Ceasefire needed for meaningful progress in talks, insider tells BBCpublished at 06:41 BST

06:41 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Meaningful progress is unlikely to take place in negotiations between the US and Iran without a ceasefire first, a regional official familiar with the discussions tells me.

"For any discussion, there needs to be a cessation of hostilities. It needs cessation, because it is not there as we speak... Ceasefire may be a precondition," says the official briefed on the discussions who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

The source described mediated contact between the US and Iran, which has moved steadily for over a fortnight, much of the content of which remained secret.

But talks have been challenging due to difficulty getting messages to and from officials in Iran amid the ongoing war and communications blackout.

"To convey messages to Iran, getting a response in reasonable time is not possible. The average time of response has been a day or so," the official tells me.

Trump told the news website Axios on Sunday that his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were holding "intense negotiations" with the Iranians but did not give further details, only saying that if a deal wasn't made to re-open the Strait of Hormuz he was "blowing up everything".

Iran’s senior presidential aide Medhi Tabatabai said on Sunday the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only under a "new legal regime" in which Iran would use revenue from transit fees as reparations for the damage inflicted by the US-Israeli war.

Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have all been involved in efforts to mediate. The three countries’ foreign ministers reportedly held phone calls with both Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.

Simi Jolaoso
North America correspondent

President Trump has dialled up the rhetoric in his latest social media post reminding Iran of his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

You can sense the frustration, and it makes for uncomfortable reading.

Even though US media has reported that Donald Trump said on Sunday the two sides are “deep in negotiations”, it’s important to bear in mind the reality on the ground.

More marines, paratroopers and warships have been deployed to the Middle East over the past few days.

The last time the Trump administration said it was in talks with Iran, it struck the country - starting this war.

This is also the second reminder Trump has given this weekend, threatening to target Iranian civilian infrastructure. It is important to not underestimate him making good on his threat.

Image source, Reuters

Abu Dhabi authorities are responding to falling debris after its air defence systems made a "successful interception", says the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

A Ghanaian national was been injured as debris fell on the Raneen Systems company in the Musaffah industrial area of the city, it says.

On Sunday, the UAE Ministry of Defence said it intercepted 50 Iranian drones, one cruise missile, and nine ballistic missiles from Iran.

That takes the totals to 2,191 drones, 24 cruise missiles, and 507 ballistic missiles since the start of the war.

The Sharif University of Technology has been hit by a strike, causing a gas outage in parts of Tehran.

BBC Persian reports that parts of the university, including its technology centre building and the school's mosque, appear to have been damaged. Images online this morning show thick smoke rising from areas in Iran's capital city.

Elsewhere in the capital city, an airstrike on a residential building has killed 13 people.

The mayor of the district that includes the university, said gas was being temporarily cut due to the attack.

A number of universities in Iran have been hit since the start of the war, including Tehran University of Science and Technology and Shahid Beheshti University.

Osmond Chia
Business reporter

Oil prices hit $110 (£83.38) a barrel after President Donald Trump's expletive-laden threat against Iran on social media.

The price of Brent rose initially by 1.6% to $110.85, before retreating slightly during morning trade in Asia.

US-traded crude gained slightly by 0.3% to $111.80.

The initial jump came after Trump put more pressure on Tehran by threatening to strike Iran's bridges and power plants if Iran did not back down on its threat against ships that try to cross the critical Strait of Hormuz trade waterway.

Major Asian stock markets also edged higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 exchange rose by 1.6% while South Korea's Kospi index gained by 0.9%.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Iran has warned of "much more devastating" retaliation if the US and Israel were to strike civilian targets, state media has reported.

"If attacks on civilian targets are repeated, the next stages of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be much more devastating and widespread," reads a statement from a spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters - Iran's highest operational military command unit. The statement was published by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

It comes after the US president threatened attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges if Iran fails to meet his Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Image source, Getty Images

Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Sunday have killed at least 15 people and wounded 39 others, AFP reports citing the Lebanese health ministry.

At least five people were killed in a strike on Beirut, while three were killed in an attack on an apartment building in Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, officials said.

A four-year-old girl was among seven people killed in a strike on the southern town of Kfar Hatta, the ministry added.

In Israel, two bodies have been recovered from a residential building that was hit by a missile, Israeli media report.

Israel's military says it has conducted a wave of strikes against targets in Iran's capital, Tehran.

A US-Israeli strike on a residential building killed at least five people and left several people buried under rubble in Qom, south of Tehran, a deputy governor told the semi-official SNN news agency, Reuters reported.

The UAE and Kuwait said their air defences had also responded to missile and drone attacks.

US President Donald Trump earlier posted a message on his Truth Social platform about yesterday's dramatic rescue of the second US airman from a downed F-15 in Iran.

He says he will be hosting a news conference with the military on Monday at 13:00 ET (17:00 BST).

Trump noted in his post the daring nature of the raid deep in the mountains of Iran and how this type of rescue is "seldom attempted" due to the dangers.

The weapon systems officer was rescued nearly two days after his US fighter jet was shot down by Iran, hiding in mountains with a beacon signal and a handgun to defend himself as Iranians scoured the area looking for him.

The jet's pilot was rescued earlier by US crews. Trump says in his post that the pilot was rescued in broad daylight after spending about 7 hours in Iranian territory.

The White House press secretary announced shortly after Trump's post that "due to popular demand" the news conference will be held in the briefing room, rather than the smaller Oval Office where it had been scheduled.

The BBC's senior international correspondent Orla Guerin has travelled to the edge of the Strait of Hormuz in Oman, which Iran has put a stranglehold on since the war broke out.

The critical artery is normally used for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

By leaving ships stranded in the waterway, Iran is reducing the global supply of oil, driving up prices and creating fear among consumers.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

US President Donald Trump's threat to blow up electricity plants, oil wells and water desalination plants in Iran could amount to a threat to commit potential war crimes, according to international treaties and conventions on the laws of war.

The deliberate destruction of energy infrastructure could have a devastating effect on civilian life - even if the plants are also argued to have a military or government purpose.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, founding chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - to which neither the US nor Iran are party - told me that Trump's bombing of Iranian power plants, as well as attacks by both Iran and Israel on energy infrastructure, would not amount to legitimate targets.

Under the Rome Statute, established by the court, "intentionally directing attacks at civilian objects... which are not military objectives" is a war crime, Moreno Ocampo said.

Trump has previously said he doesn't "need international law" and is guided by his "own morality".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this issue of potential war crimes last week and rejected the notion.

"Of course, this administration and the United States armed forces will always act within the confines of the law. But with respect to achieving the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is going to move forward unabated. And he expects the Iranian regime to make a deal with the administration."

You can read more on this issue here: Iran war shows norms of international conflicts have been overturned.

Image source, EPA

US President Donald Trump has published an expletive-laden post on social media in which he threatened to destroy Iran's power plants and bridges if it failed to meet his new Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," he wrote. "There will be nothing like it!!!"

Initially, his deadline was set for Monday 6 April, having posted on Saturday 4 April that Iran had "48 hours" to make a deal.

But hours after posting his latest threat to Iran on Truth Social which referenced "Tuesday", Trump followed up with "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!" (01:00 BST on 8 April) - an apparent extension of the deadline.

The US president has postponed deadlines for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz several times.

Later on Monday evening, Trump also told Fox News there was a "good chance" a deal would be reached on Monday, but he was considering "blowing everything up and taking over the oil" if one was not made quickly.

The president's latest remarks came as he announced that the second crew member of a US fighter jet downed over Iran had been successfully rescued in an operation deep inside hostile territory.

BBC White House reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr says that although Trump has been quick to claim the victory as evidence that the US has achieved "overwhelming air dominance and superiority", sources tell him that it is a little more complicated.

Follow along with our live coverage for the latest updates.