Iran-US-Israel war Highlights: Rubio hails Israel-Lebanon talks as ‘historic opportunity’ for peace

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “wholesale assault on international law has consequences,” warning that “without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control.”

While international law applies everywhere, he said, “it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East.”

He urged a resumption of U.S.-Iran negotiations, continuation of the ceasefire and respect for freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, by all parties.

More than 10,000 US Marines, sailors, and airmen, backed by over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, are carrying out a mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, US Central Command has said.

US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that a second round of Iran talks could happen in Pakistan.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey's top diplomat this week in Turkey for talks on regional matters, a ministry source told AFP on Tuesday.

"This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. The top diplomats are due to hold talks on the margins of an annual diplomacy forum in southern Turkey that opens on Friday.

The main US oil contract fell five percent Tuesday on hopes of a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East war.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 6.2 percent to $92.94 for May delivery, while the main international benchmark Brent North Sea crude slipped 3.77 percent to $95.61 a barrel.

The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by the war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.

The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent expected in January, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on recent US-Iran talks on Tuesday and said he will visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week to advance peace efforts, according to a statement from the president’s office.

The International Monetary Fund has modestly reduced its forecast for global economic growth this year, but warned that the damage from the war with Iran could be much more severe if the conflict dragged on and oil prices rose further.

Iran is considering a short-term pause to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing a US blockade and derailing a fresh round of peace talks, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations.

There is still no agreement to hold another round of talks in Islamabad, despite reports that American and Iranian delegations could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Lebanon’s representative at US-brokered direct talks with Israel on Tuesday will seek a ceasefire as a precondition for broader negotiations, a Lebanese official told CNN.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country is seeking "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, ahead of talks between officials from both nations in Washington on Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov spoke over the phone with Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The two discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf following recent US-Iran talks in Islamabad and stressed the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, along with continued diplomatic engagement.

Baghdad’s oil ministry said on Tuesday that it has reached certain “understandings” with the United States and Iran to limit the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on Iraq’s oil exports. The ministry did not provide further details or specify when these arrangements were made. Earlier, Iran had indicated it would permit Iraqi vessels to pass through the vital route.

Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy is suspending its defence cooperation pact with Israel, which covers the exchange of military equipment and joint technology research. "In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that global crude oil demand is expected to witness its sharpest decline in the second quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy in 2020. Rising prices driven by the conflict in West Asia are likely to push countries and industries to cut back on consumption, with the agency cautioning that prolonged scarcity and high costs could lead to widespread demand destruction.

China is hosting a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in Beijing involving top officials from Russia, the UAE, and Spain to address the escalating crisis and the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the world not to be allowed to “revert to the law of the jungle” in his first comment since the US-Iran war began in West Asia

Another Iran-linked tanker has entered the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping data from LSEG and Kpler, the Panama-flagged Peace Gulf is heading towards Hamriyah port in the UAE. This is the third Iran-linked tanker that has entered the Strait of Hormuz. The previous two were US-sanctioned vessels, the Handy tanker Murlikishan and the Rich Starry. The three vessels transiting the straits were not headed for Iranian ports, hence not affected by the US blockade.

Three more people from one family were killed by Israelis after an airstrike at dawn on the town of Sahmar in the West Bakka, one other was injured. The National News Agency reported airstrikes throughout the night until the early morning hours, destroying more than 10 homes.

Three people were killed by Israel during a raid in the Sidon district in southern Lebanon, reported the National News Agency of Lebanon

The US-Iran war in West Asia will push 8.8 million people into poverty revealed a report by the United Nations Development Programme. The UN body's 'Military Escalation In The Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia And The Pacific’ report reveals that the war will widen human development pressures across Asia, with approximately 8 million and 2.5 million in India. The West Asia conflict will likely cost the Asia-Pacific region up to $299 billion.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson  Guo Jiakun called the US blockade of Iranian ports "dangerous and irresponsible" behaviour, which undermines the already fragile ceasefire and will only exacerbate tensions, “further jeopardising the safety of passage through the Strait”.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani puts the initial estimation of war losses at $270 bn, suggesting that the final cost could be much higher. In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti agency, she said that the negotiating team is pursuing war reparations."Damages usually have to be examined in several layers. Iran’s losses from US and Israeli attacks are currently estimated at around $270bn,” she said. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China can play a “constructive role” in promoting peace talks in middle east. “Xi Jinping stressed China's principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,” state news agency Xinhua said. 

The first round of talks in Pakistan did not reach a formal agreement on Sunday (April 12), and now Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is mentioning the next round. He said the Iran-US negotiations were expected soon. These comments come after the 21-hour talks held in Islamabad. Even before the talk could start, Iran wanted Israel to stop attacking Lebanon. This clause was mentioned in the initial ceasefire, which included Lebanon, which was even part of the post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday urged reform to make the world order "more representative" after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"What we prefer is dedicating all our efforts to reforming a world order that has guaranteed peace for many decades, and also to make it a lot more inclusive, more representative and more democratic," Sanchez told a news conference.

Sanchez also said he discussed with Xi "the reforms our multilateral system needs to better recognise the multipolar reality of today's world".

Sanchez added, “China can play 'important role' in ending Mideast war.”

The United States said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the Mideast war, as diplomats accelerated efforts on Tuesday towards a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal.

US Vice President JD Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the "final and best offer".

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.

Crucially, 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.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with its foe.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

China's President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the national sovereignty of countries in the Middle East and Gulf to be "respected" as he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the war-torn region, Chinese state media reported.

Xi stated, "The Gulf countries in the Middle East deserve sincere respect for their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the West Asia war.

Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.

Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said.

She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire between the United States and Iran is still holding, even after recent talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif said during a cabinet meeting. 

The remarks come after marathon negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapsed over key disagreements, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes on around 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours. The army said the targets included military structures, anti-tank missile launch sites and command centres linked to the group.

The strikes come as Israel prepares for talks with Lebanese officials in Washington, even as hostilities on the ground continue.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday. Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s Nada Hamadeh Moawad will join Rubio for the meeting scheduled at 11:30 ET at the State Department.

A US-sanctioned, Chinese-owned tanker, Rich Starry, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday despite the announced US blockade, according to shipping data from LSEG.

US President Donald Trump said Iran has reached out seeking a peace deal after high-level talks in Pakistan ended without agreement.

“We’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” Trump told reporters, without specifying which Iranian officials made contact.

The remarks come after marathon negotiations in Islamabad collapsed over key disagreements, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. Despite the breakdown, Trump expressed confidence that Tehran may eventually agree to US terms.

US President Donald Trump said he has “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV’s call for an end to the Middle East conflict.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong… you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said, also calling the US-born pontiff “very weak on crime and other things.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the remarks, calling Trump’s criticism of the pope “unacceptable.”

US President Donald Trump said 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a single day, calling it the highest number since the waterway’s closure began.

“34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, though the figure could not be independently verified.

Oil prices plunged and stocks rose on Tuesday on hopes for a deal to end the war, with US President Donald Trump saying Tehran had called to seek an agreement, even as a US blockade of Iranian ports came into force.

While weekend peace talks in Pakistan ended with no breakthrough, investors took heart from the fact the two sides found some areas of agreement, with the Islamic republic saying they had been "inches away" at one point.

Australia will boost spending on drones by up to Au$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in response to shifts in warfare seen in the Middle East, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday.

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems, Marles said in an ABC radio interview. "We look at what's happening in the Middle East right now -- you need counter-drone technology as well," he said.

Australia will spend Au$12 billion to Au$15 billion over the next decade on autonomous capabilities, Marles said ahead of an update to the national defence strategy to be released Thursday.

"Clearly, autonomous systems now are really central to how contest happens, how war happens," he said.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a soldier had been killed in Lebanon, the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country where it is fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

"Sergeant Major (Res.) Ayal Uriel Bianco, aged 30, from Katzrin, a firefighting vehicle driver in the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Iran has offered to suspend uranium enrichment for up to five years during negotiations, but the Trump administration rejected the proposal, insisting on a 20-year halt, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.

Surging jet fuel prices may raise costs for Australia's Qantas by up to Aus$800 million (US$570 million) in the second half of this year, the airline said Tuesday.

War in the Middle East has led jet fuel prices to more than double, and they remain "extremely volatile", the carrier said in a market update.

The cost of jet fuel in the second half of 2026 is now expected to be Aus$3.1 billion to Aus$3.3 billion, it said -- up from Aus$2.5 billion in its previous forecast.

Qantas said it was working with the Australian government and jet fuel suppliers, who were confident in fuel supply for the rest of April and well into May.

"We are closely monitoring the situation given the o

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.

The "unlawful" blockade also "constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," Iravani added. 

Iravani said the "unlawful" blockade “poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “wholesale assault on international law has consequences,” warning that “without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control.”

While international law applies everywhere, he said, “it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East.”

He urged a resumption of U.S.-Iran negotiations, continuation of the ceasefire and respect for freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, by all parties.

More than 10,000 US Marines, sailors, and airmen, backed by over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, are carrying out a mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, US Central Command has said.

US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that a second round of Iran talks could happen in Pakistan.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey's top diplomat this week in Turkey for talks on regional matters, a ministry source told AFP on Tuesday.

"This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. The top diplomats are due to hold talks on the margins of an annual diplomacy forum in southern Turkey that opens on Friday.

The main US oil contract fell five percent Tuesday on hopes of a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East war.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 6.2 percent to $92.94 for May delivery, while the main international benchmark Brent North Sea crude slipped 3.77 percent to $95.61 a barrel.

The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by the war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.

The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent expected in January, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on recent US-Iran talks on Tuesday and said he will visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week to advance peace efforts, according to a statement from the president’s office.

The International Monetary Fund has modestly reduced its forecast for global economic growth this year, but warned that the damage from the war with Iran could be much more severe if the conflict dragged on and oil prices rose further.

Iran is considering a short-term pause to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing a US blockade and derailing a fresh round of peace talks, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations.

There is still no agreement to hold another round of talks in Islamabad, despite reports that American and Iranian delegations could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Lebanon’s representative at US-brokered direct talks with Israel on Tuesday will seek a ceasefire as a precondition for broader negotiations, a Lebanese official told CNN.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country is seeking "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, ahead of talks between officials from both nations in Washington on Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov spoke over the phone with Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The two discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf following recent US-Iran talks in Islamabad and stressed the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, along with continued diplomatic engagement.

Baghdad’s oil ministry said on Tuesday that it has reached certain “understandings” with the United States and Iran to limit the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on Iraq’s oil exports. The ministry did not provide further details or specify when these arrangements were made. Earlier, Iran had indicated it would permit Iraqi vessels to pass through the vital route.

Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy is suspending its defence cooperation pact with Israel, which covers the exchange of military equipment and joint technology research. "In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that global crude oil demand is expected to witness its sharpest decline in the second quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy in 2020. Rising prices driven by the conflict in West Asia are likely to push countries and industries to cut back on consumption, with the agency cautioning that prolonged scarcity and high costs could lead to widespread demand destruction.

China is hosting a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in Beijing involving top officials from Russia, the UAE, and Spain to address the escalating crisis and the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the world not to be allowed to “revert to the law of the jungle” in his first comment since the US-Iran war began in West Asia

Another Iran-linked tanker has entered the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping data from LSEG and Kpler, the Panama-flagged Peace Gulf is heading towards Hamriyah port in the UAE. This is the third Iran-linked tanker that has entered the Strait of Hormuz. The previous two were US-sanctioned vessels, the Handy tanker Murlikishan and the Rich Starry. The three vessels transiting the straits were not headed for Iranian ports, hence not affected by the US blockade.

Three more people from one family were killed by Israelis after an airstrike at dawn on the town of Sahmar in the West Bakka, one other was injured. The National News Agency reported airstrikes throughout the night until the early morning hours, destroying more than 10 homes.

Three people were killed by Israel during a raid in the Sidon district in southern Lebanon, reported the National News Agency of Lebanon

The US-Iran war in West Asia will push 8.8 million people into poverty revealed a report by the United Nations Development Programme. The UN body's 'Military Escalation In The Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia And The Pacific’ report reveals that the war will widen human development pressures across Asia, with approximately 8 million and 2.5 million in India. The West Asia conflict will likely cost the Asia-Pacific region up to $299 billion.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson  Guo Jiakun called the US blockade of Iranian ports "dangerous and irresponsible" behaviour, which undermines the already fragile ceasefire and will only exacerbate tensions, “further jeopardising the safety of passage through the Strait”.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani puts the initial estimation of war losses at $270 bn, suggesting that the final cost could be much higher. In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti agency, she said that the negotiating team is pursuing war reparations."Damages usually have to be examined in several layers. Iran’s losses from US and Israeli attacks are currently estimated at around $270bn,” she said. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China can play a “constructive role” in promoting peace talks in middle east. “Xi Jinping stressed China's principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,” state news agency Xinhua said. 

The first round of talks in Pakistan did not reach a formal agreement on Sunday (April 12), and now Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is mentioning the next round. He said the Iran-US negotiations were expected soon. These comments come after the 21-hour talks held in Islamabad. Even before the talk could start, Iran wanted Israel to stop attacking Lebanon. This clause was mentioned in the initial ceasefire, which included Lebanon, which was even part of the post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday urged reform to make the world order "more representative" after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"What we prefer is dedicating all our efforts to reforming a world order that has guaranteed peace for many decades, and also to make it a lot more inclusive, more representative and more democratic," Sanchez told a news conference.

Sanchez also said he discussed with Xi "the reforms our multilateral system needs to better recognise the multipolar reality of today's world".

Sanchez added, “China can play 'important role' in ending Mideast war.”

The United States said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the Mideast war, as diplomats accelerated efforts on Tuesday towards a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal.

US Vice President JD Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the "final and best offer".

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.

Crucially, 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.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with its foe.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

China's President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the national sovereignty of countries in the Middle East and Gulf to be "respected" as he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the war-torn region, Chinese state media reported.

Xi stated, "The Gulf countries in the Middle East deserve sincere respect for their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the West Asia war.

Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.

Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said.

She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire between the United States and Iran is still holding, even after recent talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif said during a cabinet meeting. 

The remarks come after marathon negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapsed over key disagreements, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes on around 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours. The army said the targets included military structures, anti-tank missile launch sites and command centres linked to the group.

The strikes come as Israel prepares for talks with Lebanese officials in Washington, even as hostilities on the ground continue.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday. Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s Nada Hamadeh Moawad will join Rubio for the meeting scheduled at 11:30 ET at the State Department.

A US-sanctioned, Chinese-owned tanker, Rich Starry, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday despite the announced US blockade, according to shipping data from LSEG.

US President Donald Trump said Iran has reached out seeking a peace deal after high-level talks in Pakistan ended without agreement.

“We’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” Trump told reporters, without specifying which Iranian officials made contact.

The remarks come after marathon negotiations in Islamabad collapsed over key disagreements, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. Despite the breakdown, Trump expressed confidence that Tehran may eventually agree to US terms.

US President Donald Trump said he has “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV’s call for an end to the Middle East conflict.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong… you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said, also calling the US-born pontiff “very weak on crime and other things.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the remarks, calling Trump’s criticism of the pope “unacceptable.”

US President Donald Trump said 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a single day, calling it the highest number since the waterway’s closure began.

“34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, though the figure could not be independently verified.

Oil prices plunged and stocks rose on Tuesday on hopes for a deal to end the war, with US President Donald Trump saying Tehran had called to seek an agreement, even as a US blockade of Iranian ports came into force.

While weekend peace talks in Pakistan ended with no breakthrough, investors took heart from the fact the two sides found some areas of agreement, with the Islamic republic saying they had been "inches away" at one point.

Australia will boost spending on drones by up to Au$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in response to shifts in warfare seen in the Middle East, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday.

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems, Marles said in an ABC radio interview. "We look at what's happening in the Middle East right now -- you need counter-drone technology as well," he said.

Australia will spend Au$12 billion to Au$15 billion over the next decade on autonomous capabilities, Marles said ahead of an update to the national defence strategy to be released Thursday.

"Clearly, autonomous systems now are really central to how contest happens, how war happens," he said.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a soldier had been killed in Lebanon, the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country where it is fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

"Sergeant Major (Res.) Ayal Uriel Bianco, aged 30, from Katzrin, a firefighting vehicle driver in the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Iran has offered to suspend uranium enrichment for up to five years during negotiations, but the Trump administration rejected the proposal, insisting on a 20-year halt, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.

Surging jet fuel prices may raise costs for Australia's Qantas by up to Aus$800 million (US$570 million) in the second half of this year, the airline said Tuesday.

War in the Middle East has led jet fuel prices to more than double, and they remain "extremely volatile", the carrier said in a market update.

The cost of jet fuel in the second half of 2026 is now expected to be Aus$3.1 billion to Aus$3.3 billion, it said -- up from Aus$2.5 billion in its previous forecast.

Qantas said it was working with the Australian government and jet fuel suppliers, who were confident in fuel supply for the rest of April and well into May.

"We are closely monitoring the situation given the o

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.

The "unlawful" blockade also "constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," Iravani added. 

Iravani said the "unlawful" blockade “poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “wholesale assault on international law has consequences,” warning that “without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control.”

While international law applies everywhere, he said, “it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East.”

He urged a resumption of U.S.-Iran negotiations, continuation of the ceasefire and respect for freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, by all parties.

More than 10,000 US Marines, sailors, and airmen, backed by over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, are carrying out a mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, US Central Command has said.

US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that a second round of Iran talks could happen in Pakistan.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey's top diplomat this week in Turkey for talks on regional matters, a ministry source told AFP on Tuesday.

"This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. The top diplomats are due to hold talks on the margins of an annual diplomacy forum in southern Turkey that opens on Friday.

The main US oil contract fell five percent Tuesday on hopes of a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East war.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 6.2 percent to $92.94 for May delivery, while the main international benchmark Brent North Sea crude slipped 3.77 percent to $95.61 a barrel.

The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by the war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.

The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent expected in January, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on recent US-Iran talks on Tuesday and said he will visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week to advance peace efforts, according to a statement from the president’s office.

The International Monetary Fund has modestly reduced its forecast for global economic growth this year, but warned that the damage from the war with Iran could be much more severe if the conflict dragged on and oil prices rose further.

Iran is considering a short-term pause to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing a US blockade and derailing a fresh round of peace talks, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations.

There is still no agreement to hold another round of talks in Islamabad, despite reports that American and Iranian delegations could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Lebanon’s representative at US-brokered direct talks with Israel on Tuesday will seek a ceasefire as a precondition for broader negotiations, a Lebanese official told CNN.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country is seeking "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, ahead of talks between officials from both nations in Washington on Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov spoke over the phone with Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The two discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf following recent US-Iran talks in Islamabad and stressed the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, along with continued diplomatic engagement.

Baghdad’s oil ministry said on Tuesday that it has reached certain “understandings” with the United States and Iran to limit the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on Iraq’s oil exports. The ministry did not provide further details or specify when these arrangements were made. Earlier, Iran had indicated it would permit Iraqi vessels to pass through the vital route.

Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy is suspending its defence cooperation pact with Israel, which covers the exchange of military equipment and joint technology research. "In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that global crude oil demand is expected to witness its sharpest decline in the second quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy in 2020. Rising prices driven by the conflict in West Asia are likely to push countries and industries to cut back on consumption, with the agency cautioning that prolonged scarcity and high costs could lead to widespread demand destruction.

China is hosting a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in Beijing involving top officials from Russia, the UAE, and Spain to address the escalating crisis and the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the world not to be allowed to “revert to the law of the jungle” in his first comment since the US-Iran war began in West Asia

Another Iran-linked tanker has entered the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping data from LSEG and Kpler, the Panama-flagged Peace Gulf is heading towards Hamriyah port in the UAE. This is the third Iran-linked tanker that has entered the Strait of Hormuz. The previous two were US-sanctioned vessels, the Handy tanker Murlikishan and the Rich Starry. The three vessels transiting the straits were not headed for Iranian ports, hence not affected by the US blockade.

Three more people from one family were killed by Israelis after an airstrike at dawn on the town of Sahmar in the West Bakka, one other was injured. The National News Agency reported airstrikes throughout the night until the early morning hours, destroying more than 10 homes.

Three people were killed by Israel during a raid in the Sidon district in southern Lebanon, reported the National News Agency of Lebanon

The US-Iran war in West Asia will push 8.8 million people into poverty revealed a report by the United Nations Development Programme. The UN body's 'Military Escalation In The Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia And The Pacific’ report reveals that the war will widen human development pressures across Asia, with approximately 8 million and 2.5 million in India. The West Asia conflict will likely cost the Asia-Pacific region up to $299 billion.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson  Guo Jiakun called the US blockade of Iranian ports "dangerous and irresponsible" behaviour, which undermines the already fragile ceasefire and will only exacerbate tensions, “further jeopardising the safety of passage through the Strait”.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani puts the initial estimation of war losses at $270 bn, suggesting that the final cost could be much higher. In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti agency, she said that the negotiating team is pursuing war reparations."Damages usually have to be examined in several layers. Iran’s losses from US and Israeli attacks are currently estimated at around $270bn,” she said. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China can play a “constructive role” in promoting peace talks in middle east. “Xi Jinping stressed China's principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,” state news agency Xinhua said. 

The first round of talks in Pakistan did not reach a formal agreement on Sunday (April 12), and now Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is mentioning the next round. He said the Iran-US negotiations were expected soon. These comments come after the 21-hour talks held in Islamabad. Even before the talk could start, Iran wanted Israel to stop attacking Lebanon. This clause was mentioned in the initial ceasefire, which included Lebanon, which was even part of the post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday urged reform to make the world order "more representative" after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"What we prefer is dedicating all our efforts to reforming a world order that has guaranteed peace for many decades, and also to make it a lot more inclusive, more representative and more democratic," Sanchez told a news conference.

Sanchez also said he discussed with Xi "the reforms our multilateral system needs to better recognise the multipolar reality of today's world".

Sanchez added, “China can play 'important role' in ending Mideast war.”

The United States said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the Mideast war, as diplomats accelerated efforts on Tuesday towards a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal.

US Vice President JD Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the "final and best offer".

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.

Crucially, 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.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with its foe.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

China's President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the national sovereignty of countries in the Middle East and Gulf to be "respected" as he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the war-torn region, Chinese state media reported.

Xi stated, "The Gulf countries in the Middle East deserve sincere respect for their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the West Asia war.

Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.

Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said.

She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire between the United States and Iran is still holding, even after recent talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif said during a cabinet meeting. 

The remarks come after marathon negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapsed over key disagreements, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes on around 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours. The army said the targets included military structures, anti-tank missile launch sites and command centres linked to the group.

The strikes come as Israel prepares for talks with Lebanese officials in Washington, even as hostilities on the ground continue.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday. Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s Nada Hamadeh Moawad will join Rubio for the meeting scheduled at 11:30 ET at the State Department.

A US-sanctioned, Chinese-owned tanker, Rich Starry, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday despite the announced US blockade, according to shipping data from LSEG.

US President Donald Trump said Iran has reached out seeking a peace deal after high-level talks in Pakistan ended without agreement.

“We’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” Trump told reporters, without specifying which Iranian officials made contact.

The remarks come after marathon negotiations in Islamabad collapsed over key disagreements, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. Despite the breakdown, Trump expressed confidence that Tehran may eventually agree to US terms.

US President Donald Trump said he has “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV’s call for an end to the Middle East conflict.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong… you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said, also calling the US-born pontiff “very weak on crime and other things.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the remarks, calling Trump’s criticism of the pope “unacceptable.”

US President Donald Trump said 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a single day, calling it the highest number since the waterway’s closure began.

“34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, though the figure could not be independently verified.

Oil prices plunged and stocks rose on Tuesday on hopes for a deal to end the war, with US President Donald Trump saying Tehran had called to seek an agreement, even as a US blockade of Iranian ports came into force.

While weekend peace talks in Pakistan ended with no breakthrough, investors took heart from the fact the two sides found some areas of agreement, with the Islamic republic saying they had been "inches away" at one point.

Australia will boost spending on drones by up to Au$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in response to shifts in warfare seen in the Middle East, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday.

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems, Marles said in an ABC radio interview. "We look at what's happening in the Middle East right now -- you need counter-drone technology as well," he said.

Australia will spend Au$12 billion to Au$15 billion over the next decade on autonomous capabilities, Marles said ahead of an update to the national defence strategy to be released Thursday.

"Clearly, autonomous systems now are really central to how contest happens, how war happens," he said.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a soldier had been killed in Lebanon, the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country where it is fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

"Sergeant Major (Res.) Ayal Uriel Bianco, aged 30, from Katzrin, a firefighting vehicle driver in the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Iran has offered to suspend uranium enrichment for up to five years during negotiations, but the Trump administration rejected the proposal, insisting on a 20-year halt, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.

Surging jet fuel prices may raise costs for Australia's Qantas by up to Aus$800 million (US$570 million) in the second half of this year, the airline said Tuesday.

War in the Middle East has led jet fuel prices to more than double, and they remain "extremely volatile", the carrier said in a market update.

The cost of jet fuel in the second half of 2026 is now expected to be Aus$3.1 billion to Aus$3.3 billion, it said -- up from Aus$2.5 billion in its previous forecast.

Qantas said it was working with the Australian government and jet fuel suppliers, who were confident in fuel supply for the rest of April and well into May.

"We are closely monitoring the situation given the o

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.

The "unlawful" blockade also "constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," Iravani added. 

Iravani said the "unlawful" blockade “poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the “wholesale assault on international law has consequences,” warning that “without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control.”

While international law applies everywhere, he said, “it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East.”

He urged a resumption of U.S.-Iran negotiations, continuation of the ceasefire and respect for freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, by all parties.

More than 10,000 US Marines, sailors, and airmen, backed by over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, are carrying out a mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, US Central Command has said.

US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that a second round of Iran talks could happen in Pakistan.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey's top diplomat this week in Turkey for talks on regional matters, a ministry source told AFP on Tuesday.

"This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. The top diplomats are due to hold talks on the margins of an annual diplomacy forum in southern Turkey that opens on Friday.

The main US oil contract fell five percent Tuesday on hopes of a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East war.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 6.2 percent to $92.94 for May delivery, while the main international benchmark Brent North Sea crude slipped 3.77 percent to $95.61 a barrel.

The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be "thrown off course" by the war in the Middle East -- as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices.

The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.3 percent expected in January, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on recent US-Iran talks on Tuesday and said he will visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week to advance peace efforts, according to a statement from the president’s office.

The International Monetary Fund has modestly reduced its forecast for global economic growth this year, but warned that the damage from the war with Iran could be much more severe if the conflict dragged on and oil prices rose further.

Iran is considering a short-term pause to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing a US blockade and derailing a fresh round of peace talks, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations.

There is still no agreement to hold another round of talks in Islamabad, despite reports that American and Iranian delegations could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

Lebanon’s representative at US-brokered direct talks with Israel on Tuesday will seek a ceasefire as a precondition for broader negotiations, a Lebanese official told CNN.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country is seeking "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, ahead of talks between officials from both nations in Washington on Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov spoke over the phone with Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The two discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf following recent US-Iran talks in Islamabad and stressed the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, along with continued diplomatic engagement.

Baghdad’s oil ministry said on Tuesday that it has reached certain “understandings” with the United States and Iran to limit the impact of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz on Iraq’s oil exports. The ministry did not provide further details or specify when these arrangements were made. Earlier, Iran had indicated it would permit Iraqi vessels to pass through the vital route.

Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that Italy is suspending its defence cooperation pact with Israel, which covers the exchange of military equipment and joint technology research. "In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that global crude oil demand is expected to witness its sharpest decline in the second quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy in 2020. Rising prices driven by the conflict in West Asia are likely to push countries and industries to cut back on consumption, with the agency cautioning that prolonged scarcity and high costs could lead to widespread demand destruction.

China is hosting a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in Beijing involving top officials from Russia, the UAE, and Spain to address the escalating crisis and the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the world not to be allowed to “revert to the law of the jungle” in his first comment since the US-Iran war began in West Asia

Another Iran-linked tanker has entered the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping data from LSEG and Kpler, the Panama-flagged Peace Gulf is heading towards Hamriyah port in the UAE. This is the third Iran-linked tanker that has entered the Strait of Hormuz. The previous two were US-sanctioned vessels, the Handy tanker Murlikishan and the Rich Starry. The three vessels transiting the straits were not headed for Iranian ports, hence not affected by the US blockade.

Three more people from one family were killed by Israelis after an airstrike at dawn on the town of Sahmar in the West Bakka, one other was injured. The National News Agency reported airstrikes throughout the night until the early morning hours, destroying more than 10 homes.

Three people were killed by Israel during a raid in the Sidon district in southern Lebanon, reported the National News Agency of Lebanon

The US-Iran war in West Asia will push 8.8 million people into poverty revealed a report by the United Nations Development Programme. The UN body's 'Military Escalation In The Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia And The Pacific’ report reveals that the war will widen human development pressures across Asia, with approximately 8 million and 2.5 million in India. The West Asia conflict will likely cost the Asia-Pacific region up to $299 billion.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson  Guo Jiakun called the US blockade of Iranian ports "dangerous and irresponsible" behaviour, which undermines the already fragile ceasefire and will only exacerbate tensions, “further jeopardising the safety of passage through the Strait”.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani puts the initial estimation of war losses at $270 bn, suggesting that the final cost could be much higher. In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti agency, she said that the negotiating team is pursuing war reparations."Damages usually have to be examined in several layers. Iran’s losses from US and Israeli attacks are currently estimated at around $270bn,” she said. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China can play a “constructive role” in promoting peace talks in middle east. “Xi Jinping stressed China's principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,” state news agency Xinhua said. 

The first round of talks in Pakistan did not reach a formal agreement on Sunday (April 12), and now Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is mentioning the next round. He said the Iran-US negotiations were expected soon. These comments come after the 21-hour talks held in Islamabad. Even before the talk could start, Iran wanted Israel to stop attacking Lebanon. This clause was mentioned in the initial ceasefire, which included Lebanon, which was even part of the post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday urged reform to make the world order "more representative" after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

"What we prefer is dedicating all our efforts to reforming a world order that has guaranteed peace for many decades, and also to make it a lot more inclusive, more representative and more democratic," Sanchez told a news conference.

Sanchez also said he discussed with Xi "the reforms our multilateral system needs to better recognise the multipolar reality of today's world".

Sanchez added, “China can play 'important role' in ending Mideast war.”

The United States said "the ball is in the Iranian court" on ending the Mideast war, as diplomats accelerated efforts on Tuesday towards a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal.

US Vice President JD Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the "final and best offer".

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.

Crucially, 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.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with its foe.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

China's President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the national sovereignty of countries in the Middle East and Gulf to be "respected" as he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the war-torn region, Chinese state media reported.

Xi stated, "The Gulf countries in the Middle East deserve sincere respect for their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the West Asia war.

Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.

Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

"We have to calculate our monthly expenses, as the money we spend on petroleum has been on the rise," she said.

She said her family owns a car that runs on petrol but was considering buying an electric vehicle to save money.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire between the United States and Iran is still holding, even after recent talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif said during a cabinet meeting. 

The remarks come after marathon negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapsed over key disagreements, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes on around 150 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours. The army said the targets included military structures, anti-tank missile launch sites and command centres linked to the group.

The strikes come as Israel prepares for talks with Lebanese officials in Washington, even as hostilities on the ground continue.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take part in talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday. Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s Nada Hamadeh Moawad will join Rubio for the meeting scheduled at 11:30 ET at the State Department.

A US-sanctioned, Chinese-owned tanker, Rich Starry, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday despite the announced US blockade, according to shipping data from LSEG.

US President Donald Trump said Iran has reached out seeking a peace deal after high-level talks in Pakistan ended without agreement.

“We’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” Trump told reporters, without specifying which Iranian officials made contact.

The remarks come after marathon negotiations in Islamabad collapsed over key disagreements, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. Despite the breakdown, Trump expressed confidence that Tehran may eventually agree to US terms.

US President Donald Trump said he has “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV’s call for an end to the Middle East conflict.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong… you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said, also calling the US-born pontiff “very weak on crime and other things.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the remarks, calling Trump’s criticism of the pope “unacceptable.”

US President Donald Trump said 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a single day, calling it the highest number since the waterway’s closure began.

“34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, though the figure could not be independently verified.

Oil prices plunged and stocks rose on Tuesday on hopes for a deal to end the war, with US President Donald Trump saying Tehran had called to seek an agreement, even as a US blockade of Iranian ports came into force.

While weekend peace talks in Pakistan ended with no breakthrough, investors took heart from the fact the two sides found some areas of agreement, with the Islamic republic saying they had been "inches away" at one point.

Australia will boost spending on drones by up to Au$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in response to shifts in warfare seen in the Middle East, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday.

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems, Marles said in an ABC radio interview. "We look at what's happening in the Middle East right now -- you need counter-drone technology as well," he said.

Australia will spend Au$12 billion to Au$15 billion over the next decade on autonomous capabilities, Marles said ahead of an update to the national defence strategy to be released Thursday.

"Clearly, autonomous systems now are really central to how contest happens, how war happens," he said.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a soldier had been killed in Lebanon, the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country where it is fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

"Sergeant Major (Res.) Ayal Uriel Bianco, aged 30, from Katzrin, a firefighting vehicle driver in the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Iran has offered to suspend uranium enrichment for up to five years during negotiations, but the Trump administration rejected the proposal, insisting on a 20-year halt, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.

Surging jet fuel prices may raise costs for Australia's Qantas by up to Aus$800 million (US$570 million) in the second half of this year, the airline said Tuesday.

War in the Middle East has led jet fuel prices to more than double, and they remain "extremely volatile", the carrier said in a market update.

The cost of jet fuel in the second half of 2026 is now expected to be Aus$3.1 billion to Aus$3.3 billion, it said -- up from Aus$2.5 billion in its previous forecast.

Qantas said it was working with the Australian government and jet fuel suppliers, who were confident in fuel supply for the rest of April and well into May.

"We are closely monitoring the situation given the o

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.

The "unlawful" blockade also "constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," Iravani added. 

Iravani said the "unlawful" blockade “poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region.”