Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Iran attacks US, Israeli interests -
A military statement carried on Iranian state television said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had launched a fresh wave of attacks on American steel factories in the UAE and Bahrain, as well as an arms factory in Israel.
The statement said the latest salvos were in response to attacks on its own steel industries.
- Pakistan petrol hikes -
By Saad Sayeed
April 2 (Reuters) - A diplomatic outcast a year ago, Pakistan has become a trusted regional partner and a mediator between the U.S. and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, a remarkable transformation for the South Asian nation driven mostly by its powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Munir has had several meetings with President Donald Trump, including an unprecedented one-on-one lunch at the White House, while the government has apprehended an Islamic State bomber accused of killing American troops and handed him over to the U.S.
By Pesha Magid
TULKARM, West Bank, April 2 (Reuters) - The sight and sound of Iranian rockets arcing overhead have become near-daily for the Palestinian Ghanem family, expelled by the Israeli military from a refugee camp and now living in a rickety shack with a thin metal roof offering little protection.
The family are among an estimated 32,000 people who Israel's military forced last year from homes in three longstanding camps housing Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the occupied West Bank.
April 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan is holding talks with Afghanistan to end the worst conflict between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
The talks in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi were being held between senior officials of the two countries, the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Shanima A; Editing by YP Rajesh)
By Alexander Dziadosz, Aaron McNicholas and Vinaya K
CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Eastern Libya's military leader, Khalifa Haftar, has acquired what appear to be Chinese and Turkish combat drones, Reuters reporting has found, despite a long-standing U.N. embargo on supplying weapons to the divided North African country.
Commercial satellite images show at least three drones at Al Khadim airbase, located in the desert about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of the city of Benghazi, between late April and December. Their arrival has not previously been reported.
SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged parliament to promptly pass a 26.2 trillion won ($17.3 billion) supplementary budget to shore up the economy amid "the worst energy security threat" posed by the Middle East crisis.
"Even if the war ends tomorrow, it will take a considerable period of time for the destroyed energy infrastructure facilities in the Middle East to be restored and supplies to run as smoothly as before," Lee told parliament in a televised speech.
Parliament is expected to pass the extra budget by April 10.
Iran and its allies traded fire with Israel and the United States, as Washington-linked assets across the Middle East were targeted alongside civilian infrastructure -- with the month-long war on Friday showing little sign of easing.
Strikes have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict's impact beyond the battlefield.
Violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, denounced as "Jewish terrorism" by politicians and former Israeli security officials, has surged since the start of the war with Iran, with rights groups alleging that perpetrators operate in near-total impunity.
Assaults by violent settlers against Palestinians have persisted for years, often to the indifference of mainstream Israeli society.
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Hopes for a swift end to the Middle East war faded on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, in an eagerly anticipated address that disappointed investors hoping for clearer signals of a way out.
Stocks slid and oil prices surged after Trump said military operations would be intensified in the next two to three weeks, offering no concrete timeline for ending a conflict that sparked global energy supply chaos and has threatened to send the world economy into a tailspin.
TAIPEI, April 2 (Reuters) - A delay in approving Taiwan's budget this year threatens T$78 billion ($2.44 billion) in weapons procurement, maintenance and training, a senior defence ministry official said on Thursday.
Defence spending is set to increase by 22.9% to T$949.5 billion in 2026, President Lai Ching-te's administration said in August. At 3.32% of gross domestic product, the figure will cross the 3% threshold for the first time since 2009, government figures showed.
