<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Airstrikes have battered </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/iran" rel="" target="" title="Iran"><span>Iran</span></a><span> and Iranian missiles and drones have targeted </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/israel" rel="" target="" title="Israel's"><span>Israel's</span></a><span> Tel Aviv and sites across the </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/middle-east" rel="" target="" title="Middle East"><span>Middle East</span></a><span>, even as President </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> says the </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US"><span>US</span></a><span> is in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With thousands more US Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war's tempo remained high on Tuesday, a day after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-after-donald-trumps-48hour-deadline-iran-threatens-to-start-hitting-gulf-power-plants-and-mine-waters/d86936cf-ab6f-40ae-be34-efc1f0a60a98" rel="" target="" title="Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz"><span>Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz</span></a><span>. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tehran's chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing and threatened the world economy.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mel-schilling-death-married-at-first-sight-expert-dies-following-cancer-battle/5f002ab3-4955-4f34-b1e6-a2b15822fda3"><strong><span>'Incredible mum, role model, and soulmate': MAFS expert dies</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, according to officials from there and two other countries involved. But Iran remained defiant Tuesday, with the spokesman of its top military command saying that the armed forces would fight "until complete victory."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Any talks between the US and Iran — which appeared at the most tentative — would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington's shifting list of objectives — particularly over Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs — remain difficult to achieve. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, it's not clear who in Iran's government would have the authority to negotiate — or be willing to, particularly as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-strikes-hit-iran-and-tehran-targets-israel-and-gulf-states-amid-mixed-signals-over-talks-to-end-war/af8aa1be-f144-4405-94f5-8c6b80e316eb" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran also remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the February 28 strikes that started the current war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Pakistan says 'quiet diplomacy' is under way</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations with the US "fakenews", Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's office acknowledged he has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US had agreed "in principle" to join talks in Pakistan, according three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran. An email seeking comment from the US Embassy in Islamabad was not answered.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to provide the details to the media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Pakistani officials said the "quiet diplomacy" had grown more complicated since news of Pakistan's attempts leaked. And in fact, Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, spokesman of Iran's top military command, issued a defiant statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-shortage-australia-calls-for-action-as-hundreds-of-service-stations-in-nsw-queensland-victoria-and-south-australia-run-out-of-fuel/ced53768-0ded-4980-8064-65afb749c06d"><strong><span>Treasurer rejects fuel plea as 550 servos run out</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Iran's powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran's integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory," Iranian state television quoted Aliabadi as saying.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The general did not say what "complete victory" would look like, but it appeared likely Iran's military was trying to warn against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Egyptian official said efforts are centred on "trust-building" between the US and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in the fighting. Israel is not involved.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on both Iran's and Gulf Arab countries' energy infrastructure and that they were working on a "mechanism" for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back more than $US100 ($144) a barrel on Tuesday, up nearly 40 per cent since the war started.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/superbugs-fuelled-by-common-ingredient-glyphosate-in-weedkiller-roundup/60dd5409-17b2-4607-a433-d681a7268d3d" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Common product could be fuelling superbugs</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbours while Israel attacks Beirut</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian "production sites," without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighbourhoods and another in the centre of the city.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran also fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100-kilogram warhead evaded Israeli defences to slam into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing. Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Emerging from a shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It feels like you're a duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, the Emirati Defence Ministry said air defence systems responded to ballistic missiles and drones, and Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A strike on a residential apartment south-east of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The dramatic move offers the latest evidence of the deterioration in relations between Lebanon and Iran. Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some Lebanese government officials have been critical of Tehran's role in the country, accusing it of dragging the country into another war with Israel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted Guard officials operating in the country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran's death toll has surpassed 1500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Marines are on the way to the Persian Gulf</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump's announcement came as thousands of Marines was on the way to the region, raising speculation that the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to the country's oil network.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops. That would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Iran's power stations while talks unfold — a delay that could be timed to buy time for the Marines to arrive, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Centre in an analysis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, the centre also noted that "Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: </span></strong></em><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span> and </span></strong></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong></em><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong></em><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a><em></em></li></ul></div></div>