Article content

U.S. President Donald Trump has raised hopes that the Iran war will wind down after stating his government was holding productive talks with Tehran. However, fighting showed no signs of slowing, and Iran denied there were talks.

Article content

On Monday, Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Straight of Hormuz for five days, holding off on striking Iranian power plants to allow U.S. envoys to hold talks with a “respected” Iranian leader.

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

Iranian officials, however, said that Trump had backed down “following Iran’s firm warning.”

The death toll has now risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 U.S. military personnel, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region.

Here is what’s going on Friday in the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran:

Israel gives update on Iran strikes

Israel’s military says it has finished a series of strikes on Iranian “production sites,” while not immediately providing more information.

Article content

Article content

The military also said that it has detected a new wave of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel.

Katz threatens Gaza-like destruction in Lebanon

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says his military will destroy homes in southern Lebanon, just as it did in Gaza, in what is a stepped-up effort to rid the area of Hezbollah militants.

Katz said that Israel will implement “the Rafah and Beit Hanoun models,” a reference to two Gaza border towns that Israel flattened in its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

He said that the military is going beyond destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, and that it was also destroying houses in villages near the border that he said will “serve as terrorist outposts for all intents and purposes.”

Article content

Iran must ‘think wisely’ over Trump’s comments about talks

A member of Iran’s Parliament has warned that his country must “think wisely” about U.S. President Donald Trump, saying talks were ongoing between Tehran and Washington.

Esmail Kowsari, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, reportedly made the comment, according to semiofficial Fars news agency.

“Trump, Netanyahu and the like are inherently liars and their nature is to create division,” Kowsari said. “We must think wisely. Their nature is to sow discord so that they can make people distrust officials and believe that such actions have taken place, whereas no such action has occurred.”

– With files from The Associated Press

Article content