Dubai, Apr 1 (AP) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.

Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.” The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two US officials said.

The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other US officials.

Meanwhile, US gas prices jumped past an average of USD 4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.

Here is the latest: War-torn Lebanon is facing ‘fastest growing displacement crisis in the world,’ says international aid organisation president ———————————————————————————————————————————– David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee made these remarks during an online briefing with journalists after visiting Lebanon and Syria.

More than one million Lebanese were displaced during the past month in the latest conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Israel has issued evacuation orders for large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs. Only a small portion of them are staying in government-run public schools turned-shelters, while others stay with family or even in tents on the streets.

“There is nothing like driving in front of the Lebanon yacht club and in front of it are Lebanese in tents who are displaced,” said Miliband, who decried the tiny country’s situation as a “silent emergency that is getting very little attention.” China says it will work with Pakistan to end hostilities in the Middle East —————————————————————————————— China on Wednesday said it would stay in “close communication with Pakistan and relevant parties” on the Iran war and “play a constructive role in promoting the end of hostilities.” It comes a day after China’s foreign minister met Pakistan’s top diplomat in Beijing and said China supported efforts to deescalate tensions.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar that it would not be an easy task and that China would be “willing to work with Pakistan” to end the “flames of war” as soon as possible and open the “window to peace talks.” Wang said Pakistan’s efforts were in the interest of all sides, including averting spillover effects, preventing further casualties, stabilising international energy security and protecting supply chains.

Following their meeting Tuesday, the two governments put forward a five-point proposal, including ceasing hostilities, starting peace talks, protecting civilian targets and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

NATO gets bipartisan support ahead of Trump speech ———————————————————————- NATO is getting defended on a bipartisan basis by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., ahead of Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday night.

Trump is expected to criticise NATO members for not joining the US in its war with Iran.

McConnell and Coons said in a joint statement that “NATO is the most successful military alliance in history” and stressed how its members “fought and died,” along with US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united,” the statement said. “The Senate will continue to support the alliance for the peace and protection it provides America, Europe, and the World.” The National Defence Authorisation Act in 2023 has provision that requires a two-thirds approval from the Senate in order to leave NATO or a separate measure by Congress, limiting the president’s ability to do so unilaterally.

Bahrain says protecting maritime security is critical as Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz ——————————————————————————————— Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei accused Iran of “economic terrorism” and violating international law.

And he urged adoption of a UN resolution that would authorise countries “to use all necessary means” to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

He expressed hope at a UN news conference that the Security Council will adopt the resolution “as soon as possible,” and as early as Thursday. But Russia, China and France objected to the latest draft, and negotiations were continuing.

Alrowaiei, the Arab representative on the council and its president for April, said Gulf countries had tried “to build bridges of peace with Iran,” and the attacks they were subjected to immediately after the Israeli-US airstrikes on February 28 were “shocking and premeditated.” He said Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, has been targeted by 186 missiles and 419 drones and has suffered damage to desalination plants, hotels, the airport and other civilian infrastructure.

Strikes in Tehran send plumes of smoke into the sky —————————————————————— AP footage in the Iranian capital of Tehran showed large plumes of smoke billowing over the city on Wednesday afternoon following US-Israeli strikes, as the war in the Middle East completes its first month and strikes on Iran continue unabated.

Also Wednesday, the Israeli military said that it had completed a wave of strikes against “dozens of military infrastructure sites of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran.” Trump says he doesn’t care about Iran’s enriched uranium ———————————————————————— The president has said one of his primary goals of the war was to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and he told Reuters on Wednesday that has been achieved, though it isn’t clear how.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium that could potentially be used to build nuclear weapons is believed to be buried under the rubble of a mountain facility that was hit during strikes last June — and that hasn’t changed since the war with Iran began this year.

Trump has said the US would move to take the uranium if it reaches a deal with Iran.

But he said Wednesday that the uranium is “so far underground, I don’t care about that.” “We’ll always be watching it by satellite,” he said.

Trump also said Iran is now “incapable” of developing a nuclear weapon.

Vance has been speaking to intermediaries about Iran ——————————————————————– Vice President JD Vance has been speaking to intermediaries about Iran as recently as Tuesday and delivered a message that Trump is impatient and that there will be growing pressure on Iranian infrastructure if they don’t make a deal, according to a person familiar with the talks who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump directed Vance to communicate privately that he is open to a ceasefire as long as certain demands are met. (AP) GRS GRS