Israel Launches New Strikes   03/27 05:58

   Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Iran on Friday after U.S. President 
Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well and gave Tehran 
more time to open the Strait of Hormuz, though there have been no signs of Iran 
backing down.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Israel launched a new wave of strikes on 
Iran on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the 
war were going well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz, 
though there have been no signs of Iran backing down.

   With stock markets reeling and economic fallout from the war extending far 
beyond the Middle East, Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran's chokehold 
on the strait, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is 
usually shipped.

   The United States has offered Iran a 15-point proposal for a ceasefire that 
includes it relinquishing control of the strait, but at the same time has 
ordered thousands more troops to the region -- possibly in preparation for a 
military attempt to wrest the waterway from Iran's tight grip.

   With time running out on a deadline set by Trump for Iran to open the 
strait, after which he had threatened to destroy Iran's energy plants, he 
pushed his self-imposed deadline back to April 6 on Thursday, saying that talks 
on ending the conflict were going "very well." Iran, however, maintains it is 
not engaged in any negotiations.

   Israel's attack Friday "in the heart of Tehran" targeted sites used by Iran 
to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons, the Israeli military said. It 
also hit missile launchers and storage sites in western Iran.

   Smoke also rose over Beirut after a pre-dawn strike, and Lebanon's Health 
Ministry later reported two people were killed. Air raid sirens sounded in 
Israel as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles and 
Iran kept firing missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors, with sirens 
warning of attacks in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

   Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it shot down both missiles and drones 
targeting the capital, Riyadh.

   Kuwait said both its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer 
Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China's "Belt and 
Road" initiative, had sustained "material damage" in attacks.

   It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the 
Gulf Arab states came under assault in the war. Throughout the conflict, China 
has continued to purchase Iranian crude.

   After Wall Street's worst day since the war began, Asian shares mostly fell 
Friday over growing doubts about the chances of de-escalation. Oil prices rose 
again, the Brent crude, the international standard, at $107 a barrel in morning 
trading, up more than 45% since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to 
start the war.

   US pushing diplomatic solution but sending more troops to the region

   Iran's stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, has caused 
growing concerns of a global energy crisis, and appears part of a strategy to 
get the U.S. to back down by roiling the world economy. A Gulf Arab bloc said 
Thursday that Iran is now exacting tolls from ships to ensure their safe 
passage through the waterway.

   Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington had delivered a 15-point "action 
list" to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. The 
list includes restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and re-opening the Strait 
of Hormuz.

   Iran has rejected the U.S. offer and put forth its own five-point proposal, 
which includes reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait 
of Hormuz.

   Diplomats from several countries have been trying to organize a direct 
meeting between envoys from the U.S. and Iran, possibly in Pakistan.

   Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country's 
foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, held phone calls the day before with his 
Turkish and Pakistani counterparts as part of their "intensive efforts" to 
organize the talks.

   Abdelatty said he hoped the tri-country effort would result in "gradual 
de-escalation efforts that would ultimately lead to the end of the war."

   As the diplomatic efforts went on, a group of U.S. ships drew closer to the 
region with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd 
Airborne -- trained to land in hostile territory to secure key territory and 
airfields -- have been ordered to the Middle East.

   Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council is to hold closed consultation on Iran 
on Friday, according to two U.N. diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity 
because the meeting is not public.

   They added that Russia had asked for the meeting on U.S.-Israeli attacks on 
civilian infrastructure in the country, that the U.S., which holds the Security 
Council presidency, had scheduled it.

   Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the 
humanitarian organization's teams in Iran have reported that "countless homes, 
hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed," and that nearly every 
neighborhood in Tehran has sustained damage.

   "Civilians are paying the highest price for this war -- it must end" he said 
in a statement.

   The International Organization for Migration said Friday that 82,000 
civilian buildings, including hospitals and the homes of 180,000 people have 
been damaged in Iran so far.

   "If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster," Egeland 
said. "Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense 
pressure on an already overstretched region."

   Deaths continue to climb, primarily in Iran and Lebanon

   The Israeli army said Thursday it had deployed the 162nd Division into 
southern Lebanon, joining thousands of troops that were moved there after the 
war erupted. Israel says the open-ended invasion is aimed at protecting its 
northern border towns from Hezbollah attacks and uprooting the militant group 
from the area.

   Eighteen people have died in Israel, while four Israeli soldiers have also 
been killed in Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers were severely injured in Lebanon 
on Friday during an "operational accident," the military said.

   Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon and more than 
1,900 people have been killed in Iran.

   At least 13 American troops have been killed and four people in the occupied 
West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states have also died.

   In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 
80 members of the security forces have been killed.