US-Israel-Iran War: UN Chief Guterres Urges End to War, Warns on Strait of Hormuz Crisis

Hezbollah Wednesday claimed its air defense units fired surface-to-air missiles toward an Israeli warplane that was conducting strikes over southern Lebanon on Tuesday evening, the Associated Press reported.

Hezbollah said the plane was forced to withdraw, adding it was the first time the group fired surface-to-air missiles against an Israeli warplane since the Israel-Hezbollah war broke out March 2. (AP)

An Egyptian official, speaking on conditions of anonymity to the Associated Press, likened the 15-point plan to Gaza ceasefire’s 20-point plan.

This meant the proposal requires “immense efforts to hamper the details if there is an agreement from both sides to sit down and negotiate," the report quoted.

Mediators are pushing for a possible in-person negotiation between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, according to the Egyptian official and the two Pakistani officials who shared that the proposal had been submitted to Iran. (AP)

Iran received a 15-point proposal from the United States to reach a ceasefire in the war, the Associated Press reported Wednesday quoting two Pakistani officials.

The Pakistani officials described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, the report stated. (AP)

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan Wednesday said that there have been no talks with the United States, as he noted Pakistan is ready to host negotiations if both sides agree.

“We have heard such details through the media … but there have been no negotiations between the two countries, directly or indirectly,” Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam said, according to IRNA.

He added that Pakistan would be “ready and honored to host” talks if Tehran and Washington agree to negotiations, the report stated.

Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that the US claim of seeking talks was not credible, Al Jazeera quoted.

“Look at the facts. Iran is under constant bombardment and missiles by the US and Israel. So their claim of diplomacy and mediation is not credible. Because they have started this war and they are continuing to attack Iran. So can anyone possibly believe that their claim [of] mediation is credible?” he said. (Al Jazeera)

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Wednesday dismissed the US president Donald Trump’s latest claims about talks, Al Jazeera reported.

“We have made it clear yesterday there is no talks or negotiations between Iran and the United States,” he told India Today news channel.

“We’ve had a very catastrophic experience, I should say, of the United States diplomacy. We were attacked two times within a span of nine months when we were in the middle of a negotiating process to resolve the nuclear issue. So this was a betrayal of diplomacy.” (Al Jazeera)

Israel’s Health Ministry Wednesday said that about 204 injured people have been taken to hospitals amid the ongoing hostilities with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon in the last 24 hours, Al Jazeera quoted.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, 5,045 people have been taken to hospitals. Of them, 120 are currently hospitalised, including 12 in serious condition, the report added. (Al Jazeera)

An Israeli strike on a naval outpost in the Caspian Sea targeted Russia’s support for Iran in the war, hitting a supply line that the countries used to move ammunition, drones and other weaponry, Wall Street Journal reported quoting people familiar with the matter.

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Prince Mohammed spoke over phone with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the Iran war and Islamabad’s efforts at supporting ceasefire talks, the Associated Press reported.

Sharif said Islamabad “would always stand by the kingdom and the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia, just as they had always supported Pakistan, through thick and thin.”

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said they discussed “the repercussions of the ongoing military escalation on the security and stability of the region and the world.” (AP)

Thailand Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow Tuesday said a Thai ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz following discussions with Iranian authorities, the Associated Press reported.

He said that Thailand requested passage through the strait for the ship from energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation and a second ship from major petrochemical company SCG Chemicals, the report quoted.

Thailand was informed Monday that the Bangchak ship had successfully navigated the strait and is en route, he said, while the second vessel awaits safe passage.

Bangchak’s website says the ship is a crude oil tanker expected to arrive in Thailand in early April. (AP)

Iranian military spokesperson mocked United States' attempts at a ceasefire deal on Wednesday, insisting that the Americans were only negotiating with themselves, the Associated Press quoted.

In a prerecorded video aired on state television, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, made the statement: “The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” he said. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”

He added: “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?” (AP)