&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US-Iran-Israel conflict LIVE | 'Iran standing up to the world's greatest superpower'")
US-Iran War Highlights: The conflict remains in a state of high-stakes diplomatic manoeuvring as of Monday (Apr 27). While a fragile ceasefire holds between Washington and Tehran, the focus has shifted from the battlefield to Saint Petersburg and Islamabad.
US President Donald Trump has scrapped a planned visit by American officials to Pakistan, effectively pausing a second round of indirect talks with Iran. In an interview with Fox News, he dismissed the trip as unnecessary, saying an 18-hour journey was not worth it given what he described as Washington’s strong negotiating position. He added that his team had been preparing to leave, but he decided the visit would not be productive.
The ripple effect: The 2026 Iran war has triggered the "largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market," according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, Brent crude surged past $120 per barrel, with global supply falling by over 10 million barrels per day. The ripple effects extend into a grocery supply emergency. Fitch Ratings reports that nitrogen-based urea prices jumped 50% to $700 per tonne, threatening crop yields across Emerging Asia.
Concurrently, the IMF notes that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, which rely on the Strait for 80% of their food supply, faced food price spikes of up to 120% by mid-March. According to Central Bank of UAE, financial stability is at risk, evidenced by the UAE’s $5.4 billion currency swap to support Bahrain’s economy in April.
The latest: Iran's war has entered a critical diplomatic stalemate following the collapse of weekend peace talks in Islamabad. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Saint Petersburg today for high-level consultations with President Vladimir Putin, seeking Russian support after US President Donald Trump cancelled his delegation's trip to Pakistan, citing a lack of progress
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“It is clear that Iran is standing up to the world's greatest superpower and they have not achieved a single one of their goals. That is why they have requested negotiations and we are looking into it,” says Araghchi in Moscow.
"Naim Qassem is playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon... If the Lebanese government continues to take cover under the wing of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation -- fire will break out and engulf the cedars of Lebanon," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz to UN envoy to Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on maritime safety, with the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's foreign minister on Monday said the Islamic republic was "stable, solid" during a meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian state TV.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said due to the war with the United States and Israel, "the world has now realised Iran's true power" and "it has become clear that the Islamic republic of Iran is a stable, solid and powerful system", he said in the meeting in Saint Petersburg.
Putin tells Iran FM Russia will do 'everything' to secure peace in Mideast
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that direct negotiations with Israel were aimed at ending the conflict with Hezbollah, while accusing those who drew Lebanon into war of "treason" in an implicit rebuke to the Iran-backed armed group.
"My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement" of 1949, Aoun said in a statement, adding that "I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement".
"Those who dragged us into war in Lebanon are now holding us accountable because we made the decision to go to negotiations... What we are doing is not treason. Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to achieve foreign interests," he said.
The relations between Russia and Iran constitute a strategic partnership and will continue to strengthen, said Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi
Iran's armed forces would be the authority responsible for the Strait of Hormuz under the country's proposed law for managing the waterway, a top official said on Monday.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's parliament, told state television that the armed forces were already in control of the strait and were seeking to prohibit the passage of "hostile vessels".
Azizi also said the proposed law states that financial gains from the strait should be paid in the local rial currency.
Iran says it wants Strait of Hormuz payments made in rial currency.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday described the US-Israeli war with Iran as “totally unnecessary” and warned that its geopolitical shockwaves were hitting energy markets in Europe, Asia and the United States. Speaking after returning from an informal EU summit in Cyprus
The Israeli army has announced that it has begun to strike alleged Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon, and elsewhere across the country’s south.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, visited Oman before travelling to Russia, where he held a conversation with his counterpart and the Sultan of Oman. In a post on X, Omani foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said both sides held a “good discussion” on the Strait of Hormuz, underscored their “shared responsibility to the international community and the urgent humanitarian need to free the seafarers held for far too long.”
Araghchi also thanked his “gracious hosts in Oman.” In another post, he also directed to the key shipping route, stating discussions “included ways to ensure safe transit” through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Israeli army launched an attack in the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon, according to Al-Jazeera.
"The incident occurred near the outer port limits of Shinas in Oman. The vessel was sailing along with other ships when it was intercepted by the Iranian Coast Guard, which fired warning shots. All Indian crew members are safe," the shipping ministry said.
At least two people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, as reported by Al Jazeera. The incident signals a fresh escalation despite the ceasefire declared on April 16. With these latest deaths, the toll since the truce began has risen to 38, intensifying concerns about ongoing violations and the region’s fragile stability.
China has strongly criticised the United States for imposing sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical, a Dalian-based refinery, over its purchase of Iranian crude oil, describing the move as unlawful and lacking international legal grounding. The sanctions, announced on Friday, bar the company and related entities involved in transporting Iranian oil from accessing the US financial system.
Responding to the action, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian accused Washington of misusing sanctions and extending its jurisdiction beyond its borders. He urged the US to halt what he called “incorrect practices” and reiterated that Beijing would take firm steps to protect the legitimate interests of its companies. The development comes amid China’s continued position as the largest importer of Iranian oil, with multiple firms still engaged in such trade despite existing US restrictions.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host representatives from the Bank of England on Tuesday at a meeting of the government's emergency response committee focused on the impact of the war in Iran.
"Tomorrow I'm chairing a meeting of Cobra on the impact (of the war), bringing in people from the Bank of England, so that you can be sure we will stand by working people in this crisis," Starmer said on Monday in a speech to trade union members.
"I have to level with you about Iran, because the truth is, the economic consequences could still be with us for some time," he added, citing fuel as one example of where prices have risen already.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday rejected Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, calling them a "grave sin" that will destabilise Lebanon.
"We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves," Qassem said in a statement, calling on authorities to "back down from their grave sin that is putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability".
"These direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in the slightest," he added, saying "we will continue our defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people".
"No matter how much the enemy threatens, we will not back down, we will not bow down, and we will not be defeated."
Ships anchor off the United Arab Emirates' east coast as disruptions to maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz force vessels to wait in the Gulf of Oman. Oil prices rise while stock markets are mixed, with the United States and Iran no closer to ending their eight-week-old war after President Donald Trump cancels his envoys' trip for peace talks at the weekend.
ran has issued a stark warning to Gulf nations backing the US, vowing to inflict “fourfold” damage on critical infrastructure if its own oil facilities are targeted, amid escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran. Iranian Vice President Esmail Saghab Esfahani said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday (April 27) that any attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure would trigger a disproportionate response.
In a strategic pivot to bypass the maritime paralysis in the Persian Gulf, the Government of Pakistan has formally notified six land routes for the transit of international goods to Iran. The move, effective as of April 25, 2026, follows the Ministry of Commerce’s issuance of the “Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026.”
The notification comes at a critical juncture as the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict enters its third month, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively closed to commercial shipping. The maritime blockade has left thousands of containers destined for Iran stranded at Karachi’s ports, threatening a total collapse of regional supply chains.
The Israeli army said one of its troops was killed "during combat" in south Lebanon, where a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have accused each other of breaching the truce.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday blamed the United States for the failure of peace talks in Pakistan, after arriving in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
"The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands," Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.
He also said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue", as the US and Iran continue their rival blockades in the waterway.