Iran…Trump War…Evening …3/26/2026….Trump ‘Gives’ Iran MORE Time?

Iran, at least publicly, has denied that any negotiations are taking place, and has accused the Trump administration of simply trying to calm world markets. Stocks on Wall Street suffered their largest daily decline on Thursday since the start of the war, falling as oil prices rose sharply.

But Mr. Trump claimed on social media that the additional time was being given “per Iranian Government request.” The deadline is now April 6, he said. “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he wrote.

When he first announced the U.S. intention to strike the plants, last Saturday, he gave Iran 48 hours to open up the strait. On Monday, he extended it to Friday.

The new extension came after Mr. Trump ratcheted up pressure on Iran to accept a U.S. proposal to end the war, warning that otherwise “we’ll just keep blowing them away.” He issued the threat at a cabinet meeting hours after Israel said it had killed a naval commander who had been leading Iran’s effort to close a vital oil shipping route.

At the meeting, Mr. Trump and a top adviser offered differing assessments of Tehran’s openness to negotiations. Iran has publicly rejected the overtures, though privately it has signaled some willingness.

“They’ll tell you, ‘We’re not negotiating,’” Mr. Trump said. “Of course, they’re negotiating. They’ve been obliterated.”

Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for Mr. Trump, offered a more cautious interpretation. He said that he and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were still trying to convince the Iranians “that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction.”

And Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that European and Asian allies of the United States should be more involved.

“Well, it’s in their interests to help,” Mr. Rubio said of allied countries just before flying to France for a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 7 nations on Friday. “Very little of our energy comes through the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the world that has a great interest in that, so they should step up and deal with it.”

Although Mr. Trump says that Iran is willing to negotiate because it is close to defeat, missile launches by Iran at Israel continued unabated on Thursday.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Commander killed: Israel said on Thursday that the Iranian naval commander it had killed, Alireza Tangsiri, played a pivotal role in shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not immediately comment on the claim.

• Iran’s capital: Heavy explosions were heard in several parts of Tehran on Thursday evening, according to state media. Residents of the capital described unusually intense bombardment compared with those from recent nights. The reports came after Israeli officials said the military intended to step up its air campaign because of concerns the United States could soon bring the war to a halt.

• War authorization: A senior Republican senator who has harshly criticized the Trump administration for keeping Congress in the dark about combat operations in Iran has begun drafting legislation that would force lawmakers to vote for the first time on whether to authorize the war. The senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, is working with a group of senators on a formal authorization for the use of military force against Iran, but has yet to introduce the resolution, a spokesman confirmed on Thursday. Read more ›

• Lebanon: More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon amid Israel’s war on Hezbollah, and many have fled to the capital, Beirut. Over 100,000 people are now relying on shelters in schools and other public buildings, as Israel plans to expand its occupation of southern Lebanon. Read more ›

• Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,492 civilians have been killed in Iran.More than 1,110 people in Lebanon have been killed, the health ministry there said on Thursday. At least 16 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. And the American death toll stands at 13 service members….

The Guardian…….

• Donald Trump said he will extend – once again – his pause on his threat to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days until 6 April, claiming that the request came from Tehran and that talks were going “very well”. The US president threatened last Saturday to would strike Iranian energy infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the strait of Hormuz. Then, on Monday he postponed his threat for five days (until Friday), citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran on ending the war (which Tehran dismissed as “fake news” designed to “manipulate” the oil markets). Now, he’s pushing that deadline back, again.

• The price of Brent crude also dropped following Trump’s latest announcement. Oil prices rose to their highest level this week, with Brent crude trading at roughly $108 a barrel after Trump’s cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday.

• A day after Tehran dismissed Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan, the US president claimed that Iran was “begging to make a deal,” and that he wasn’t the one pushing for negotiations. Earlier, he told Tehran to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the war.

• Trump rejected reports that he was looking for an exit ramp, as oil prices soar and political pressure mounts to avoid the kind of drawn-out Middle East war he once spurned. “I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal,” Trump told reporters. “I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care.”

• A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday.

• However, Trump said Iran is allowing some oil tankers through strait of Hormuz as a sign of good faith for talks. He said that Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic strait as a “present” to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war.

ISW…Iran Update Special Report, March 26, 2026

1. The combined force conducted strikes around Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Province, on March 25 and 26, marking the northeastern-most strikes conducted so far in the war. The combined force has slowly swept across Iran west to east and is now getting to some of the furthest targets of the campaign.
2. The IDF has continued targeting senior Iranian commanders to disrupt Iranian command and control and operations broadly. The IDF announced on March 26 that it killed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province.
3. An IRGC cultural official told state media that the IRGC has lowered the minimum recruitment age to 12. This decision follows reports that the IRGC is facing difficulties with recruiting new personnel and managing broader operational disruptions.
4. Hezbollah continues to claim a high rate of attacks against Israeli targets in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed to conduct 73 attacks targeting Israeli forces in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, as well as northern Israeli towns, between 2:00 PM ET on March 25 and 2:00 PM ET on March 26.