Apart from crimping oil and gas supplies, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is also having a negative impact on the construction sector in India, which has enjoyed a boom in recent years.

The cement industry will be hit as a significant portion of India's bitumen and limestone comes from Gulf countries, including Iraq, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain, experts said. There are also worries that the steel sector — where limestone is a vital input — could suffer from supply chain disruptions.

A potential slowdown in the construction sector could pose challenges and hinder India's overall economic growth prospects, they warned.

The infrastructure, housing and commercial construction sectors are a high priority in India for sustaining faster economic growth, said Karori Singh, former director of the South Asia Studies Centre at the University of Rajasthan in India.

"The construction of roads and bridges for a faster supply chain" and the government's 'Housing for All' program are heavily dependent on efficient supplies of raw materials and energy, Singh said, noting that the resources are also crucial for meeting the construction demand stemming from faster urbanization.

India's highway program is still expanding. The National Highways Authority of India completed about 10,660 kilometers in the financial year ended March 2025, and has earmarked $30.6 billion to match that pace this fiscal year, but engineers and construction companies warn that the turbulence in the Middle East is raising costs and risks.

"The shock wave won't stop at fuel," Partha Pratim Biswas, who teaches construction engineering at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, told China Daily. "Housing, metros, flyovers — everything runs on steel and cement, and both depend on raw materials shipped through the Strait of Hormuz."

Around 40 percent of India's roughly 9 million metric tons of annual bitumen demand is met through imports, according to industry estimates. A significant percentage of the material comes from the Middle East and passes through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been disrupted in the past few weeks due to US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Bitumen, as a petroleum by-product, comes from crude oil refining. Benoy Majumdar, managing director of Mackintosh Burn Ltd, sources bitumen from Indian state-owned oil refineries — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum — all of which depend on imported crude.

As crude oil supply is hit, the supply of bitumen is also affected, leading to a slowdown in projects and cost overruns, Mazumder said. "When crude supply is disrupted, our project schedules and margins bleed."

Apart from bitumen, the UAE is a critical supplier, accounting for roughly 79 percent of India's high-grade limestone flux imports. These are used in the steel and cement industries. The Strait of Hormuz is the primary shipping route for these significant raw material shipments.

"We mine two-thirds of limestone domestically under environmental caps; the missing third is critical," said Biswas from Jadavpur University.

If steel output stutters, prices spike and flagship projects would start to creak, according to him.

The property market in the city of Mumbai is also under strain, said Sanjay Agarwal, a stockbroker. He said in an interview with China Daily that construction costs have risen alongside crude and steel prices, while wardriven risk aversion has reduced the demand from multinational companies for office space and tightened equity-market liquidity.

The conflict in the Middle East is "causing unmitigated pain for real estate across India, including Mumbai, the country's financial capital. From project timelines to project costs — everything seems to be going for a toss", Agarwal said, wondering when there would be an end to the crisis.

According to Singh, supply shortages and increased prices of bitumen, limestone and energy will adversely affect the construction sector, which is a major source of employment.

Arunava Das is a freelance journalist for China Daily in Kolkata.

Contact the writers at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com.

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has told aides that he's willing to end the US-Israeli war with Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday night, citing Trump administration officials.

Trump and his aides recently assessed that a mission to pry open the crucial global energy waterway would push the war with Iran beyond his timeline of four to six weeks, said the report.

Senior ministers from the Group of Seven countries held a virtual conference on Monday to assess the economic impact of the war in Iran amid soaring global energy prices.

One month on from the start of airstrikes by the United States and Israel, Iran's response has been to halt all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important routes on the planet for energy supplies.

The meeting was due to include other relevant stakeholders and parties, including heads of global banks and international agencies, as well as national finance and energy ministers.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the Middle East crisis was being felt differently around the world, which is why so many people would be involved in the meeting.

"There are already differences in the responses largely linked to differences in exposure to the crisis," Lescure said, noting that Asia was feeling particularly vulnerable.

"That is one of the reasons why we wanted to convene a G7 of finance, energy and central banks," he said.

The meeting will be the fourth held by the G7 since the outbreak of the conflict, indicating the seriousness of the situation and the lack of progress so far.

The US has already sought backing from G7 nations in its bid to break the Strait of Hormuz deadlock. However, it has been heavily criticized for the lack of clarity about its aims in the conflict and for the uncertainty about when it is likely to end.

"We need an exit, not an escalation in this war," said Kaja Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission.

"And that means there has to be a diplomatic solution so that this region will come out of it stronger and actually more peaceful. Therefore, it can only be a diplomatic solution, sit down and negotiate to have a way out," she said.

'Wrong approach'

The United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was expected to tell other G7 countries that, in the current climate, unilateral actions, such as the imposition of new trade barriers, were entirely the wrong approach and could exacerbate energy security difficulties.

According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, Reeves was going to tell the group that its members "should act together, not in ways that shift pressure onto partners or weaken collective resilience".

It is thought that so far, as many as 3,000 people may have been killed in Iran, and a further 1,000 in an overspill of the conflict into Lebanon.

Last week, G7 foreign ministers met and called for a halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure and said it was an "absolute necessity" for Iran to reestablish free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com

Iran has accused the United States of plotting a ground attack even as Washington publicly pushed for a negotiated deal, while US and Israeli forces continued their strikes on the country on Monday and US President Donald Trump openly floated seizing Iran's Kharg Island oil infrastructure.

It came as Pakistan hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt on Sunday for a high-level meeting aimed at de-escalating the conflict.

The discussions lasted several hours. Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar described the talks as "detailed and in-depth", announcing that Islamabad would host US-Iran negotiations "in the coming days".

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran, relaying messages and coordinating back-channel communications. However, there was no immediate response from Washington or Tehran, and it remained unclear whether the talks would be direct or indirect.

As the conflict entered its fifth week, the Pentagon has bolstered its military presence in the region, fueling speculation over a potential ground incursion. Trump said he wants to "take the oil" in Iran, reviving the idea of seizing Kharg Island.

"Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't. We have a lot of options," he told the Financial Times in an interview published early on Monday.

But launching an amphibious assault on Kharg would require passing through the Strait of Hormuz and most of the Gulf.

Joe Kent, a former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, who stepped down recently, warned in remarks in an article in The Washington Post that any occupation of Kharg Island would be strategically unsound and could prove "disastrous, exposing US troops to severe danger both there and across the region".

Meanwhile, Tehran said its armed forces are well prepared to confront US troops. "The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a statement on Sunday.

Iran's Navy Commander Shahram Irani also warned on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln would face shore-to-sea missile strikes if it entered what he described as Iran's strike range.

Fresh strikes

On Monday, the Israeli military launched a fresh wave of airstrikes across Iran, targeting sites from the Persian Gulf coast and southern islands to northern cities. Iranian media reported that a facility at the Tabriz Petrochemical Company was hit again. Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran's heavy water production plant in Khondab is no longer operational following an Israeli military strike.

Iran's Ministry of Energy reported widespread power outages on Sunday in Tehran, its surrounding areas and neighboring Alborz Province,"following attacks on electricity infrastructure". Authorities later said the outages were quickly resolved via grid adjustments.

It remained unclear, however, whether the strikes were linked to US threats to target Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure unless Tehran accepts a ceasefire deal. Trump extended his deadline by 10 days to April 6, as Washington put forward a peace plan.

Iran, meanwhile, has ramped up pressure on its Gulf neighbors. Kuwait announced an Indian worker was killed in an attack on a power and desalination plant, in one of the most significant attacks in the Gulf over the past 24 hours. The incident came shortly after Iranian energy facilities in Tehran were targeted.

Other Gulf states on Monday also reported intercepting drones and missiles. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five missiles targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province, Bahrain sounded a missile alert, and a fireball was seen over Dubai as an incoming missile was taken out by defenses.

The conflict has disrupted global oil and natural gas supplies, and triggered fertilizer shortages. Brent crude, the international benchmark, neared $117 a barrel on Monday — up nearly 60 percent since Feb 28 when the conflict began.

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn.

Iran has accused the United States of plotting a ground attack even as Washington publicly pushed for a negotiated deal, while US and Israeli forces continued their strikes on the Islamic republic on Monday and US President Donald Trump openly floated seizing Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub.

It came as Pakistan hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt on Sunday for a high-level meeting aimed at deescalating the conflict.

The four-way consultations lasted several hours. Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar described the talks as "detailed and in-depth", announcing that Islamabad would host US-Iran negotiations "in the coming days".

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran, relaying messages and coordinating backchannel communications. However, there was no immediate response from Washington or Tehran, and it remained unclear whether the talks would be direct or indirect.

As the war entered its fifth week, the Pentagon has bolstered its military presence in the region, fueling speculation over a potential ground incursion. Trump said he wants to "take the oil" in Iran, reviving the idea of seizing Kharg Island.

"Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't. We have a lot of options," he told the Financial Times in an interview published early on Monday.

But launching an amphibious assault on Kharg would require passing through the Strait of Hormuz and most of the Persian Gulf.

Joe Kent, a former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center who recently stepped down, warned in remarks to the Washington Post that any occupation of Kharg Island would be strategically unsound and could prove "disastrous, exposing US troops to severe danger both there and across the region".

Meanwhile, Tehran said its armed forces are well prepared to confront US troops.

"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack. Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all," Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a statement on Sunday.

Iran's Navy Commander Shahram Irani also warned on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln would face shore-to-sea missile strikes if it entered what he described as Iran's strike range.

On Monday, the Israeli military launched a fresh wave of airstrikes across Iran, targeting sites from the Persian Gulf coast and southern islands to northern cities. Iranian media reported that a facility at the Tabriz Petrochemical Complex was hit again. Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran's heavy water production plant in Khondab is no longer operational following an Israeli military strike.

Iran's Ministry of Energy reported widespread power outages on Sunday in Tehran, its surrounding areas and neighboring Alborz Province, "following attacks on electricity infrastructure". Authorities later said the outages were quickly resolved via grid adjustments.

It remained unclear, however, whether the strikes were linked to Trump's threats to target Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure unless Tehran accepts a ceasefire deal. Trump extended his deadline by 10 days to April 6, as Washington put forward a 15-point peace plan.

Iran, meanwhile, has ramped up pressure on its Gulf neighbors. Kuwait announced an Indian worker was killed in an attack on a power and desalination plant, in one of the most significant attacks in the Gulf over the past 24 hours. The incident came shortly after Iranian energy facilities in Tehran were targeted.

Other Gulf states on Monday also reported intercepting drones and missiles. Saudi Arabia intercepted five missiles targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province, Bahrain sounded a missile alert, and a fireball was seen over Dubai as an incoming missile was taken out by defenses.

The war has already disrupted global oil and natural gas supplies, triggered fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, neared $117 a barrel on Monday — up nearly 60 percent since Feb 28 when the war began.

JERUSALEM - A fire broke out at the Haifa oil refinery in northern Israel following a recent round of missile attacks launched by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, Israel's Channel 12 reported on Monday.

It remains unclear whether the facility was directly hit by a missile or struck by debris from an intercepted projectile, the report said.

China supports all efforts conducive to de-escalation, cooling the situation and the resumption of dialogue in ending the Middle East conflict, and calls on all parties to start the peace talk process as soon as possible, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

Mao's remarks came after Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said that both Washington and Tehran have expressed confidence in Pakistan to facilitate talks aimed at ending the ongoing conflict. Dar raised the possibility after a meeting in Islamabad over the weekend with the foreign ministers of Turkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to discuss the regional situation.

"We appreciate Pakistan's efforts to promote the easing of the situation and support Pakistan in continuing to play its mediation role," the spokeswoman said.

China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Pakistan and all other relevant parties to jointly promote peace, end hostilities and safeguard regional peace and stability, Mao added.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday expressed doubts that the US and Israel had a clear strategy to end the war in Iran, but said his country would be ready to take part in any stabilization mission after the end of hostilities.

His comments came on the same day foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations, or G7, met in Paris, France and agreed to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route, but only after the war ends.

"I'm just not convinced that what Israel and the US are doing right now will actually succeed," Merz said at a forum organized by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, or FAZ, newspaper in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Is regime change really the goal?" he said. "If that's the goal, I don't think you'll achieve it. It's mostly gone wrong" in past conflicts, he said, pointing to the Afghanistan war.

"I have serious doubts about whether there is a strategy and whether that strategy is being implemented successfully. In that regard, it could take longer, and things probably won't improve," he added.

Fighting has intensified since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb 28. Tehran has responded with repeated drone and missile attacks against Israel and Gulf states that host US forces.

Merz argued the US and Israel "are becoming more deeply entangled in this conflict every day", and cautioned that regime change in Tehran — if that is the aim — is not achievable by military means.

Merz stressed the confrontation is not a NATO fight and said US President Donald Trump appears to recognize that.

"I believe that at least the US government — and probably the president as well — has now accepted that we cannot support this. But we have, of course, offered to organize, for example, military protection of the Strait of Hormuz together with others in the event of a ceasefire," Merz said.

"This requires an international mandate. It requires approval from the German Bundestag (parliament) and a prior cabinet decision. We are far from that, and as long as the war continues, it is not an option for us either," he added.

G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris said a postwar mission would secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noel Barrot, said: "There is a very broad consensus within the international community to preserve the common good of freedom of navigation.

"It is out of the question to live in a world where international waters are closed to navigation, particularly in the context of conflicts that do not concern the countries that need this navigation to continue."

An international mission to escort vessels will operate "once calm has been restored" and "in a strictly defensive posture" according to international law, Barrot added.

"It will necessarily happen one way or another," he said, evoking the law of the sea.

"With each passing day, the situation worsens due to the lack of shipping traffic from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world."

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com

TEHRAN -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday its air defense has struck a US F-16 Fighting Falcon and an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's southern airspace.

Making the announcement in a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the US fighter jet and drone were hit during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division against heavy industries belonging to the United States and Israel.

It added that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also confessed that its F-16 Fighting Falcon was targeted.

In a post on social media platform X, CENTCOM said, "A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at a base in the Middle East after a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury."

The development came amid heightened 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.

TEHRAN -- A heavy water research reactor facility in central Iran's Khondab was attacked by US-Israeli airstrikes on Friday, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

No casualties or danger to residents in the area have been reported so far, Fars added, citing local authorities.

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran later confirmed the attack.

Meanwhile, a yellowcake production plant in central Iran's Yazd province was also hit by US-Israeli strikes, with no radioactive leaks reported so far, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The plant, inaugurated in May 2023, produces yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions and serving as an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores.

Separately, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Friday that two people were killed and two others injured in US-Israeli strikes on a cement plant in the southwestern Fars province.

Earlier in the day, Fars news agency reported that two steel plants in Iran's Isfahan and Khuzestan provinces came under separate US and Israeli strikes on Friday.

The fresh attacks came amid a nearly month-long US-Israel-Iran conflict starting from Feb 28, with heavy fighting continuing between the relevant parties and no breakthrough on a ceasefire.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering deploying up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give US President Donald Trump more military options beyond diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The force, likely to include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division already ordered to the region, said the report, citing Department of Defense officials.

It is unclear exactly where the forces will be deployed in the Middle East, but they are expected to be within striking distance of Iran and its Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub, the report added.

"All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War. As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal," Anna Kelly, deputy White House press secretary, was quoted as saying.

Trump said earlier on Thursday that he would pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 more days, until April 6 at 8 pm Eastern Time, claiming that talks between the two sides were "going very well."

Iran has publicly rejected a 15-point peace plan proposed by the White House but is privately considering meeting with unspecified US negotiators in Pakistan in the coming days, said a report from The New York Times.

The United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, driving up oil prices and shaking the global economy.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, claiming that talks between the two sides are "going very well."

"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 PM, Eastern Time," Trump said on social media platform Truth Social.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," Trump wrote.

US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a social media post on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the United States and Israel began massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28.

Trump on Saturday gave Tehran 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that otherwise Washington could strike Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. Tehran responded by signaling it would retaliate across the region if such attacks went ahead.

On Monday, Trump said that he had ordered the military to delay strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities for five days after what he called "productive" talks with Iran, though Iran denied any such contact.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran has allowed 10 "boats of oil" through the Strait of Hormuz, including eight bearing Pakistani flags, touting this as a "present" to the United States amid reported US-Iran "indirect talks."

The development marked proof that Washington had engaged in "very substantial talks" with Iranian negotiators, Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting.

"I guess we're dealing with the right people," Trump added, declining to name who the United States is talking with.

"They said, 'To show you the fact that we're real and solid and we're there, we're going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight boats, eight big boats of oil,'" Trump said. "They were right and they were real."

Iranians also sent two additional boats "to apologize for something they said," Trump claimed.

The president also suggested that taking over Iran's oil supply is "an option."

"I mean, I wouldn't talk about it, but it's an option," Trump said.

Trump added that the raid and forcible seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan 3 has helped the United States bring in "billions and billions of dollars."

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that the US-Iran "indirect talks" are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.

The United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, sending oil prices soaring and shaking the global economy.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated the four-to-six-week timeframe he claimed to have set at the outset of the war against Iran, which is now in its fourth week with no clear end in sight.

"We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission, and we're way ahead of schedule," Trump said during a meeting at the White House.

"If you look at what we've done in terms of the destruction of that country, I mean, we're way ahead," Trump said. "Twenty-six days in, we're extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule."

Meanwhile, Trump dismissed reports that he was eager to end the war through diplomacy, saying it was Iran that had moved to restart talks and that it is up to Iran to convince him to stop the strikes.

"They are begging to work out a deal," Trump claimed.

Trump has told associates that he wants the war to be brought to an end in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

A CNN report said Wednesday that the White House was working to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off-ramp to end the war.

The United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting global shipping, sending oil prices soaring and shaking the global economy.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday confirmed that the White House has sent a 15-point plan to Tehran via Pakistan in an attempt to end the war with Iran.

"I can report to you today that we have, along with your foreign-policy team, presented a 15-point action list that forms the framework for a peace deal. This has been circulated through the Pakistani government, acting as the mediator," Witkoff told Trump at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

The plan has "resulted in strong and positive messaging and talks," said Witkoff.

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar confirmed on X that his country is serving as an intermediary, saying the 15-point plan is "being deliberated upon by Iran."

However, at the start of the cabinet meeting, Trump dismissed reports that he was seeking to end the war through diplomacy, saying it was Iran that had moved to restart talks and that it is up to Iran to convince him to stop the strikes.

"They are begging to work out a deal," Trump argued.

"We'll see if they want to do it," said Trump. "In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away unimpeded."

A CNN report said Wednesday that the White House is trying to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off-ramp to end the military conflict with Iran.

US Vice President JD Vance may travel to Pakistan for the talks, said the report.

Under President Ilham Aliyev's instructions, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Emergency Situations has sent humanitarian aid to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The humanitarian aid includes about 30 tons of food products.

According to Emil Hasanzade, Director of the Reserves Control Department of the State Reserves Agency of Azerbaijan, the aid includes 10 tons of flour, 6 tons of rice, 2.4 tons of sugar, more than 4 tons of drinking water, about 600 kilograms of tea, as well as about 2 tons of medicines and medical supplies.

He underlined that the vehicles loaded with humanitarian aid are already being dispatched and will be delivered to their destination in the shortest possible time.

The humanitarian aid was organized following a telephone conversation between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian on March 8 to support the current needs of the neighboring and friendly Iranian people.

The humanitarian aid convoy is being accompanied by authorized officials of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers Niyazi Rahimov and Gurban Sadigov to the Iranian city of Astara.

AZERTAC

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump will "unleash hell" if Iran refuses to make a deal over the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell," she said at a White House press briefing. "Any violence beyond this point," she said, will be because Iran "refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."

Leavitt declined to reveal whom Washington is negotiating with over how to end the war with Iran.

"We're not going to get into the details of these negotiations and conversations that continue to take place as, of course, you can imagine, they are very sensitive diplomatic discussions," she said.

Leavitt argued the war, breaking out on Feb 28, remains on track to endure for four to six weeks.

There are no talks or negotiations between Iran and the United States, said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei in an exclusive interview with India Today on Wednesday.

"No one can trust US diplomacy," Baghaei said, noting that Iran had a very catastrophic experience with US diplomacy, evidenced by US attacks during negotiations over the nuclear issue in the past.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman of Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the United States is negotiating with itself due to its internal strife.

He urged the United States to stop disguising its defeat as "an agreement," adding, "the strategic power the enemies would brag about has turned into a strategic defeat."

BEIRUT -- Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had destroyed eight Israeli Merkava tanks in the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon as its clashes with the Israeli forces continued along the border.

Hezbollah later reported that it had targeted the forces assigned to recover destroyed vehicles and evacuate the wounded, hitting them with rocket salvos and artillery shells.

Earlier in the day, Naim Qassem, secretary-general of Hezbollah, said that the group will continue what he described as a "defensive battle" against Israel, urging national unity and rejecting calls to disarm amid ongoing hostilities.

Hezbollah entered the confrontation on March 2 by launching rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire on Nov 27, 2024, prompting Israel to carry out an intensified military campaign targeting multiple areas across the country.

TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the beginning of the US and Israeli attacks on the country late last month.

He made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV.

"Since a few days ago, the American side has started sending different messages through different intermediaries. When messages are relayed to us through friendly countries and we, in response, declare our positions or issue the necessary warnings, it is called neither negotiation nor dialogue. There has merely been an exchange of messages through our friends, and we have repeated our principled positions," Araghchi said.

He added that in some messages, Iran warned the United States against attacking its infrastructure, which caused Washington to withdraw its warning to strike Iranian power plants within 48 hours.

Araghchi said that Iran does not seek war, stressing "We did not begin this war and want an end to it, however, in a way that it is not repeated."

He noted that Iran does not want a ceasefire as it would be a repetition of the same "vicious circle" of negotiation, war, and truce, emphasizing that "We want an end to this war on our own terms."

Araghchi said that Iran's current policy is to continue resistance and defend the country, and there is no plan for holding negotiations.

On the Strait of Hormuz, he noted that the waterway is considered part of the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, adding that Iran is studying "new arrangements for safe passage through the strait."

The Iranian foreign minister's remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed that Tehran is negotiating with the United States and wants a deal to end the war.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then 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, and exercising tight control over the Strait of Hormuz, not allowing safe passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

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.