US & Iran Reject Diplomatic Negotiation Efforts + Report: Israel & Lebanon Direct Talks Expected + Israel Planning Massive Ground Invasion of S. Lebanon + US Navy Extends Carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) Service Life to 2027

For review:1. US President Donald Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war. Iran, for its part, has rejected talk of a ceasefire until US and Israeli strikes end, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters, 2. US President Donald Trump says that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub, saying that while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”3. President Trump on the Strait of Hormuz: Tthe US “will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline” and “one way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait open, safe and free.”Later on Saturday Trump said that “countries of the world that receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — a lot! The US will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well.4. Hamas on Saturday called on its benefactor Iran to refrain from striking neighboring nations, including Qatar and Turkey, two of the terror group’s other leading state sponsors.5. Lebanon was said Saturday to be seeking talks with Israel on ending the renewed flareup between the Jewish state and the Hezbollah terror group, with landmark direct negotiations reportedly expected to be held within days.6. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Friday his terror group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel, as the latter threatened to make Lebanon pay an “increasing price” in damage to infrastructure.7. Israel is planning to launch a “massive” ground invasion of southern Lebanon in order to push the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group away from the border and destroy its weapons stores and positions, US and Israeli officials told the Axios news site on Saturday.8. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on March 13 confirmed his government is holding talks with the Trump administration, in the latest sign that the communist-run nation is open to signing a historic economic deal with the United States.9. The US Navy has prolonged the service life of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) to March 2027.