War or peace? Mixed signals from West Asia

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV: Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel's Tel Aviv and sites across West Asia on Tuesday, a day after US President Donald Trump said there had been "very good and productive" talks aiming at halting the war unleashed by the US and Israel now raging across West Asia.

Three senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal, but that they thought it highly unlikely Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of negotiations.

After Trump's Truth Social comment on Monday, Iran said no talks had yet been held. Its embassy in South Africa posted an image on X showing a child's pink steering wheel placed on a car dashboard in front of the passenger seat, apparently mocking Trump's idea, aired to reporters, that he could control the Strait of Hormuz waterway alongside Iran's supreme leader.


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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke to Trump less than 48 hours before their countries began the war, was expected to convene security officials for talks on Trump's bid for a deal with Iran, two senior Israeli officials said.

Despite diplomatic signals from Washington, there were no signs of conflict abating in the Gulf or Lebanon. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said it now planned to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River-about a tenth of the country. He said there could be no homes or residents in areas where there was "terror", an apparent reference to Hezbollah.

Iranian missiles triggered air raid sirens in Israel's biggest city, Tel Aviv, where gaping holes were torn through a multi-storey apartment building. It was not immediately clear if the damage had been caused by a direct hit or debris from an interception.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said they were searching for civilians trapped in one building.

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Israel's military said its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centres, including facilities associated with the IRGC's intelligence arm and the intelligence ministry. It said it had hit more than 50 other targets overnight, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites.

Air defence systems were activated across Tehran as explosions were heard simultaneously in several areas of the capital, according to the Iranian news agency Nournews.

At least eight people were killed and 28 injured in a strike on a residential area of Tabriz, a city of 1.7 million in Iran's northwest, the provincial director for crisis management told Tasnim news agency. Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted five ballistic missiles and 17 drones coming from Iran.