Updated March 26, 2026 at 11:48 AM EDT
The war in the Middle East ramped up on Thursday as Israel launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in the central city of Isfahan, and said it killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy.
Iran hit back, firing two rounds of missiles at central Israel causing destruction and injuries. Israel was also under attack from a wave of rockets from Iran-backed fighters in Lebanon, and an Israeli soldier in Lebanon was killed.
On the diplomatic front, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country has been facilitating "indirect talks" between the U.S. and Iran by relaying messages between them. "In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran," Dar wrote on social media.
Iran's foreign minister has denied the country is engaging in negotiations with the U.S., beyond the message exchanges. Iranian state media said Wednesday a senior security official rejected the U.S. proposal and submitted conditions in return.
Trump said Iran is "begging" to make a deal.
Pakistan, Trump and Iran have not mentioned if Israel is involved in the process. Israeli officials have told NPR their military seeks several more weeks of war to achieve its objectives in Iran.
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Here are more updates on Day 27 of the Iran war.
To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:
Thursday strikes | Negotiation claims | Kharg Island | Germany slams the U.S. | Oil prices | UAE affected
Iran, Hezbollah and Israel trade strikes
NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv spoke to two military officials who said Israel wants to keep fighting and is hoping for several more weeks of war in Iran.
A person briefed on the operation told NPR the Israeli military is speeding up its targeting in Iran over the next 48 hours, focusing on trying to hit Iran's arms factories as much as possible — in case a ceasefire is declared.
The Israeli military said on social media it had completed a "wave of extensive strikes in Isfahan … targeting infrastructure."
Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said his country had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy, in an overnight strike. An official in Islamabad following the negotiations also said that Tangsiri was killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Iran has not publicly commented.
Israel also came under attack Thursday, with air sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the Israeli military saying rescue crews were en route to the location of a strike at the center of the country.
The military reported a soldier on the ground in Lebanon had been killed, naming him as 21-year-old Sgt. Ori Greenberg.
Israel says its airstrikes continue in southern Lebanon, in advance of what Israeli officials say will be a "prolonged" ground invasion targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at northern Israel this month in support of Iran and after months of Israel's attacks in Lebanon despite a ceasefire. Israeli officials say a civilian woman was killed by their rocket fire this week. More than a dozen people in Israel have also been killed by Iranian attacks since the start of the war.
Israeli officials say they plan to take Lebanese territory up to the Litani River, which runs 10 to 20 miles north of the border with Israel. Hezbollah says it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers inside that area with a drone.
Trump repeats negotiation claims
In remarks at a Republican fundraising dinner on Wednesday night, the president insisted Iran was looking to do a deal but didn't want to admit it because they were afraid their citizens would turn on them.
"We're winning so big. Nobody's ever seen anything like we're doing in the Middle East with Iran. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," he said. "They're also afraid they'll be killed by us. There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran."
Under a proposed U.S. plan Iran would end its nuclear program, stop supporting proxy militias in the Middle East, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and limit its missile program. In exchange Iran would get relief from sanctions.
But Iran rejected the proposal, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country wants to end the war only on "our own terms." Iran has given five conditions: "end to aggression by the enemy, concrete guarantees preventing the recurrence of war, clear determination, guaranteed payment of war damages and compensation, comprehensive end to the war across all fronts, incl. against all resistance groups, recognition of Iran's sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz."
Iranian officials have insisted they are not negotiating with the U.S., saying the countries have only exchanged messages via regional intermediaries.
Pakistan has emerged as a potential mediator for negotiations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday would not confirm news reports that there could be U.S.-Iran talks in the coming days. "Nothing should be deemed official until it is announced formally by the White House, I would not get ahead of our skis on reporting about any talks this weekend, until you hear directly from us," she said.
An official in Islamabad told NPR, on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, that the Pakistani interior minister held a secret meeting with the Iranian ambassador in Pakistan Thursday.
And publicly, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar wrote on social media: "US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan," adding that Turkey and Egypt were also "extending their support to this initiative." He said Iran is deliberating upon a U.S. 15-point proposal.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has also spoken to his Iranian counterpart, stressing the war "should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, not by force."
Will U.S. forces seize Kharg Island?
The Pentagon is set to deploy up to 3,000 paratroopers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, and thousands of Marines are also on their way to the region.
NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam reports it comes as President Trump weighs whether to seize Kharg Island, the home of Iran's main oil processing facility.
The U.S. attacked Kharg Island earlier in the war, with Trump saying the U.S. bombed Iranian military targets there but spared the key oil infrastructure.
Analysts say such an operation to seize and hold the island would be militarily challenging. Despite weeks of the U.S. and Israel pummeling Iran's military infrastructure, the country still has an arsenal of drones and missiles.
"Even inserting U.S. forces so close to Iran's shores would be risky and carry the potential for casualties," says Caitlin Talmadge, an expert in U.S. military strategy and the Persian Gulf at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"And then there's the question of sustaining that U.S. military presence on the island, which I don't think would be simple, again because U.S. forces would be within range of Iranian weapons very close to Iran's shores, which would raise costs and raise casualties," she says.
Talmadge says if it is meant to be a negotiating tactic, it isn't clear why taking Kharg Island would pressure Iran into making concessions at this point.
"This is a case where we're talking about a military mission that's in search of a strategic rationale. What are we getting in exchange for doing this? What is the strategic and political result of taking these risks. And that's where my concern lies," she says.
It would also have regional and global fallout.
"This would be a hugely provocative step because … an attack on the processing infrastructure on Kharg Island would likely lead to retaliatory strikes by Iran on processing infrastructure in other countries … in the Gulf," says David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies, an international energy consulting firm.
Iran's Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on social media Wednesday that the country's enemies were "preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands," with the support of a country in the region. "If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks," he warned.
Goldwyn also says it would have an impact on world energy markets, sending oil prices soaring.
Germany's defense minister slams the U.S.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius gave a frank assessment of the war in remarks on a trip to Australia.
"To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world's economies," he told reporters.
"What really concerns me the most about that war is there was no consultation, there is no strategy, there is no clear objective and the worst thing from my perspective is that there is no exit strategy," he said.
He also criticized Washington's changing demands of Europe, noting the U.S. had asked Europe to ramp up its defense spending and told it to focus on its own backyard.
"That was before the war started against Iran. Now, the arguments are different. Now they are saying: 'Where are you, you are cowards, you don't help us,'" Pistorius said.
He was referring to Trump calling NATO allies cowards after they declined his request to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Pistorius said while Germany would not be getting involved in the war, they could help secure the vital economic waterway once a ceasefire is agreed.
Oil prices higher amid Strait of Hormuz standoff
Two Iranian state-affiliated news agencies, Tasnim and Fars, reported Iran's Parliament is planning to formalize fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
About one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the Strait, but Iran has essentially blocked most traffic since the start of the war.
The strait, a narrow passage at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is considered an international waterway for ships to access freely.
But an Iranian Embassy social media post said the country has laid out as one of its conditions for ending the war with the U.S. and Israel the "recognition of Iran's sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz."
Iranian media quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that Iran's "Parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran's sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees."
Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of Arab nations, said in a briefing that Iran is already charging fees for safe passage — in violation of international law.
Oil prices edged higher in Asia trading, with Brent crude trading around $100 a barrel. Asian and European stock markets also opened lower on Thursday.
UAE's stable reputation at risk
On Thursday morning alerts sounded in the United Arab Emirates. Two people were killed in Abu Dhabi by falling debris after a successful missile interception, officials said.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry announced the interception of a drone in the Eastern Province, while Kuwait and Bahrain also reported attacks.
Airlines in what used to be one of the globe's busiest regions for air travel continue to suffer. Oman Air announced flight cancellations to numerous regional countries as well as parts of Europe until April 15.
Sultan al-Jaber, who heads the huge state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., accused Iran of "economic terrorism" for its stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz.
In comments at Washington's Middle East Institute he said: "When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy. No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way."
Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Israel, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, Lauren Frayer in Beirut, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Jackie Northam in Maine, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg and Alex Leff in Washington contributed to this report.
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