Israel strikes Iran after rejecting US talks proposal

Israel struck new targets across Iran on Thursday, March 26, 2026, after Tehran rejected United States overtures to wind down the nearly four-week Middle East war and vowed to keep up its “resistance”.

Hopes for a negotiated end to the US-Israeli war with Iran – which has mushroomed to engulf much of the Middle East – rose after the United States was said to have put a 15-point peace plan to Tehran.

But the Islamic republic’s top diplomat flatly denied any “negotiations” with President Donald Trump’s administration late Wednesday – conceding only that messages were being exchanged through “friendly countries”.

“At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance”, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, adding: “We do not intend to negotiate — so far, no negotiations have taken place.”

Under near-daily bombardment since the joint US-Israeli attack that started the war on February 28, Iran was hit early Thursday by what the Israeli army called “wide-scale” strikes targeting infrastructure.

Oil prices rise as investors review Middle East ceasefire prospects

Local media reported attacks in the central cities of Isfahan and Shiraz, as well as Bandar Abbas in the south, Tabriz in the northwest and Mashhad in the northeast – an area largely spared until now.

Iran, in turn, kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel, where medics said six people were lightly wounded by missile attacks in the country’s centre.

Fresh violence also flared in the Gulf, with two people killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia said it shot down at least 18 drones, and Kuwait reported a new missile and drone attack.

Iran has targeted Gulf nations it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes, notably with hits on energy sites that have sent markets into a tailspin, threatening lasting damage to the global economy.

The Star