Iran launched seven waves of missile strikes on Israel overnight into Tuesday, starting at midnight, according to Israeli authorities, UNN reports, citing CNN.
Details
In the latest wave, sirens sounded in Dimona, a southern desert city near the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
The Israel Defense Forces dispatched search and rescue teams to "several locations" hit in central Israel at least four times early Tuesday morning.
During the previous wave, strike locations were reported in Tel Aviv, Israel's second-largest city. Videos from the city showed damaged buildings, flames, and dark smoke as rescuers worked at the scene.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to strike Iran – the Israeli Air Force hit more than 50 targets overnight, including launch sites and other military facilities. According to the Israel Defense Forces, Israel has struck more than 3,000 targets in Iran since the war began.
Some Persian Gulf countries also warned of missile attacks from Iran overnight:
- Kuwait: The Kuwaiti army said early Tuesday that its air defense systems intercepted missiles from Iran for the second time since midnight. Earlier, the country's electricity ministry said seven power lines across the country were knocked out due to damage from falling debris after air defense interceptions, the state news agency KUNA reported.
- Bahrain: Bahrain's Interior Ministry issued several warnings late Monday and early Tuesday that sirens were sounding and urged the public to "remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe place";
- Saudi Arabia: The kingdom's Ministry of Defense wrote on X that it intercepted and destroyed several drones overnight.
As Reuters notes, Iran continued its strikes on Tuesday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced "very good and productive" talks aimed at ending the conflict raging in the Middle East.
Three senior Israeli officials, who wished to remain anonymous, said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal but considered it highly unlikely that Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of talks.
Following Trump's comment on Truth Social on Monday, Iran said talks had not yet taken place. The Iranian embassy in South Africa posted an image on X of a pink child's steering wheel placed on a car dashboard in front of the passenger seat, apparently mocking Trump's idea, voiced to reporters, that he could control the Strait of Hormuz alongside Iran's supreme leader, the publication writes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke with Trump less than 48 hours before the war began, was expected to convene a meeting of security officials to discuss Trump's attempt to strike a deal with Iran, two senior Israeli officials said.
A Pakistani official said direct talks could take place in Islamabad this week.
Pakistan prepares US-Israel-Iran talks in Islamabad - Bloomberg24.03.26, 10:04
The US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, saying they had failed to make sufficient progress in talks aimed at ending Iran's nuclear program, although mediator Oman claimed significant progress.
The crisis escalated in the Middle East. Iran attacked countries where American bases are located, struck key energy infrastructure, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
Trump's new statement led to a rise in stock prices and a sharp drop in oil prices to below $100 a barrel, a sudden reversal from the market downturn caused by his weekend threats and Iran's promises to retaliate.
However, those gains were threatened on Tuesday after influential Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf – an interlocutor on the Iranian side, according to an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter – said no talks had taken place.
"No talks with the US have taken place, and fake news is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets and to get out of the quagmire in which the US and Israel find themselves," he wrote on X.
However, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned initiatives to reduce tensions.
US Treasury yields rose, and the dollar regained lost ground, as the world continues to grapple with what the International Energy Agency called the largest energy supply disruption in history.
War with Iran became the biggest threat to energy in history - IEA20.03.26, 20:10
Brent crude futures rose to over $100 a barrel, partially recovering from their 10% drop since Monday, while US oil prices rose 4.3% to $91.93 a barrel.
"The situation remains incredibly fragile or volatile," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
Trump told reporters that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who negotiated with Iran before the war, held talks with a senior Iranian official on Sunday evening and would continue them on Monday.
A European official said that while there were no direct talks between the two countries, Egypt, Pakistan, and Gulf countries were exchanging messages.
A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks to end the war could take place in Islamabad as early as this week.
A Pakistani official said that US Vice President J.D. Vance, as well as Witkoff and Kushner, are expected to meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad this week after a conversation between Trump and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir. The White House confirmed Trump's conversation with Munir.