Iran US War News Highlights: UN Chief Guterres appoints envoy to lead mediation

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to lead UN efforts on the Middle East conflict and its consequences.

Guterres stated that, more than three weeks after Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran, “the war is out of control.”

Guterres stressed that “diplomacy must prevail” and requires “sincere dialogue.”

Guterres said Arnault will carry out mediation efforts on the ground, complementing previous attempts from New York, supporting peace initiatives.

Arnault will be in contact with all involved parties to facilitate dialogue. (AP)

Five Gulf nations and Jordan condemned Iranian attacks, whether carried out directly or through proxies and armed factions in the region.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan issued the joint statement.

The statement urged Iraq to prevent militias from launching attacks from its territory.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began.

He prayed:

“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”

-Called for unbreakable unity among troops.

-Requested “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

While denying negotiations, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that Iran is reviewing a US proposal aimed at ending the Gulf conflict.

The foreign minister clarified that communications via intermediaries should not be mistaken for formal dialogue.

“The exchange of messages through mediators does not mean negotiations with the U.S.,” he said.

“They put forward ideas in their messages that were conveyed to top authorities, and if necessary, a position will be announced by them.”

Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has not held any talks with the United States, contradicting claims from Washington about ongoing engagement.

“No negotiations have happened with the enemy until now, and we do not plan on any negotiations,” Araghchi said in an interview with Iranian state television on Wednesday.

“Just walked out of a House Armed Services briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing,” Republican Nancy Mace posted on X

The White House indicated that military operations—referred to as “Operation Epic Fury”—are expected to last between four to six weeks.

“We've always estimated approximately four to six weeks… so you could do the math on that,” Leavitt said.

According to US and Israeli media reports, Washington’s proposal includes demands for Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and dismantle its ballistic missile programme.

However, Leavitt declined to confirm specifics or identify US interlocutors in Tehran.

Reports suggest that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf may be acting as a key intermediary, though this remains unconfirmed.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that the ‘US has failed in its war goals including quick victory and change of regime,' as per a news alert by Reuters.

During the press briefing on Wednesday, Leavitt also said that talks with Iran are underway. “Talks continue. They are productive, as the President said on Monday, and they continue to be,” the White House press secretary reportedly said.

Iran is still reviewing the US proposal to end the war, despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters

US has issued a stern warning to Iran saying President Donald Trump would hit them harder if Tehran fails to accept that they have been "defeated militarily", White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again," Leavitt told reporters in a press briefing, reported Reuters.

US President Donald Trump will travel to China in May for a rescheduled summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, the White House announced on Wednesday.

Trump's visit has been scheduled for 14 and 15 May, after it was postponed due to the ongoing Iran war, AP reported.

Amid efforts by Pakistan to pitch itself as a mediator in the war between Israel-US and Iran, former Union Minister MJ Akbar has said that Islamabad "is not a mediator, only a postman, only a courier" and that Americans are comfortable with Pakistan "because it has always been a loyal American voice".

The International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol is likely to brief the European Union's finance ministers in meeting on Friday, Bloomberg reported.

Birol will brief the virtual gathering, which has been convened hastily to assess the impact of the conflict on energy markets and the economy, and how to better coordinate relief measures, the report said, citing a senior EU official

On Wednesday, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan released a joint statement, calling on Iraq to take necessary actions to stop attacks launched against neighbouring countries.

The United Nations' refugee chief, on Wednesday, urged donors to provide more funds to manage the humanitarian fallout from the widening war in the Middle East, saying his agency had so far received less than 10% of the money it needs.

Netanyahu has ordered the military to intensify strikes as much as possible aimed at destroying Iran's arms industry over the next 48 hours, amid concerns that Trump could announce peace talks at any moment, the New York Times reported.

An Iranian military source warns that if the enemy launches ground or naval action against Iran, Tehran could open new fronts, including a potential threat to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Tasnim news agency reported.

The source said Iran is fully prepared to escalate and cautioned the US that trying to solve Hormuz could end up creating another maritime crisis at Bab el-Mandeb.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said that Cairo is ready to host any meetings related to the US-Israel war on Iran as long as it serves de-escalation. Abdelatty also said at a news conference that Egypt supported US President Donald Trump’s initiative to negotiate with Iran. In recent times, Egypt has emerged as a key negotiator in the region.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold an emergency session on Friday to examine the Minab school bombing in Iran on the first day of the US-Israeli attack on the country, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported. The session will be held at the request of Iran, China, and Cuba. Around 170 people, mostly female students, were killed in the US attack.

Hezbollah on Wednesday said it has targeted a logistics base in the northern Israeli community of Kerem Ben Zimra.

The Israeli military on Wednesday claimed that it bombed weapons factories in Tehran in overnight strikes.

“In parallel, defensive sites were struck, which included an anti-aircraft missile launch position and an additional site containing the regime’s air defense systems,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

Kuwait’s spokesperson for the General Fire Force on Wednesday said that it is currently putting out a fire at Kuwait Airport caused by “hostile” drones.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday said that the IDF had crossed the threshold of having dropped 15,000 bombs on Iran since the war started on February 28. According to a statement, the volume of bombs dropped was more than four times the munitions used by the IDF during Operation Rising Lion in June 2025.

The Israeli military said it has killed at least 700 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon since hostilities escalated amid the war with Iran. They include hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, the IDF said.

Iran has reportedly rejected the US proposal for a ceasefire and set five conditions to end the conflict. According to Iran’s state media, these conditions are:

* A complete halt to "aggression and assassinations" by the enemy.

* The establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic.

* Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations.

* The conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region

* Iran's exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is and will remain Iran's natural and legal right, and it constitutes a guarantee for the implementation of the other party's commitments, and must be recognized.

On Wednesday, Jordan's army said that it has intercepted five missiles and several drones, which were launched by the Iranian forces, over the past 24 hours.

Reuters on Wednesday reported that India bought ‌its first cargo of Iranian LPG in years after the US temporary withdrew sanctions on Tehran’s oil and refined fuels.

India had stopped energy purchases from Iran in 2019 under pressure from Western sanctions.

Sanctioned tanker Aurora, carrying Iranian LPG, is ⁠expected to shortly reach the west coast port of Mangalore and will be shared among the three fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom evacuated 163 more of its staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Wednesday, the state-run RIA news agency reported.

It cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying about 300 of the company's staff remained at Bushehr, but more would be leaving.

In a televised speech, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that negotiating with Israel under fire amounts to imposed surrender and called for unity against Israel, Al Jazeera reported.

The speech, aired on a Hezbollah-affiliated television station, said Hezbollah fighters were prepared to continue “without limits”.

Tehran has reportedly rejected ceasefire proposal, terming talks with Washington as “illogical," Bloomberg reported.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that authorities have arrested 39 people and seized weapons and ammunition, along with at least seven Starlink devices in Tehran.

The officials noted that 49 homemade bombs, two Kalashnikov rifles, 16 handguns, 50 magazine clips and more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition were confiscated during their arrests.

On Wednesday, German foreign minister welcomed US President Donald Trump's efforts to hold talks with Iran

Lebanon's Army, on Wednesday, identified a rocket that broke apart over the country on Monday as an Iranian-made guided ballistic missile.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday that the US-Israel strikes targeted rescue teams as they were removing rubble from a bombing site.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday said that it was “unjust” for global citizens to pay for what he called “illegal” US and Israeli actions in Iran. He warned that the war in Tehran was inflicting severe global economic damage.

On Wednesday, Pakistan delivered a proposal from the United States to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkey could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

The comments, on condition of anonymity, were among rare signs that Tehran might consider diplomatic proposals, despite insisting in public that no talks were under way and it would make no deal with the administration of President Donald Trump.

Humanitarian groups are now under intense strain because of the US’ steep cuts to foreign aid say they are scrambling to find the funds needed to respond to the war in the Middle East, where millions of people have already been displaced by the widening conflict.

Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, citing Pakistani sources, said that breakthrough is expected within 48 hours in US-Iran talks as Tehran seeks guarantees, keeps missile program off limits, demands compensation

7 Iraqi Army soldiers were killed, and 13 were wounded after a US airstrike hit the clinic and engineering department at the Habbaniyah base in Anbar.

The base, which is shared by the Iraqi Army and PMF/Hashd al-Shaabi, was struck in two consecutive U.S. attacks on March 24–25.

Baghdad called the strikes a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty, especially because a military medical facility was hit, and has begun diplomatic and security consultations.

Pakistan has delivered a US proposal to Iran, but the venue for any talks between Tehran and Washington to end the war has yet to be decided, a senior Iranian source told Reuters.

Media reports suggest that Tehran has struck a power station in Hadera, Israel.

According to a CNN report, the war is continuing to rage across the Middle East, with strikes on sites including the Kuwait International Airport as well as fuel stations in Lebanon. The attacks come at a time when US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism over peace talks with Tehran.

On Wednesday, Iran's Mehr News Agency said that Tehran's army announced that it fired coastal cruise missiles targeting the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.