The Japan Times - Israel strikes Tehran as Trump says Iran deal may be reached 'soon'

Iran also launched fresh strikes on Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia after its electrical facilities came under attack at the weekend, cutting power to parts of Tehran and surrounding areas.

The war has inflicted havoc on the global economy, with fuel shortages across much of Asia, stock markets in turmoil, and oil prices soaring -- the main US benchmark rising past $100 a barrel and Brent close to $117.

As Israel pressed its offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Indonesia confirmed Monday that one of its peacekeepers was killed after the UN force said a projectile hit one of its positions.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said they did not know the origin of the projectile but had launched an investigation.

Trump, citing the number of Iranian leaders who have been killed in the month-long US-Israeli war against Iran, said "regime change" had been achieved and the new leadership was "much more reasonable".

"We've had regime change," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "We're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change."

Asked whether there could be a deal with Iran this coming week, Trump said: "I do see a deal in Iran. Could be soon."

In an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday, Trump said he wants to "take the oil in Iran" and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island.

The US president compared the potential move to Venezuela, where the US intends to control the oil industry "indefinitely" following the capture of leader Nicolas Maduro in January.

"To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: 'why are you doing that?' But they're stupid people," he told the newspaper.

- Diplomatic efforts -

On the ground there appeared to be no let-up in hostilities -- with Israel saying Monday its defences responded to "missiles launched from Iran", after earlier announcing it was striking "terror regime military infrastructure across Tehran".

On the diplomatic front, Pakistan -- acting as a go-between for Washington and Tehran -- hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt in Islamabad for talks on the crisis.

Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these claims have been denied by Tehran.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar said the visiting diplomats had discussed how to "bring an early and permanent end to the war."

He said Iran and the United States had expressed "confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks" and that he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other foreign ministers who also backed the idea.

But the speaker of Iran's parliament has accused Washington of using diplomacy as a smoke screen.

"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

"Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all," he added.

Despite making diplomatic overtures, including proposing a 15-point plan to end the war, the United States has also been sending more military assets into the region.

The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 3,500 Marines and sailors, arrived in the Middle East on Friday.

According to The Washington Post, the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations -- potentially including raids on sites near the Strait of Hormuz -- though Trump has yet to approve any deployment.

- Sleepless nights -

The weeks of unrelenting strikes have taken a heavy toll on ordinary people in Iran.

"I miss a peaceful night's sleep," an artist in Tehran told AFP, saying night-time strikes were "so intense it felt like all of Tehran was shaking".

The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Tehran retaliates with attacks on Gulf states and virtually seals the critical Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.

An Iranian strike on a power station and water desalination in Kuwait killed one Indian worker and damaged a building at the site, the Gulf state's electricity ministry said Monday.

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said its forces detected and intercepted five ballistic missiles.

Iran's energy ministry reported power outages in the capital on Sunday, its surrounding region and Alborz province "following attacks on electricity industry facilities".

Trump has previously threatened to strike Iranian power stations if Tehran does not negotiate, before repeatedly extending a deadline to do so.

burs/cl/fox/jm

S.Yamada--JT