Middle East war: Donald Trump shifts blame to Pete Hegseth for Iran strike; can Pakistan broker peace? 7 key updates

US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) appeared to have shifted the narrative around the ongoing war with Iran, hinting that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was among the first few to voice support for a military action against Tehran.

Trump, who spoke at a roundtable in Tennessee, said, “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, ‘Let’s do it because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon’.” Hegseth was sitting next to Trump.

Here are the top updates from the US and Israel's war with Iran:

1. Recounting deliberations, the US President said he consulted senior officials before the decision to strike Iran was finalised. "I called Pete, I called General Caine, I called a lot of our great people … and I said, 'Let’s talk. We got a problem in the Middle East… they’re very close to having a nuclear weapon," he noted.

2. Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a TRT World report suggested that Pakistan is now positioning itself as a lead mediator, trying to bring peace and broker a deal between the US and Iran. Media reports also suggest that Islamabad is likely to host a summit later this week, and could potentially bring together the US Vice President and the speaker of the Iranian Parliament for negotiations.

3. On Monday, Trump announced a five-day pause in fighting with Iran, citing “very good and productive conversations”. However, Iranian media reported that strikes continued on Tuesday as Tehran rejected US talks. According to Tasnim news agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched strikes targeting American and Israeli targets. In the early hours of 24 March, the IRGC announced that it had carried out the 78th wave of retaliatory strikes during Operation True Promise 4.

4. Israel, on Monday, said the country's air force carried out a “wide wave of airstrikes” targeting Tehran's regime infrastructure. The wave of strikes came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv would continue to target Iran and Lebanon, after he had a telephonic conversation with Trump, the BBC reported.

5. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US and Israel of the ‘current state of insecurity’ in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to his South Korean counterpart, Araghchi referred to the ongoing military aggression in the Islamic Republic, adding that the current situation in the region and the insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz are a direct result of the illegal attacks by the US and the Zionist regime against Iran.

6. On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and reaffirmed the Islamic Republic's commitment to regional stability and cooperation. The talks also included discussions on their bilateral relations and the consequences of the "illegal war." During his phone call, Pezeshkian highlighted that Iran did not initiate the war, adding that the “aggressive enemy, without any reason, logic, or legal basis, committed military aggression against Iran during nuclear negotiations, targeting Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.”

7. On Tuesday, crude oil prices moved up, driven by fresh supply worries after Iran rejected claims of talks with the US aimed at resolving the Gulf conflict. The denial stood in contrast to remarks by Trump, who had suggested a potential agreement was near.

Brent crude climbed to around $104 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose nearly 4%. The gains came after prices had plunged more than 10% in the previous session.