Live updates: Trump threatens Iran's energy and water if deal isn't reached soon; Tehran calls U.S. plan 'unrealistic'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told a cabinet meeting today that his country has conditions for ending the war, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

“Any decision regarding ending the war will be made only by considering all stated conditions and within the framework of ensuring the dignity, security, and interests of the great Iranian nation,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying.

Pezeshkian's American counterpart, Donald Trump, has threatened to destroy of Iran’s civilian energy and water infrastructure if a deal to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz is not reached soon. 

Two peacekeepers were killed today after “an explosion of unknown origin” destroyed their vehicle in Bani Hayyan, southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force said in a statement.

Two more were wounded, one severely, the statement said.

“This is the second fatal incident in the last 24 hours. We reiterate that no one should ever have to die serving the cause of peace,” the statement said. It added that an investigation had been launched into the incident.

One person was killed in an attack on a service building at a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, the country's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The victim was an employee at the plant, the ministry said, adding that there was also significant material damage to the building.

Kuwait, like many Gulf nations, rely on desalination for their water supply and attacks on such plants are stoking fears across the region.

A spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was quoted by Fars, a semi-official Iranian news agency, as saying that Israel had attacked the plant and had blamed it on Iran.

NBC News was not able to verify who was behind the attack.

In and around Haifa, in northern Israel, NBC News witnessed at least three places that had been hit, likely with Iranian cluster bombs. 

An oil refinery was hit for a second time and pictures showed it on fire. 

In the town of Shefa-Amr, just outside Haifa, at least two houses were hit or nearly hit by cluster munitions. 

One dropped between two houses. All of the windows were shattered, and a teenager was injured in his leg by shrapnel as he was sleeping and he had to go to hospital. 

Monsignor Simon Khoury, a local Greek Melkite Catholic parish priest, visits residents whose house was damaged by a strike in Shefa-Amr in northern Israel today. Jack Guez / AFP - Getty Images

Ukraine’s admission that it is sending experts to the Middle East “constitutes active participation in military aggression against Iran,” the Islamic Republic’s permanent representative to the United Nations said in a letter today, according to state media. 

By doing so “Ukraine incurs international responsibility under international law for aiding or assisting in the commission of an internationally wrongful act,” Amir Saeid Iravani wrote in his letter addressed to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and the organization’s security council, which was released via the official state news agency, IRNA.

“Providing operational and technical assistance that directly contributes to the use of force and acts of aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Deliberately targeting “civilian industrial infrastructure with the aim of economic pressure or collective punishment may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes,” he added. 

Some 20% of Lebanon's population has been displaced since Israel launched the war against Iran and Hezbollah about month ago, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF.

Many of those forced from their homes have experienced repeated upheavals, forced from their homes for "the second, third, or even fourth time," UNICEF representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, said during a during a press briefing in Beirut today.

Children play amid tents at a displacement camp in the Beirut Stadium on Saturday. Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Corsi warned the suffering was disproportionately borne by children, with at least 121 having been killed and hundreds injured. Some 370,000 have been displaced in the last three weeks, he added.

"This is the equivalent of hundreds of school buses filled with children fleeing for their lives every 24 hours," Corsi said.

A ballistic munition launched from Iran into Turkish airspace was neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets in the eastern Mediterranean, the country's defense ministry said on X.

"All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country's territory and airspace, and all developments in the region are being closely monitored with priority given to our national security," the ministry said.

One person was killed and 17 were wounded by Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, the country's Ministry of Public Health said in a statement today.

Children were among the 10 Lebanese people, six Syrians and a Kenyan woman were injured in the strike on the Al-Rahab area, the statement added.

First-responders search a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs today. Anwar Amro / AFP - Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck Iranian air defense sites near the Caspian Sea in northern Iran yesterday.

"The site was concealed within a forested area," it said in a statement, adding that it was about 1,000 miles away from Israel.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has condemned Israeli attacks on his country as well as their “occupation of new territories,” the state-run SANA news agency reported today.

Criticizing “any infringement upon the security and sovereignty of our brotherly Arab states,” al-Sharaa called “upon the international community to fulfill its moral and legal responsibilities,” during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We categorically reject turning our region into an arena for settling scores,” al-Sharaa said, according to SANA.

Christians packed churches across Lebanon on Palm Sunday to commemorate their belief in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

But the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia Muslim political party and militant group, weighed on parishioners.

Catholic worshipers carry their children on their shoulders as they march in a Palm Sunday procession in Beirut yesterday. Emilio Morenatti / AP

Worshippers carried palm leaves and flags near the Our Lady of Hadat Church in Beirut.  Emilio Morenatti / AP

In the coastal city of Tyre, where thousands of residents remain in their homes and in shelters despite Israeli evacuation orders, Christians took comfort in the preservation of their ancient traditions.

Worshippers lit candles at Saint Thomas Cathedral, in the southern port city of Tyre.  Hussein Malla / AP

Israel’s parliament is expected to vote today on a bill that would make the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military court of killing Israelis, a measure that Israel’s European allies say would unfairly target Palestinians under military occupation.

The measure includes provisions requiring sentencing within 90 days with no right to clemency. It was devised by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security ⁠minister who along with other ardent supporters has worn noose-shaped lapel pins in the run-up to the vote.

The bill’s critics say it aims at Palestinians in the West Bank by instructing military courts in the occupied territory to impose the death penalty in cases involving killings of Israelis, except in “special circumstances.” Those courts only try Palestinians and have a near 100% conviction rate, rights groups say.

The vote on the bill is the latest action by members of Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition to cause concern among Israel’s allies in Europe, who have ​also been critical ⁠of Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Iran will "never" be allowed to decide who passes through international waterways.

His comments come as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

"The Iranians are threatening that they're going to set up some permanent system in the Straits of Hormuz where they get to decide who goes through international waterways," Rubio said. "That will never be allowed to happen."

He added that Trump "has several options at his disposal."

"The Department of War is preparing optionality for the president for this and various other contingencies that might arise," Rubio said. "That's what always needs to happen in situations like this."

Iran’s parliament is reviewing a possible exit from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said.

Speaking at a weekly press conference in Tehran earlier today, Baghaei questioned the benefit of remaining part of the treaty, which seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, “when the bully parties at the international level do not allow us to use the benefits and rights attached to it.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and does not still, Baghaei said in comments carried by hard-line news site SNN, as he said Tehran seeks prohibition of any weapons of mass destruction.

The Trump administration has maintained that the goal of its military assault on Iran is, in part, to ensure that it will never have nuclear weapons.

Two Chinese-owned vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the “first confirmed crossing by a major container carrier” since the start of the Iran war, ship tracker MarineTraffic said.

In a post on X earlier today, the tracker said COSCO’s ultra-large container vessels have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, after aborting an initial transit attempt on Friday, “signaling a potential shift in conditions for commercial shipping.”

It cited its data showing that CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean crossing the strait this morning. Both vessels list Chinese ownership and crew details, and are currently bound for Malaysia, MarineTraffic said.

Hundreds of ships have been stranded near the Strait of Hormuz for weeks since the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran has targeted vessels trying to make a crossing in retaliation, effectively stalling marine traffic. The blockade of the critical sea route for the world’s oil and gas has disrupted global marketers and driven up energy prices.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem will be able to conduct liturgies and ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church yesterday.

In a press release earlier this morning, the patriarchate said “the matters concerning the Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been addressed and resolved in coordination with the relevant authorities.”

Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, had attempted to travel to the church within Jerusalem’s Old City with the Rev. Francesco Ielpo, the church’s official guardian, to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, the patriarchate said in a separate statement yesterday. It said the two were stopped en route and compelled to turn back, marking “the first time in centuries” that Palm Sunday Mass could not be celebrated at the church, which is the holiest site in Christianity, built where many believe Jesus was crucified.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. Ammar Awad / AFP - Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that police had intervened to block Pizzaballa “out of special concern for his safety,” claiming that “there was no malicious intent whatsoever.” The statement noted that all holy sites in the Old City, which is home to Christian, Muslim and Jewish sacred sites, were closed to worshippers when the war broke out with Iran in February.

Safeguarding the freedom of worship remains a “fundamental and shared duty,” especially in times of hardship and conflict, the patriarchate’s release from earlier today said. “It is our hope that appropriate arrangements will continue to be found, enabling prayer to take place in places of worship, particularly in the Holy Places of all religions, in a manner that respects both legitimate safety needs and the religious observances and prayers that are of profound importance to hundreds of millions of believers.”

President Trump has threatened to blow up Iran's power plants, oil wells and key oil export hub Kharg Island "if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached" to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route.

“The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," Trump said, repeating his claim that the war has succeeded in regime change despite the continued rule of the clerical regime that was in power prior to the conflict.

"Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched,”" Trump said. Tehran has denied progress in talks.

"This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year “Reign of Terror,”" the president added.

He previously said he was extending his deadline to April 6 for Iran to reopen Hormuz or face massive U.S. strikes on its power plants.

As thousands more American troops arrive in the Middle East to join a widening war, President Trump claims Iran is softening its weekslong blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, allowing 20 boats through the key oil route.

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Tehran will target residences of American and Israeli military commanders and political officials in the Middle East, the spokesman for Tehran's Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said.

In a message carried by the semi-official Fars news agency, the spokesman said the attacks will be in retaliation for “terrorist actions” and “targeting of residential homes of Iranian citizens in various cities” in Iran by the U.S. and Israel.

The U.S.-Israel joint operation has targeted a number of high-profile Iranian leadership figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani, and the United Nations has raised the alarm about the impact of the war on Iranian civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Spain has closed its airspace to U.S. planes involved in the Iran war, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said today.

Spain had already said the U.S. could not use jointly operated military bases in the country for operations related to the conflict.

“This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning. Therefore, neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran,” Robles told reporters.

Spain’s government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been Europe’s most critical voice of U.S. and Israeli military actions in the Middle East.

“I think everyone knows Spain’s position; it’s very clear,” Robles said, calling the war in Iran “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.”

Iran has received messages from intermediaries, including Pakistan, but has had no direct negotiations with the U.S., spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry Esmail Baghaei said today. His comments contradict President Trump.

“Since the last round of talks, what has been presented are messages received via some intermediaries, including Pakistan, indicating America’s desire and request for negotiation,” Baghaei said in a weekly news conference in Tehran this morning. Trump said last night the U.S. was negotiating “directly and indirectly” with Iran and making good progress.

Global trust in America’s diplomatic claims is very limited, Baghaei said, as he blamed the U.S. for continuously changing its positions and making contradictory statements. Iran’s position has been firm, he said. “We know well what our framework is. As I have noted before, the matters communicated to us, under any title such as the 15-point plan, mostly include very excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable requests,” said Baghaei, referring to the proposal sent by U.S. negotiators. 

If regional and neighboring countries are concerned about peace and security, this is commendable, Baghaei added, but a “realistic and fair perspective is necessary” from any mediators, he said, and restraint should not be expected from only one side.

A fire erupted today at a refinery in the northern Israeli city of Haifa for the second time during the monthlong war with Iran, according to footage.

Video showed flames on a large refinery tank with thick black smoke that was quickly extinguished. It wasn’t clear if a missile strike or debris caused the blaze.

Ariel Schalit / AP

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Haifa today. Ariel Schalit / AP

Israel has two refineries. Its strikes on Iran have targeted Iran’s South Pars natural gas field and other petrochemical sites.

An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed three journalists who were covering the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, their TV stations said.

Yesterday mourners were pictured gathering in the Choueifat area on the outskirts of Beirut to attend the funeral for the victims: Al Manar reporter Ali Shaib, Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni.

Mourners pray by coffins in Choueifat, during the funeral ceremony. Sally Hayden / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A poster depicting the victims. Sally Hayden / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A man and children mourn during the funeral service. Jonathan Labusch / Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

The IDF said in a statement that two of the journalists were members of Hezbollah's military wing. It did not offer evidence for the claims. It also said it was "aware of reports that an additional female journalist who was with the terrorists was killed in the strike."

Israeli pesticide maker ADAMA said debris from an interception of an Iranian missile attack yesterday caused damage to a finished good warehouse along with production equipment and systems.

ADAMA, part of Chinese-owned Syngenta Group, said earlier today there were no injuries from the attack that hit its Ne’ot Hovav chemicals plant in southern Israel, which is now closed.

“Efforts are underway to resume normal operations in a gradual and safe manner as soon as possible,” ADAMA said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

“The Company is assessing the impact on its operations and financial results, as well as the expected timeline for restoring the affected facilities to full operation.”

The Israeli military says it has suspended a battalion in the occupied West Bank after what its own inquiry found were “several failures” in the conduct of the soldiers toward journalists in the area.

In a statement released on X earlier this morning, the IDF said that the incident happened when its forces were securing the area during the evacuation of an illegal outpost in Area A of the Israel-occupied West Bank. While the IDF statement did not identify the journalists involved, CNN said its team was detained and assaulted by IDF soldiers in the area last week.

Deficiencies were identified in “behavioral norms, deviations from IDF orders, and inappropriate communication with members of the press in violation of established procedures,” the IDF said. 

“This is a grave ethical incident that is out of line with IDF norms and values,” the statement quoted Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir as saying. “We all swore the soldier’s oath upon enlistment — weapons are to be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the mission, and never for revenge. We will not accept such incidents within the ranks of the IDF.”

Iran has now confirmed the death of the Revolutionary Guards' naval commander, in a statement carried by state media.

Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri attends a military drill in southern Iran in Feb. Sepahnews / Zuma Press via Reuters

Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri succumbed to the severity of his wounds, according to the statement shared by Iran’s official news agency IRNA and semi-official FARS news agency earlier this morning. It comes days after Israel said it killed Tangsiri, who it said was responsible for overseeing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement called Tangsiri a “brave and devoted soldier of the homeland” who, it said, was involved in “strengthening the defensive shield of islands and coastlines targeted by invading enemies."

The IRGC's naval fighters, the statement said, have demonstrated that even with the loss of Tangsiri, they have continued “crushing strikes” and the blockade of Hormuz, a vital oil route whose closure has hit global energy markets.

“Every one of its fighters is a Tangsiri and in the days and months ahead we will see what remarkable surprises they will accomplish,” the statement added. 

Two members of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq were hanged Monday in Iran, state media and the group said.

The two men were identified as Akbar Daneshvarkar and Mohammad Taghavi.

Daneshvarkar had been held for years prior. Amnesty International has said Tehran’s Revolutionary Court convicted the men on charges of armed rebellion against the state “following a grossly unfair trial in October 2024.” It said the men were tortured during interrogations.

Iran’s heavy water nuclear production plant at Khondab has been “severely” damaged and is “no longer operational,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said, citing independent analysis of satellite imagery and knowledge of the installation.

Iran had reported an attack on the facility on Friday, the agency said in a post on X, adding that Khondab “contains no declared nuclear material.”

One person was killed after a Kuwaiti power and water desalination plant was attacked by Iran late last night, the country’s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy said.

In a post on X earlier today, the ministry said a service building at the plant sustained “significant material damage” and one worker, from India, was killed.

The ministry said technical and emergency teams immediately began their work to address the damage and maintain operational efficiency. Desalination plants are crucial to water supplies in the region.

Kuwait’s regional neighbor Qatar condemned the attack, accusing Tehran of “unjustified” attacks on “brotherly countries.”

In new attacks across the Gulf, Saudi Arabia intercepted five missiles, Bahrain sounded a missile alert, and a fireball erupted over Dubai as an incoming missile was taken out by air defenses.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said one peacekeeper was killed and another critically injured yesterday when a projectile exploded at one its positions near the southern village of Adchit al-Qusayr.

“No one should ever lose their life serving the cause of peace,” the mission, known as UNIFIL, said in a statement today, adding that the origin of the projectile was unknown and under investigation.

The Indonesian foreign ministry said today that the peacekeeper who was killed was an Indonesian national and that three others were injured by indirect artillery fire, Reuters reported.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the incident, saying attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. He called for accountability and urged all parties to ensure the safety of U.N. personnel.

UNIFIL peacekeepers have been caught in the middle as Israel clashes with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying yesterday that Israel is expanding its ground campaign in southern Lebanon.

Earlier this month, two peacekeepers from Ghana were critically injured when their battalion’s headquarters was hit by Israeli tank fire.

The governments of two Australian states are offering free public transport as a global energy crisis stemming from Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz sends gas prices soaring.

Starting today until the end of April, public transport will be free across the state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, Premier Jacinta Allan said, “taking pressure off the pump and helping you save.”

“It won’t solve every problem, but it is an immediate step to help Victorians right now,” she said today in a post on X.

In the island state of Tasmania, buses and ferries will be free from today until July 1. “We know the rising cost of fuel is impacting the family budget, and that’s why we have again taken strong and decisive action to protect Tasmanians,” Premier Jeremy Rockliff said yesterday.

Global oil prices jumped and U.S. stock futures slid ahead of today’s market open after the weekend saw Iran-backed Houthi militants launch ballistic missiles at Israel and 3,500 additional U.S. troops arrive in the Middle East as the conflict rounded one month.

Advanced trades on the three major U.S. stock indexes were down as much as 0.5% at 10:20 p.m. ET yesterday. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, surged 3% to more than $116 a barrel, the highest level since the conflict started, while U.S. crude climbed 3% to nearly $103 a barrel.

Investors have begun to question Trump’s ability to assuage markets without material progress on the ground.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday that the U.S. “will make a deal” with Iran and that negotiations between the two countries are going well. “I think we’ll make a deal with them, pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” he told reporters. 

Read the full story here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel’s military will widen its ground campaign in southern Lebanon.

Speaking at a news conference, Netanyahu said an expansion of the country’s “security belt” in Lebanon is intended to “thwart the threat of invasion and to keep the anti-tank missile fire away from our border.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem earlier this month.  Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Israel has been carrying out an invasion of southern Lebanon since Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel in response to its war on Iran, which it launched alongside the U.S. on Feb. 28. Since March 2, nearly 1,200 people have been killed and more than 3,400 have been wounded in Lebanon. Nineteen people have been killed in Israel.

Netanyahu’s announcement is likely to intensify fears that Israel intends to model its invasion of southern Lebanon on its yearslong military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Read the full story here.

Iran said yesterday that it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war.

“The enemy, openly, sends messages of negotiation and dialogue, but secretly is planning a ground attack,” said Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, according to state media outlet IRNA and state-affiliated Tasnim.

The U.S. is “unaware that our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever,” he added.

His comments came hours after The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has drawn up plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran short of a full-scale invasion, even as Trump and key White House figures signal they want to soon draw the conflict to a close. NBC News has not confirmed the report.

Read the full story here.

• Iran says it’s ‘waiting’ for a possible U.S. ground assault as 3,500 troops arrive in Middle East
• Trump says his ‘preference’ would be to ‘take the oil in Iran’
• Netanyahu says Israel will widen invasion of southern Lebanon
• Sen. James Lankford doesn’t rule out supporting ground operations in Iran
• Oil jumps, stocks slide ahead of U.S. stock market open as Iran war rounds one month