The Japan Times - The Middle East war: latest developments

- Hezbollah fires on Israel -

Two Israeli strikes on Wednesday hit vehicles south of Beirut, state media reported, while Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, hours after Lebanon and Israel agreed in Washington to hold direct negotiations. Israel also issued a new evacuation warning to residents in south Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported separate Israeli strikes on two vehicles, one in the seafront town of Saadiyat and another on a coastal highway in neighbouring Jiyeh, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Beirut and outside Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

The Israeli military meanwhile detected "approximately 30 launches" by Hezbollah militants towards Israel since the early hours, a spokesman told AFP.

- Stocks boost -

Stocks mainly rose and crude oil prices dropped again Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said a second round of US-Iran talks could take place "over the next two days", fuelling hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korea's Kospi index jumped more than two percent and was just a few hundred points short of its all-time peak. London and Frankfurt were stable. West Texas Intermediate traded at about $90.39 a barrel and Brent North Sea Crude at $94.62 a barrel.

- Pakistan shuttle diplomacy -

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embarked on a four-day diplomatic blitz to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey on Wednesday, his office said, as the country engages in feverish diplomacy ahead of potential new US-Iranian peace talks.

- Iranian sailors repatriated -

Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors stranded in the South Asian country after their warship was torpedoed by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean on March 4, a minister told AFP.

- War 'close to over': Trump -

Trump said the war with Iran is "very close to being over" in an interview with FOX Business's "Mornings with Maria" to air on Wednesday.

- 'Completely halted' -

US Central Command said American forces "have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea".

Maritime tracking data on Tuesday indicated that several ships that had visited Iran's ports passed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the United States imposing a blockade on Iranian shipping.

Analysts say Trump is aiming not only to choke off Iranian revenue but also to pressure China, the biggest buyer of Iran's oil, to push Tehran to reopen the crucial strait.

- China-Russia meeting -

China's President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Chinese state media reported, as a string of leaders affected by the war flock to Beijing.

Lavrov told a news conference Russia could "compensate" for China's energy shortages as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is choked by the war, Russian state media reported.

- US presses Iran on nukes -

US Vice President JD Vance said Trump told Iran that the United States would "make Iran thrive" if it committed to "not having a nuclear weapon".

At the heart of any renewed US-Iran diplomacy is the dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, after Trump launched the war saying the Islamic republic was developing an atomic bomb -- which it denies.

"That's the kind of Trumpian grand bargain that the president has put on the table. Man, we're going to keep on negotiating and try to make it happen," Vance told an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA.

- 'Maintaining maximum pressure' -

The US Treasury Department said Tuesday it does not plan to renew a temporary easing of sanctions on Iranian oil that aimed to cushion war-related supply shocks.

"The short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea is set to expire in a few days and will not be renewed," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

It added that it is "maintaining maximum pressure" on Tehran.

burs-tw/jhb

T.Sasaki--JT