Live Updates: Israel Launches Strikes on Tehran after Trump Delays Strait of Hormuz Deadline Again

Major developments we’re following:

• Israel’s military said early Friday it had conducted a wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran” while smoke was seen billowing in the Beirut skyline after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed his threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants over its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump on Thursday extended his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until April 6, saying talks to end the war are “going very well.” Iran continues to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House.
  
• Trump’s announcement on social media came after U.S. stocks fell sharply and oil prices rose, as doubt took over again on Wall Street about a possible end to the war. Some of America’s closest and oldest allies have met the war with deep skepticism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in France, and will try to sell the war to skeptical G7 diplomats. The visit comes after Trump attacked NATO over a reluctance or refusal to take part in the war.
  
• Iran has been blocking ships it sees as tied to the U.S. and Israel from the strait while allowing limited traffic, and Tehran appears to be charging fees for safe passage. Gas prices have shot up and fertilizer supplies are waning due to Tehran’s near shutdown of the strait in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli bombing.
  
• The Associated Press is now calling Israel’s military actions in southern Lebanon an invasion. Israel has moved thousands of troops across the border into Lebanon, and Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have been fighting on the ground for at least three weeks.
  
• The war has killed more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 in Lebanon. Eighteen people have died in Israel, while three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. Thirteen U.S. military members have died, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.

Source: AP News