Iran-US Conflict: Live Updates & Retaliation Threat

Pope Leo XIV has used his Sunday address to worshippers to warn that God “does not listen to the prayer of those who wage war” as conflict in the Middle East continues on multiple fronts.

“This is our god … a god who refuses war … who does not listen to the prayer of those who wage war,” he said in his Palm Sunday homily.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer, he paid tribute to “the Christians of the Middle Eastwho suffer the consequences of a terrible conflict and in many cases cannot fully live the rites of these holy days”.

Earlier this week, the pope called for a ceasefire in the Middle East war, saying more than a million people had been forced to flee their homes and urging the warring parties to hold talks.

Leo XIV, the first American pope, has repeatedly condemned the war and called for dialogue.

But the 70-year-old pontiff has been cautious in his statements since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war on February 28, refraining from naming any party in his condemnations and appeals for peace.

Reporting by AFP

Israeli pesticides maker ADAMA 000553.SZ says its Makhteshim plant in southern Israel had been hit either by an Iranian missile or debris from an intercepted missile, but no injuries have been reported.

ADAMA, part of Chinese-owned Syngenta Groupsaid the extent of any damage to the plant was not immediately known.

Israel’s fire and rescue service said a fire broke out in an industrial area in southern Israel that houses several chemical manufacturing and industrial plants.

It urged the public to stay away from the Ne’ot Hovav industrial area due to the presence of “hazardous materials” as 34 firefighting crews worked to contain the blaze.

It said there was no danger to the public beyond a distance of 800 metres from the industrial area.

Reporting with Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he has instructed the military to further expand the existing security buffer zone in southern Lebanonvowing to fundamentally change the security situation there.

“I have just instructed to further expand the existing security buffer zone,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

“We are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north.”

He said the decision aimed to strengthen Israel’s security posture along the northern frontieramid ongoing tensions along Israel’s northern border, where cross-border hostilities have raised fears of a broader regional escalation.

Hezbollah entered the war between the US, Israel and Iran days after the conflict erupted.

The group, which is based in Lebanon, is considered one of Iran’s proxies in the region.

Reporting with Reuters

The speaker of Iran’s parliament has accused the United States of plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal, after a US warship with about 3,500 military personnell arrived in the Middle East.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s comments came after more than a month of aerial bombardments of Iran by US and Israeli forces, and as key regional players held talks in Pakistan.

The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states and the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening the world economy.

“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack,” Mr Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

“Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all.”

Reporting with AFP

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has thanked the people of Iraq and its religious leadership for their support of Iran “in the face of aggression”.

The message was reported by Iranian media on Sunday, local time, but did not say how this message was conveyed.

The new leader, who assumed the role after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes on the first day of the war, has made few public statements over the past month.

Reporting with Reuters

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran’s heavy water production plant at Khondab, which the country says was attacked on March 27has suffered severe damage and is no longer operational.

The installation contained no declared nuclear material, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a social media post on X.

Iran’s energy ministry reported power outages in the capital of Tehranits surrounding region and neighbouring Alborz province on Sunday, local time, “following attacks on electricity industry facilities”.

It said “electricity was cut off in these areas, and efforts are being made to resolve the problem”, according to state television.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to strike Iranian power stations if Tehran did not negotiate a peace deal, before repeatedly extending a deadline to do so.

Reporting by AFP

Pakistan has announced overnight that it will soon host talks between the US and Iran.

There has been no response yet from Washington or Tehran to this news, and it remains unclear whether the talks will be direct or indirect.

“Pakistan is very happy that both Iran and the US have expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a televised speech after top diplomats from Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in Islamabad.

“Pakistan will be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days.”

They are expected to meet again on Monday to discuss ending the war.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not answer questions about the announcement.

Reporting by AP

Hi there. I’m Caitlin Rawling and I, along with my ABC colleagues, will be bringing you the latest on the war in the Middle East.

Here are the key developments from overnight:

• Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojitaba Khamenei, has thanked the people of Iraq for their support in the war.

• Pakistan says it is preparing to host “meaningful talks” with Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, saying it has covered possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region.

• Iran has accused the US of plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a deal.

• Power outages have been reported in Tehran and its surrounding region “following attacks on electricity industry facilities”.

Stick with us as we bring you live updates.