WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD — The Israeli military said on Monday that Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, and an attack had also been launched from Yemen for only the second time since the US-Israeli war began.

It said two drones from Yemen were intercepted early Monday but gave no further details. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia entered the war on Saturday, firing missiles at Israel, escalating a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.

Israel’s military also said the Air Force was carrying out strikes on Tehran on Monday, targeting what it described as military infrastructure.

The latest attacks came a day after President Donald J. Trump said the US and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly” and that Iran’s new leaders have been “very reasonable,” as more US troops arrived in the region.

Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long Iran war. It was not clear whether the US and Iran had agreed to attend.

“I think we’ll make a deal with them, I’m pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Sunday evening as he traveled aboard Air Force One to Washington.

Mr. Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished regime change in Tehran after strikes killed the country’s supreme leader and other top officials but said twice that their replacements seemed “reasonable.”

An initial Israeli strike on Feb. 28 killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son Mojtaba.

The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies and hitting the global economy.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has accused the US of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time planning a ground invasion.

“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation,” he said in a message to the nation.

The US Department of Defense has dispatched thousands of troops to the Middle East, giving Mr. Trump the option of launching a ground offensive.

ISRAELI STRIKES
Israel’s military said it had launched over 140 airstrikes on central and western Iran, including Tehran, over the 24 hours to Sunday evening, hitting ballistic missile launch sites and storage facilities, among other targets.

Iranian state media reported strikes had hit Mehrabad airport and a petrochemical plant in the northern city of Tabriz.

Four weeks of intense US-Israeli bombardment has failed to silence Iran’s missile and drone batteries, with Kuwait on Monday reporting it had intercepted five drones in areas under its protection.

A chemical plant in southern Israel near the city of Beersheba was hit by a missile or missile debris on Sunday as Israel fended off multiple salvos from Iran.

Iran also continues its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of global oil and gas shipments, spiking oil prices and spreading economic pain around the world.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching their first attacks on Israel and raising the prospect they could target and block a second key shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Stocks slumped in Asia on Monday as investors dug in for a protracted conflict, bringing a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe. Japan’s Nikkei index was down more than 3%.

Meanwhile, oil prices looked poised to extend their gains, with Brent headed ‌for a record monthly rise. Brent crude futures LCOc1 jumped $2.43, or 2.16%, to $115 a barrel by 0342 GMT after settling 4.2% higher on Friday.

Global airlines have begun to hike fares and cut capacity to cope with the surge in the oil price, but analysts warn the industry’s ability to remain profitable may depend on whether consumers pull back on flying as energy costs threaten household budgets.

MORE US TROOPS ARRIVE
Several hundred special operations personnel have arrived in the region, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing two military officials. That comes on top of thousands of US Marines that came on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the first of two contingents, the US military has said.

Reuters has reported that the Pentagon has been considering military options that could include ground forces, although Mr. Trump has not approved any of those plans, according to multiple news outlets.

In an interview with Financial Times published on Sunday, Mr. Trump said he wanted to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island. Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops.

The island handles 90% of Iran’s oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran’s energy trade, placing enormous pressure on Tehran’s economy.

The majority of Americans are opposed to the war and a military escalation, which would risk a protracted crisis, would likely weigh further on Mr. Trump’s already low approval ratings ahead of November midterm elections for Congress.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered the military to further expand its operations in southern Lebanon, citing continued rocket fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Israel has said it will seize a chunk of southern Lebanon to create a “buffer zone” against Hezbollah, stoking fears among Lebanese of Israeli military occupation that could deepen instability and stoke further displacement. — Reuters

YAOUNDE — World Trade Organization (WTO) talks ended deadlocked early on Monday as Brazil blocked a bid by the US and other countries to extend a moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, dealing a fresh blow to the embattled trade body.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the e-commerce moratorium had expired, meaning countries could apply duties on electronic goods such as digital downloads and streaming. But she said the WTO hoped to be able to restore the moratorium and that Brazil and the US were trying to reach agreement on it.

“They need more time and we didn’t have the time here,” she said.

Expectations had been low going into the meeting, but failure to even agree an extension to the e-commerce moratorium was a serious setback to the WTO, which has been struggling to remain relevant as countries increasingly work around it.

The marathon talks at the meeting in Cameroon did make progress on drafting a plan for broader reform of the organization, though agreements are still pending.

WTO talks would continue in Geneva, said the conference chair, Cameroon Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana. They are expected to be in May, WTO officials said.

Failure to reach a collective decision in Yaounde was a “major setback for global trade,” said Britain’s Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle.

The talks were seen as a test for the WTO’s relevance after a year of trade turmoil and major disruptions due to the Iran war. But ministers could not agree to extend the moratorium more than two years following objections from Brazil, diplomats said.

US WANTED PERMANENT EXTENSION
Diplomats worked throughout Sunday to close the gap between Brazil, which had originally sought a two-year extension, and the US, which wanted a permanent one, by drafting a proposal for a four-year extension with a one-year sunset buffer, concluding in 2031.

Brazil later proposed a four-year extension, with a review clause halfway through, but that was not supported, diplomats told Reuters.

Developing countries have opposed a lengthy extension, arguing that the moratorium denies them potential tax revenue that they could invest back into their countries.

A US official said Brazil had opposed a “near-consensus document,” adding: “It’s not US versus Brazil. It’s Brazil and Turkey versus 164 members.”

Meanwhile a Brazilian diplomat said “the US wanted the sky,” and that Brazil wanted to be prudent in renewing the moratorium by only two years as in previous ministerial conferences, given rapid changes to digital trade.

Another diplomat present said that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer made delegates “uncomfortable” as he suggested there “would be consequences,” if the US did not get a long-term moratorium extension.

Business leaders lamented the outcome of the talks, with International Chamber of Commerce Secretary General John Denton saying it was “particularly concerning at a time of real strain on the global economy.”

John Bescec, Microsoft’s director of customs and trade affairs, said: “Business was expecting more certainty and predictability… Instead, we got the exact opposite.”

Getting a deal on the e-commerce moratorium was seen as key to securing support for the WTO from the US, which under President Donald J. Trump has retreated from global multilateral institutions.

DRAFT REFORM PLAN EMERGING
A draft of a reform roadmap, seen by Reuters, that provided a timeline for progress and sets out the key issues to address was close to being agreed in Cameroon, diplomats said, before the talks ran out of time.

Discussions will continue in Geneva on improving decision making in a consensus-based system that has long been stymied by a few countries, and the trade benefits extended to developing countries.

The reform debate comes amid efforts to rework WTO rules to render subsidy use more transparent and make decision making easier. The US and European Union argue China in particular has taken advantage of current rules to their detriment. — Reuters

MYANMAR junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was nominated by a lawmaker on Monday for a parliamentary vote that will select the new president of the war-torn Southeast Asian nation, as the powerful general seeks a political role.

Mr. Min Aung Hlaing, who has led Myanmar’s military since 2011, was one of two people named as vice-presidential candidates by lawmakers from the country’s newly convened lower house of parliament.

The country’s upper house will also nominate a vice-presidential candidate, with both houses to select a president from the three in a later vote. The date for that vote has not been announced.

“Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is proposed as a vice-presidential candidate,” Kyaw Kway Htay, a lawmaker from a military-aligned party, said on the floor of the lower house of parliament, according to a live broadcast of proceedings on state media.

The move follows a controversial election held amid raging conflict in December and January, won by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party but widely derided as a sham by the United Nations and many Western countries.

Myanmar has been gripped by violence since a 2021 coup, in which the military, also known as the Tatmadaw, unseated the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

LONGSTANDING GOAL
Under the country’s military-drafted 2008 Constitution, analysts say that presidential candidates cannot be active-duty military personnel or civil servants at the time of their nomination.

In a rare public signaling of transition by the military that has dominated Myanmar for decades, Mr. Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy said last week that the secretive institution’s leadership was set for a reshuffle.

“This has been Min Aung Hlaing’s goal all along,” said independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye, pointing to the general’s potential presidential role.

“It’s just a shift from ruling as a military leader to ruling as president.”

Born to a family from Myanmar’s south, Mr. Min Aung Hlaing studied law before entering the military and rising steadily through the ranks, culminating in his promotion to military chief in 2011.

A rigid military leader and considered a ruthless operator, Mr. Min Aung Hlaing has also relied on a finely tuned ability to manage the country’s elites, using tactics that include handing important positions to loyalists and punishing political rivals, Reuters has reported. — Reuters