Israel strikes ‘heart of Tehran’ as Trump delays Strait of Hormuz deadline

Israel’s military said early on Friday it had conducted a wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran” while smoke was seen billowing in the Beirut skyline after US President Donald Trump delayed his threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants over its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel has moved thousands of troops across the border into Lebanon, where Israeli officials said they want to take control of the entire area south of the Litani River — some 20 miles north of the border.

Iranian media reported on Friday that a Thai-flagged cargo ship that came under attack from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and was abandoned by its crew has run aground.

The Mayuree Naree came under attack on March 11, with three of its mariners going missing and still not found.

The semi-official Tasnim and Fars news agencies, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported that the cargo ship ran aground near the village of Ramchah on Qeshm Island.

Facing a convulsing stock market, Mr Trump on Thursday extended a deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz until April 6, saying Iran asked for the grace period and that talks were going “very well”, despite the fact Iran continues to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House on a 15-point proposal to end the conflict

The war has killed more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 in Lebanon. Eighteen people have died in Israel, while three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon.

Thirteen US military members have died, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.