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A man looks on as he sits on the rubble of a house following a strike in Khor al-Zubair, Iraq. [Hussein Faleh, AFP]

Israel’s military warned Tuesday of an increased risk of inbound attacks as US President Donald Trump’s midnight GMT deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approached.

“Following a situational assessment, and as part of preparations for the possible expiration of the ultimatum, there may be an increase in fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours,” the Israeli military said on its official Telegram channel.

At the same time, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, who is playing a key mediating role in the Middle East conflict, on Wednesday urged US President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for massive strikes on Iran by two weeks.

“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly, and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future,” Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.

Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday threats to civilian targets in Iran were “unacceptable”, speaking after US President Donald Trump said a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran defies his latest ultimatum.

“Today… there was this threat against all the people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope told journalists, without mentioning the United States, which is at war with the Islamic Republic.

“There are certainly questions of international law, but much more than that, it is a moral question,” he said as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, for the Vatican.



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Israel’s military warned Tuesday of an increased risk of inbound attacks as US President Donald Trump’s midnight GMT deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approached.

“Following a situational assessment, and as part of preparations for the possible expiration of the ultimatum, there may be an increase in fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours,” the Israeli military said on its official Telegram channel.

At the same time, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, who is playing a key mediating role in the Middle East conflict, on Wednesday urged US President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for massive strikes on Iran by two weeks.
“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly, and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future,” Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.

Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday threats to civilian targets in Iran were “unacceptable”, speaking after US President Donald Trump said a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran defies his latest ultimatum.
“Today… there was this threat against all the people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope told journalists, without mentioning the United States, which is at war with the Islamic Republic.

“There are certainly questions of international law, but much more than that, it is a moral question,” he said as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, for the Vatican.

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channel on WhatsApp

Published Date: 2026-04-07 23:19:08
Author:
By Mate Tongola
Source: The Standard
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