Tehran reportedly said the fighting will end only after it achieves its “strategic goals,” aiming to permanently resolve the conflict
Published 24 Mar, 2026 19:15
| Updated 25 Mar, 2026 15:32
FILE PHOTO. Smoke rises above Tehran, Iran after US-Israeli airstrike on March 13, 2026. © Getty Images / Fatemeh Bahrami; Anadolu
Iran has rejected a US ceasefire proposal and turned down negotiations with Washington, framing them as “illogical” at this point in the conflict, the Fars News Agency has reported citing an informed source in Tehran.
Iranian officials reportedly intend to end the hostilities only after Iran achieves its “strategic goals” and insist on a permanent solution to the conflict instead of a temporary ceasefire, according to the source.
Western media outlets had previously reported that the US has been trying to establish a one-month ceasefire mechanism with Iran and that US President Donald Trump has been seeking an off-ramp from the war and has sent Tehran a 15-point plan to end the conflict
Fars News has reported that there have indeed been increased efforts by the US to launch backchannel talks with Iran, but noted that Tehran has refused to engage in them.
Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has claimed that talks between Iran and the US could take place as early as this weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan. The discussions are expected to focus on missiles, Iran-aligned militias, and security guarantees for Tehran.
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Here are the latest developments:
- President Trump claimed the US has already “won” and ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran are the reason why he postponed military strikes on Iranian power plants for five days.
- Tehran has denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and are being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets.” Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday morning.
- Iranian media claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln was hit by a cruise missile. The US has not reported any damage, saying all missiles launched at the ship were knocked down.
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Tehran has said “non-hostile” ships are free to sail through the Strait of Hormuz as long as they are not linked to aggression against Iran.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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25 March 2026
15:48 GMT
Russia may not be able to satisfy the demand for oil as more countries look for alternative sources for crude, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned.
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”The demand is high,” he said, adding that “there could come a point when the additional demand will be difficult to meet.”
Previously, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev indicated that Russia plans to prioritize energy exports to its closest neighbors which face “fewer risks” and will also “reconsider the logistics of oil transportation.”
- 15:33 GMT
Tehran has received Washington’s 15-point settlement proposal but has dismissed it as “extremely maximalist and unreasonable,” a high-ranking diplomatic source told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
The source also dismissed media portrayals of the plan, stating that it “is not beautiful even on paper,” calling it deceptive and misleading.
- 15:27 GMT
Iran has put forward a list of conditions for the settlement of the conflict with the US and Israel, Iranian state media outlet Press TV has reported citing a government official.
The demands include:
- An end to aggression by the enemy
- Establishment of concrete guarantees preventing the recurrence of war
- Clear determination, guaranteed payment of war damages, compensation
- Comprehensive end to the war across all fronts, including against all resistance groups
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Recognition of Tehran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz as its natural, legal right
- 13:52 GMT
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has rejected the call by Lebanese president Joseph Aoun to engage in direct talks with Israel, which is carrying out a military operation in the south of the country.
”When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender,” Qassem said. There can be no discussions “with an enemy that occupies our land and carries out daily attacks,” he added.
FILE PHOTO: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivering a video-address. © Getty Images / Daniel Carde
- 13:40 GMT
Iran “does not accept a ceasefire” with the US and considers engaging in talks with Washington “illogical” at the current time, Fars news agency has reported, citing an informed source.
The fighting will only stop after Tehran achieves its “strategic goals” in the conflict, the source stressed. The Iranian authorities are looking for permanent end to the crisis, not a ceasefire, they added.
Other sources confirmed to Fars that there have been increased efforts by the US to launch indirect talks, but Iran declined to engage in them.
- 13:17 GMT
Footage has emerged online, purported to show an Iranian missile hitting an industrial area in the Israeli city of Dimona, which hosts a nuclear research institute.
- 12:53 GMT
The Israeli government has allowed the IDF to call up 400,000 reservists in light of the conflicts with both Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Times of Israel has reported. The previous cap, approved in late 2025, stood at 280,000.
“The framework is intended to address challenges across the various arenas,” the Israeli military said.
According to the IDF, it is not planning to call up that many reservists, but the new ceiling should allow it more “flexibility” in approaching its operational needs.
Israeli troops standing next to an uploaded Iranian missile. © Getty Images / Erik Marmor
- 12:30 GMT
RT’s Marina Kosareva has looked into the Israeli tactics of decapitation strikes in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, which disregard civilian losses and lead to whole families being wiped out. “The more they kill, the more people want revenge, and so it goes in circles,” she said.
- 12:17 GMT
Iran has set “a high bar” for entering peace talks with the US, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Tehran’s primary demands include the closure of all American military bases in the Persian Gulf, new rules for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz that would allow the Iranian authorities to collect payments from vessels, the lifting of all sanctions against Iran, guarantees from Washington that it won’t resume military action, the cessation of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and exclusion of the issue of the Iranian ballistic missile program from the agenda of any future negotiations.
- 11:57 GMT
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called the US-Israeli war against Iran “an absolute disaster,” which was launched to “feed the interests of the usual suspects.”
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“And all for what? To undermine international law, destabilize the Middle East, reignite conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon, and bury Gaza under the rubble of oblivion and indifference,” he told the parliament.
The conflict is “an absurd and illegal war. A cruel one that sets us back from achieving our economic, social, and environmental goals,” the prime minister said.
Sanchez suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “seeks to inflict the same level of damage and destruction” in Lebanon as the IDF did on Gaza during the conflict with Hamas.
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24 March 2026
19:16 GMT
Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 36%, its lowest level since he returned to office for a second presidential term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll showed a drop from 40% in the previous week, amid rising fuel prices and growing disapproval of the war with Iran.
Support for American strikes on Iran also declined, with 35% approving and 61% disapproving, the poll found.
Public sentiment regarding the cost of living has deteriorated, with only 25% approving of Trump’s handling of the issue. This disapproval comes as petrol and gasoline prices have increased following the US strikes on Iran, which have caused disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
- 19:16 GMT
The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify the exact location where the troops would be deployed or when they were expected to arrive in the region.
- 19:17 GMT
US President Donald Trump has claimed Iran “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapons”.
“[Tehran] talking to us and they’re talking sense… It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding: “I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.”
- 19:28 GMT
Trump has claimed Iran had given the US a gift “worth a tremendous amount of money” related to oil and gas. However, he didn’t specify what the gift was but said it was related to the Strait of Hormuz.
- 19:54 GMT
Trump has said that Gulf allies have met his expectations amid the ongoing war with Iran, once again criticizing NATO countries as falling short.
“UAE has been hit so hard,” he added. At least eight people there were killed and 161 injured since the US and Israel started their war on Iran.
Trump also praised several Gulf partners individually, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
Trump has previously called NATO allies “cowards” for not assisting the US in securing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route for oil.
- 21:08 GMT
Pope Leo XIV has lamented that “hatred is increasing, and the violence is getting worse and worse.”
“I want to renew the appeal for a ceasefire, to work for peace, but not with weapons, rather through dialogue, truly seeking a solution for everyone,” he told journalists.
There are more than a million displaced people and many dead… I invite all the authorities to truly work through dialogue to resolve the problems.
- 21:32 GMT
A US-Israeli strike hit the territory of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has said.
Fortunately, the attack “resulted in no human, financial, or technical damage,” it said. “Targeting peaceful nuclear facilities is a blatant violation of international rights and regulations and a serious threat to regional security.”
The IAEA has been informed by Iran that another projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant today. According to Iran, there was no damage to the NPP itself nor injuries to staff, and the condition of the plant is normal. IAEA DG @rafaelmgrossi reiterates call… pic.twitter.com/PngRf4w23O
— IAEA — International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) March 24, 2026
- 21:35 GMT
At least seven people, including an infant, were injured in a missile strike on the Bnei Brak area east of Tel Aviv, according to Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom.
pic.twitter.com/nIadUSgFta
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 24, 2026
- 21:38 GMT
The IDF has detected another wave of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and is warning residents to seek shelter until further notice.
- 22:02 GMT
President Trump has described the March 4 friendly fire incident in which the US lost three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets as a “little mishap.”
“Kuwait, they had a little mishap. They shot down three planes with our missiles. They happened to be our planes,” Trump told journalists, suggesting that the jets were downed by the US-made Patriot missile defense system.
“The Kuwaitis made a mistake; they thought they were firing at the enemy… But the pilots made it. Can you imagine – the pilots saw what was coming, and they said ‘those are Patriots, we are not gonna escape Patriots.’ Pretty amazing that they got out,” he said.
While early reports initially suggested the use of ground-based systems like Patriot missiles, later analysis pointed to the possibility that a Kuwaiti F/A-18 pilot may have fired air-to-air missiles after misidentifying the US jets.
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