Iran war live: Witkoff and Kushner to join talks in Islamabad with Iran’s Araqchi, US official says
Here are the most recent developments in the Middle East war
US official says Witkoff and Kushner to go to Pakistan for talks
The official told Reuters that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan soon for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Vice President JD Vance is not currently planning to attend but he will be on standby to travel to Islamabad if negotiations progress, according to CNN, which first recorded the travel plans.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff (R) and Jared Kushner
Israeli military says it killed six armed Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon on Friday
It said an exchange of fire between the two groups took place in Bint Jbeil, adding the incident "constitutes an additional blatant violation of the ceasefire."
Earlier Friday, Lebanon's Hezbollah said the U.S.-mediated ceasefire was " meaningless" as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone.
Israeli attacks and Hezbollah rockets may breach international law, UN says
A man next to buildings damaged by Israeli strikes, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
The U.N. human rights office says attacks on civilians and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel show patterns that could amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The report covers the first three weeks of the latest escalation, which began after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2. Israel responded with a large‑scale military offensive.
Since then, nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities, amid widespread displacement and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure. Hezbollah attacks killed two civilians in Israel after March 2, while 15 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since then, Israel says.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented several cases in which Israeli strikes hit, and in some instances destroyed, multi‑story residential buildings, killing entire families in Lebanon, spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said.
OHCHR also found Hezbollah was firing unguided rockets that lacked the precision required to strike specific military targets, and damaged buildings and other civilian infrastructure in Israel.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Reuters requests
Strait of Hormuz blocked
As shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is broadly halted, thousands of seafarers from India and other nations remain stranded in and around the strait.
India ranks among the world's top three suppliers of seafarers with a workforce of more than 300,000.
Ankit Yadav, a seafarer from India, has been stuck on a boat at an inland Iranian port for about two and a half weeks, surviving with his three fellow mariners on limited rations of tomatoes and potatoes.
He said he could have left the conflict zone had the vessel received permission to sail to Oman and then be repatriated to India, but that could not happen because of the blockade imposed by the U.S. Navy.
"The shipping company I work for is not ready to give us the sign-off because they do not want to pay higher air ticket prices, and we cannot afford to buy them on our own. The only way out is the government's help," he told Reuters by phone.
Salman Siddiqui, another Indian seafarer at an Iranian port, said the "only thing we do here is plan how to spend the night and pray to god that we do not get hit during an attack."
"It is a kind of relief that a ceasefire is in place and we do not hear the same number of explosions like we used to see and hear earlier."
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