News

The Iranian parliament is working on a draft bill to charge a fee in exchange for providing security to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. 

The plan is expected to be finalized next week, the agency said, citing an unnamed lawmaker. ‘‘We are pursuing a proposal in which Iran’s sovereignty, control, and oversight in the Strait of Hormuz are formally recognized in law, and through the collection of tolls, a source of revenue is also created for the country,’‘ Fars cited the lawmaker as saying.

Iran’s move to formalize a transit fee for the vital Strait of Hormuz comes as the war in the Middle East approaches the end of its fourth week. 

The waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes has been all but closed to tanker traffic, with only a trickle of ships, mainly with Chinese and Iranian affiliation, getting through.

The disruptions in Hormuz have resulted in forced shut-ins of Persian Gulf oil production, while refineries in the area have also been damaged in the war. 

Oil prices have surged as a result, with global benchmark Brent topping $114 a barrel earlier this week, and the Trump administration examining what a potential spike to $200 would mean for the economy.

Source: adaderana.lk

Iran has received America’s 15-point proposal for ending the US-Israeli attack, two Pakistani officials have told the Associated Press.

The Pakistani officials also touched on the content of the proposal, saying it included: 

Sanctions relief
Civilian nuclear cooperation
A rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme
Monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency
Limits to Iran’s missile programme 
Access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz

Israel’s Channel 12 has also reported on the plan’s points - see the post below this one for a full summary.

Donald Trump yesterday claimed Washington is talking to the “right people” in Iran and “they want to make a deal so badly”.

He also said Iran had agreed with the US they will never have a nuclear weapon and gave the US “a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money” that is related to oil and gas and the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has denied it’s negotiating with the US, and a military spokesman mockingly said the US was negotiating with itself.

Source .Ada derana

The Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia, Roman Marshavin has arrived in the country.

Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society has detailed extensive damage to civilian infrastructure caused by recent attacks, describing them as “alarming acts and war crimes” by Israeli and U.S. forces.

He urged international bodies to take immediate action to halt assaults on civilians, medical personnel, relief workers, schools, and critical infrastructure, and to ensure legal accountability for perpetrators.

According to Kolivand, field assessments indicate that 81,365 civilian units have been damaged across Iran, including 61,555 residential units and 19,020 commercial units. “These figures are not just numbers,” he said.

“Behind each unit is a family, a life, a livelihood, a memory, and a future destroyed under the weight of war and violence.” In Tehran province alone, 24,605 units have been affected.

The attacks have also targeted essential services. Kolivand reported damage to 275 medical and emergency centers, 498 schools, 17 Red Crescent centers, three helicopters, and 48 operational vehicles, including ambulances, rescue, and support vehicles. “Attacks on these facilities, helicopters, and equipment are not simply destruction of property,” he emphasized. “They represent direct assaults on the lifelines that save human lives.”

Kolivand stressed that under international humanitarian law, civilians, healthcare personnel, aid workers, hospitals, schools, medical and rescue transport — including helicopters — are afforded special protection and must not be targeted.

He warned that damaging medical centers, schools, ambulances, rescue helicopters, and aid bases is not merely a material loss; it undermines fundamental principles such as the distinction between military and civilian targets, proportionality, and precaution in attacks.

“Any assault on aid workers, patients, students, teachers, and civilian families must be investigated thoroughly, independently, and transparently by competent international bodies, with perpetrators held accountable for the legal and humanitarian consequences,” he said.

Kolivand emphasized that the Iranian Red Crescent, within its humanitarian mandate, conducts continuous international follow-ups, reporting damages to civilians, medical centers, schools, aid workers, and relief infrastructure through official channels of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and other relevant institutions.

In conclusion, Kolivand called on the international community to act decisively: “Silence in the face of civilian suffering, normalization of attacks on hospitals, schools, ambulances, and aid workers, and indifference to the lives of children and patients is not only a moral failure but a direct weakening of the foundations of international humanitarian law. Today is the time for responsible, transparent, and decisive action to protect humanity.”

Source:adaderana.lk

US President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May during his first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip postponed due to the ongoing Iran war.

Trump’s effort to reschedule the trip reflected the Republican president’s eagerness to project confidence in a challenging Middle East war and simultaneously to manage a tense relationship between the world’s biggest economies.

Initially slated to travel next week, Trump will now visit Beijing on May 14 and 15, he said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday (Mar 25). Trump added that he would host Xi for a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.

“Our Representatives are finalising preparations for these Historic Visits,” Trump said. “I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event.”

China’s embassy said it had no information to provide on the announcement of the visit. Beijing normally does not detail Xi’s schedule more than a few days in ⁠advance.

The long-scheduled trip - and Washington’s broader effort to reset relations in the Asia Pacific region - have been repeatedly overtaken by events.

In February, the Supreme Court curtailed the US president’s power to impose tariffs, a source of leverage for Trump in negotiations with the US’ third-biggest trading partner. Later that month, Trump’s joint military operation with Israel against Iran introduced a new point of tension with Beijing, Tehran’s main oil buyer.

Trump’s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a US president. Trump’s visit in May will be the leaders’ first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on a trade truce.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS XI UNDERSTANDS TRUMP’S REASONS FOR DELAY

The two-day trip is set to combine the lavish pomp and circumstance that has become a feature of Trump’s trips abroad with hard-nosed diplomacy.

While the two sides could strike goodwill agreements in Beijing on trade in agriculture and airplane parts, they are also expected to discuss areas of deep tension like Taiwan, where little progress is expected.

Trump has dramatically ramped up US arms sales to Taiwan during his second term in office. The moves have angered Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.

It is also not clear whether the war with Iran, which has shaken the global economy, will be settled by the time of the Xi-Trump meeting.

Trump has sought support from the world’s major oil consumers, including China, to help counter Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s request for assistance so far has largely been rebuffed. China, which imported around 12 million barrels of oil daily during the first two months of 2026, the most in the world, has not directly responded to ⁠his request. 

Asked whether the war could wind down in time for the China trip, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that “we’ve always estimated approximately four to six weeks. So you could do the math on that.”

Leavitt also said Trump and Xi spoke about rescheduling the trip and that Xi had understood the reasons for doing so.

“President Xi understood that it’s very important for the president to be here throughout these combat operations right now,” she said.

Source:adaderana.lk

Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are expecting to deploy in coming days to the Middle East, according to two sources familiar with the matter, adding to the growing military firepower in the region as the Trump administration says it is in talks with Iran to end the conflict.

The contingent includes Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and division staff, as well as a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team which is currently acting as the division’s Immediate Response Force (IRF), the sources said. The initial elements of the division staff and battalion are expected to begin deploying within a week, one of the sources familiar said; other elements within the brigade are also expecting to deploy at a later date, though those expectations could change as the situation develops.

The brigade will be the “ready unit” in the Middle East, prepared to be called upon if needed, the source said. The 82nd Airborne Division made a similar movement in 2020 after the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

The IRF is a brigade that is ready to move with limited notice, acting as a rapid response force able to deploy within hours when called upon. The designation of the IRF rotates between teams in the Army brigade.

The first source familiar said there had not yet been official orders to deploy, though they were expected imminently.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the US and Iran had reached 15 points of agreement in conversations to end the conflict, and that Iran would “very much” like to make a deal. Iran previously denied there was any dialogue happening with the US, but on Tuesday, an Iranian source told CNN that there was “outreach” between the two countries and that Iran was willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war.

Still, amid the talks, thousands more US forces are coming to the region in addition to the 82nd Airborne.

Two Marine Expeditionary Units and Amphibious Ready Groups have also recently deployed to the region, bringing significant firepower and military options. CNN reported last week that the 11th MEU and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group were having their scheduled deployments accelerated and rerouted from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, where the 31st MEU and Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group were also deploying.

The ARG-MEUs come with roughly 4,500 Marines and sailors each and bring a range of capabilities outside of on-the-ground support, including substantial aviation and logistics components.

Source:adaderana.lk

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has firmly denied that any negotiations are taking place between Tehran and Washington to end the ongoing conflict, dismissing US claims of diplomatic engagement as posturing.

No direct talks

“There are no ongoing talks with the US,” Araghchi said in comments carried by state-run Press TV. He clarified that while Washington is sending messages through various mediators, “exchange of messages via mediators does not mean negotiations.” The distinction suggests Iran is rejecting the notion of formal diplomatic engagement despite reported back-channel communications.

Accusation of weakness

Araghchi characterized US talk about negotiations with Iran as “an admission of defeat.” He questioned Washington’s apparent shift in tone, asking: “Didn’t they claim unconditional surrender before? So why are they now mobilizing their top officials to negotiate?” The remarks reflect Tehran’s skepticism toward US overtures following weeks of intense military strikes.

Conflict continues

The denial of negotiations comes amid sustained hostilities following the US-Israeli offensive against Iran launched Feb. 28, which has killed more than 1,340 people including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, disrupting global energy markets.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation, Araghchi described the conflict that began with a barrage of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 as “a war of choice” that has targeted Iranian civilians and military installations alike.

“We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation,” he said. “We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes. And this is what we have done so far, and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory.”

On the prospect of talks with the U.S., Araghchi said: “We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time. There is no good experience talking with Americans.”

The interview comes after President Donald Trump has claimed several times in recent days that Iran is interested in negotiating a deal, but that he has rejected those overtures. Late Friday, he posted on Truth Social that Iran “is totally defeated and wants a deal — but not a deal that I would accept.” 
The following day, he told NBC News that while Iran “wants to make a deal,” he would not pursue one because the proposed terms “aren’t good enough yet.”

Trump Administration officials have warned in recent days that the current conflict could last several more weeks, as Iran has continued to launch drones and missiles into neighboring countries hosting U.S. forces. 
Araghchi framed those strikes as defensive actions, saying countries such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates “gave their soil to American forces to attack us… We cannot just remain silent on this.” He insisted Iran only targets American assets.

“There are, you know, people being killed only because President Trump wants to have fun,” Araghchi told CBS. “This is a war of choice by President Trump and the United States, and we are going to continue our self-defense.”
Iranian missile and drone strikes on the Gulf and Israel have killed more than 30 people, in addition to 13 U.S. service members.

Araghchi also addressed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global oil trade, where Iran has restricted passage to U.S. and Israeli vessels. Araghchi said Iran has provided safe passage to other countries that requested it, but declined to identify them.

“We provide security to pass because we have not closed this strait. They are not coming themselves because of the insecurity…because of the aggression by the U.S.,” he told CBS.

Araghchi further discussed Iran’s nuclear program, noting that roughly 440 kilograms of enriched material remain under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision after prior attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. While Iran had previously offered to dilute highly enriched uranium in negotiations with the U.S. officials, Araghchi said, “There is nothing on the table right now. Everything depends on the future.”

The minister dismissed concerns that Iran’s stance could isolate it internationally or jeopardize future trade.

“We are stable and strong enough. There is no experience, good experience, talking with Americans,” he said, referencing past diplomatic efforts that collapsed before attacks escalated. He added: “We were talking, so why they decided to attack us? So what is good if we go back to talk once again?”

Source:adaderana.lk

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said that US and Israel attacked the vicinity of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, IRNA reported.

It said the attack caused no technical damage or human casualties based on initial reports.

Meanwhile, the head of an intergovernmental nuclear safety agency is raising the alarm after Iran reported a strike near its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday. 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi called for “maximum restraint to avoid nuclear safety risks during conflict” in a post on the social platform X.

The IAEA is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and seeks to promote the safe operation of nuclear technology around the world. 

Iran’s nuclear power plant was not damaged during the attack, nor were any of the plant’s employees, according to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. The country said the U.S. and Israel launched the strikes around Bushehr. 

“Targeting peaceful nuclear facilities is a blatant violation of international rights and regulations and a serious threat to regional security,” the Atomic Energy Organization wrote in a Tuesday post on X. 

The reported strikes follow President Trump’s statement Monday that there have been “good and productive” peace talks with Iran, and a senior Iranian official said Iran’s leaders were reviewing a U.S. proposal. 

The U.S. and Israel initiated joint military operations against Iran after negotiations on a nuclear deal failed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, saying he sees the Pentagon as “part of this negotiation as well.”

“We negotiate with bombs,” he said during an Oval Office press conference with Trump on Tuesday. 

“You have a choice, as we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future,” Hegseth continued. “The president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon, the War Department agrees, our job is to ensure that, and so we’re keeping our hand on that throttle as long, as hard as is necessary to ensure the interests of the United States of America are achieved on that battlefield.”

Source-Adaderana.lk

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned that the war in the Middle East has spiraled “out of control.”

Antonio Guterres urged an immediate halt to hostilities, called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbors, urged the US and Israel to end the war, and stressed that diplomacy remains the only path out of the crisis.

Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, he said the conflict has exceeded even the worst expectations and risks triggering a global catastrophe.

“Just hours into the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, I warned that the fighting risked triggering a chain reaction that no one could control. More than three weeks on, this war is out of control,” he added.

“The conflict has broken past the limits even leaders thought imaginable. The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock.”

Guterres said “my message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbors,” adding that the UN Security Council has condemned such attacks and demanded they end, while reaffirming that navigational rights and freedoms must be respected in key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz.

The prolonged closure of the strait is “choking the movement of oil, gas and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season,” he said.
“My message to the United States and Israel is that it is high time to end the war as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.”

Declaring that “this has gone too far,” Guterres said: “It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder and start climbing the diplomatic ladder and return to full respect of international law.”

He added that he has remained in close contact with regional and global actors, with several peace initiatives underway that “must succeed.”

The UN Chief announced the appointment of Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to lead efforts on the conflict and its consequences.

Guterres highlighted the severe humanitarian toll across the region, saying civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.

Following a recent visit to Lebanon, he warned that the situation there must not deteriorate further.

“There, too, the war must stop,” he said. “Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest.”

He added: “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon.”

Guterres warned of mounting global repercussions, with markets in turmoil and humanitarian operations increasingly constrained.

“On every front, the shockwaves are falling hardest on those who bear no responsibility for this conflict: the poorest, the most vulnerable, the least able to absorb yet another blow,” he said.

While the UN system is working to mitigate the fallout, “the best way to minimize those consequences is clear: End the war immediately,” he said.
“War is not the answer. We need a way out of this disaster. Diplomacy is the way out. Full respect of international law is the way out. Peace is the waaay out.”

Source:adaderana.lk

Oil prices have fallen sharply in early trade in Asia after US President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the war are in progress - a claim disputed by Iranian officials.

Brent crude fell by 6.6% to $97.56 (£72.65) a barrel, while US-traded oil fell by more than 5.5% to $87.20.

Trump said on Tuesday that talks to end the war are happening “now” and that the people the US were in discussions with “want to make a deal so badly”.

On Monday, official in Tehran said claims of talks between the US and Iran were “fake news”, as strikes between Israel and Iran continued to be exchanged.

Trump said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved in the discussions to end the war.

The president added that the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran have led to “regime change”, repeating his claim that Iranian leaders have agreed that they will never have a nuclear weapon.

But Tehran has previously rejected claims that it had been in contact with the US, calling it an attempt to manipulate markets.

The price of Brent crude rose back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday and even after the latest falls remains much higher than before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.

The conflict has triggered a global energy crisis with governments around the world announcing measures in recent weeks aimed at easing the impact on their economies.

On Tuesday, the boss of energy giant Shell warned that shortages could hit Europe next month.

Wael Sawan, chief executive of Shell, told an energy industry conference in Houston: “South Asia was first to get that brunt. That’s moved to South East Asia, North East Asia and then more so into Europe as we get into April.”

Oil and gas prices have soared since the war, with Iran effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which usually sees about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas pass through each day.

Source:adaderana.lk

The former Head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay has been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital following a sudden illness.

Former SIS Chief Suresh Sallay is being held under a 90-day detention order to interrogate his links to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that family members had requested permission to visit him to check on his condition, but approval has not been granted.

He was admitted to hospital yesterday (24) after his condition was brought to the attention of the Magistrate. Following an examination, he was referred to a doctor and subsequently admitted to the National Hospital on medical advice.

Ada derana

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Mar 24) the US was making progress in its efforts to negotiate an end to war with Iran, including winning an important concession from Tehran, while a source confirmed that Washington had sent Iran a 15-point settlement proposal.

Trump told reporters at the White House the US was talking to “the right people” in Iran in order to reach a deal to end hostilities, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly.

“We’re in negotiations right now,” he said.

Tehran has denied that direct talks have taken place. Iran’s powerful parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, on Monday dismissed the reports as “fake news”.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the US had sent a plan to Iran but provided no further details.

The Israeli media outlet said the plan would include the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, ceasing support for proxy groups, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Republican president told reporters at the White House that Iran had made a valuable concession related to non-nuclear energy and the Strait of Hormuz, although he did not elaborate.

Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Iran has effectively shut the waterway, where 20 per cent of the world’s oil normally transits, since the US and Israel launched attacks four weeks ago, creating the worst energy supply shock in history and sending fuel prices soaring.

“It was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,” Trump said in his comments on Iran, adding: “It was a very nice thing they did.”

But US, Israeli and Iranian strikes continued and sources said Washington was preparing to send more troops to the region. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the US was expected to send thousands of soldiers from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

The forces will add to the 50,000 US troops already in the region and accelerate Washington’s massive US military buildup there, fuelling fears of a longer conflict.

Pakistan’s prime minister said on Tuesday that he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war, a day after Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, saying there had been “productive” talks.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan fully supported ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue and was ready to host “meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement”.

A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week. Pakistan has long-standing ties to neighbouring Iran’s Islamic Republic and has been building a relationship with Trump.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.

Source:adaderana.lk