Iran Says All Diplomatic Channels, Indirect Talks With US Frozen After Trump’s Latest Threat

An Iranian official early Tuesday issued a video message calling on youths of the Islamic Republic to form “human chains” around power plants in the country ahead of threatened strikes by U.S. President Donald

Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, issued the video call in a newscast.

“I invite all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors,” he said.

Gather “Tuesday at 2 p.m. around the power plants that are our national assets and capital, regardless of any taste or political viewpoint, belong to the future of Iran and to the Iranian youth.”

Iran has formed human-chain demonstrations, also known as human shields, in the past around its nuclear sites at times of heightened tensions with the West.

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s had similar human-shield demonstrations during the 1991 Gulf War. He also dispersed foreign nationals held by his security services to possible targets of the U.S.-led campaign during the war.

Israel claimed the recent wave of airstrikes targeting Iran’s capital, Tehran, but offered no immediate details on what had been targeted.

Already, Israel had faced one missile barrage from Iran on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia said early Tuesday that seven ballistic missiles launched from Iran were directed at the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province, with missile debris falling near energy installations.

In a brief statement, Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said an assessment of the situation is underway but did not provide details on the scale of damage.

Authorities also did not specify which energy facilities may have been affected by the incident.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed alarm over a social media threat by U.S. President Donald Trump warning of attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rhetoric was concerning and urged all sides to respect international law.

“Any attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very clear one,” Dujarric said, adding that the UN chief has called for dialogue and warned the conflict risks expanding into a wider regional war.

The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, closed early Tuesday over threats from Iranian attacks.

The King Fahd Causeway Authority made the announcement in a post on X.

It said vehicle movements had been “suspended as a precautionary measure” over Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The 25-kilometer (15.5-mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.

While there’s been no formal threat against the King Fahd Causeway, some hard-liners within Iran have increasingly identified it as a possible target.

Iranian state television on Tuesday claimed that 14 million people had volunteered to fight if the United States and Israel launch a ground invasion, though it provided no further details. The figure marks a sharp increase from an April 2 statement by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who said 7 million had signed up to Volunteer.

In recent weeks, state media and mass text campaigns have urged citizens to enlist, while authorities have also called on retired soldiers to register their willingness to fight war. The paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij force has reportedly begun recruiting children as young as 12.

Iran has reported casualties from airstrikes overnight into Tuesday. At least nine people were killed in the city of Shahriar, west of the capital, Tehran. At least six people were killed in a strike In the city of Pardis, east of Tehran, according to the Iranian media.

An airstrike in Iran’s Alborz province, northwest of Tehran, killed at least 18 people and injured 24, according to state media reports on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear what the strike targeted.

The attack comes amid a series of intense airstrikes hitting Tehran, including sites in mountainous areas believed to house weapons depots as well as residential neighbourhoods. Israeli forces have carried out a sustained campaign of strikes, killing senior officials within Iran’s political and military leadership.

Three suspects were killed in a shootout near the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, according to Turkish media reports. Citing a statement from the Istanbul police, CNN Turk reported that security forces responded immediately to the gunfire, resulting in the deaths of the three suspects. The exchange of fire also left two police officers injured, the report said.

Iran and Hezbollah have underscored that they are operating as a unified front in response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Tehran’s position includes halting strikes on Lebanon and de-escalating regional hostilities involving its allied groups.

Iran appears to believe it holds greater bargaining power by pushing for a broader regional agreement, and has dismissed calls from the Lebanese government for a standalone ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is reportedly coordinating attacks from both Iran and Lebanon in an effort to strain Israel’s air defence systems.

Israeli officials, however, have consistently rejected the idea of a single unified front, indicating that Lebanon could become their primary focus once hostilities with Iran subside.

On the ground, southern Lebanon has effectively turned into an active conflict zone. Hezbollah continues to launch rockets across the border—some intercepted, others causing damage inside Israel.

Israel says its forces have taken control of the anti-tank line, limiting Hezbollah’s ability to deploy anti-tank missiles against Israeli communities. However, rocket fire persists as Israeli troops advance further into Lebanese territory.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran has laid out key preconditions for engaging in talks with the United States on a “lasting peace,” including an immediate halt to strikes, firm guarantees against future attacks, and compensation for damages incurred.

The source added that Iran has rejected any temporary ceasefire, instead pushing for a comprehensive agreement that would also include imposing transit fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, with charges varying based on vessel type, cargo, and prevailing conditions.

Turkish media reports that gunfire near the Israeli Consulate in the Besiktas district of Istanbul have occurred.

According to CNN Turk, citing a statement from the Istanbul police department, three suspects were killed after being met with immediate security response.

According to the report, the exchange of fire left two police officers injured.

Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage has written to UNESCO, urging the agency to condemn what Tehran describes as Israel’s threat to target the country’s railway system, according to the ISNA news agency. At the centre of the appeal is the 1,394-kilometre Trans-Iranian Railway, which links the Caspian Sea in the northeast to the Persian Gulf in the southwest.

The rail line was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2021 for its scale and the complex engineering required to navigate mountainous terrain and steep gradients. The minister characterised any potential strike as an attack on “humanity’s shared heritage” and called on UNESCO to take a clear and immediate position aimed at deterring military action.

The Defence Ministry of the United Arab Emirates says its air defences are “currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces have shelled the town of Aynata in the south with phosphorus munitions.

We will bring you more details as they become available.

Train services in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, have been cancelled following a warning issued by Israel. The advisory reportedly cautioned civilians against being near railway lines or trains, stating that such locations could pose a risk to their safety.

Crude exports from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu fell by about 15 percent week-on-week to average nearly 3.9 million barrels per day in the week beginning March 30, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a 20-year-old woman was taken to hospital with a mild head injury from shrapnel in the northern town of Nahariya.

Several cars burst into flames and buildings were damaged from a direct impact on a residential street, medics and Israel’s Fire and Rescue service said.

Rocket and drone attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have set off sirens throughout Tuesday (April 7, 2026) in Israeli communities close to the Lebanon border.

Iran’s IRGC have claimed attacks on petrochemical facilities in the Jubail region of Saudi Arabia, saying they were in retaliation for earlier Israeli strikes on its Shiraz petrochemical facility.

Iranian officials had repeatedly warned that any attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges would be met with similar attacks on infrastructure across the region, after Trump set a Tuesday deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz or face raids.

The IRGC stated that it targeted American companies in Jubail with missiles and drones, including Sadra, ExxonMobil, and Dark Chemical.

Over 10,000 flights by Indian carriers to West Asia have been cancelled since the war broke out in the region, a senior civil aviation ministry official said on Tuesday.

Israel’s Health Ministry posted on X that 133 people were admitted to hospitals between 7:00am yesterday and 7:00am today. Of these, five are in moderate condition, 127 sustained mild injuries, and one person is in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Iranian missile and drone strikes continue to target cities in central Israel, while Hezbollah has intensified shelling along Israel’s northern region.

Iran’s Mehr News Agency reports that an Israeli strike has hit the Yahya Abad railway bridge in Kashan, a city in central Iran.

Quoting the Deputy Governor of Isfahan, the agency said two people were killed in the attack.

The strike comes shortly after the Israeli military issued a warning advising Iranians not to use trains for their “safety”

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansary, warned today that the window for a diplomatic resolution is rapidly closing.

According to the Reuters news agency, al-Ansary said, “We are close to the point where the situation in the region could spiral out of control.”

He emphasized that the prolonged nature of the hostilities serves no state’s long-term interest. “There are no winners if this war continues,”he said.

The spokesperson also addressed the recent targeting of critical resources and infrastructure, asserting that “attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure by any party should not be accepted.”

Al-Ansari addressed the rising friction surrounding regional maritime corridors, specifically the world’s most important oil transit point.

“Hormuz is a natural strait, not a canal, and all countries in the region have the right to use it freely,” al-Ansari said.

According to Israel Hayom, a building collapsed in Petah Tikva after a barrage of rockets from Iran struck central Israel. Damage was also reported in the nearby city of Givat Shmuel.

The Maariv newspaper quoted the mayor of Petah Tikva as saying that around 150 impact sites have been recorded in the city since the war began on February 28. More than 1,000 apartments have been damaged, while two people were killed and about 160 residents were forced to leave their homes.

Meanwhile, Kann news reported three impact sites in the northern coastal city of Nahariya following attacks launched from Lebanon. A vehicle caught fire in one of the incidents, though no casualties were reported.

Iranian state-linked media is reporting on a statement from the Revolutionary Guard, in which it said that it will not hesitate to respond in kind if the US attacks civilian facilities.

The US president says he will strike Iranian power plants and bridges in mere hours if Iran does not agree to open the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will do to the infrastructure of America and its partners what will deprive them and their allies of the region’s oil and gas for many years”, the statement reads.

“American leaders lack the ability to calculate the critical assets that would be within range of our fighters if they attacked our infrastructure”, it added. “Our response will extend beyond the region if the US military crosses our red lines”

The Israeli military has stated that 36 soldiers have been injured in Lebanon over the past two days, reports our correspondent in Lebanon, Zeina Khodr.

Additionally, she noted that 411 soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war, including 27 seriously and 60 moderately.

The US President has issued yet another threat to Iran as his deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz looms.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, he begins, in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen”, he continued.

“WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”.

The United States has largely accomplished its military objectives in Iran, US Vice President JD Vance says.

He added that the US believes it is still possible to receive a response to ceasefire proposals from Iran by Trump’s deadline tonight.

The Lebanese armed group says its fighters are currently engaging in violent clashes with an Israeli force at the eastern outskirts of the city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon.

The group stated it is using “light and medium weapons in conjunction with rocket fire and artillery shells.”

The Israeli military said earlier that 36 soldiers have been injured in Lebanon over the past two days.

The Lebanese armed group says its fighters are currently engaging in violent clashes with an Israeli force at the eastern outskirts of the city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon.

The group stated it is using “light and medium weapons in conjunction with rocket fire and artillery shells.”

The Israeli military said earlier that 36 soldiers have been injured in Lebanon over the past two days.

US Vice President JD Vance has confirmed US ⁠strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, saying they did not target oil facilities and insisting that they do not represent a change in American strategy.

“We were going to strike some military targets on Kharg Island, ⁠and I believe we have done so,” Vance said.

“We’re not going to ⁠strike energy and infrastructure targets until the ⁠Iranians either make a proposal that we can get behind or don’t make a proposal,” he added.

“I don’t think the news in Kharg Island … represents ‌a change in strategy, or represents any change from the President of the United States.”

US Vice President J.D. Vance said the administration is still following President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran, stressing that Washington has held off from striking Iran’s energy and infrastructure targets for now.

Vance said the president had made it clear that the US would avoid hitting such targets until Iran either presents a proposal the US can support or fails to make one. He added that Iran has been given time until Tuesday at 8:00 to respond.

Referring to reports about Kharg Island, Vance said the developments do not indicate any shift in US strategy, emphasising that the administration remains aligned with the president’s stated position.

Iran has allowed two French nationals who had been jailed for over three years to exit the country, according to France’s President Emmanuel Macron.

In a post on X, Macron said Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris – accused of spying charges their families rejected – “are free and on their way back to France”.

He thanked Omani authorities for helping to mediate their release.

Kohler and Paris were arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran, with France denouncing the detention as “unjustified and unfounded”. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises in Tehran since being released from prison late last year.

Following a fresh warning from US President Donald Trump, Iran said that all diplomatic channels and indirect talks have been frozen, according to Iranian media reports. Earlier in the day, Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran, stating the ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ amid strikes on Iranian infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has maintained that no direct or indirect negotiations have taken place with the US administration. Replying to Trump’s post, the Islamic Republic said through its embassy in South Africa, « You and your allies will suffer an unforgettable hit from the ancient civilisation of Iran ».

The Foreign Ministry of the Saudi Arabia’s condemned and denounced in the strongest terms of the blatant storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque by a minister in the Israeli occupation government, under the protection of occupation forces.

In a statement, the ministry emphasized the necessity for the international community to fulfill its responsibility to stop all Israeli violations and transgressions against the Palestinian people, as well as against the historical sites in the occupied Palestine. The Kingdom called for respect for the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque and urged accountability for the occupation regarding these repeated and egregious actions.

The far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday sparked widespread outrage in the Arab and Islamic world. Ben Gvir entered the mosque through the Moroccan Gate and toured its courtyards.

Following Netanyahu’s announcement that the Israeli army had struck railways and bridges in Iran, the military confirmed on its Telegram channel that it had attacked eight bridge sections, claiming that they were used by the IRGC to transport weapons and military equipment.

Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi calls on filmmakers to speak out against escalation of Iran War: « Attacking a country’s infrastructure is a war crime. »

« I call on artists and filmmakers everywhere in the world to be a voice in these critical days and hours, in any way possible, to stop the destructive aggression that has increasingly destroyed civilian infrastructure.

Infrastructure that belongs to the Iranian people and is related to the basic needs of their daily lives. The destruction of infrastructure is not just the destruction of buildings, it is an attack on human life and dignity.

Attacking a country’s infrastructure is a war crime. Regardless of any beliefs or attitudes, let’s unite to stop this inhumane, illegal and destructive process. »

White House on Tuesday denied that it is considering using nuclear weapons in Iran. This came after Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran and Vice President JD Vance said that he’s ‘confident’ Iran will respond to US demands by evening deadline.

Democratic Party lawmakers have been responding to Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian “civilization” if the country doesn’t meet his deadline to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz:

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said: “This is an extremely sick person. Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is.”

Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “Congress must immediately end this reckless war of choice in Iran before Donald Trump plunges us into World War III. It’s time for every single Republican to put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness. Enough.”

The parties ⁠involved in ⁠the US-Israel war on Iran must ‌respect international law, and that means ⁠not targeting civilians ⁠and civilian ⁠infrastructure, Canada’s Prime Minister ⁠Mark Carney has told ‌reporters.

Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran’s first vice president, says that Iran’s civilisation has overcome the “delusions” of its enemies for thousands of years, after US President Trump threatened on social media to wipe it out tonight.

Iran “will not be intimidated by Trump’s threats”, he said.

“Our response to the enemy’s brutality is to stand firm and rely on the internal strength of the Iranian nation.”

The resolution has failed with:

Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Bahraini foreign minister, is reading out a statement on behalf of Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan at the Security Council.

The countries “express their regret that the resolution presented before you today has not been adopted”, Al Zayani said.

“The council failed to shoulder its responsibility in relation to an illegal conduct that requires decisive action with no delay,” he continued.

“We had hoped that the draft resolution would present a step towards a permanent solution that would ensure navigational freedom in the Strait of Hormuz as an national waterway that no country has the right to obstruct … according to international law.”

The Israeli army has issued a warning ⁠for all vessels anchoring or sailing ‌in the maritime area between Lebanon’s Tyre and Ras ⁠Naqoura, signalling a likely ⁠imminent attack.

All vessels must ⁠immediately sail ⁠north ⁠of the Tyre area, the military ‌said.

In a statement, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the Iraqi armed group, said: “In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leaves the country immediately.”

There was no immediate statement on the news from Iraq’s government, which previously said authorities at the highest level were searching for the journalist.

The White House has reiterated Trump’s demand that Iran reach a deal within the next seven hours, saying only the US president knows how he will respond if Tehran fails to comply.

“The Iranian regime has until 8PM Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Al Jazeera.

“Only the president knows where things stand and what he will do.”

Qatar FM says that they are trying to find solutions to end this war as there will be no winner if the war continues. Right now Qatar can not offer any solution though. Everyone in this region have always been in this fragile position. by Iran which cannot be explained or justified.

Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Lin Jian posts, « The situation in the Middle East continues to worsen and the military conflict is still escalating, hitting the world economy and energy security and drawing deep concerns from the international community.

China has been working to help bring about a ceasefire and end to the conflict. The root cause of the conflict is the U.S.-Israeli launch of military attacks against Iran in violation of international law. The top priority is to bring an immediate end to the military operations and return to dialogue and negotiation, so as to fundamentally resolve the issues and restore peace and stability in the Gulf region. »