Iran war: Trump threatens to 'blow up' desalination plants

A broker for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a big investment in major defense companies in the weeks leading up ‌to ⁠the ⁠US-Israeli attack on Iran, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth's broker at ​Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February, about making a multimillion-dollar investment ​in the asset manager's Defense Industrials Active ETF, shortly ​before ‌the US launched military action against Tehran, the report added.

According to the FT report, the investment discussed by Hegseth’s ‌broker did not ultimately go ahead as the ‌fund, ​which launched in May last year, was not yet available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy.

The FT report did not say how ​much discretion the broker had to make investments on Hegseth's behalf, or whether Hegseth knew what the broker was ⁠doing.

The Pentagon said the FT ⁠report was incorrect ​and demanded a retraction. "This ⁠allegation ​is entirely ​false and ​fabricated," chief Pentagon ‌spokesman Sean Parnell ​said ⁠on X.

The report comes amid a wider scrutiny of trades made in financial and prediction markets ahead of President Donald Trump's major policy decisions.

The timing of some of the well-placed bets tied to US military action against Iran has translated into a windfall for some users on prediction markets, with those well-timed wagers having prompted US lawmakers to question whether people had insider knowledge. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told conservative US cable channel Newsmax that he didn't want to "put a schedule" on the Iran war.

"It's definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don't want to put a schedule on it," he told Newsmax.

Netanyahu said the US-Israeli war against Iran had achieved some of its goals, including killing "thousands" of members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Israel and the US are also "close to finishing their arms industry," he said.

"Just the whole industrial base — wiping out all, you know, just plants, entire plants, and the nuclear program itself," Netanyahu added.

The Trump administration has consistently maintained the Iran war would last around four to six weeks. President Donald Trump, earlier on Monday, claimed progress in talks with Iran even as more US service members were deployed to the region.

Later, during Monday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained that timeline. She told reporters who asked about the war having hit its 30-day milestone that they can "do the math on how much longer the Pentagon needs to fully achieve the objectives." 

Iran's parliamentary Security Commission has approved a plan to regulate and impose tolls on vessels passing through the criticalStrait of Hormuz shipping lane, a commission member announced.

Iranian state TV cited the member as having said that the plan involved "financial arrangements and rial toll systems," "implementing the sovereign role of Iran," as well as cooperation with Oman on the other side of the strait, among other things.

The committee member was also cited as having said that American and Israeli vessels would be banned from passing through the waterway. 

Nearly all traffic has grounded to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

The waterway connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and Iran's near-total blockade of the critical path for the world's flow of oil and natural gas has strained economies around the world. 

France has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after three peacekeepers in the UNIFIL mission were killed in southern Lebanon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

"Lebanon: Following the extremely serious incidents suffered by UNIFIL peacekeepers, I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council," Barrot said in a statement, referring to the UN's mission in Lebanon.

France is one of the permanent members of the UN's Security Council.

He said that Paris condemned the killing of an Indonesian peacekeeper by a projectile on Sunday and the killing of two peacekeepers by an explosion on Monday.

He said that France also condemned "serious incidents suffered yesterday by the French contingent of UNIFIL in the Naqoura area" on the Lebanese coast near the border with Israel.

"These security breaches and acts of intimidation by Israeli soldiers against UN personnel are unacceptable and unjustifiable," he said.

US President Donald Trump would be "interested" in requesting that Arab countries contribute to paying for the US' war with Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

"I think it's ​something the President would be quite interested ​in calling them ‌to do," Leavitt said at a Monday press conference, responding to a journalist pointing to Gulf states' role in funding the 1990-1991 Gulf War between Iraq and a US-led coalition.

"It's an idea that I ​know ⁠that he has and something that I think ⁠you'll ​hear more from him on," Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt also said that Washington's talks with Tehran were "going well."

"Despite all of ‌the public posturing ‌you ​hear from the regime and false reporting, talks are ​continuing and going well. What is ⁠said ​publicly is, ​of course, much different ​than what's being ‌communicated to us privately," she said.

Tehran has repeatedly denied US claims the two warring parties are carrying out negotiations and has described Washington's demands as excessive.

Leavitt said that a four-to-six week timeframe previously declared by Trump for the war still stands, adding that the US president wanted a deal with Iran by April 6.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington was "hopeful" about change in Iran, claiming that there had been internal "fractures" within the country's clerical leadership.

"There’s some fractures going on there internally.  And at the end of the day, I think that if there are people in Iran who now, given everything that’s happened, are willing to move in a different direction for their country, that would be great," he told US broadcaster ABC.

"You'd have a much different country," he said. "So we are always hopeful that that would exist over there."

He said that the US had succeeded in "largely" destroying Iran's air force and navy and was working to reduce the number of missile launchers at its disposal.

Rubio said that the US could achieve its objectives in the war with Iran "in a matter of weeks."

Early in the war, US President Donald Trump set a timeframe of four to five weeks for operations, while also insisting they could go for "far longer."

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Monday that authorities suspected a "direct link" to Iran in a foiled bomb attack in Paris over the weekend.

He told French radio station RTL that the plot used the same "modus operandi" as "actions carried out in the Netherlands and Belgium" that were claimed by a pro-Tehran group.

London police are also investigating a possible link between the group and an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances last week.

Experts cited by the French AFP news agency have argued the group, which goes under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) on the Telegram messaging service, is not a genuine militant outfit but rather a front group for Iranian intelligence.

“Typically, the intelligence services of [Iran] operate in this way: They use proxies, a series of subcontractors, often common criminals, to carry out highly targeted actions aimed at US interests, the interests of the Jewish community, or Iranian opposition figures,” Nunez told RTL.

What was the thwarted bomb plot in Paris?

On Saturday morning, Paris police said they had apprehended a man who was poised to set off a a homemade explosive device he had planted near the Bank of America building in La Boetie street in the French capital.

He was accompanied by a second man who fled the scene.

French police have arrested five people in total in the case, two of them on Monday.

Two UN peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday, the United Nations mission, known as UNIFIL, said.

It said in a statement that the two peacekeepers were killed "when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle" near the town of Bani Hayyan.

Two other peacekeepers were injured in the explosion, one severely, according to the statement.

The mission said that it had launched an investigation into the incident.

It called for all parties to ensure the safety of UN personnel, saying: "Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law."

It comes after a UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed on Sunday near the village of Adchit Al Qusayr, also in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL functions largely as an observation mission that patrols parts of southern Lebanon.

Two Chinese container vessels managed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on their second attempt, ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic service showed.

"After aborting an initial transit attempt on Friday, COSCO’s ultra-large container vessels have now successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, signalling a potential shift in conditions for commercial shipping," MarineTraffic said in a post on X.

COSCO is a state-owned Chinese shipping conglomerate based in Shanghai.

MarineTraffic said that the passage was the "first confirmed crossing by a major container carrier since the start of the conflict" between Iran and the United States and Israel.

The two vessels had made an earlier attempt to cross the strait on Friday.

Rebecca Gerdes, a data analyst from MarineTraffic owner Kpler, was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying that "both vessels are steaming at an elevated speed toward the Gulf of Oman at the moment."

Traffic through the crucial waterway has grinded to a standstill after Tehran effectively closed the strait in response to the United States and Israel's bombing of Iran.

The US and Israel escalate attacks on Iran as the conflictpasses 30 days. President Trump threatens to seize or destroy Iran's key oil hub, Kharg Island, unless a ceasefire emerges. Israel reports refinery damage amid ongoing missile fire. While Trump claims direct talks with Tehran, Iran denies negotiations and accuses Washington of preparing a ground invasion, warning of fierce retaliation.

An Iranian missile, the fourth such since the war began, entered Turkish airspace on Monday before being shot down by NATO air and missile defenses, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

The three earlier incidents also saw Iranian missiles being shot down by NATO defenses.

The ministry said it was taking measures "decisively and without ⁠hesitation" to counter any threats.

It has previously complained to Tehran about the missiles, but Iran says it did not authorize any launches against Turkey and has called for a joint investigation.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has called on President Trump to stop the war in Iran, saying only he can do it.

"I tell President Trump: nobody can stop the ‌war in our region ⁠in ⁠the Gulf but you," the Egyptian leader said on Monday.

"Please, Mr. President, please. Please help us stop the war. You are capable of doing so," he added.

Egypt has been one of the regional powers, alongside Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, that has been pushing for a diplomatic end to the conflict.

It is also a key recipient of US military aid and has condemned Iranian attacks on its Arab neighbors.

Sissi added a sense of urgency to his plea, warning that "the ‌price of a barrel of oil could reach more than $200, and this is not an exaggeration."

"I fear that targeting energy facilities, whether production or refineries, will have very serious repercussions for the global economy and fuel prices," he said.

"Wealthy countries might be able to absorb this, but for middle-income and fragile economies, it could have a very, very severe impact on their stability," ​the Egyptian president added.

An Israeli strike on a checkpoint in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon killed a Lebanese soldier, the Lebanese military said on Monday.

"An Israeli attack targeted an army checkpoint" near Tyre, "resulting in the death of one soldier and injuries to others", the military said in a statement.

It appeared to be the first time that soldiers, rather than Hezbollah fighters, had been targeted since the beginning of the most recent Israeli war in Lebanon, a military source told the French AFP news agency.

At least 11 Lebanese soldiers have been killed in this conflict.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told the Israeli military to expand its invasion of southern Lebanon.

European Council President Antonio Costa held a call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday to discuss the war in Iran.

Costa said he had made the call to hear Sharif's "assessment on the Iran war, as well as the outcome of the recent consultations between the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye held in Islamabad."

"The EU is gravely concerned over the prolongation of the war and its increasing global impact," Costa wrote on X.

Pakistan has taken a leading role as an intermediary between the US and Iran, having passed on President Trump's 15-point peace plan to Tehran. It remains unclear to what extent talks have happened with the US and Iran giving contradictory accounts.

"I wish Pakistan all the best for its peace endeavors. The EU supports all mediation efforts," the Council president said. "Only dialogue and diplomacy can bring peace and stability back to the Middle East, in full respect of the UN Charter and international law."

US President Donald Trump has taken to his Truth Social platform to repeat his threats against Iran's power plants as well as Kharg Island while also claiming to be in talks with the Iranian leadership.

He said Washington "is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran."

Despite Iran having repeatedly said it is not holding direct discussions with the US about a ceasefire, Trump said: "Great progress has been made."

However, he warned that if a deal isn't reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz reopened, "we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)"

The US president has previously threatened to attack Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, but the deadline he gave was pushed back to April 6.

He also told reporters on Sunday that he was considering a military operation to take control of Kharg Island.