Iran war updates: Trump says US ‘not in a hurry’ over talks with Tehran

This live page is now closed, but our 24-hour coverage of the conflict continues.

Join us for all the latest developments, analyses and reactions here.

This live page will close soon. But before we go, here’s a look at some of the main developments:

• US President Trump told Al Jazeera that economic warfare and military strikes are both effective against Iran and that he is “not in a hurry” regarding negotiations because he has “no time schedule”.
• Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is set to travel to Tehran on Thursday to meet Iranian officials and discuss ways to de-escalate tensions and create conditions for dialogue.
• An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson said that Iran and Oman have reached agreements regarding their respective shares of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues.
• The US Treasury Department has designated the UK-based Palestine Action group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”, prompting cofounder Huda Ammori to slam the move as a threat to free speech, while stressing that the group’s purpose is to save lives by disrupting the Israeli war machine.
• Iran’s nuclear chief said that recently targeted nuclear facilities remain unsafe for the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect, adding that the UN watchdog must first establish a specific protocol for such sites.
• According to Iran’s Fars news agency, an Iranian warship confronted an Indian vessel that attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed five people in the last 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Organisations representing Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies and Disclosure of the Fate of the Missing released a statement alleging that Israel is withholding Palestinian human remains.

The statement said Israel’s withholding of bodies “deprives Palestinian families of knowing the fate of their loved ones, bidding them farewell and burying them”.

According to the statement, the campaign and institutions have identified 799 individuals whose remains are still being held.

The Palestinian National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies and Disclosure of the Fate of the Missing is a civil society group that demands Israel release the bodies of Palestinians killed so families can bury them. They also investigate missing persons cases.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has described the US plan to isolate Iran, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, as “pure parody”.

In a post on X, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Washington’s policy made no sense as it was announcing sanctions that already existed.

The US “turns to Bahrain – a country with virtually no meaningful economic exchange with Iran – to prove that its “coalition” is working”, Baqaei said.

Earlier today, US Treasury chief Scott Bessent said he spoke with Bahraini Finance Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalif about maintaining financial pressure on Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has suggested crew on board the troubled USS Abraham Lincoln are “tired” after its lengthy mission in the Middle East.

In a post on X, Esmaeil Baqaei said, “The Americans sent the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region to project power.

He then suggested the US aircraft carrier failed in its mission, saying, “After months of war – and more than 200 days without a single port call – it is now heading to Thailand for crew [rest and relaxation].”

Thai officials said the USS aircraft carrier is set to make a brief stop after more than 250 days at sea.

The prolonged mission raised concerns about the wellbeing of the ship’s crew, with families of the sailors reporting a deterioration in the mental health of the crew and shortages of essential supplies, including food and hygiene products.

Two Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli army gunfire in the town of Beit ‘Anan, just northwest of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Governorate says.

After raiding the town, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters, wounding the two young men, one of whom was shot in the knee, the governorate said.

It added that both were taken to hospital with one in stable condition.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen has slammed Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and extremists in the Israeli government over Tuesday’s raid on a United Nations training centre in the occupied West Bank.

In a post on X, Van Hollen said: “Ben-Gvir & extremists in the Israeli govt want to get rid of UNRWA with the hopes of ensuring that there is no such thing as a Palestinian refugee.”

Ben-Gvir joined the Israeli forces’ raid on the Qalandiya Training Centre, a key facility operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in the Kafr Aqab neighbourhood in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who has accused the UN agency of assisting Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack, said he ordered the raid.

“The world should not continue to sit back & let this happen to UNRWA,” Van Hollen said.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the acting UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has told the UN Security Council that Israeli air strikes since August 12 have killed at least 100 Palestinians in Gaza and injured more than 400 people.

“Conditions in Gaza remain dire despite a nearly year-old ceasefire”, Alakbarov told the UNSC, during a session on rising tensions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Noa Furman, Israel’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, has reiterated calls for Hamas disarmament to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, during a session on rising tensions in the enclave and the occupied West Bank.

“Israel is committed to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict. But the plan cannot succeed while Hamas remains armed,” Furman said.

In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up its attacks on the Gaza Strip, targeting its police force, destroying aid facilities and killing dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, in the process.

“The civilians of Gaza are not Israel’s enemy,” said Furman. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed 73,438 people and injured 174,447, mainly civilians – elderly, women and children, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Iranian authorities are adamant that their country’s domestic capacities will be able to keep their economy afloat, despite new economic sanctions targeting Iran unveiled by the United States this week.

The US aims to use the sanctions to force Iran into submission in the six-month-long war between the two countries. But Iran’s government says it is prepared, with Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh referring to a two-year plan on state television on Monday night.

“We have our own tools, and we also know the game,” Madanizadeh said, in reference to Iran’s years of experience in trying to circumvent sanctions. He added that Tehran could potentially “go on the offensive” in a world where the US was no longer the only dominant force, and was confidant that many countries would effectively reject US President Donald Trump’s threats to cut off all links with Iran.

Stockpiling essential goods, foreign currencies and gold has become a main tactic for Tehran. The government has also been forced to resort to rationing energy in one of the most resource-rich countries in the world.

Read more here. 

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says talks with Qatar’s top diplomat in Tehran on Thursday will focus on Qatari mediation efforts and initiatives, as well as other regional developments.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani’s visit is “taking place within the framework of continuous Iran-Qatar consultations to expand bilateral relations and strengthen regional peace and security”, Baghaei said in a post on Telegram.

He said the Qatari diplomat will “discuss and exchange views with [Iranian] officials on the continuation of Qatar’s mediation efforts and initiatives and other developments in the region”.

Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, has told the UN Security Council that Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land has reached a point of no return.

“Annexation has long been under way, but Israel has now crossed the Rubicon when it comes to full-fledged, full-blown annexation with the release of the tenders for the E1 plan,” Mansour said.

He said that Israel did not care that annexation destroys any prospect for peace in the Middle East.

“This is indeed their objective, as their appetite for colonial conquest is far greater than their concern for their own people,” he said.

Israeli forces have detained brothers Bilal Bassam Ziada and Hamza Bassam Ziada, from Madama village in the occupied West Bank’s Nablus governorate, according to Palestinian sources.

The detentions came following a campaign of Israeli raids in the village, according to the Palestinian Dialogue Forum (PALDF).

Alya Ahmed Saif al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Nations, has told the UN Security Council that Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories must end for there to be durable peace in the region.

“Just, comprehensive and durable peace cannot be achieved without ending Israeli occupation,” said al-Thani, who was speaking for the Arab Group at a council session on rising tensions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

She condemned “ongoing gross Israeli violations” across Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including Israel’s rejection of both a Palestinian state and the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, a US-led multilateral agreement to stop the war, return hostages and rebuild the Gaza Strip.

“This is a direct rejection of the [US President Trump’s] Comprehensive Plan, jeopardizing its implementation and fundamentally undermining collective efforts to achieve just and durable peace,” she stressed, urging the plan’s full implementation.

“Palestinians’ right to self-determination must be upheld”, al-Thani said, welcoming growing international recognition of the state of Palestine.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has welcomed China’s “principled statement” against US sanctions imposed on Iran.

Ghalibaf said in a post on X: “We welcome China’s principled statement rejecting illegal sanctions against Iran.”

“The Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership is rooted in mutual respect, win-win cooperation, and a shared vision for a multipolar world. This relationship needs no one’s permission,” he said.