Israel continues to be under fire after ceasefire announcement

Observers have pointed out, however, that after the killing of the Iranian spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shortly after the outbreak of the war, the Revolutionary Guards now have greater influence and are more radical. Khamenei’s son, Motschtaba Khamenei, has officially been appointed the new spiritual leader. But so far he has rarely appeared.

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal for a deal as inadequate and insisted on a deadline of Tuesday. “You’ve made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal,” Trump said on Monday on the sidelines of an Easter event at the White House.

Although this is an important step, it is not enough. The war could end very quickly if the leadership in Tehran fulfills the necessary conditions, the president further explained about the current situation in the Iran war. He assumes that Iran is in
negotiate in good faith.

Trump had previously given the government in Tehran an ultimatum until Tuesday evening (local time) to reach an agreement in the conflict.

Iran has sent Pakistan its response to the US proposal to end the war, rejecting a ceasefire. Instead, the government in Tehran is emphasizing the need for a permanent end to the war, reports the state news agency IRNA. The answer consists of ten points. These include an end to the conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of sanctions and reconstruction, it said.

At the same time, the Iranian army reaffirmed its determination to persevere. “We can continue the war for as long as those in power deem it appropriate,” army spokesman Mohammed Akraminia told the Iranian news agency Isna on Monday. The “enemy” must “regret” the start of attacks against Iran so that security can be restored after the war and a “new war” can be prevented.

Iran regularly fires rockets containing cluster munitions at Israel. That’s why the bullets are so difficult to intercept. Read the full article here.

Iran has reported a new attack on the Persian Gulf gas industry. The Fars news agency reported several explosions near a refinery in the coastal town of Asalujeh in Bushehr province. This is considered the heart of the Iranian gas industry. It was already the target of Israeli-American air strikes in mid-March.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli army had attacked “the largest petrochemical plant in Iran” in Asalujeh with great intensity. This happened after the second central facility was attacked last week. “Now both plants, which together are responsible for around 85 percent of Iran’s petrochemical exports, have been decommissioned and are no longer functioning,” the statement continued. It is a serious economic blow to the Iranian power apparatus.

Iran has also reported further bombings in the center of the country. The Tasnim news agency reported that the target was a petrochemical complex in the city of Marvdasht, around 45 kilometers northeast of the metropolis of Shiraz. A fire had broken out but was already under control, it was said.

Five weeks after the start of the Iran war, attacks on the Gulf states continue. In Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, one person was injured by debris from a projectile after an attack on an industrial plant, as the responsible media office announced on X this morning.

In the coastal city of Fujairah, a telecommunications company building was attacked with an Iranian drone, according to the state news agency WAM. There are no injuries.

Saudi Arabia also reported attacks. The Ministry of Defense announced on X this morning that two drones had been intercepted. The location was not mentioned. According to the Defense Ministry in Athens, a Greek Patriot battery shot down a drone in the Saudi port city of Janbu on the Red Sea. The deployment of the Greek Patriot battery to Janbu follows a bilateral agreement between Greece and Saudi Arabia in 2021.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure if rocket attacks on Israeli civilians continue. “We have hit the steel infrastructure and the petrochemical industry hard – and today and every day it will continue to do so,” said Katz, according to his office.

The defense minister said after new missile attacks by Iran on Israeli cities, including the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, that they would “further dismantle Iran’s national infrastructure and wear down and collapse the terror regime – as well as its ability to promote terror and fire on the state of Israel.”

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the United States have drawn up a comprehensive list of strategic targets to be attacked in Iran if the Islamic Republic does not meet the requirements of US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum.

Israeli rescue workers have recovered two more bodies from a house in the port city of Haifa that was largely destroyed in an Iranian missile attack on Sunday, according to the military. A total of four people who were buried under the rubble were found dead. The Israeli army said dozens of reservists were on site throughout the night. They used various technological tools to find those trapped as quickly as possible.

According to media reports, the victims were an older couple, around 80 years old, as well as their 40-year-old son and his 35-year-old partner. The difficult rescue work took around 18 hours. According to reports, an 82-year-old was seriously injured in the attack. He has undergone surgery, is currently sedated and is being artificially ventilated. Two other women and a ten-month-old baby also suffered injuries.

The building suffered massive damage in Sunday’s attack, although the rocket’s warhead, which contained hundreds of kilograms of explosives, did not detonate upon impact, according to Israel’s Kan broadcaster. The missile defense tried in vain to intercept the projectile, the broadcaster reported, citing military circles.

The head of the secret service of the so-called Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Majid Chademi, is said to have been killed in a US-Israeli airstrike. This is reported by the Iranian state news agency Tasnim.

It is not clear from the report where exactly Chademi was killed. However, the Israeli Air Force bombed several residential areas in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday night.

According to a media report, the USA, Iran and regional mediators are currently negotiating the conditions for a possible 45-day ceasefire. This could lead to a permanent end to the war, the news portal Axios reported on Sunday (local time), citing four US, Israeli and regional insiders who are familiar with the relevant discussions. An agreement will be discussed in two phases.

First, the 45-day ceasefire should come into force in order to negotiate a final end to the fighting. In the second phase, a corresponding agreement should then be concluded, according to the report. The ceasefire could be extended if necessary. The Reuters news agency was initially unable to independently verify the report. The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Against the backdrop of the Iran war, the price of oil continued to rise on Monday. At the start of the week, the price for a barrel of the US reference variety WTI rose by 1.86 percent to 113.62 dollars (98.71 euros). The North Sea Brent rose by almost 1.16 percent to $ 110.30.

Donald Trump followed up on his midday post in which he insulted Iran as “crazy bastards” – and threatened again. In a conversation with Axios reporter Barak Ravid, Trump said the chances of a negotiated solution were good, but warned: “If they don’t make a deal, I’ll blow up everything over there.”

In a post on Truth Social, he also gave a new deadline for his demand to open the Strait of Hormuz – Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. in Washington. Trump had previously set the deadline until Monday. Read more about Trump’s threats and the Iranian response here.

Donald Trump threatened Iran and insulted the country. The US President wrote on Truth Social: “Tuesday will be Power Plant and Bridge Day in Iran. There will never have been anything like this!!! Open the fucking Strait (of Hormuz, editor’s note), you crazy bastards, or you will live in hell – just wait! Praise Allah.” On Saturday, Trump ended a post with the words “Praise God.”

Trump had previously threatened that if Iran did not open the strait completely to shipping traffic “without threats,” he would have Iranian power plants destroyed. He postponed his ultimatum again last week. The US President announced that there would be no attacks on Iranian power plants until April 6th (US local time; the night of April 7th German time), citing “very good” talks. In recent days, however, there have continued to be violent attacks from both sides. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for global oil and gas trade, remains largely at a standstill.

You can read older news about the war in the Middle East here.