US eyes Iranian assets for Gulf allies’ reconstruction, source says

The US government will attempt to redirect ​Iranian assets to Gulf states for rebuilding and repairs of damage caused by Iran, a source familiar with the matter said, as Tehran followed up a wave of strikes ‌against Kuwait and Bahrain with further drone launches.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damages already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran, the source said, adding that the US will consider using Iranian assets for repairs of any future destruction as well.

The disclosure came a day after Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told CNN that a peace deal to end the three-month war hinged on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen by the United States.

The source on ​Saturday did not specify what kind of assets the Treasury was examining. The language used to describe the new measures did not appear limited to frozen assets.

The threatened redirection of Iranian ​assets could create a new irritant to a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which was tested again this weekend with strikes by the ⁠US and Iran.

Peace negotiations appear to have stalled, although a minister from mediator Pakistan traveled to Tehran on Saturday with a letter for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

US forces ​struck Iranian coastal radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, both in the Strait of Hormuz, early Saturday after shooting down drones launched by Iran that U.S. Central Command says posed a threat to maritime ​traffic. A further two Iranian attack drones that were threatening shipping in the strait were also shot down, the US military said late on Saturday.

Read: US, Iran launch new strikes

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it retaliated against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and Kuwait’s army said on Saturday it engaged seven ballistic missiles that passed over residential areas, resulting in material damage but no casualties.

In Bahrain, sirens sounded and residents were urged to seek shelter. Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the strikes.

All Iranian officials aligned on negotiating strategy, says vice president

Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has said all senior Iranian officials are fully aligned on the country’s negotiating strategy, dismissing any suggestion of differences over the text or proposals under discussion, IRNA news agency reported.

Speaking during a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration on Saturday, Aref said Tehran has pursued a clear and coordinated approach in negotiations.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a specific strategy in the negotiations, and all officials have pursued it with complete coordination,” he said, adding that there were “no differences regarding the text and proposals of the negotiations.”

He was referring to ongoing indirect talks between Iran and the United States aimed at ending the US-Israeli war of aggression against the country, which began on February 28 with the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several top military commanders.

Aref also highlighted Iran’s experience in managing two imposed wars, saying the country had gained valuable lessons in crisis management.

He noted that wartime conditions had led to the removal of certain bureaucratic procedures, with increased efficiency in imports, cargo unloading and customs clearance.

The vice president also called for expanding the capacity of customs offices and ports across the country, and urged the completion of the North–South and East–West transport corridors.

He added that Iran’s strategy of strengthening relations with neighbouring countries had gained greater momentum since the Ramadan war, stressing the need to focus on regional opportunities in national planning.

Israeli military says it intercepted two projectiles

The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed into ​Israeli territory from Lebanon on ‌Sunday, after sirens sounded in the areas of Yiftah and Ramot Naftali.

Clashes between Israel and ​Hezbollah have not halted, with ​the Lebanese militant group rejecting proposals linking ⁠a ceasefire to its disarmament, saying ​Israel must first halt its attacks ​and withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon.

Four Israeli soldiers injured in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military says four Israeli reserve soldiers were moderately injured in a drone attack in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli media, Al Jazeera reported.

The report came a day after the Israeli military announced the deaths of two soldiers in fighting in southern Lebanon.

At least 29 Israeli soldiers and one contractor have been killed since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed on March 2, AFP reported.

Palestine condemns Iran missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait

Palestinian foreign ministry condemned Iran’s recent missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, calling them “an escalation in threatening security and stability in the Arabian Gulf region” and “a direct assault on their security and safety,” Al Jazeera reported.

The ministry said the attacks represented a “blatant breach” of the United Nations Charter, international law and international norms.

It also expressed Palestine’s “full solidarity” with Bahrain and Kuwait and backed “all legitimate measures” taken to protect their sovereignty, security and stability.

As OPEC+ meets, Iran war hobbles power to shape oil market

OPEC+ ministers meet Sunday to weigh higher production quotas in a bid to cap oil prices that have surged since the Iran war effectively choked off Gulf crude shipments, AFP reported.

But even if the cartel members vow to ramp up output by thousands of barrels per day, analysts say geopolitical realities mean they probably won’t move the needle on prices.

Ministers from the 21 member states of OPEC+, the main oil producing nations and their allies, are holding their quarterly meeting online.

The group is likely to beef up its production quotas by “188,000 barrels a day”, said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy, similar to recent increases.

Pakistani minister lands in Tehran

Iran later ​said it had hit US bases in both countries with ballistic missiles, but the US military said six missiles were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its target.

The US and Iran have been engaged ​in largely indirect negotiations for an interim deal to halt the three-month-old war that would leave issues including Iran’s nuclear programme to further negotiations.

But a deal has remained elusive while the two sides have periodically skirmished.

Tehran wants access to ‌billions of dollars ⁠in oil revenue, waivers on sanctions on crude exports, the lifting of a US blockade on its ports and leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively blocked the waterway, where about a fifth of global oil traffic transited before the war.

Iranian state media reported that Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for talks with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Naqvi said he was carrying a “special letter” from his country’s army chief and prime minister to Khamenei, ISNA reported.

Read more: Naqvi in Tehran as Pakistan ramps up peace diplomacy

Trump is facing mounting domestic political pressure due to rising gas prices to bring the unpopular war to an end. He told ​NBC that while most of Iran’s drone and missile ​manufacturing facilities had been destroyed, the Iranians ⁠still had access to about a fifth of their missiles.

“They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21% to 22% of their missiles. It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked,” Trump told NBC News‘ “Meet the Press” program, according to ​excerpts released by the network on Friday.

The conflict has driven up oil prices and disrupted supply chains for other goods, including humanitarian aid.

Fighting flares across region despite ceasefire

In a parallel conflict in ⁠Lebanon, two Lebanese army officers and a soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle in south Lebanon, the Lebanese army said. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.

Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

Lebanon’s army said on Saturday its commander, General Rudolf Haykal, left for Pakistan at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, without giving further details.

The ⁠surprise visit was ​notable given the insistence by Washington — and by Lebanese leaders, including the president — that ceasefire talks for Lebanon remain separate ​from US-Iran negotiations mediated by Pakistan.

Also read: Lebanese army officer, soldiers killed in Israeli strike amid ceasefire tensions

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem this week rejected a US-brokered pact between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting in Lebanon. The deal did not provide for an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah had not been party to the ​negotiations.

Israel has said its forces would not withdraw or halt operations in the country amid increasing friction with the US.