The Latest: Regional powers to meet in Pakistan to discuss how to end Mideast fighting
Mar 28, 2026, 9:08 PM | Updated: Mar 30, 2026, 1:46 am
People collect leaflets scattered on the ground at a site where a projectile carrying them hit an apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Regional powers plan to meet Sunday in Pakistan to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East as about 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the monthlong war.
Pakistan said Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will send top diplomats to Islamabad for talks. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held “extensive discussions” on regional hostilities.
The war has threatened global supplies of oil and natural gas, sparked fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel. Iran’s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices.
The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. More than 3,000 people have been killed.
The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade typically passes.
Here is the latest:
Interceptions and drone activity were heard for hours overnight Saturday across Irbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, including drones shot down while attempting to target the U.S. consulate and nearby bases.
AP journalists in the area reported nonstop loud explosions and saw at least one drone headed toward American facilities, in one of the most intense days of attacks since the war began.
Iran-aligned militias in Iraq have stepped up repeated drone and missile attacks on U.S. bases, including in Irbil.
In a statement on Saturday, the U.S. condemned what it called “despicable terrorist attacks” by Iran’s militant groups, saying the strikes on Kurdish regional President Nechirvan Barzani’s residence in Irbil earlier that day were “a direct assault on Iraq’s sovereignty, stability and unity.” The attack caused material damage but no casualties, and the residence was empty at the time.
The Lebanese health ministry said a strike Saturday evening on Hanniyeh town in Tyre province killed six Syrians and a Lebanese person, and wounded nine others.
In Nabatiyeh province, a strike on Deir al-Zahrani killed seven people and wounded eight, while a separate strike on Kfartabnit killed three and wounded four, the health ministry said.
