hostilities in Gaza and expanding settlement activities in the West Bank undermining the basis for a two-state solution.

"Parties concerned, especially Israel, must fully observe the ceasefire agreement and achieve a genuine, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire," Fu said, urging Israel to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, fully open border crossings, lift restrictions on humanitarian supplies, and stop attacks and pressure on humanitarian agencies, in particular" the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

He also noted the developments in the West Bank, saying that settlement expansion and settler violence have displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. "Settlement activities seriously violate international law and Security Council Resolution 2334," he said.

Reaffirming China's position on a political settlement, Fu said "the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian question is the two-state solution." He added that "any arrangement must uphold the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine, respect the will of the Palestinian people, and contribute to, rather than undermine, the two-state solution."

Ahead of the meeting, representatives of Bahrain, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Pakistan, Somalia and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement opposing "the annexation of any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and any forcible displacement of the Palestinian people." The statement reaffirmed that such actions "violate international law, undermine peace efforts, and jeopardize the prospect of achieving a just and lasting peace."

The countries reiterated their commitment to a negotiated settlement based on relevant United Nations resolutions and the principle of two states living side by side in peace and security.

Dangerous situation

On Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned of the dangerous situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and called for the conclusion of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli authorities' plans to implement the "Greater Israel" project pose a threat to the entire region and the world, undermine the entire political process, and violate UN resolutions and international law, Abbas said in a phone call with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Calling for an international stance to compel Israel to abandon its destructive policies, Abbas stressed the need for a comprehensive international conference to achieve peace, stability and security in the region, including ending the occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and independence.

Abbas welcomed the Gaza peace plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803 to halt the war and alleviate the Palestinians' suffering, adding, "We also welcomed Indonesia's participation in promoting stability and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip."

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Iran has received a message from Washington through mediators about possible talks between the two warring countries, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.

"We received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed," an Iranian official was quoted by CBS News as saying.

Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the US and Iran had "very good and productive conversations", only for Iran to immediately dismiss it as a ploy to depress energy prices and buy time for military planning.

Despite the positive developments that offer hope for ending the crisis, which has entered its fourth week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon to protect its "vital interests" even as the US weighs a ceasefire.

Following a phone call with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu released a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to build on the major gains of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran to achieve the goals through a diplomatic agreement.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that all parties would seize every opportunity and window for peace and act as soon as possible to start peace talks, during a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.

Araghchi briefed Wang on the latest developments in the regional situation and thanked China for providing emergency humanitarian assistance.

He said the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all and that vessels can pass through safely, though countries that are at war with Iran are not under consideration.

Wang emphasized that all hot-spot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation rather than by force. It is always better to talk than to keep fighting, he said.

Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens. Israel, meanwhile, pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon. Israel's military said on Tuesday its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centers.

Meanwhile, Iran named on Tuesday a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as the new chief of the Supreme National Security Council to replace his slain predecessor Ali Larijani, state television said.

Oil prices briefly fell below $100 a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the crisis. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude back to $104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 percent since the war started.

Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, tracking gains in Europe and on Wall Street in the aftermath of Trump's announcement.

Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament. The outlet and Reuters further reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week.

But Ghalibaf said on Monday that "no negotiations" were held with the US. "Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he said on X.

Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the US and Israel were seeking to stoke divisions.

"We must act wisely. Their nature is to sow discord to erode public trust in officials and fabricate the appearance of such actions, when none have occurred," he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars News Agency.

Trump's extension of the deadline came as a contingent of thousands of US Marines is en route to the region, due to arrive by Friday, fueling speculation that Washington may attempt to seize Kharg Island — a strategic Iranian oil hub off its coast.

"As Trump has, in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready," wrote the New York-based think tank The Soufan Center in an analysis.

Tehran had vowed to strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation.

Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence expert on Iran, wrote on X: "Trump blinked first — out of clear recognition that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger direct and severe retaliation."

Meanwhile, Zhai Jun, Chinese government's special envoy on the Middle East issue, met with Israeli Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba in Beijing on Tuesday. The two sides exchanged views on the current tensions in the Middle East.

Zhao Jia in Beijing contributed to this story.

THE HAGUE -- Escalating tensions in the Middle East following recent military confrontations are raising concerns across Europe about the risk of a new refugee crisis.

On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations migration agency, said that more than 130,000 people have crossed into Syria and over one million people have been displaced inside Lebanon since early March.

Although large-scale migration toward Europe has not yet materialized, the agency warned that conditions for broader displacement already exist in a region long affected by conflict.

"There are no signs" of an imminent surge of refugees to Europe, but "things can change very quickly," Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell told Euronews earlier this month.

Cyprus's Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides warned on March 13 that the European Union "cannot overlook the possibility of a new refugee crisis."

EU leaders have also stressed vigilance, though the conflict "has not translated into immediate migratory flows towards the EU," according to conclusions adopted after a European Council meeting.

Drawing on lessons from the 2015 migration crisis, when more than 1 million refugees and migrants entered Europe, the EU has pledged to strengthen external border controls and mobilize diplomatic, legal, operational, and financial tools to manage potential migration pressures.

"The security and the control of the EU's external borders will continue to be strengthened," the bloc said last Thursday.

The EU is also preparing to implement its Migration and Asylum Pact in June. The pact introduces stricter border procedures and a "mandatory solidarity" mechanism under which member states will share responsibility by relocating asylum seekers or providing financial and operational support to countries under strain.

Memories of the 2015 migration crisis continue to shape policy thinking. The influx overwhelmed border and asylum systems, triggering political divisions within the bloc.

Nedzad Korajlic, an associate professor at the University of Sarajevo, said Bosnia and Herzegovina faces challenges as a transit country, including limited border control capacity and fragmented security structures. He said the main issue is not migration itself but criminal networks that exploit migrants through smuggling.

Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, has rung the alarm. "Migrant smuggling networks are operating with increasing complexity, both online and offline," Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said Tuesday in The Hague. "They have a significant global dimension and rely on multi-layered financial infrastructures, including underground banking systems, to move and conceal their criminal profits."

Europol launched the European Center Against Migrant Smuggling on Tuesday in The Hague to enhance intelligence-sharing and operational coordination across member states.

"With the establishment of the European Center Against Migrant Smuggling, Europol is now stepping up its efforts, enhancing its capacity to support member states and reinforcing the collective response to this complex and evolving threat," De Bolle said.

Korajlic said Europe is better prepared than in the past despite ongoing risks. The creation of the center marks "a shift from reactive to preventive measures," with a stronger focus on intelligence-sharing and coordinated action, he added.

JERUSALEM -- Washington has delivered Iran a 15-point plan for a month-long ceasefire deal, Israel's Channel 12 reported Tuesday night.

The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said US President Donald Trump's advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are promoting a plan for an immediate pause in hostilities, using a 30-day window to finalize a 15-point agreement.

The plan reportedly demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear capabilities, cease all uranium enrichment, and provide a permanent commitment to never seeking nuclear weapons.

Additionally, Tehran would be required to end the funding and arming of allied groups in the region and ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains an open international waterway. The plan also demands that Iran limit its missile production and restrict future use strictly to self-defense.

In exchange, Washington is offering full sanctions relief, assistance in developing a civilian nuclear energy project at southern Iran's Bushehr, home to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, and the removal of the "snapback" mechanism threat that enables the reimposition of previously lifted UN sanctions on Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of any deal with Iran, has not issued an official comment. He warned on Monday of a diplomatic agreement with Iran, claiming Iran's "current regime" must not be trusted.

The development came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies have responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.

TEHRAN -- The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, said on Tuesday that any vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz must fully coordinate with Iranian maritime authorities.

Writing on X, Tangsiri said IRGC naval forces had blocked a foreign container ship, identified as the "SELEN," after it failed to comply with required protocols and obtain a transit permit.

NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held conversations over the phone on Tuesday, discussing the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, according to US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.

In a post on social media platform X, Gor wrote that the two leaders "discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open".

Separately, Modi on March 21 also spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on regional developments, where he reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.

Iran and Israel continued exchanging strikes on Tuesday, even as United States President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on strike threats and hailed "very good" talks with an unidentified Iranian official — a claim Tehran immediately dismissed as a ploy to depress energy prices and buy time for military planning.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon to protect its "vital interests" even as the US weighs a ceasefire.

Following a phone call with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu released a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to build on the major gains of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran to achieve the war's goals through a diplomatic agreement.

"(But) we are crushing the missile and nuclear programs, and we continue to strike Hezbollah hard," he said, adding that two more Iranian nuclear scientists were recently killed.

Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens. Israel, meantime, pounded southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon. Israel's military said on Tuesday its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centers.

Oil prices briefly fell below $100 a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the war. But that respite was short lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, back to $104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 percent since Israel and the US started the war on Feb 28.

Asian markets traded higher on Tuesday, tracking gains in Europe and on Wall Street in the aftermath of Trump's announcement.

US news website Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament. The outlet and Reuters further reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week, with US Vice-President JD Vance potentially joining.

But Ghalibaf said on Monday that "no negotiations" were held with the US. "Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he said in a post on X.

Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the US and Israel were seeking to stoke division.

"We must act wisely. Their nature is to sow discord to erode public trust in officials and fabricate the appearance of such actions, when none have occurred," he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars news agency.

Trump's extension of the deadline came as a contingent of thousands of US Marines is en route to the region, due to arrive by Friday, fueling speculation that Washington may attempt to seize Kharg Island — a strategic Iranian oil hub off its coast.

"As Trump has in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready," wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Center in an analysis.

Tehran had vowed to strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.

Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence expert on Iran, wrote on X: "Trump blinked first — out of clear recognition that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger direct and severe retaliation."

While some view the five-day pause as offering a window for potential talks, experts warned that common ground between the US and Iran remains elusive given deep-seated distrust.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war", but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported on Monday.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, pointed to Trump's 2018 "betrayal" of Iran — when he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling maximum sanctions on Tehran.

"Then last June, near the end of negotiations, Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran; and again, a few weeks ago, we saw the same pattern," he said.

Lebanon declares appointed Iranian envoy persona non grata, orders him to leave by Sunday -- report

TEHRAN -- Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has been appointed as new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president's office, said on Tuesday.

TEHRAN - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran reserves the "inalienable and natural" right to defend its territory.

Pezeshkian made the remarks when exchanging views with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the consequences of the "illegal" U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in a phone conversation, according to a statement published on the Iranian president's office website.

During the phone call, the two sides also discussed bilateral ties and the latest regional developments, said the statement.

Pezeshkian said Iran did not start the war, noting the United States and Israel launched military aggression against Iran in the middle of nuclear negotiations, killing the country's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, high-ranking military commanders and civilians, and targeting Iranian public facilities.

He said that Iran consistently makes efforts to protect regional stability and security and stressed that the country still seeks to strengthen cooperation among states in the region.

"The insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the military aggression by the United States and Israel," he said, adding that Iran has taken necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of navigation and the safe passage of vessels through the waterway.

Sharif, for his part, expressed deep regret over the US-Israeli attacks against Iran as well as the deaths of Iranian civilians and senior officials, extending the Pakistani government's sympathy and condolences.

He praised Iran for allowing the safe passage of Pakistan's vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, calling for collective efforts by regional states to de-escalate tensions and restore sustainable peace and stability in the region.

"Pakistan has always been and will always be by the side of the Iranian government and nation," Sharif said.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will leverage its attacks on Iran to ensure any potential diplomatic agreement protects its "vital interests."

Following a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu issued a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to "leverage the tremendous achievements" of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in order to "realize the objectives of the war through an agreement."

"We will safeguard our vital interests in any situation," he said.

However, Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli military strikes against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon are continuing simultaneously. Shortly after Trump announced that negotiations were underway to end the regional conflict, the Israeli military said in a statement that it launched a new series of airstrikes on Tehran. It also blew another bridge on Monday over the Litani River in southern Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah used it to transport weapons and its members.

"We are crushing the missile and nuclear programs, and we continue to strike Hezbollah hard," Netanyahu said, adding that two more Iranian nuclear scientists were recently killed.

The comments followed Trump's announcement that Washington and Tehran were in contact to end the war. He added that planned US strikes on Iranian power infrastructure would be delayed for five days following "productive conversations" with Tehran. Iran denies any talks with the United States, calling them "meaningless."

The developments came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.

The ongoing war in Iran "should never have happened", Zhai Jun, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, said on Monday, urging relevant parties to immediately halt military operations in the region while calling on the international community to uphold its commitment to peace through diplomatic means.

Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing after recently completing a round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, Zhai said the war, which is now in its fourth week with casualties exceeding 21,000, has already surpassed last year's 12-day conflict in terms of scale, intensity and duration.

From early March, Zhai visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt and met with their respective foreign ministers. He also met with the secretary-generals of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League, and held a phone conversation with Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Zhai described his trip as "highly unusual" because of the current situation. "Airspace closures in some of the countries we visited led to flight cancellations, forcing us to travel by car. Along the way, we heard air raid sirens and witnessed missile interceptions, which made the tremendous impact of the war on countries even more real to us," he said.

Since the conflict started, China has carried out intensive mediation efforts. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone calls with his counterparts in countries including Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United Kingdom.

On Monday, Wang also met in Beijing with Jonathan Powell, national security adviser to the UK prime minister. What all parties need to do now is address the root cause of the crisis and work together to achieve a political settlement through dialogue and negotiations, Wang said.

Zhai, the special envoy, said that as long as the conflict continues, China's diplomatic mediation efforts will not stop. China considers halting military operations in the region an immediate priority to prevent the situation from escalating further, he said.

Dialogue and negotiations offer a fundamental solution to the current crisis, he said, emphasizing the need to adhere to international law and the basic norms that govern international relations.

Zhai said the countries he visited stressed that nonmilitary locations, particularly energy, economic and livelihood facilities, should not be targeted and that the safety of civilians must be safeguarded.

His remarks came as global concerns mounted that the conflict was escalating beyond conventional military targets to critical infrastructure, including energy facilities and desalination systems.

"As the flames of the war continue to rage across the Middle East, the global economy and trade are coming under severe strain. Once Pandora's box is opened, the harm will be endless. If the fighting continues, there will be no winners, and ultimately, it will be the people of the region who will suffer the most," he said.

Zhai reiterated China's position that the protection of civilians is a red line that must not be crossed, and that the security of international shipping lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz, must be upheld.

When asked about the biggest obstacle to achieving a ceasefire, Zhai said, "The one who tied the bell should be the one to untie it."

He said the parties involved in the conflict, especially the United States and Israel, should immediately cease military action and return to the right track of dialogue, negotiation and respect for international law.

"The Chinese people consider peace as the most precious thing," he said. "The cornerstone of China's Middle East policy is to promote reconciliation and peace in the region."

"As a responsible major country and a sincere friend of regional countries, China will maintain close communication and coordination with all relevant parties. China will work to ease tensions, pave the way for a ceasefire, build bridges for dialogue, and make unremitting efforts to promote regional peace and stability," Zhai said.

United States' President Donald Trump announced on Monday that any military strikes against Iranian energy sites will be held off for five days after the two sides held "productive conversations" over the weekend, a comment that instantly pushed up stock futures and drove down oil prices.

However, Iran denied any such contact soon after Trump's remarks, saying that there had been no negotiations, "direct or indirect" with Washington as described by Trump, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

Trump's announcement on social media marked a stunning about-turn from his previous ultimatum that the US would strike Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday night.

In a telephone interview with Fox Business Network later on Monday, Trump said that Iran badly ‌wants to ​make a deal and that could come within five ‌days or less. He said the most recent talks between ‌US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and ​their counterparts ‌took place on Sunday night.

A reporter for the US news outlet Axios said representatives of Turkiye, Egypt and Pakistan had met separately with Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The reporter, Barak Ravid, cited an unnamed US source as saying the discussion was about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues.

On Sunday, Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, but ships were hesitating to use the vital waterway because insurers feared the "war of choice" initiated by the US and Israel, as the conflict entered its fourth week.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pushed back against what it said were false claims by Washington that Tehran intended to destroy water desalination plants in the Gulf region, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

"What we have done is to announce our decision that in the event of an attack on power plants, Iran will retaliate by targeting the power plants of (Israel) and the power plants of the countries in the region that supply power to American bases, and at the same time, the economic, industrial and energy infrastructure in which the Americans are shareholders," the IRGC was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the Strait of Hormuz, published by Mehr News Agency on Monday.

The statement called the US-Israeli strikes against Iran a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.

"In exercising its inherent right of self-defense against the aggressor parties, Iran has not only targeted US military bases and facilities in the region, but has also adopted a series of measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance … their hostile objectives against Iran," the statement said.

Meanwhile, several explosions were reported in Iran early on Monday.

According to Tasnim News Agency, the US struck residential neighborhoods in Khorramabad, western Iran, killing nine civilians.

Al Jazeera reported a US-Israeli strike on a radio station in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, killing one person. The activation of air defenses was heard in Tehran, while in Isfahan, Karaj and Ahvaz, massive explosions were heard.

Israel has also been accused of expanding its ground invasion in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli Air Force blew up a bridge over the Litani River on Sunday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Israel's latest attack on his country a "collective punishment" of Lebanese civilians and a dangerous escalation.

TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday denied having negotiations with the United States, the country's official IRNA news agency reported, reversing US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that Washington had reached "major points of agreement" with Iran and is in contact with "a top person."

Friendly countries recently sent messages to Iran indicating Washington's desire to begin talks on ending the war, but Iran has not responded, the IRNA reported, citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

Baghaei said Tehran's stance on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as its conditions to end the war, have not changed, the IRNA reported.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also denied the claim on social media platform X, saying "no negotiations have been held" with Washington.

Meanwhile, several media reports quoted Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, as saying that talks with the United States are meaningless in the current conditions.

Earlier in the day, Trump said he had ordered a five-day delay of planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities, citing what he described as "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East.

Reuters, citing Israel officials, later reported that the United States is holding negotiations with Ghalibaf, and that the two sides could hold talks in Pakistan's Islamabad as early as this week.

The developments came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.

Trump says US has very good, productive conversations with Iran over resolution of hostilities

CANBERRA - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is in talks with member countries on releasing more stockpiled oil in response to the supply crisis driven by the conflict in the Middle East, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said here on Monday.

Addressing the National Press Club, Birol said he has been in contact with international colleagues on a daily basis regarding a second oil release after the agency's member countries agreed in March to release 400 million barrels from strategic stockpiles.

"If it is necessary, of course, we will do it," he said of a second release, but warned that it would not solve the supply shortfall.

"A stock release will help to comfort the markets, but this is not the solution. It will only help to reduce the pain in the economy," he said, describing the situation as "very severe."

Birol is set to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while in Canberra and said the two would discuss the IEA's recommended steps for civilians to limit oil demand, such as using public transport where possible, working from home and reducing air travel.

JERUSALEM/TEHRAN - The Israeli military said Monday it had begun wide-scale strikes on Iranian infrastructure targets in Tehran.

In Iran, semi-official Mehr news agency reported that explosions rang out in Tehran early Monday morning.

A British nuclear-powered submarine, HMS Anson, which is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has reportedly traveled nearly 9,000 kilometers from its previous deployment off Australia to take up position in the Arabian Sea in the latest development of the war in Iran.

The United Kingdom government's defense ministry has declined to comment on the report, but if confirmed it would back up its decision to allow the United States to use British air bases to launch attacks on sites in Iran that are targeting the globally-vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

That change of heart by the government was announced after it emerged that Iran had tried to fire missiles at the joint UK and US-maintained military base on the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean.

The Wall Street Journal and broadcaster CNN reported that two missiles were fired at the island of Diego Garcia, but neither reached its target, with one being intercepted, and the other failing in flight.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that the government's position remained that it wanted a swift end of the conflict, and it did not want to be drawn into a regional war, but she said taking defensive action was supporting UK interests.

"As the prime minister has made clear we will provide defensive support against these reckless Iranian threats, but we have not been — and we continue not to be — involved in offensive action," she said. "We will not be drawn into a wider conflict because we think we need to see as swift as possible resolution in the UK national interest but also to support regional stability."

Israeli authorities have claimed that Iran now has the capability to target European cities with its missiles, but British government minister Steve Reed said there was no reason to think that this was likely or even feasible.

When asked why Israel had said this, he said "You would need to speak to the Israelis", while also reiterating Cooper's comments about keeping British nationals and interests safe through what he called "appropriate collective defensive action".

This comment came after the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan issued a joint statement signaling their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the (Hormuz) Strait" as part of efforts to try and bring global energy prices back under control, after the war sent fuel costs soaring.

As a consequence of that, US President Donald Trump has threatened — at 23:44 London time on Saturday — to "obliterate" power plants in Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to all vessels within 48 hours.