War in the Middle East (US-Iran-Israel Conflict)

(The Guardian) 8:31pm Summary
--Donald Trump has given mixed messages on the way forward in the war against Iran, saying he’s in no rush to end the conflict while also saying a deal with Iran could happen “relatively quickly” and expressing optimism that fresh talks with Tehran will soon take place in Pakistan.
--Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would not accept negotiations with the US while under threat. He also said on X that Iran had “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.
--US vice-president JD Vance remained in the US on Monday, a source told Reuters, denying reports he was already on his way to Pakistan, in comments adding to the uncertainty over whether a second round of talks will proceed.
--US Central Command said 27 vessels had been forced to turn around or return to Iranian ports under the current naval blockade of the strait of Hormuz.
--Oil prices rose on Monday amid the high tensions between the US and Iran, though the market reaction remained more tame than during earlier stages of the war. Brent crude – the global oil benchmark – rose 5.6% to settle at $95.48 a barrel. US stocks edged down, with the S&P 500 closing 0.2% lower on Monday.
--UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said a “critical” moment was coming with the looming the expiry of the 14-day US-Iran truce and reiterated the Hormuz’s strait closure was “hitting the global economy”, amid an international push to reopen the waterway.
--The toll of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Monday has risen to at least five, according to Palestinian health officials, while witnesses said Hamas fighters clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia.
--Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the war in Iran by phone on Monday. Lavrov reportedly reiterated the need to uphold the ceasefire and continue diplomatic efforts, while Araghchi said Tehran would to try to ensure the uninterrupted passage of Russian ships and cargo through the Hormuz strait.

(The Guardian) 10:31pm Summary
--Donald Trump said he is extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran, even as the US military maintains its blockade of Iranian ports.
--The move comes as the White House put on hold vice-president JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for a second round of truce talks with Iran, which has balked at further discussions.
--The US Treasury’s Scott Bessent said that as a result of the US blockade, “in a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in”. In a statement posted on X, Bessent said the US “will continue to apply maximum pressure through Economic Fury to systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds”.
--Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon, the Associated Press reports. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
--Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded some fire on Tuesday. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces maintaining a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. In response, Israel said it had struck the launcher, calling Hezbollah’s strikes a blatant violation of the ceasefire.
--The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will be part of the US delegation for upcoming direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, according to CNN. Israel and Lebanon, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a state department official said.
--Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said the country would need 500m euros ($587m) over the next six months to deal with the humanitarian crisis that has seen 1.2m people displaced from Lebanon’s south, east and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
--Israel’s military said Tuesday it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. Images of an Israeli soldier with a sledgehammer smashing the statue’s head emerged over the weekend, bringing widespread condemnation, AP reported.
--The Pentagon says US forces boarded the sanctioned M/T Tifani tanker overnight “without incident” in the Asia Pacific region. “As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran – anywhere they operate,” the US Department of Defense wrote in a post on X.
--Gen Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said oil facilities across the region would be harmed if neighbouring countries allow the US to carry out attacks. “If southern neighbours allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” he told Iranian state media.
--Britain will host military planners from over 30 countries for two days of talks starting Wednesday on a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the strait of Hormuz, the defence ministry said.

(The Guardian) 5:59pm Summary
--Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed a journalist after rescuers were blocked from accessing the building where she was buried under rubble because of further Israeli fire, according to several witnesses. Amal Khalil was covering developments near the town of al-Tayri with the photographer Zeinab Faraj when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them. They ran into a nearby house, which was then also targeted by an Israeli strike, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
--Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and lead negotiator, said that reopening the strait of Hormuz would be “impossible” while the US and Israel committed “flagrant” breaches of the ceasefire, including the US naval blockade, “the hostage-taking of the world’s economy” and “Zionist warmongering”. He added in a post on X that the US and Israel “did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying”.
--Donald Trump is “satisfied” with the naval blockade, and “understands Iran is in a very weak position” – according to the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She highlighted that reports of a three-to-five-day deadline for the extended ceasefire are “not true”. “The cards are in President Trump’s hands right now,” she told the media during a press conference in Washington.
--Lebanese state media reported that Israeli strikes killed at least four people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Hezbollah launched, according to the report, a drone attack against Israeli forces in the region, which further jeopardizes the US-brokered ceasefire. The National News Agency (NNA) said an Israeli strike hit a car in Tayri, a village in south Lebanon, killing two people inside. An Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Yohmor killed another two people, the NNA and Lebanon’s health ministry said.
--Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy, have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli settlers opened fire near a school amid mounting assaults on education in the territory, witnesses and local officials have said. The Palestinian health ministry said Aws al-Naasan, 14, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32, were killed in the attack on the village of al-Mughayyir, in which three others were wounded.

(The Guardian) 10:51pm Summary
--Donald Trump announced an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire would be extended by three weeks, saying on social media that “the United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah”, which opposes the Lebanon-Israeli talks. Trump said the leaders of Lebanon and Israel could meet at the White House “in the near future”.
--Trump ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait of Hormuz. Trump also repeated the US had “total control” over strait, a claim that has met with scepticism in the face of Iranian commandos’ seizure of two container ships and a US report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.
--The president also said a peace deal with Iran had not been reached yet because its leadership was “in turmoil”. He also said the US would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran as the conflict continues without a clear end in sight.
--Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said there were no “hardliners” or “moderates” in Iran, responding to Trump’s claim of internal division in Iran’s leadership. Separately, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said Iran’s state institutions “continue to act with unity, purpose, and discipline”.
--Israel’s killing of a Lebanese journalist in a strike has been met with international outrage as Lebanon’s prime minister described the attack as a “war crime”. Amal Khalil, 43, was killed in what colleagues described as a sustained attack by Israeli forces, with rescuers attempting to dig her out of the rubble of a building also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving assistance.
--Global stocks mostly fell on Thursday, retreating after recent gains as investors tempered their optimism for a quick end to the Middle East war. But on Friday Japan’s Nikkei share average rose and was poised for a third consecutive weekly gain, as enthusiasm over tech sector earnings offset uncertainty over the Middle East.
--Trump said the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, was fired after conflicts with senior Pentagon leadership over shipbuilding.
--Italy was not interested in replacing Iran at the upcoming World Cup after a suggestion to that effect by a Trump administration official, Italian sports officials said. “It’s not a good idea,” said sports minister Andrea Abodi.
--The US had no objections to Iranian players participating in the World Cup but they would not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said.
--Pope Leo XIV urged the US and Iran to return to talks to end the war and condemned capital punishment, calling for a new “culture of peace” to replace the recourse to violence.

(The Guardian) 5:40pm Summary
--US and Iranian government representatives will meet in Pakistan on Saturday to continue negotiations for a resolution of the Middle East crisis. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi will likely be present at the talks. For the US, special envoy Steve Witkof and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will be engaged in the talks in Islamabad. Even before the meeting, there has already been some tension, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling outlets Iran requested the Saturday talks and president Donald Trump telling Reuters that Iran plans to make an offer that will satisfy US demands. Iran strongly rejected those claims, according to Iranian state media, adding that Iran has made no request for talks with the US and has so far completely rejected the US’s excessive demands.
--International leaders are pushing for a further resumption of talks to secure a quick and sustainable agreement to the crisis. Russia, the United Aram Emirates and Qatar all discussed the Iran ceasefire agreement on Friday.
--The international community continues to denounce the humanitarian crises stemming from the conflict. European Council president Antonio Costa said on Friday that the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions is “vital” for the world. Also, a World Food Programme representative today said that 45 million people will face food insecurity and malnutrition if the Strait of Hormuz continues to be blocked.
--The German chancellor Friedrich Merz called on other coalition nations to ease sanctions on Iran as part of a ceasefire deal. Other EU leaders, including the president of the European Commission, have distanced themselves from the German chancellor, saying the move is premature.
--Indonesia once again condemned an Israeli attack in Lebanon that killed an Indonesian peacekeeper. The attack took place in late March. Four of the Indonesian peacekeepers present were killed, with the foreign ministry announcing the fourth died on Friday.
--The Israeli military said they killed six Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon on Friday during a clash. This came after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of trying to “sabotage” efforts to reach a peace deal with Lebanon.
--US defence secretary Pete Hegseth says transit is occurring in the strait of Hormuz, but limited and with risk. He says this is Iran’s fault for threatening vessels, including cruise ships.
--Human Rights Watch has called on Lebanon to join the international criminal court, after Israeli forces killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zainab Faraj in an airstrike earlier this week.

(The Guardian) Trump tells aides to prepare for extended blockade of Iran, WSJ reports
Donald Trump has told aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iranian ports, the Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported last night, citing US officials.

Trump has reportedly said in recent meetings that he prefers the blockade over other methods to increase the pressure on Iran as peace talks stall and Tehran keeps the critical strait of Hormuz closed.

According to the WSJ’s report, Trump believes that his other options, such as resuming bombing or walking away from the war, would carry greater risks than maintaining the blockade.

The US military has been preventing ships from entering and departing Iranian ports since 13 April, after direct talks with Iran failed to yield results.

(The Guardian) 'Foreigners act with greed and malice have no place in Gulf', says Iran's supreme leader
Iran’s supreme leader says that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, even as US president Donald Trump tries to get a deal on those issues.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei spoke in a written statement read aloud on Iranian state television, as he has since he took over after the 28 February airstrike that killed his 86-year-old father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities - from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities – as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” Khamenei said.

“By God’s help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, one serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people,” Khamenei added in the statement.

“We and our neighbors across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the (Gulf) of Oman share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it - except at the bottom of its waters.”

(The Guardian) 5:31pm Summary
--Donald Trump threatened that Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait of Hormuz. The US president’s comments came as the US launched an operation – so-called “Project Freedom” – on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped with their crews in the Gulf, dragging the region back to the brink of full-scale war. Tehran sought to reassert its blockade on the strait, while the US military claimed to have destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted both Iranian cruise missiles and drones, which was denied by Tehran.
--Earlier, Iran’s military central command warned that it would strike any US naval vessel approaching the strait, and claimed to have struck a US frigate in the area with two missiles. US Central Command denied that claim, saying that no US Navy ships had been struck and that US forces were continuing to enforce the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
--US Central Command also said that two US-flagged merchant vessels crossed through the strait of Hormuz on Monday as US Navy guided-missile destroyers operate in the Gulf. Shipping company Maersk later said that one of its US-flagged commercial vessels had successfully exited the strait under US military protection.
--Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates defence ministry said that its air defences engaged 15 Iranian missiles and four drones in a fresh barrage on Monday. Fujairah had also said earlier that a fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, the largest oil storage zone in the UAE, following what they described as a drone attack originating from Iran.
--In neighbouring Oman, two people were injured by an attack on a residential building in Bukha, along the coastline of the strait of Hormuz, an Omani state news agency reported.

(The Guardian) 5:45pm Summary
--US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the military objectives of so-called “Operation Epic Fury” have concluded and the offensive stage of the war with Iran is “over”. Speaking at the White House press briefing, Rubio insisted that ongoing US military action in the strait of Hormuz is “defensive” in nature and a separate operation, in line with the Trump administration’s argument that it doesn’t need approval from Congress to continue the war against Iran. “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first,” he told reporters, urging Iran to “make the sensible choice” and negotiate a deal.
--With the status of the ceasefire in doubt, Donald Trump declined to say what would constitute a violation, telling reporters only that Iran knows “what not to do”. It comes amid rising tensions after both sides exchanged fire in the strait of Hormuz on Monday. “Well, you’ll find out because I’ll let you know,” the US president said. “They know what to do, or what not to do more importantly.”
--Trump’s defense secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that “Project Freedom” has allowed the US to gain control of the strait, despite Iran claiming it has actually strengthened its control of the waterway, and thousands of cargo ships remain stranded there.
--Rubio framed the US’s operation in the strait of Hormuz as a rescue effort, saying that Iran had left thousands of mariners “for dead”. He said the US was trying to reopen the strait “as a favour to the world”, neglecting to mention that its closure is the result of the war the US started.
--Meanwhile, the UK maritime authority reported a cargo vessel being struck “by an unknown projectile” in critical waterway.
--And for a second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences had shot down missiles and drones from Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment. It comes a day after the UAE said it had intercepted 15 Iranian missiles and four drones.

(The Guardian) 8:34pm Summary
--Donald Trump said a deal with Iran to end the war was “very possible” after “very good talks” over the past 24 hours. While again claiming Iran “badly” wants to make a deal, the US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday: “We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. That’s the way it is.” Later Trump said he expected the war would “be over quickly”. He earlier issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.
--Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a US peace proposal that sources told Reuters would formally end the war while leaving unresolved the key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the strait of Hormuz. Separately Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington was seeking through various means “to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender”.
--Israel’s military attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in weeks amid the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF was targeting the unnamed commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force.
--A source close to Hezbollah said a senior commander had been killed in the Israeli attacks and named him as “Malek Ballout, the operations commander in the Radwan force”, Agence France-Presse reported.
--US forces disabled an Iran-flagged unladen oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, enforcing the US blockade, as the ship tried to sail towards an Iranian port, US Central Command said.
--An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley on Wednesday killed four people, Lebanon’s health ministry said, with local media reporting the attack took place before the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate the area along with 11 other towns.
--Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships through the strait of Hormuz came after key Gulf ally Saudi Arabia suspended the US military’s ability to use its airspace and a base to carry out the operation, NBC News quoted two US officials as saying. They said Trump’s announcement of “Project Freedom” via social media on Sunday surprised Gulf allies and angered the Saudi leadership, the report said.
--French president Emmanuel Macron called for “all parties to lift the blockades” to allow for the resumption of traffic in the Hormuz strait, after a meeting with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.
--Pope Leo surprised 13 priests from southern Lebanon by joining a video call from Rome on Wednesday, telling them they were in his prayers and he hoped peace would soon prevail along the border.