U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in Iran was “very close to over” in clips of an interview set to air Wednesday, while the U.S. military said its blockade on Iranian ports had been “fully implemented.”
Pakistan said Tuesday it was pursuing efforts to help the U.S. and Iran negotiate an end to the war, after Trump told the New York Post earlier that a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days.”
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Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad said talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington were “constructive,” and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts after the two-hour meeting, saying “we’re on the same side of the equation.”
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and has said it won’t abide by any agreements made as a result.
The fighting in the Middle East has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members also have been killed.
Here is the latest:
South Korea secures fuel deals to reduce impact of war
South Korea says it secured 273 million barrels of crude oil and 2.1 million tons of naphtha in agreements with Gulf states and Kazakhstan as it looks to mitigate an energy crunch caused by the war.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to President Lee Jae Myung, said Wednesday the agreements were reached during his visits last week to Kazakhstan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Most of the crude secured for delivery later this year will come from Saudi Arabia, with some shipments routed through the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, Kang said.
Oman will supply about 1.6 million tons of naphtha, a key petrochemical feedstock used in plastics manufacturing that South Korea has largely sourced via the strait.
War-related shortfalls of naphtha have raised concerns about industrial disruption and shortages of medical supplies such as IV bags and syringes.
3 wounded in Tehran by improvised explosive devices
Two remotely operated, improvised explosive devices detonated in Tehran early Wednesday, Iran’s state media reported.
A Revolutionary Guard security source said the explosions slightly injured three people including a member of the paramilitary Basij, an all-volunteer force loyal to the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Republic News Agency said.
The state media agency reported a third device was defused.
Mohammad Balideh, a Revolutionary Guard commander for Tehran region 10, told the Hamshahri newspaper “the situation is normal and under control.”
“Nothing extraordinary happened here, just a limited explosion on the street at the hands of traitorous and unpatriotic elements, with no fatalities or serious damages,” Balideh said.
UN nuclear chief urges strict Iran checks in any deal to end war
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says “very detailed” measures to verify Iran’s nuclear activities must be included in a potential U.S.-Iran agreement to end their war in the Middle East.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in Seoul on Wednesday that “Iran has a very ambitious, wide nuclear program so all of that will require the presence of IAEA inspectors.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round of talks with Iran could happen over the next two days.
The Trump administration has said preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon is a key war aim.
Iran has said it isn’t developing such weapons, but rejected limits on its nuclear program.
Saudi Arabia to deposit $3 billion in Pakistan’s central bank
Saudi Arabia will deposit $3 billion into Pakistan’s central bank, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Wednesday.
The funds will provide a much-needed financial boost to Pakistan, where the economy has come under strain during regional tensions linked to the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Aurangzeb is in Washington to attend meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Aurangzeb said an existing $5 billion Saudi deposit will no longer be subject to an annual rollover arrangement and will instead be extended for a longer period, a government statement said.
Pakistani authorities said earlier this month that the country would return $2 billion deposited by the United Arab Emirates in Pakistan’s central bank in 2019.
Australia and Brunei to avoid energy and food trade restrictions
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah signed a joint statement committing to avoid unjustified energy and food trade restrictions stemming from the Iran war.
They signed the agreement Wednesday while Albanese visited the tiny Southeast Asian nation.
Australia is the biggest trade partner of Brunei, which provides Australia with diesel and fertilizer-grade urea. Albanese said he discussed Brunei potentially increasing the supply of urea.
“What’s guaranteed is that they are not looking at export restrictions on Australia,” he said.
Albanese plans to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday to shore up Australian supplies of gasoline and diesel.
Pakistan prime minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey this week during a diplomatic push to secure a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.
The trip comes days after Islamabad hosted rare negotiations that ended without a formal agreement.
Sharif is attempting to facilitate a second round before a temporary ceasefire expires on April 22.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the visits starting Wednesday and ending Saturday will focus on bilateral relations.
Sharif is expected to discuss ongoing cooperation and regional peace and security with leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In Turkey, Sharif is expected to participate in the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum and hold meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other world leaders.
South Korea provides information about vessels stuck in strait
South Korea says it provided information to Iran, the United States and Gulf nations concerning 26 vessels from South Korea that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea is attempting to secure their safe passage out the strait.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in a legislative hearing Wednesday that officials consider the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a window to ensure the safe exit of the ships from the region.