Iran…Trump War…Evening …3/24/2026…Israel Bombed…More US Troops being Deployed….

It was unclear if Iran would accept the plan, sent via Pakistan, as a basis for negotiations, or whether Israel, which has been bombing Iran together with the United States for nearly four weeks, was on board.

Mr. Trump, speaking on a day in which Iran sent missiles across the Middle East, said on Tuesday that negotiations to end the war were taking place and that the Iranians would like “to make a deal.”

Iran has maintained publicly that no negotiations are happening. But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said that not only were they occurring, but Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were joining his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, one of his most senior advisers, in the talks.

The forces ordered to the Middle East would come from the division’s “Immediate Response Force,” a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. It was unclear where the paratroopers would go, but the location would be within striking distance of Iran, the officials said.

Mr. Trump has cast Iran as a nation so near military defeat that it had little choice but to negotiate. The Iranians made clear on Tuesday, however, that they could still lash out across the region. The country’s missiles targeted Israel and Iraq, and Persian Gulf nations reported new strikes despite claims by American and Israel officials that the Iranian ballistic missile program has been severely battered.

The Israeli authorities said a direct hit in Tel Aviv caused extensive damage to at least three residential buildings. At least six people were treated for injuries in Tel Aviv, according to the national emergency service. In addition, one woman was killed and two others wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday after an intense afternoon of rocket and drone fire from Lebanon, officials from the Israeli military and emergency service said.

Mr. Trump, asked why he appeared willing to consider a cease-fire with the Iranians, told a reporter: “They’re talking to us, and they’re making sense.”

Though Iran has taken a public stance denying that negotiations are taking place, according to four Iranian officials and an Iranian diplomat, Tehran and Washington have been exchanging messages through intermediaries about de-escalating the conflict.

Mr. Trump dodged a question about a report in The New York Times that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was encouraging him to pursue the war. “He’s a warrior,” he said. “He’s fighting with us.”

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Lebanon: Israel’s defense minister said its military would expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, retaining control of territory south of the Litani River. The waterway has long served as a geographic boundary in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.

• Energy crisis: The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $100 on Tuesday as the global economy grappled with oil shortages. The Philippines declared a ⁠state of national energy ​emergency, and South Korea urged people to take shorter showers to help cope with the energy crisis.

• Strait of Hormuz: Iran has told the United Nations’ maritime organization that “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began last month. Iran defined nonhostile vessels as those that “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” or belong to the United States or Israel, but it was unclear if any ships would try passing through.

• Iran: A former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps general, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, was named as Iran’s top security official, an aide to the Iranian president announced on Tuesday. He replaced Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli attack.

• Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,440 civilians have been killed in Iran. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Thursday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members…..

ISW.…Iran Update Special Report, March 24, 2026

1. Iran is reportedly requiring some vessels to pay a fee to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Maritime intelligence company Lloyd’s List reported on March 23 that over 20 vessels have taken a “Tehran-approved route” to transit the Strait of Hormuz through Iranian territorial waters since the war began. Lloyd’s List reported that at least two vessels, including a Chinese state-owned feeder tanker, have paid Iran a fee in exchange for safe passage through the strait.
2. The combined force continued to strike Iranian ballistic missile infrastructure to degrade Iran’s missile capabilities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it has conducted more than 600 strikes targeting Iranian ballistic missile sites since the start of the war.
3. The combined force continued to strike industrial sites and companies with ties to the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. The IDF reported that it conducted an “extensive” wave of strikes targeting Iranian “production sites” in Esfahan Province and other areas of Iran on March 24.
4. Iran has launched nine waves of missiles targeting Israel since ISW-CTP’s last data cutoff. Iran continued to fire cluster munitions targeting Israel on March 24, likely to maximize destruction and terrorize Israeli civilians.
5. Hezbollah claimed 54 attacks targeting Israeli forces and positions in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, as well as northern Israeli towns, between 3:00 PM ET on March 23 and 3:00 PM ET on March 24. The IDF is preparing to expand its ground operations and air campaign in Lebanon.

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The Guardian ….

US sent Iran 15-point plan aimed at ending war – reports

The US has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the US-Israel war on Iran, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters.

News of the US plan was reported earlier by the New York Times, which, citing two officials, said the plan was delivered by way of Pakistan.

Per the NYT’s report, it is unclear how widely the plan had been shared among Iranian officials and whether Iran was likely to accept it as a basis for negotiations.

Nor is it clear whether Israel, which has been bombing Iran with the US, was on board with the proposal. (Israeli officials have previously said strikes would continue on Iran – and Lebanon – even as the US considers ceasefire possibilities).

According to Israel’s Channel 12 news, the 15 points were:

• Iran dismantling its nuclear capabilities;

• Iran committing to not pursuing further nuclear weapons;

• Iran not enriching any more nuclear material;

• All enriched material will be delivered to Saba on a schedule to be determined by the US, Israel and Iran;

• The Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow nuclear facilities will be decommissioned;

• The Atomic Energy Agency will get access to all nuclear information with regard to Iran’s programme;

• Iran will abandon its proxy model;

• Iran will stop its actual funding and arming of proxies in the region;

• The strait of Hormuz will remain open, as a free maritime zone and unblocked in the future;

• Iran will limit the number and range of its missiles;

• Any further use of its missiles will be for Iranian self-defence only;

• All sanctions on Iran will be lifted;

• Iran will be assisted in developing a civil nuclear project in Bushehr;

• The snapback threat against Iran will be removed,

• The US and Israel will assist Iran in promoting and developing a civil nuclear project in Bushehr (electricity generation).

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Joe Kent: Deploying US troops on Kharg Island would be ‘disaster’

Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is warning President Trump against deploying U.S. soldiers to Kharg Island, saying it would be a “disaster.”

“I just think that would be a disaster,” Kent told The Washington Post when asked of a potential invasion of Kharg Island.

“It would essentially be giving Iran a bunch of hostages on an island that they could barrage with drones and missiles,” he added.

Kharg Island is responsible for 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports, making it critical to the country’s economy and regional stability.

On Monday, Trump issued a five-day pause on U.S. attacks targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure after Israel targeted the South Pars gas field last week….