War in the Middle East: latest developments
PARIS, France — Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Trump pushes back Iran deadline
US President Donald Trump said he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from Tehran, adding that talks with the Islamic republic were “going very well.”
“I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.”
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Israel army demands more soldiers
The Israeli military said it needs more troops for deployment in southern Lebanon, where forces are engaged in fighting Hezbollah as part of efforts to establish a so-called “buffer zone”.
“On the Lebanese front, the forward defensive zone that we are creating requires additional (Israeli army) forces,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said, noting that the military is operating across multiple fronts, including the West Bank, Gaza and Syria.
Israel opposition leader attacks government
Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government of steering the country towards a “security disaster” by “sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means and with far too few soldiers”.
“The (Israeli army) is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield,” Lapid said.
Israeli soldier killed in Lebanon
The Israeli army announced the death in combat of a soldier in south Lebanon, just hours after reporting another death from its ranks.
Four Israeli soldiers have now been killed in fighting in south Lebanon since Hezbollah began launching rocket attacks against Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
World Bank ready ‘at scale’
The World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to countries in emerging markets dealing with the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East.
“We are ready to respond at scale — combining immediate financial relief with policy expertise and private sector support for the recovery of jobs and growth,” the World Bank Group said in its first statement on the crisis.
Hezbollah denies Kuwait presence
Lebanon’s Hezbollah again denied it had any presence in Kuwait, a day after the Gulf country announced more arrests of people allegedly linked to the Iran-backed group.
“For the third time, Hezbollah reiterates its complete denial of the accusations” made by Kuwait’s interior ministry, the group said in a statement.
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Iran recruiting children
Iran’s security forces are recruiting children as young as 12 to man checkpoints and perform other duties during the war in the capital, a Revolutionary Guards official told state TV.
Checkpoints have sprung up all around Tehran since the start of the war, with residents reporting teenagers in plainclothes manning some of them with machine guns.
Trump ‘not desperate’
Trump denied being “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, as he mixed threats with diplomacy in a push to wrap up his war in the Middle East.
Holding his first cabinet meeting since the start of the joint US-Israeli operation, Trump insisted that Iran was being “beat to shit” and was “begging” for a deal, despite Tehran’s denials.
Blasts in Tehran
Warplanes could be heard overhead in northern districts of Tehran, shortly before three loud explosions rang out, an AFP correspondent in the Iranian capital said.
The blasts were heard after dark, during rain, and it was not immediately possible to identify what had been hit.
Taking control of Iran oil an ‘option’
Trump said taking control of Iran’s oil was an “option”, comparing it to the deal Washington made with Venezuela after toppling Nicolas Maduro. /das
