First responders inspect the remains of a residential building hit in an overnight strike during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. MATI HASHEMI / AP
Israel struck new targets across Iran on Thursday, March 26, after Tehran rejected United States overtures to wind down the nearly four-week Middle East war and vowed to keep up its "resistance."
Hopes for a negotiated end to the US-Israeli war with Iran – which has mushroomed to engulf much of the Middle East – rose after the United States was said to have put a 15-point peace plan to Tehran.
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However, the Islamic Republic of Iran's top diplomat flatly denied that any "negotiations" were being conducted with President Donald Trump's administration late Wednesday – conceding only that messages were being exchanged through "friendly countries." "At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV, adding: "We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place."
