Tehran warns Israel of ‘heavy price’ after strikes on nuclear sites, steel plants amid diplomatic deadline

• Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi vows retaliation after attacks on steel factories, nuclear and power sites

• US Secretary of State says conflict expected to last ‘weeks, not months’ without ground troops

• At least 1,937 killed in Iran and 1,100 in southern Lebanon so far in US-Israeli airstrikes

• Israel issues displacement orders for residents south of Zahrani River in Lebanon

• Germany warns US-Israel war unlikely to achieve regime change; Steinmeier calls it a 'disastrous mistake'

• Pakistan, along with Egypt and Turkey, actively relays diplomatic messages to prevent further regional escalation: Dar

• Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hails Pakistan’s ‘pivotal role’ in mediation, citing enhanced international stature and regional trust

 TEHRAN/WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday warned Israel of a “heavy price” after airstrikes targeted steel factories, a power plant, and civilian nuclear sites, among other infrastructure, in apparent coordination with the United States—despite a deadline extended by President Donald Trump for diplomacy.

“Iran will exact a heavy price for Israeli crimes,” FM Araghchi vowed, reiterating Tehran’s firm stance against the attacks.

Israel has hit 2 of Iran's largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the U.S.

Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy.

Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 27, 2026

 Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Islamabad is actively relaying messages between US and Iranian officials as part of mediation efforts to end the conflict. Turkey and Egypt are also supporting diplomatic engagement, while Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera that at least 1,937 people have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.

Meanwhile, Israel has issued displacement orders for all residents of southern Lebanon living south of the Zahrani River, approximately 50 km (31 miles) from the Israeli border, as Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports more than 1,100 fatalities in Israeli attacks since March 2.

Fresh Israeli attacks came despite President Trump extending a 10-day deadline to Iran—pushing it to April 6—for reopening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, while claiming talks with Tehran on a peace deal were “going very well.”

Washington expects the conflict to last “weeks, not months

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expects the conflict to last “weeks, not months” and claimed US objectives can be achieved without ground troops, although deployments are ongoing to provide “maximum optionality.” Two contingents of thousands of Marines are en route to the region, with elite airborne units expected to follow.

The war in the Gulf is still expected to last weeks, not months, and Washington can meet all its objectives without using ground troops, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.

Rubio told reporters after meeting G7 counterparts in France that Washington was “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here — a matter of weeks, not months.”

While he said Washington could achieve its aims without ground troops, he acknowledged that it was deploying some to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge”.

Washington has dispatched two contingents of thousands of Marines to the region, the first of which is due to arrive around the end of March aboard a huge amphibious assault ship. The Pentagon is also expected to deploy thousands of elite airborne soldiers.

The deployments have raised concern that an air war that has already disrupted global energy supplies could turn into a prolonged ground battle.

But US President Donald Trump also emphasised this week what he described as “productive negotiations” aimed at a diplomatic solution to the war, despite repeated assertions from Tehran that no such talks have begun.

Rubio said Washington was still waiting for a formal response from Iran to a 15-point proposal it sent this week.

Israel launched strikes on two major steel facilities in Isfahan, Iran on 27 March. According to Iranian state media, the Mobarakeh Steel Company was hit, with parts of its electrical installations and steelmaking workshop damaged. One person was killed and two others injured. A… pic.twitter.com/aiH8jsG5xF

— TRT World (@trtworld) March 27, 2026

“We’ve had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system, whatever’s left of it, about a willingness to talk about certain things,” Rubio said. “We’re waiting for further clarification about … who is it that we will be talking to, what will we be talking about and when will we be talking.”

For its part, Iran says it has rejected the proposal.

On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against its civilian energy grid. He said talks were “going very well”.

A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Trump and top White House officials had been told via interlocutors that an Iranian counter-proposal was likely to arrive later on Friday.

The US proposal is reported to include demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes to relinquishing control of the world’s most important trade route for energy supplies.

While Iranian officials have publicly rebuffed US diplomacy, they have said they are keeping channels open through third countries to exchange messages.

An Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that senior officials had reviewed the US proposal and felt it served only US and Israeli interests, although diplomacy had not ended. Iranian state broadcaster shows photos of drone strike on Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa Airbase

🔻Satellite images released of the damage caused by a suicide drone hitting a shed, aircraft hangar, and drone at the #US Sheikh Isa Air Base in #Bahrain. pic.twitter.com/m26w0qzpvY

— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) March 27, 2026

US, Israel unlikely to achieve ‘regime change’ in Iran: Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the US-Israel war on Iran is unlikely to lead to “regime change”, as the month-long conflict shows no signs of abating.

“Is regime change really the goal?” he said at a forum in Frankfurt organised by the FAZ newspaper. “If that’s the goal, I don’t think you’ll achieve it. It’s mostly gone wrong” in past conflicts, he said, pointing to the Afghanistan war.

Earlier this week, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, said the US-Israel war on Iran is a “disastrous mistake” that breaches international law. WATCH: Child plays on a swing in Iran’s Bandar Abbas as smoke rises in the distance

A young Iranian child plays on a swing on a beach in the city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, while plumes of smoke rise in the background from reported attacks on an Iranian naval base. pic.twitter.com/AnGPzZtA2J

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 27, 2026

Steinmeier has taken a far more critical line than Merz, who has skirted questions on the war’s legality.

Pakistan playing 'pivotal role' in ending US-Iran war: Khawaja Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that Pakistan was playing a very "pivotal role" in ending the war between the United States and Israel.

Speaking in an interview on a TV channel, he said Egypt, Turkiye and Pakistan were involved in the effort to stop the war and prevent further destruction in the region.

"It is a matter of honour for us for Pakistan's leadership to be playing an important and pivotal role in ending a conflict in which our brotherly Muslim community is involved."

He credited Pakistan's greater role in the conflict's mediation to its "enhanced image and worth" internationally and among Muslim countries after last year's military conflict with India.

The defence minister also pointed towards Pakistan's ramped-up diplomacy in the conflict's aftermath, saying the country was in a "unique phase" in its history where there was strong trust and confidence present.

"Another side of this coin is our relations with the US and the direction they've taken," Asif said, adding that Pakistan had never before achieved the kind of position as the present in its diplomacy with the US.

The minister further said that Pakistan was in an active state of war with Afghanistan, with "lukewarm tensions" present with India as well.

"I think history is in the making. Pakistan's leadership, and the hybrid system ... is delivering. Not only within Pakistan ... but the way our prestige has enhanced internationally, I think both Pindi and Islamabad have realised that Pakistan's respect is rooted in a joint leadership front."

Asif said Pakistan was in a position to play a role, adding that it was an opportunity by history for the government to mark its position for future generations to remember.

"We have to build on these opportunities that nature provides. I think staying away is not an option," he said, adding that there were not a lot of huge risk factors for Pakistan in the situation.

"I think the benefits are huge," he added.

Questioned about the mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia possibly kicking in if the Gulf states responded to Iran, the defence minister said: "We could be subject to the situation, you are absolutely right. This is why the role of diplomacy is all the more important, so we don't let that situation arise and avoid it."

Questioned about reports of Pakistan hosting US-Iran talks, Asif said it was better for him not to comment on the situation so that it could come to fruition on its own.

On recent disparaging remarks by the Indian leadership about Pakistan's role, the minister said: "I think they are tearing their mouth off ... it is their failure, there is no doubt in this. Jaishankar and his father were diplomats ... diplomacy is his family profession, and he is mocking us as a 'broker'? he is a 'broker' by heritage and he is mocking us."

He also questioned whether India had not attempted a similar role in the Russia-Ukraine war.

"I think India has been defeated on both the military and diplomatic levels ... the face of the butcher of Gujarat has come to the fore."

On the progress in the operation against Afghanistan, he said Pakistan had succeeded in creating pressure but could not predict the long-term situation. "The offence we started has not concluded, there was a lull due to Eid and the world's attention is currently on a bigger conflict. We will not give them any respite; there is no doubt about it. We have to conclude this operation to attain maximum results."

The minister expressed hope that China's influence on and in Afghanistan would be able to conclusively solve the crisis. VIDEO: Bangladesh’s fuel crisis deepens amid US-Israeli war on Iran

🛢️ Bangladesh’s fuel crisis deepens amid US–Israel war with Iran

→ In Dhaka, drivers queue for hours for minimal fuel, 'risking their livelihoods' https://t.co/9kONoQxdoV pic.twitter.com/24Gt8pcqRS

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) March 27, 2026

 US, Israel waging ‘illegal, ruthless war’: Iran FM tells UNHRC

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US and Israel of waging an “illegal” and “ruthless” war against Iran, during remarks at an emergency session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today, according to a post shared by Press TV on X.

🔴 Iran's FM Araghchi delivers speech at Emergency UN Human Rights Council session on attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab:

🔺Iran is under an illegal war imposed by the US and Israel, two nuclear-armed aggressor regimes. This war is unjustified and brutally ruthless. pic.twitter.com/5qRYknJ2d0

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 27, 2026

Addressing the session convened in response to the deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Araghchi said Iran was facing “an illegal war imposed by the US and Israel, two nuclear-armed aggressor regimes.” “This war is unjustified and brutally ruthless,” he added.

The UNHRC session was called after the February 28 strike on the school in southern Iran, which reportedly killed scores of civilians, most of them children, drawing widespread international concern and calls for an investigation.

Iran has consistently blamed the United States and Israel for the attack, while both countries have denied deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and say investigations are ongoing.

US, Iran could meet for direct talks in Pakistan ‘very soon’: German FM

The United States and Iran have already held indirect contacts and are preparing for direct talks, according to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Al Jazeera reported on Friday.

Talking to Deutschlandfunk radio, Wadephul said preparations are underway for a meeting between representatives from both sides, expected to take place soon in Pakistan.

“Based on my information, there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly," he said. "That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently."

Ukraine-Saudi Arabia defence deal

Additionally, President Zelensky says Ukraine and Saudi Arabia's Ministries of Defence have reached an agreement on defence cooperation while in an officially unannounced meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Zelenskyy said on X that the document “lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation, and investment.” He provided no details.

Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Counterpart Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Procurement Arrangements.https://t.co/mO5gktI0b6#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/k6MtdwCuFH

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) March 27, 2026

Ukrainian experts in drone combat – with experience of more than four years fighting Iranian drones used during Russia’s invasion – are helping five Middle East and Gulf countries to counter attacks, according to Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian leader said he would meet later in the day with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 Europeans to press Rubio over Russian support for Iran

European powers accused Russia of helping Iran target US forces in the Middle East war and said they would raise the issue on Friday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France.

Rubio is joining the second day of the gathering of ministers of leading Western democracies, taking place amid wars in Iran and Ukraine, economic uncertainty and mounting unease over unpredictable US foreign policy under Donald Trump.

The ministers are also expected to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, the critical Gulf waterway for the transport of oil and gas, which Iran has effectively blocked, spiking energy prices and roiling financial markets.

Two Western security sources and a regional official close to Tehran told Reuters that Moscow has been providing satellite imagery to Tehran and has also helped Iran upgrade its drones to emulate the equivalent versions used by Russia against Ukraine.

Other media outlets have also reported that Russia is aiding Iran in the conflict with the United States and Israel, just as Tehran has helped Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

"We're deeply concerned about the links between Russia and Iran that have been longstanding in terms of shared capabilities - for example, drones provided to Russia by Iran that have been involved in the conflict in Ukraine," British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said.

 UAE wants to join force to open Strait; IRGC forbids shipping for US-Israel allies

The United Arab Emirates has told the US and other Western allies that it would participate in a multinational maritime task force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The UAE is trying to push dozens of countries to create a “Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strait from Iranian attacks and escort shipping, the report added.

At the same time, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has stated that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and "any transit through the waterway will face harsh measures," according to Iranian state media.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) added that all shipping to and from ports of allies and supporters of the American-Israeli enemies is prohibited through any corridor or any destination.

Additionally, several US allies have said they have no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a Trump request for military support to keep the ​vital waterway open.

France said on Thursday it had held talks with around 35 countries seeking partners and ‌proposals for a mission to reopen the strait, but only once the US-Israeli war on Iran ends.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas, spiking energy prices and fuelling fears of global inflation.

The UAE is also working on a UN Security Council resolution with Bahrain to provide any future task force with a mandate, but Russia and China could oppose the move, the report added.

UN Security Council members have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorise the use of "all necessary means", Reuters reported earlier this week.

Bahrain’s military says its air defences have intercepted a total of 154 missiles and 362 drones from Iran since the start of the war.

Last week, a senior Emirati official said the UAE may join a US-led effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran all but shut the waterway to ships.

The waterway is vital to the economy of the UAE, a major oil exporter and trade hub. Iran has repeatedly attacked an Emirati port located outside the Gulf that is used to load oil exports.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Drone footage has revealed the extent of damage in the Israeli city of Arad days after an Iranian missile attack that injured at least 116 people. pic.twitter.com/LsXqemlGC6

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 27, 2026

Additionally, Kuwait's Shuwaikh port was hit by drones, causing material damage with no injuries reported, the Kuwait ports authority said on Friday, according to Reuters.

According to Al Arabiya, the Saudi Press Agency, quoting the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said that two drones have been intercepted and destroyed in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

 Naftali Bennett criticises Netanyahu

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not know how to win in any arena,” criticising the government’s handling of military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, according to Israeli media, Anadolu Agency reported.

“The current government’s political leadership is obstructing the army’s ability to achieve victory across multiple fronts,” Bennett said in an interview with Channel 12, accusing leaders of prioritising political considerations over security needs.

He said the military is facing a shortage of about 20,000 troops, arguing that drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews could help fill the gap but that "the government is avoiding the move for political reasons."

"The current leadership in Israel does not know how to win in any arena," Bennett added.

 Qatar lowers heightened security alert

Qatar has lowered its heightened security alert after the ministry of interior sent a message to residents saying the “threat has been eliminated and the situation has returned to normal”, according to Al Jazeera.

Qatar’s emergency services issued a heightened security alert, sending screeching messages on phones across the country — the first in a week.

The alert asked people to stay indoors and away from windows, and suggested an incoming missile or drone.

UN Security Council to meet today

According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold closed-door talks on strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure at Moscow's request.

“The Russian Federation has requested closed-door consultations with the UN Security Council due to the ongoing strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including educational and healthcare facilities,” said Evgeny Uspensky, spokesman for Russia’s envoy to the United Nations.

Israeli military displaces, wounds civilians

According to Drop Site News, the BBC reports that at least seven civilians have been killed in a US-Israeli strike on residential units in the city of Urmia in northwest Iran.

Al Jazeera reported that the Israeli military has said residents of Sajd village in southern Lebanon should leave immediately as Israeli forces will “act against it forcefully.”

Residents need to evacuate the village, believed to be in the Jezzine district of Nabatieh Governorate, and “move north of the Zahrani River”, the military said.

Anadolu Agency stated that, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 2 Palestinian youths were shot and wounded by Israeli forces during a raid on Qalandiya camp north of Jerusalem.

Five Palestinians were injured on Thursday evening in Israeli army fire and attacks by occupiers across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.