The main courtyard of the vast complex was filled with people as authorities imposed extensive traffic restrictions across the capital. Another AFP journalist saw mourners walking several kilometres to reach the venue.

The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks to end the months-long conflict, and as the Israeli military stepped up hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices fluctuated in the wake of the US strikes, which may threaten any agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where an Iranian blockade has choked global fuel supplies.

“US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

It gave no details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines.”

Iran’s state-run broadcaster IRIB reported several loud explosions were heard in the vicinity of Bandar Abbas at around midnight local time (2030 GMT Monday).

It added the situation in the southern port city was normal and local authorities were investigating the cause of the blasts.

The strikes threatened a ceasefire that began April 8 as the United States and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.

Oil prices remained below $100 on Tuesday morning, with West Texas Intermediate dropping more than five percent while international benchmark Brent crude was up.

Hopes of an accord took another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.

Trump also said in a social media post he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.

It was not clear whether he meant this would be part of a potential accord with Iran, and the commission he cited was abolished in 1974.

Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to sign up to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.

Trump said he had spoken to the leaders of those countries Saturday about efforts to end the war. Bahrain and the UAE have already signed the accords, along with Morocco and Sudan.

The US-Iranian ceasefire has held while diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has maintained controls on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy has sought to blockade Iran’s ports.

While the Abraham Accords were welcomed by some, they remain deeply unpopular in many parts of the Middle East — in part because they fail to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Gulf heavyweights like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said they will never normalize ties with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is created.

– ‘Going crazy’ –

Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said it was unlikely that Gulf nations would bow to Trump’s latest demand.

“The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever before because of President Trump’s reckless decisions, and he expects Arab states to thank him and to normalize relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage,” she said.

Trump’s maximalist demand came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day.

“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi.

But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei poured cold water on hopes for a quick final settlement.

“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly news briefing.

“But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.”

– ‘Critical moment’ –

Netanyahu said Monday that he had ordered the military to intensify its offensive in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of targeting Israeli forces with drone attacks.

“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.

The Israeli leader said Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that “any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely” before peace was reached.

Iranian officials have stressed that, despite the longstanding US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment, talks on the issue of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program have been deferred until after an initial agreement.

The sharp exchange of messages raised the spectre of a return to open
conflict in the Gulf, sent oil prices soaring and dashed hopes that a deal
could be quickly negotiated to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial
shipping.

Trump reacted with fury after Iran responded to the latest US proposal for
peace talks with a counteroffer he deemed, in a brief social media post,
“TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE”.

The exchange unnerved global energy markets, with crude prices rising by more
than four percent before dropping back slightly in afternoon London trading
and a top executive warning the crisis could last for years.

“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the
world has ever experienced,” the CEO and president of Saudi oil giant Aramco,
Amin Nasser, told investors.

“If the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will still take months for the
market to rebalance, and if its opening is delayed by a few more weeks, then
normalisation will last into 2027,” he said.

– Hunger and starvation –

Aside from energy — in peacetime a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG exports
pass through Hormuz — the world also faces a shortage of fertiliser, much of
which comes from Gulf ports, and hence food for tens of millions of people.

“We have a few weeks ahead of us to prevent what will likely be a massive
humanitarian crisis,” Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), told AFP.

“We may witness a crisis that will force 45 million more people into hunger
and starvation.”

Trump did not say what had offended him in Iran’s response, but Tehran’s
foreign ministry said it had called for an end to the US naval blockade and
to the war “across the region” — implying a halt to Israel’s strikes
targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Crucially, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters, Iran demanded
the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years
been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”.

This would be not just a return to the status quo before the United States
and Israel launched the war on February 28 but a victory for the Islamic
government’s long-standing campaign against its economic isolation.

“We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s
legitimate rights,” Baqaei said.

An end to international sanctions would also diminish Washington’s leverage
over Tehran as it tries to secure a lasting end to Iran’s nuclear enrichment.

The US, Israel and their allies have long accused Iran of seeking an atomic
bomb, an accusation Tehran has repeatedly denied.

– ‘It’s not over’ –

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the conflict would not end
until Iran’s nuclear facilities are destroyed.

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium —
that has to be taken out of Iran,” he told US broadcaster CBS’s 60 Minutes.

“There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Iran’s
counter-proposal had included the possibility of diluting some of its highly
enriched uranium, with the rest transferred to a third country.

Iran had sought guarantees that the transferred uranium would be returned if
negotiations failed or Washington abandoned the agreement, sources told the
Journal.

Trump is expected to press China’s President Xi Jinping — a major buyer of
Iranian oil — on the Iran issue when he visits Beijing on Thursday,
according to a senior US official.

– ‘Restraint over’ –

The lack of a path to a resolution has focused concern on the Strait of
Hormuz, where Iran is restricting maritime traffic and setting up a payment
mechanism to charge tolls for crossing ships.

US officials have stressed it would be “unacceptable” for Tehran to control
the international waterway.

The US Navy is also blockading Iran’s ports, at times firing on ship to
disable them or boarding and diverting them.

In a social media post on Sunday, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s
national security commission warned Washington: “Our restraint is over as of
today.”

“Any attack on our vessels will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian
response against American ships and bases,” Ebrahim Rezaei said.

The Adviser said this while speaking to reporters after a meeting with Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, at the Bangladesh Secretariat today.

Titumir said the government intends to proceed with full respect for the agreement rather than moving towards its cancellation. “At the same time, initiatives will be taken to expand bilateral trade within this framework,”

However, he noted that if any provision is found to be contrary to national interests, there will always be room to address it through discussions.

Dr. Titumir said the country will utilize U.S. technology and innovation capabilities to help recover the inherited fragile economy. “Emphasis is being placed particularly on increasing exports in the pharmaceutical sector and boosting productivity,”

On international relations, he said Bangladesh does not favour exclusive dependence on any single country; rather, it seeks to build inclusive relations with all.

He also added that discussions are ongoing to strengthen trade relations with the United States and other friendly countries.

Washington and Tehran held historic face-to-face talks in Islamabad over the weekend, but failed to reach an immediate agreement on ending the war in the Middle East.

“Efforts are underway to bring both parties back to the table, of course we want them back in Islamabad, but the venue is not final yet,” said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject matter.

“The meeting could take place soon though dates have yet to be confirmed,” the source said.

The source added: “We are also working to get the ceasefire extended beyond the current deadline to allow for additional time.”

A second official, who also requested anonymity, said the talks were possible before the ceasefire deadline ends next week.

“No date and venue has been decided yet,” he said.

The first official said Islamabad was “the preferred venue” for Pakistan, but that nothing had yet been finalised.

“The written outlines of demands and concessions have already been shared, so both parties are aware of the potential trade-offs,” the official added.

On Monday, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington had made its “red lines” clear and that “the ball is in the Iranian court.”

Iran has blamed Washington for making maximalist demands, but its leaders have in the last hours not dismissed efforts by world leaders to get both sides back to the negotiating table.

A fragile two-week truce agreed last Wednesday to give time to find a lasting ceasefire remained in place, even though a US naval blockade of Iranian ports began at the Strait of Hormuz, which had been effectively closed by Tehran.

In a letter dated February 18, 2026, from the White House, President Trump conveyed his greetings to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

“On behalf of the American people, I congratulate you on your historic election and wish you a successful term as Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” he wrote.

Highlighting the foundation of bilateral relations, Trump said, “The partnership between our countries is based on mutual respect and a shared interest in fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific where strong, sovereign nations can prosper.”

Referring to economic cooperation, he wrote, “As you begin your term, I hope you will help me maintain the tremendous momentum in our trade relationship through the implementation of our Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which benefits farmers and workers in both of our countries.”

The US President also underscored defence collaboration, stating, “I also hope you will take decisive action to complete the routine defense agreements that would finally give your military access to high-end, American-made equipment – the best in the world!”

Expressing confidence in future engagement, Trump said, “I look forward to working with you to make the relationship between the United States and Bangladesh stronger than ever before.”

He added, “My Ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent Christensen, has my full confidence. Together, we have an opportunity to make both of our nations more prosperous and secure.”

Concluding the message, the US President wrote, “Good luck to you in the days ahead!”

“Delighted to speak with Mr. Tarique Rahman. I congratulated him on the remarkable victory in the Bangladesh elections,” Modi said in his X handle.

The Indian premier conveyed his best wishes and support in his endeavour to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.

“As two close neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress, and prosperity of both our peoples,” Modi said.

“Congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on a successful election and to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Tarique Rahman on your historic victory,” US Embassy in Dhaka said in its official Facebook post this morning.

“The United States looks forward to working with you (Tarique Rahman) to realize shared goals of prosperity and security for both our countries,” it added.

“I built (up) the military in my first term, and now we have a group headed out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won’t have to use it,” Trump told reporters at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania.

Asked if he would have talks with Iran, Trump added: “I have had and I am planning on it. Yes, we have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”