Middle East violence continues after Trump claims ‘very good’ talks with Iran
Middle East violence continues after Trump claims ‘very good’ talks with Iran
Despite Donald Trump’s assertion that the US and Iran were in “very good” discussions to end the conflict in the region, hostilities in the Middle East persisted on Tuesday. Iranian forces launched missile strikes against Israel, Gulf Arab nations, and northern Iraq, while Israeli and American military aircraft continued targeting infrastructure in Tehran and other Iranian sites.
Tehran’s officials have dismissed reports of ongoing talks, with the parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stating on social media:
“No negotiations have been held with the US … fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
The city remains skeptical of US diplomatic overtures, citing previous engagements that preceded the surprise assault which killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei and numerous senior officials.
Analysts suggest internal rifts among Tehran’s senior leadership may explain the defiant response. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has engaged with counterparts from Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, according to his office. In Islamabad, officials hinted at potential meetings between Iranian delegates and US envoys Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and JD Vance.
Meanwhile, European diplomats noted that while direct talks had not yet begun, intermediaries like Egypt, Pakistan, and Gulf states were facilitating communication between Washington and Tehran. The renewed diplomatic activity followed mutual threats of strikes that could disrupt power supplies and desalination plants across the Gulf region.
On Monday, Trump postponed a deadline for Iran to open the Hormuz Strait to shipping or face airstrikes on its power stations, temporarily lowering oil prices. The new deadline now falls on Friday. The US continues to bolster its military presence in the area, with approximately 5,000 marines deployed.
Iranian media reported that Israeli-US strikes hit two gas facilities and a pipeline in central Iran, hours after Trump stepped back from threatening to attack power infrastructure. The Fars news agency described the facilities as “partially damaged,” though it did not cite a source. Another strike targeted the Khorramshahr power plant’s gas pipeline in the southwest.
In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100kg warhead bypassed defenses and struck a street, damaging a neighboring building. Earlier, Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, aiming at Hezbollah infrastructure. A residential strike in southeast Beirut killed at least two people, per Lebanese health ministry reports. In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defense shrapnel, causing outages. Bahrain sounded missile alerts as Saudi Arabia destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its eastern oil-rich region.
Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s commitment to striking Iran and Lebanon, where Hezbollah is a key target. “There’s more to come,” he stated, underscoring the ongoing military pressure despite the US’s diplomatic outreach.
