Iran hit out at Trump 'lies' over Strait of Hormuz and claim three ships were turned away by navy - live updates

Here are the latest developments in the US-Israel war with Iran:

• Donald Trump has pushed back a deadline not to strike Iranian power plants by 10 days and claimed talks are going 'very well' with Tehran
• Iranian hardliners are ramping up calls to build a nuclear bomb as the regime claims it has one million fighters on standby for a US ground invasion
• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has claimed Iranian missiles could strike London
• Iran's military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets in the war
• Israel has said it has struck the Iranian regime's main facility for producing sea mines and missiles launched to attack ships
• Saudi Arabia said six missiles have been launched towards Riyadh while a maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain
• The UAE is pushing countries to join an international force to reopen and defend the Strait of Hormuz
• Kuwait said its main commercial port has been attacked by 'hostile' drones

Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest updates

by Stephen M. Lepore, US Senior Reporter

Donald Trump is reportedly considering the deployment of 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give Washington more military options as ​the president seeks peace talks with ‌Tehran.

The president has repeatedly insisted on a strategy of 'peace through strength' in his foreign policy while giving Iran 10 additional days before his threat to destroy their energy hubs unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz.

The additional troops would likely be sent to a US military base within striking distance of Iran's Kharg Island. Trump has threatened to seize its energy assets.

Department of Defense officials with knowledge of the planning told The Wall Street Journal the deployment would likely include infantry and armored vehicles.

Already, about 5,000 Marines and several thousand paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division have been sent to the Middle East to bolster defenses.

• Read more here

US Vice President JD Vance held a 'difficult' phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him his predictions about the Iran war had proved far too optimistic, it has been reported.

Vance is poised to lead the White House in negotiations to end the conflict with Iran should any talks take place.

According to Axios, Vance and Netanyahu spoke on Monday on what is said to have been a 'difficult' phone call.

The report, which cited US and Israeli sources, states Vance mentioned Netanyahu's optimism for an uprising to topple the regime proved too optimistic.

'Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements,' the US source told Axios.

Drones have changed warfare - that much is clear from both the Iran War and Ukraine.

In the future, every military is going to have to contend with this technology, so what are they doing about it?

The Daily Mail's War on Tape went to DSEI, one of the world’s largest defence expositions, to speak to the companies making the next generation of weapons about how they’re solving this challenge.

From lasers to jammers and mini missiles, here we give you the low-down on how modern militaries are overcoming the threat of drones.

• Watch the full War on Tape episode here

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping to use the Iran war as a distraction from his attack on Ukraine, a G7 minister has claimed.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accused Moscow of helping Iran identify potential strike targets during the conflict.

Speaking to reporters at a G7 meeting in France, Wadephul also said he had spoken to US Secretary of State Marcio Rubio to outline Germany's position, that it was willing to help play a role in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities end.

'Putin cynically hopes that the escalation in the Middle East will divert our attention from his crimes in Ukraine,' Wadephul said.

'This calculation must not succeed. We see very clearly how closely the two conflicts are intertwined. Russia is evidently supporting Iran with information about potential targets.'

Oil prices rose and stocks mostly fell today as initial optimism over US President Donald Trump's decision to again delay his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets faded.

The cautious response came as governments around the world looked to shore up their economies against surging energy costs, which are adding to inflationary pressures.

Trump has extended a deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets, pushing it from Friday to April 6.

The announcement largely failed to lift the mood for markets, with European stocks falling and oil prices up around 2.5 percent.

Frankfurt and Paris stock markets each shed more than one percent, while London was down 0.7 percent around midday.

That contrasted with the sharp plunge in oil prices and gains for stocks after Trump first delayed the deadline earlier this week.

Key figures at around 11:15am:

• Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 per cent at $104.40 a barrel
• West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.7 per cent at $97.01 a barrel
• London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 per cent at 9,905.18 points
• Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 per cent at 7,761.88
• Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.5 per cent at 22,275.15

Golestan Palace in Tehran is among the cultural sites damaged

US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least 120 culturally or historically significant sites across the country since the start of the war, it has emerged

'At least 120 museums, historical buildings and cultural sites across various provinces were directly targeted and sustained serious structural damage,' said Ahmad Alavi, the head of Tehran city council's heritage committee.

He was quoted by state TV as naming UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace - sometimes likened to Versailles - as well as Tehran's Marble Palace, Teymourtash house and Saadabad Palace.

One of the capital's most visited sites, the Saadabad Palace complex includes an extensive park and museums dedicated to Iranian history.

In addition to the cultural institutions, it also houses the residences of the Iranian president and governor of Tehran province, with judicial and Revolutionary Guards facilities located nearby.

According to the UN, at least four of the country's 29 UNESCO-listed sites have been damaged in the war: Golestan Palace, Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jame mosque in the same city, and the prehistoric sites of the Khorramabad Valley.

Ukraine is close to finalising security deals with the UAE and Qatar to help them tackle Iranian attacks, its foreign minister has said.

Andrii Sybiha added that Kyiv believes Moscow is also providing intelligence and weaponry to Tehran.

Sybiha told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the G7 in France that China could play an important role in future negotiations given its influence on Moscow.

Sibiha said he had received an invitation to visit Beijing and hoped to do so in the short-term.

It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia to sign a new defence pact.

Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.

Israel's defence minister Israel Katz has said strikes will be stepped up against Iran as a result of its repeated missile launches.

'Despite the warnings, the firing continues - consequently, IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand to other targets in sectors that help the regime develop and use military means against Israeli civilians.

'They will pay a heavy price, an increasingly heavy one, for this war crime,' Katz said in a video released by his office.

More than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured in Iran since the start of US and Israeli attacks, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), citing figures provided by the Iranian Red Crescent.

Martinez said the Iranian Red Crescent continues to serve as the only nationwide humanitarian organisation operating across Iran amidst the escalating conflict.

The United States and Iran are preparing for direct talks 'very soon', German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has said.

'According to my information, there have been indirect contacts. And they have also prepared for a direct meeting,' Wadephul told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

He added that such a meeting was 'expected to take place in Pakistan very soon', without revealing the source of the information.

On Thursday US envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that Pakistan had passed a 15-point American peace plan to Iran.

Wadephul was speaking before a meeting of G7 foreign ministers near Paris which will also be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Germany's top diplomat said he hoped Rubio would tell his counterparts more about 'the approach and the interests of the US' in relation to the conflict.

Here are key facts and figures about the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route virtually paralysed by the Middle East war.

Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in peacetime.

• 26 ships approved by Iran

On Wednesday, shipping journal Lloyd's List said it had tracked more than 26 ships using the corridor overall, most Greek- and Chinese-owned, as well as others Indian-, Pakistani- and Syrian-owned.

No ships tracked using transponder data had crossed the Strait of Hormuz using the regular route outside that corridor since March 15, according to the journal.

• 95% shipping drop

From March 1 to 26, commodities carriers made just 158 crossings, according to analytics firm Kpler - a decrease of 95 percent.

Of these, 100 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.

• No reported incidents since March 22

Since March 1, 2026, 24 commercial vessels, including 11 tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, according to the British naval maritime security agency UKMTO.

No incidents have been reported since Sunday, when the bulk carrier Phoenix reported an explosion next to the ship in Emirati waters, according to the UKMTO.

• Eight sea workers killed

Since the conflict began, at least eight seafarers or dock workers have died in incidents in the region, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

A further four remained missing and 10 were injured. Around 20,000 seafarers are affected in the region, according to the IMO.

The US military has fired over 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles during the Iran war which has caused alarm in the Pentagon, The Washington Post is reporting.

Some defence officials are said to be concerned at the rate at which the precision weapons are being deployed.

The newspaper is reporting it has also prompted internal discussions about how to make more available.

The US Department of Defense and the White House have not responded to requests for comment.