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Iran, for its part, is insisting on war reparations, recognition of some form of control over Hormuz and pledges that the US and Israel won’t attack it in future.
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Still, Steve Witkoff, a Trump special envoy who was leading the US’s indirect negotiations with Iran before the conflict started, said there could be a meeting “this week.” If so, Pakistan is a likely venue, with the nation establishing itself as a key mediator between the two sides.
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It was unclear if Witkoff meant US-Iran talks or discussions between mediators.
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Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt are set to visit Islamabad on March 29-30 to discuss efforts to deescalate tensions in the region.
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Oil Rises
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Oil continued to rise in the past few days, with traders’ optimism about a ceasefire in the near-term fading. Brent crude closed on Friday above $112 a barrel, extending the international benchmark’s advance since the start of the conflict to more than 55%.
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The conflict has caused fuel shortages and fears of lower growth and faster inflation, or stagflation, across the global economy.
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US stocks fell to their lowest level in more than seven months on Friday. US Treasury 10-year yields climbed toward their highest level since July.
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The war has left over 4,500 people dead, according to governments and non-governmental agencies. Around three-quarters of fatalities have been in Iran, while almost 1,100 people have died in Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced. Dozens of people have been killed in Israel and Arab Gulf states.
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Friday’s airstrikes by the US-Israeli alliance targeted a heavy water research reactor that’s part of Iran’s Arak nuclear complex and a yellowcake production plant in Yazd province, as well as two of Iran’s biggest steelmakers.
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Fars also reported explosions across several districts of Tehran early Saturday, including strikes near Mehrabad Airport west of the capital, the main hub for domestic flights.
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An Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia left at least 10 US troops wounded, including two seriously, and damaged several refueling aircraft, the Associated Press reported.
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For all that Trump says Iran should negotiate peace, he is also saying the US can continue with strikes on the Islamic Republic. On Friday, he said more than 3,500 targets remained in Iran and “that’ll be done pretty quickly.”
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“They are talking now, they want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters in Miami. “Iran is being decimated.”
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Group of Seven counterparts on Friday that the war would be over in weeks, but not months, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Trump’s extended deadline to April 6 allows more time for the US to amass troops in the region, with speculation growing of a land deployment.
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Yet his administration is signaling to allies that it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion of Iran, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
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Military analysts say that Trump, if he does use ground troops, could opt for a takeover of the small Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. That’s where Iran exports nearly all its oil from.
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The US could try to take control of the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to reopen the waterway to oil and gas tankers and container ships. It could also send special forces to retrieve Iran’s roughly 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of highly-enriched uranium. All options would be exceptionally risky for US troops, military analysts have said.
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