The Latest: Trump claims Iran wants a ceasefire, Iran says remarks are ‘false and baseless’

U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. officials.

Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $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:

The two leaders spoke via phone in a "constructive" conversation, said Alexander Stubb, the Finnish leader.

"We exchanged thoughts on NATO, Ukraine, and Iran," Stubb wrote in an X post. "It's good to seek solutions to problems together."

The call comes as the U.S. president is increasingly venting about allies and what he says is their unwillingness to get involved in the war in Iran, particularly in securing the Strait of Hormuz, prompting him to again talk about the U.S. leaving NATO.

Syrian state television said Wednesday that its crew reporting in the Quneitra Province in southern Syria was targeted by the Israeli military, a claim the military later denied.

A video aired by the station showed a journalist in a press vest falling to the floor following what the person filming said was "a second shelling."

The Israeli military said the "journalists approached the scene only after the fire had been carried out and were not the target of the activity." It wasn't immediately clear what the military was targeting.

A revised draft of Bahrain's proposal - obtained by The Associated Press - to protect commercial shipping in and around the critical waterway has removed explicit authorization for U.N.-backed military action while retaining language associated with it. A vote on the new draft is expected Thursday, according to a U.N. diplomat who wasn't authorized to comment about plans not yet made public and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The original text had been placed under Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter, which allows the council to authorize actions ranging from sanctions to the use of force. But it faced opposition from Iran's allies on the Security Council, China and Russia, which are both veto-wielding members. The U.S. and the Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, had been lobbying on behalf of the proposal.

The diplomat said the watered-down language will still be a hard swallow for China and Russia but it's expected to get the necessary votes to pass the 15-member council.

- Farnoush Amiri

President Trump says he's strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance - this time over the Iran war.

While Trump's talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K., published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet - suggesting the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return.

Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership in the alliance after the conflict in the Middle East ends, Trump replied: "Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration."

NATO didn't provide immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was "fully committed to NATO" and called it "the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen."

Many European leaders have felt political pressure over the war, which faces opposition in their countries and has sent petroleum prices soaring as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.

Macron, who held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said Wednesday they both believe in international law, the international order and the democratic values, adding: "This is why ... we both advocate for a return to peace, a ceasefire, calm, and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz."

Takaichi said the two leaders agreed on the importance of quickly de-escalating the conflict and to secure the safety of the vital waterway and the stable supply of goods.

"With the international environment increasingly severe, I believe it is especially meaningful for the Japanese and French leaders to deepen our friendship and cooperation," Takaichi said at a joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.

The leaders said they also agreed to deepen their cooperation in defense, rare earths development, nuclear energy, space and other areas.

Shelly Kittleson's mother, 72-year-old Barb Kittleson, said she last exchanged emails with her daughter Monday. Shelly Kittleson sent photos of herself from Iraq, her mother said.

Barb Kittleson said she heard about the kidnapping from a news report Tuesday and was visited by the FBI at her home in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night.

When asked how she felt about the kidnapping she said, "Terrible. Scared. I'll pray for her."

She said her hope is for her daughter "not to be hurt and be OK."

Shelly Kittleson left her home in Wisconsin in 1995, when she was 19 years old, and first headed to Italy where she went to school and worked as a nanny, her mother said. She spent about 10 years in Italy before eventually settling in Iraq, Barb Kittleson said.

Barb Kittleson said she had not seen her daughter in person since 2002 but they exchange emails a couple of times a week, including on Monday when her daughter sent her a couple of pictures.

Should the U.S. decide to send in military forces to secure Iran's uranium stockpile, it would be a complex, risky and lengthy operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.

President Trump has offered shifting reasons for the war in Iran but has consistently said a primary objective is ensuring the country will "never have a nuclear weapon." Less clear is how far he's willing to go to seize Iran's nuclear material.

Given the risks of inserting as many as 1,000 specially trained forces into a war zone to remove the stockpile, another option would be a negotiated settlement with Iran that would allow the material to be surrendered and secured without using force.

Iran has 972 pounds (440.9 kilograms) of uranium that's enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.

Sirens sounded across central Israel in multiple rounds within minutes Wednesday afternoon. Associated Press reporters heard loud booms in Tel Aviv as the windows of buildings shook from the reverberations.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump's claim "false and baseless," according to a report on Iranian state television.

Also, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard separately issued a statement saying the Strait of Hormuz "is firmly and decisively under the control" of its forces.

"This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States," it added.

Stocks are climbing worldwide, and oil prices are easing Wednesday as hopes build that the war with Iran could end soon. Some of the moves are tentative, though, after financial markets have already seen similar bouts of optimism get quickly undercut several times.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. That followed even bigger gains for stock markets across Europe and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street's rally from Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 292 points, or 0.6%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

Oil prices also fell back toward $100 per barrel after President Donald Trump said shortly before Wall Street began trading that Iran "has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!"

In addition to gas and oil stuck in the Persian gulf, urgent food aid destined for Sudan and Afghanistan is also facing severe delays, the UN agency for hunger emergencies, World Food Program, warned.

"Think of special nutritious foods required for Sudan," Corinne Fleischer, WFP director of supply chain, told the AP. "Mothers and children are malnourished and they need this vitamin and mineral enriched food. We produced this in Pakistan as one of the countries. That is now stuck there."

Fleischer explained that due to the risks of attacks in the southern part of the Red Sea, carriers now have to go all the way down through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to reach West Africa.

Around 180,000 Iranian families have been displaced due to the ongoing war, but it's hard to determine an exact figure because Iran doesn't have a displacement tracking level as found in other countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Amy Pope, IOM's director general, told The Associated Press the agency expects that figure to increase as more civilian infrastructure gets caught in the crossfire.

Pope also warned about the impact on migrants working in Iran who might not be guaranteed the same safety that an Iranian family is seeking.

"This is the kind of hidden consequence of a conflict like this. There are people ... who are not necessarily accounted for and ... won't have the support they need," she said.

President 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.

Trump said "Iran's New Regime President," however. Iran still has the same president.

Trump also said a ceasefire would only happen when the Strait of Hormuz is "open, free, clear."

"Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!" he wrote.

Iran had no immediate response to Trump's post. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday signaled Tehran's willingness to keep fighting.

"You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines," he said. "We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves."

A Pakistani vessel carrying oil arrived at the southern port city of Karachi after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while a second vessel reached the port via a different route, a Karachi Port Trust spokesperson said Wednesday.

Spokesperson Shariq Farooqi said more Pakistani-flagged ships are expected this month to deliver much-needed oil from Gulf countries.

The development comes days after Pakistan's foreign minister said Iran had agreed to allow 20 additional Pakistani-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the move as a "constructive gesture" aimed at easing regional tensions.

Pakistan is also seeking to help end the conflict between the United States and Iran by encouraging both sides to return to negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery for global oil shipments.

Iran's capital, Tehran, held a funeral Wednesday for an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.

State television showed live footage of mourners waving Iranian flags at a funeral for Rear. Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Revolutionary Guard's navy. An Israeli airstrike killed Tangsiri last week, with Tehran only acknowledging his death Monday.

Another funeral had been held Tuesday in Bandar Abbas, a key port city on the Strait of Hormuz.

A volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent was killed by an airstrike Tuesday in the country's northwest, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Alireza Sohbatlou was providing services at a clinic in Zanjan province when an airstrike hit the nearby religious site Azam Hussainiya of Zanjan, the humanitarian network said Wednesday.

He was the third Red Crescent volunteer killed in Iran since the start of the war, the IFRC said.

Iran's supreme leader vowed Wednesday his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the Mideast.

The message from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, like others since he was named Iran's new supreme leader, came in a statement read on air by a state television anchor.

"I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy," Khamenei said in the comments from a letter to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Khamenei has not been seen since the war began Feb. 28. U.S. and Israeli officials believe he was wounded and remains in hiding.

An Indian citizen was wounded during a drone attack Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, according to the official WAM news agency in Umm Al Quwain, one of the UAE' seven emirates.

Shrapnel fell near an industrial area of Umm Al Thoub while air defense systems were intercepting a drone, the agency reported.

The Russian Embassy in Iran on Wednesday condemned an airstrike on the compound of the former U.S. Embassy there as it damaged a nearby cathedral.

The embassy said the blast broke doors and windows at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, just across from the compound.

An adjacent Russian nursing home sustained damage, including a collapsed roof, it added.

"We strongly condemn the ongoing US and Israeli aggression against Iran, which is increasingly affecting civilian infrastructure and religious and cultural heritage," the embassy said.

South Korea will require public employees to alternate car use every other day starting next week.

The measure comes as officials raised the alert level over crude oil supplies, citing concerns about a prolonged crisis in the Middle East.

The climate ministry said Wednesday the government will implement an odd-even driving scheme, based on license plate numbers, for public employees using fossil-fuel vehicles starting April 8.

The government already had required public employees to keep their cars off the road at least one weekday starting March 25 to reduce energy consumption during the war.

Electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as those used by people with disabilities and pregnant women, will be exempt from the restrictions.

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's comment to the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he is considering pulling out of NATO, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is "fully committed to NATO."

Starmer called it "the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen."

Starmer told reporters that "whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions I make."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will host an international diplomatic conference this week on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Starmer says 35 countries have signed a statement committing to work together on restoring maritime security to the key oil transport route.

He said Wednesday that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will lead a conference on the issue, and military planners are also working on plans for security once the Iran war ends.

Starmer said "a united front of military strength and diplomatic activity" is needed to restore stability.

Multiple drones attacked a northern Iraq fuel warehouse linked to British oil and natural gas giant BP, a firm operating the facility said.

No casualties were reported.

The attack on the motor oil warehouse occurred in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, the Sardar Group, a major automotive group in Iraq, said in a statement. It said the facility is owned by Castrol, a subsidiary of BP.

The statement said the first drone hit the facility at 7:20 a.m., before it was attacked again with two more drones while firefighters were combating the fire.

The attack started a massive fire that sent a column of black smoke into the air, social media footage shows.

The Lebanese military said its forces have largely withdrawn from some border towns as Israeli troops continue to push a ground invasion into the country.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that troops had to reposition to prevent being dispersed and cut off from support lines.

The military has gradually withdrawn from a handful of border towns. Remaining residents in the Christian-majority communities Rmeich and Ain Ebel have appealed to the Lebanese military and leadership to stay.

The military said it would maintain soldiers in those towns.

Israel has declared southern Lebanon up until the Litani River will be a "security-zone" in its ongoing war with the militant group Hezbollah and residents will not be able to return until further notice.

Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past month.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a rare national address to urge Australians to use public transport due to fuel supply uncertainties created by the Iran war.

Albanese said in a statement broadcast Wednesday by major television and radio networks that "the months ahead may not be easy."

"You should go about your business and your life as normal. Enjoy your Easter," Albanese said.

"And over the coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so," he added.

Australia slashed fuel taxes from Wednesday in a bid to curb price rises at the pump.

The government maintains that Australia has all the fuel it needs, but panic buying and distribution problems have created regional shortages.