Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington D.C., April 18, 2026 (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

EA on International Outlets: Iran Tightens Its Control of Strait of Hormuz

US-Israel War, Day 54: Trump Extends Ceasefire After Iran Rejects Talks With US in Pakistan

UPDATE 2045 GMT:

Iran’s semi-official outlet Tasnim claims Iranian officials have made no request for talks with Donald Trump’s envoys.

To the contrary, the Iranians have rebuffed US requests for negotiations due to excessive demands, Tasnim asserted.

UPDATE 1837 GMT:

The Trump Administration has announced sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and around 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.

UPDATE 1828 GMT:

The White House says Donald Trump’s envoys, real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Islamabad on Saturday in a second set of talks.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Everyone will be on standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary, but first, Steve and Jared will be going over there to report back to the President, the Vice President, and the rest of the team.”

The White House also said that they have “seen progress” from the Iranian side in recent days.

UPDATE 1551 GMT:

The Israeli military says it killed six Hezbollah gunmen in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces said the incident is a “blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terror organization”.

UPDATE 1546 GMT:

The toll from an Israeli attack on UN personnel in southern Lebanon on March 29 has risen with the death of a fourth Indonesian peacekeeper.

The peacekeeper sustained severe injuries in the artillery assault by an Israeli tank.

Indonesia has urged the UN to conduct a thorough, transparent and accountable investigation.

UPDATE 1300 GMT:

Iranian State media says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will embark on Friday on visits to Pakistan, Oman, and Russia.

“The purpose of this visit is to hold bilateral consultations, and discuss current developments in the region, as well as the latest situation in the war imposed by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran,” State news agency IRNA posted.

UPDATE 1234 GMT:

The World Health Organization says 3.2 million people are displaced in Iran.

It notes that health facilities in Lebanon have been damaged or closed by Israel’s attacks.

Disease risks are increasing in overcrowded settings, and supply chain disruptions continue to limit the delivery of essential medicines and equipment.

Funding remains critically low: only 7% of the $30.3m required for the Middle East flash appeal has been received to date. Urgent, sustained investment is needed to maintain life-saving health services and scale up the response.

UPDATE 0949 GMT:

At least 34 tankers with links to Iran have bypassed the US blockade on Iranian ports since it began on April 13, according to the cargo tracking group Vortexa.

At least 19 have exited through the Strait into the Gulf of Oman. At least 15 have entered, heading towards Iran from the Arabian Sea.

Six of the tankers leaving the Strait are carrying a total of 10.7 million barrels of Iranian oil, with potential revenue of around $910 million.

US forces have seized one Iran-linked container ship in the Gulf of Oman and boarded two sanctioned tankers in the Indo-Pacific.

US Central Command claimed on Tuesday that the US Navy had directed 28 vessels to turn back to Iranian ports during the blockade.

UPDATE 0947 GMT:

A Hapag-Lloyd ship has passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Four vessels of Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s largest container ship operators, remain in the Persian Gulf.

UPDATE 0825 GMT:

The Israel Defense Forces says they struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, responding to the group’s rocket barrage on the border community of Shtula in northern Israel.

UPDATE 0543 GMT:

“Sources familiar with the matter” say the US military is developing new battle plans for Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.

The targets include the Revolutionary Guards’ fast attack boats and vessels used for laying mines.

The US also resume strikes on missile stockpiles and launchers. American officials said this week that about half are intact despite eight weeks of US-Israeli attacks.

UPDATE, APRIL 24:

Donald Trump has unilaterally announced a 21-day extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

Following a meeting of the Israeli and Lebanese Ambassadors in Washington, chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump posted, “The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.”

UPDATE 1649 GMT:

Three people were slain by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon, the latest killings despite a 10-day ceasefire.

The strike was in the Nabatieh district, more than 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel. Another strike on the village of Yater wounded two people, including a child.

UPDATE 1546 GMT:

Ahead of today’s second round of talks with Israel in the US, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has objected to an Israeli zone of occupation in the south of the country.

Salam said Lebanon cannot accept any deal that does not include a “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces, “We cannot live with a so-called buffer zone…an Israeli presence where Lebanese displaced people are not allowed to return, where destroyed villages and towns cannot be rebuilt.”

The Prime Minister said Lebanon enters the talks “convinced that the US is the party that can have leverage over Israel as “their role was critical in reaching the ceasefire”.

UPDATE 1250 GMT:

Iran has reiterted, in its 10-point document for negotiations with the US, that its “control” over the Strait of Hormuz must be guaranteed.

Iran is reportedly planning a fixed payment of $2 million per ship or a system based on each ship’s cargo.

The proposed system challenges the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides vessels a right of unimpeded transit passage through more than 100 straits around the world.

UPDATE 1246 GMT:

The US Defense Department says forces boarded a vessel in the Indian Ocean that was providing material support to Iran, the second interception in three days.

UPDATE 1239 GMT:

Iran has received its first revenue from tolls levied on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, claims Deputy Parliament Speaker Hamid Reza Haji Babaei.

He said fees have been deposited into the Central Bank of Iran, without disclosing the amount.

UPDATE 1017 GMT:

Israeli intelligence estimates that Iran still has around 1,000 ballistic missiles.

The figure is down from 2,500 at the outset of the US-Israel War on February 28; however, the Israel Defense Forces assess that Tehran will soon recover the ability to rebuild it stocks.

The IDF says it destroyed or disabled around 60% of Iran’s estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers. Around 200 of the launchers were destroyed in strikes, while another 80 are buried under damaged tunnel entrances.

Three US officials said around half of Iran’s stockpile of ballistic missiles and launch systems are intact.

Around 60% of the Revolutionary Guards’ Navy Corps, including fast-attack speed boats, has survived US-Israel strikes. About 2/3 of Iran’s air force is still believed to be operational.

UPDATE 0625 GMT:

The Pentagon has told US lawmakers that it will likely take six months to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, according to “a person familiar with the situation”.

Defense Department officials delivered the information during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

The source said there were more questions than answers as legislators sought information about the cost of the war,, the strategy, and the objectives.

The representatives also raised questions about the US strike on a school in southern Iran that killed around 175 people, most of them children, on the first day of the war.

UPDATE 0610 GMT:

Stepping up its executions of detainees during the US-Israel War, Iran has hanged Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr.

Tehran already had one of the highest rates of executions in the world before the surge since February 28.

Authorities claimed Fakhr was a long-time member of the “terrorist” group Mujahideen-e-Khalq and cooperated with Israeli intelligence.

UPDATE 0606 GMT:

The Trump Administration is not taking any action against Iran over Tehran’s seizure of two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump does not consider the captures as a violation of the US-Iran ceasefire “because these were not US ships, these were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels.”

UPDATE, 0550 GMT:

Lebanon will request a one-month extension of a 10-day ceasefire, due to expire on Sunday, at the second set of talks with Israel in Washington today.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will chair the meeting between Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter.

On Wednesday, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounding photographer Zeinab Faraj.

Five people were slain by Israeli attacks during the day despite a 10-day ceasefire.

Khalil, who reported for the Al-Akhbar newspaper, and Faraj were covering developments near the town of al-Tayri when the Israelis hit the vehicle in front of them. They ran into a nearby house, but it was also targeted.

Lebanese rescuers carried away Faraj, who had suffered a head wound. But when they returned to help Khalil, the Israeli military dropped a sound grenade, preventing them from entering the damaged building.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attacks on journalists and rescuers as “war crimes”:

Israel’s targeting of media workers in the south while they carry out their professional duties is no longer isolated incidents, but has become an established approach that we condemn and reject, as do all international laws and conventions.

Lebanon will spare no effort in pursuing these crimes before the competent international forums.

UPDATE, APRIL 23:

Oil prices have risen further amid the uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude briefly jumped above $105 per barrel early Thursday, before dropping to hover around $103. The price has risen more than 15% since a temporary ceasefire was declared two weeks ago.

UPDATE 1919 GMT:

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posts:

UPDATE 1911 GMT:

Israeli strikes reportedly killed at least four people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

Two people were killed in the village of Tayri, and two others in the town of Yohmor.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency also reported that Israeli forces carried out “a violent bombing” in the town of Qantara.

Hezbollah launched a drone attack against Israeli forces in the region. The group also claimed the downing of four Israeli surveillance drones over the town of Mansouri.

UPDATE 1905 GMT:

The management company of the Liberian-flagged container ship Epaminondas, seized by Iran on Wednesday, says it was fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz by a manned gunboat.

The Technomar company said all crew were “safe and accounted for” and no injuries were reported. Preliminary inspections indicated the ship’s bridge had been damaged.

UPDATE 1723 GMT:

Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has posted that “reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible” if the US blockade continues to breach the ceasefire.

A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world’s economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted.

They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.

UPDATE 1523 GMT:

President Emmanuel Macron says a second French peacekeeper has died after an attack by “Hezbollah fighters” in southern Lebanon.

Anicet Girardin was seriously wounded in the attack on Saturday which killed Florian Montorio.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said the French patrol was ambushed by “non-state actors”.

UPDATE 1517 GMT:

A “source briefed on the matter” says Donald Trump has not set a timeline for his unilateral extension of a ceasefire with Iran.

UPDATE 1510 GMT:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says it has seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Epaminondas and MSC Francesca were taken to ports on the coast of southern Iran.

The Guards warned that “disrupting order and safety in the strait of Hormuz is considered a red line”. They alleged that the Francesca is linked to Israel, and that the Epaminodes lacked “the necessary permits” and had been “tampering with navigation systems”.

A third vessel, the Euphoria, was reportedly attacked and is stranded off the coast of Iran.

UPDATE 0615 GMT:

The Trump Administration has halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with the Iraqi military.

The Trump camp is pressing Baghdad to dismantle Iranian-backed militias, even though some have been integrated into the Iraqi military.

The US Treasury recently blocked a delivery of nearly $500 million from Iraqi oil sales. The banknotes are in accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Trumpists informed Iraqi officials that they are halting some counter-terrorism and military training programs.

UPDATE 0604 GMT:

Amid a 10-day ceasefire, one person has been killed and two wounded in an overnight Israeli drone strike overnight on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley.

UPDATE 0601 GMT:

A gunboat of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has struck a container ship off the coast of Oman.

The shots “caused heavy damage to the bridge”, but all crew are safe, reported the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

UPDATE 0556 GMT:

Just before midnight in Washington, Donald Trump tried to cover up his U-turn on a ceasefire.

He rambled on social media:

Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!

In an earlier post, he claimed:

People approached me four days ago, saying, “Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.” But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!

UPDATE 0551 GMT:

Shares are mixed in early trading across Asia, but the rise in oil prices has stopped after Donald Trump unilaterally extended a temporary ceasefire.

The price of Brent crude edged 0.2% lower after surging above $98 per barrel on Tuesday. US benchmark crude fell 0.4% to $89.29.

The International Monetary Fund forecast on Tuesday that global inflation will rise to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025. The IMF had earlier projected a drop to 3.8%.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump has unilaterally extended a temporary ceasefire in the US-Israel War, after Iran rejected the second set of talks with American officials in Islamabad.

After 72 hours of uncertainty, Tehran confirmed that it would not attend the discussions. Iran maintained its call for a lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports and halt to interception of vessels, maintaining that they violate the initial two-week ceasefire.

Trump had said on Tuesday morning that he did not want to extend the ceasefire, “We don’t have that much time.” He insisted that he would “end up with a great deal”; however, the US military was “raring to go”: “I expect to be bombing ‘cause that would be a better attitude.”

But in the afternoon, the reality TV star posted on social media that he was extending the ceasefire, at Pakistan’s request. He tried to save face by claiming, “The Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so.”

The US would halt attacks “until such time as [Iranian] leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal” and “discussions are concluded”. The American blockade would be maintained.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who would have led Tehran’s delegation to Islamabad, claimed that Trump’s U-turn was “a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike”. He chest-thumped, “The time for Iran to take the initiative has come.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif maintained his flattery of Trump, thanking the American as he said, “Pakistan shall continue its earnest efforts for negotiated settlement of conflict.”

After the Trump camp decided to continue the blockade, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that the US still had the upper hand, He targeted Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf, where more than 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.