Trump ‘pauses’ threat to bomb Iran’s power plants for 10 days as he insists talks with Tehran are ‘going very well’ – RECAP

by Sabrina Penty, Foreign News Reporter and David Wilcock, Deputy Political Editor

Donald Trump today described Britain’s aircraft carriers as ‘toys compared to what we have’ in his latest swipe at the UK’s lack of support for his war against Iran.

In yet another sign of the deep freeze consuming the transatlantic ‘special relationship’ the president lashed out at the Royal Navy’s capabilities in a rant against US NATO allies.

He claimed the UK had offered to send its two carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and the fleet flagship HMS Prince of Wales, once the fighting in the Middle East was ‘over’, and had told Keir Starmer ‘don’t bother.’

The president’s remarks come after Downing Street previously rejected Trump’s claims that it offered to send any aircraft carriers to the war at all.

Sir Keir Starmer is becoming increasingly reluctant to allow the UK to be dragged into the conflict which has triggered a surge in energy prices.

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Here are the latest developments in the US-Israel war with Iran on Thursday, March 26:

• Iran has formally rejected Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for peace as officials branded it ‘one-sided and unfair’
• Trump has told Iran’s ‘strange’ leaders to ‘get serious soon’ and warned them there could be ‘no turning back’
• Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Trump derided British aircraft carriers as ‘toys’ and said the Iranian regime has admitted defeat
• Two people were killed and three were wounded by falling debris after air defences intercepted a ballistic missile on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi
• The Israeli military said one of its soldiers, a 21-year-old man named as Uri Greenberg, has been killed during its ongoing operations in southern Lebanon
• Russia has denied a report it is shipping drones to Iran and accused the media of spreading ‘lies’
• Oil prices jumped and stock markets fell as the world reacted to Iran rejecting a peace proposal put forward by the US during mediation efforts
• Iran is preparing a parliamentary bill to charge tolls for ships passing through Strait of Hormuz
• Israel has said high-ranking Iranian navy commander Alireza Tangsiri has been killed in a strike on Iran
• Gulf states continue to come under attack with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait all reporting drones have been intercepted by air defence systems

Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments throughout the day.

Donald Trump is weighing up whether to send 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Amid escalating tensions with Iran, and uncertainty over peace talks, the proposal would add to the thousands of troops already in the region.

SMIC, China’s largest chipmaker, has sent chipmaking tools to Iran’s military, two senior Trump administration officials said on Thursday, raising questions about Beijing’s stance in the month-old US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

SMIC, which has been heavily sanctioned by the U.S. government over alleged ties to the Chinese military, began sending the tools to Iran roughly a year ago and ‘we have no reason to believe that any of this has stopped,’ one of the officials said.

The official added that the collaboration ‘almost certainly included technical training on SMIC’s semiconductor technology.’

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss previously undisclosed US government information. They did not specify whether the tools were of US origin, which would likely make shipment to Iran a violation of US sanctions.

SMIC, the Chinese Embassy in Washington, and a spokesperson for the Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran did not request the 10-day pause on strikes on its energy plants, and still has not delivered a final response to Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East.

Trump earlier claimed the 10-day pause, announced this evening via Truth Social, was given at Iran’s request.

A Thailand-flagged cargo vessel was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz today.

Most of its crew have since been rescued after they abandoned ship.

The UN food and agriculture agencys top economist, Maximo Torero, today said that if the war in Iran continues for three to six months, global food security and energy would be at risk due to price increases.

He said that an El Nio climate phenomenon, which tends to increase global temperatures, was also expected soon and could significantly exacerbate these issues.

He said: ‘My message is, we need to find a way to resolve this problem as soon as possible. Because, if not, the consequences could be very dramatic, even worse that what happened in the Ukraine war.’

The White House said today Iran’s national football team will be welcome and safe at this year’s World Cup, which is being partially held in the US.

Andrew Giuliani, head of the White Houses World Cup task force, told the BBC: ‘Right now, we’re expecting the Iranian team to come.

‘I think it’s a great opportunity for the Iranian diaspora here in the United States of America to be able to celebrate their country’.

Iran’s football team is set to take part in group stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.

But earlier, the Iranian government said it had banned its athletes from taking part in events in ‘hostile countries.’

And just two weeks ago, Donald Trump said he did not think it was appropriate for Iran’s national football team to travel to the US over concerns for their ‘life and safety’.

The US House Speaker has said Washington hopes to resolve its war with Israel on Iran with escalation.

Mike Johnson said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that pressure from US troop deployments could influence Tehran’s leadership.

He claimed Iranian officials appear to have taken note of US President Donald Trump’s ‘resolve’ and US military buildup in the region.

‘We have a build up of troops there, because we’re trying to point that out to them, and I think it’ll have the desired effect,’ he explained.

‘It should not be necessary. I hope that it’s not. I hope this resolves soon.

‘That the desire of Congress, again, so we don’t have to take further action.

‘We’re still in the 60-day mark of this operation, the president’s well within his legal authority to do this.

‘And he did it as a defensive strike because of an eminent threat, and that’s what we had to do.’

US House speaker Mike Johnson with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday

The Israeli military chief of staff has warned the army will ‘collapse in on itself’ due to a shortage of soldiers amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Eyal Zamir told a security cabinet meeting on Wednesday, as reported by Israeli media: ‘I am raising ten red flags before you.’

He warned it would not be long before his troops were unable to perform routine missions.

The army boss said the military needs a ‘conscription law, a reserve duty law, and a law to extend mandatory service’.

Israeli soldiers stand by artillery shell stocks at a position in northern Israel near the border with southern Lebanon on Thursday