Highlights
- Trump warns Iran to get serious before "it is too late".
- Pakistan confirms facilitating US-Iran indirect talks.
- Israeli strikes kill Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy commander.
Trump's warning came as Israel announced it had killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy, calling him "directly responsible" for blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane since the war's outbreak.
"They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!" Trump warned on social media, saying Iran had been "militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback".
Pakistan mediates talks
Pakistan's top diplomat confirmed Thursday that Islamabad was facilitating "US-Iran indirect talks" by relaying messages, and that a 15-point American plan was being "deliberated upon" by Tehran.
Foreign minister Ishaq Dar said "brotherly countries" Turkey, Egypt and others were also supporting the process, while the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed interest in participating in any talks.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi flatly denied Wednesday that "negotiations" were engaged with Trump's administration, but conceded messages were being exchanged through "friendly countries". "At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance", Araghchi said on state TV.
Under near-daily bombardment since 28th February, Iran was hit by a new wave of Israeli strikes on Thursday.
Israel said it had killed the Guards' navy commander, Alireza Tangsiri, and several senior officers.
Defence minister Israel Katz called Tangsiri "directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping".
Iran continued retaliatory attacks on Israel, where medics said six people were lightly wounded by missile attacks.
Fresh violence flared in the Gulf, with two people killed by debris from an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted near Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia shot down at least 18 drones, while Kuwait reported a new missile and drone attack.
World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday the global trading system was experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years".
Trump has accused Tehran officials of covering up ongoing talks for fear of becoming assassination targets, following the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The White House declined to identify the "top person" it is speaking with in Iran.
In Lebanon, pro-Iran Hezbollah launched a new volley of missiles early Thursday at military sites in central Israel, after its chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel would amount to "surrender".
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had "created a genuine security zone" in southern Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed in the fighting on Thursday.
AFP
