live U.S. and Iran trade threats as World focus' on reopening Strait of Hormuz - Middle East conflict on 3 April
Iran has rejected claims it has been weakened, vowing instead “more crushing” attacks against the United States and ...
U.S. president Donald Trump said Iran is “seriously talking” with the United States and expressed hope that negotiations could lead to an outcome acceptable to Washington.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Donald Trump said discussions with Iran were under way but stopped short of confirming whether a final decision had been made.
“I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable,” Trump said. “But they are talking to us, seriously talking to us.”
Trump added that the U.S. has “very big, powerful ships” heading toward the region, while acknowledging uncertainty over whether a negotiated settlement could be reached.
“Some people think they will make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons, and some people don’t,” he said.
Iranian officials have also been in contact with U.S. allies in the Middle East as part of what Qatar described as efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met senior Iranian official Ali Larijani in Tehran on Saturday to discuss diplomatic avenues.
Masoud Pezeshkian said war would harm both countries and the wider region.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war,” Pezeshkian said during a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, adding that conflict would not be in the interests of Iran, the United States or the Middle East.
The diplomatic signals come against the backdrop of weeks of nationwide protests in Iran, sparked by soaring inflation and rising living costs. Demonstrations began in late December and were followed by a sweeping security crackdown.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says more than 6,700 people have been killed since the protests began, including thousands of demonstrators. Other rights groups report similarly high figures. Iranian authorities have not confirmed those numbers.
Trump has previously urged Iranians to continue protesting and has accused Tehran of killing anti-government demonstrators, comments that have further strained relations.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, both sides have indicated that diplomacy remains possible, as regional and international actors seek to prevent the crisis from tipping into open conflict.
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
There are fears of an oil spill after a drone strike hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai on Tuesday, while U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran reportedly killed at least two people. A loud explosion was heard in Beirut in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel.
Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck in Indonesia's Northern Molucca Sea on Thursday, killing one person, damaging some buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said.
President Donald Trump staunchly defended his handling of the month-old U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in a prime-time address on Wednesday, saying the U.S. military was nearing completion of its mission while also reinforcing his threats to bomb the Islamic Republic back to the Stone Age.
In a highly unusual move highlighting shifting narcotics diplomacy, the U.S. has handed over a Chinese fugitive accused of serious drug crimes to authorities in Beijing.
Russian forces launched a day-long barrage of drone strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city on Thursday (2 April), injuring at least two people and sparking fires across several districts, local officials said.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 3 April, covering the latest developments you need to know
The 2026 World Cup final is setting new records for sports ticketing costs, characterised by unprecedented price hikes and the debut of controversial sales models.
French police detained European Parliament member Rima Hassan in Paris for several hours on Thursday as part of an investigation into an alleged “apology for terrorism”, following a social media post linked to a deadly attack in Israel in the 1970s.
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