Global spotlight on Trump’s “important update on Iran” tonight

Tehran was shaken by a new series of explosions on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran might end within two or three weeksThe West Asia conflict began in January after the United States US and Israel carried out airstrikes across Iran killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei It rapidly escalated into a wider regional war driving up oil and gas prices and raising fears for the global economyTrump whose rhetoric has alternated between aggressive and conciliatory said late Tuesday that the fighting could be over in two weeks maybe threeThe White House announced he would deliver an important update on Iran to the nation at 9 pm Wednesday 0100 GMT ThursdayTehran has maintained that no negotiations are underway and says it has not responded to a reported 15point proposal from Washington aimed at ending the warHowever Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the Islamic republic has the necessary will to end the conflictmdashprovided its adversaries guarantee it will not resumeWith diplomacy uncertain Iranian state television reported fresh attacks on Tehran on Wednesday with explosions heard across the capitalAn AFP journalist said strikes hit an area near the former US embassymdashnow a museum known as the Den of Spies and a symbol of longstanding hostility between Tehran and WashingtonAccording to Iranian media strikes also targeted steel facilities in central and southwestern Iran causing significant damage and destructionThe Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strikes and said it intercepted an Iranian missile attack that wounded 14 people including an 11yearold girlIsrael also reported that its air defenses intercepted a missile launched from Yemenmdashthe third such attack by Iranbacked Houthi rebels since they joined the conflict over the weekendLebanon Seven killed in strikesThe conflict has killed thousands across the region and displaced millionsIn Lebanon the health ministry reported that seven people were killed in strikes near south Beirut on Wednesday The Israeli military said it had targeted a senior Hezbollah commanderLebanese security and Hezbollah sources told AFP the strike killed Yousef Hashem Hezbollahrsquos top commander for Iraq military affairsAFP correspondents at the scene described a street covered in debris and charred wreckageNobody knows whats happening resident Hassan Jalwan said adding that displaced people have been sleeping in the openLebanon was drawn into the conflict on March 2 when the Iranbacked group Hezbollah launched attacks on IsraelIsrael has responded with extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive that Lebanonrsquos health ministry says has killed more than 1200 peopleUS allies in the Gulf have also been affected with Iran launching retaliatory attacks on countries it accuses of supporting strikes against itA Bangladeshi national was killed in the United Arab Emirates by falling shrapnel from an intercepted droneKuwait reported that its international airport was hit by an Iranian drone attack that caused a large fire at fuel storage tanks The National Bank of Kuwait said it would close its headquarters for two days in the interest of everyones safetyIn Bahrain authorities said a fire broke out at a business facility as a result of the Iranian aggression while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting several dronesA tanker was also struck in waters off Qatar according to a British maritime security agency which reported damage but no casualtiesEvery day we hear the sound of drones said Waad Abdulrazaq a 31yearold truck driver near Iraqrsquos Erbil international airport an area frequently targeted by proIran groupsWe hear them in the morning and we hear them at night We can no longer sleep or live in peaceWest Asia conflict Economic falloutIran continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz a key route through which about onefifth of the worldrsquos oil supply passesAverage US gasoline prices rose above 4 per gallon this week for the first time in four years while inflation increased in Europe and governments globally began rolling out support measuresMarkets reacted positively to Trumprsquos remarks about a possible end to the war with oil prices falling on Wednesday and stock markets rising across Europe and AsiaThe US has not disclosed who it is communicating with in Iran which denies any formal negotiationsIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that he continues to receive messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff directly as before and this does not mean that we are in negotiationsEarlier in the week Trump warned that if Iran refused a deal US forces would obliterate its oil infrastructure including wells the Kharg Island export terminal and possibly water desalination plantsBritain said Wednesday it would host a meeting of around 35 countries this week to discuss reopening the Strait of HormuzWith AFP inputs