&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US‑Iran‑Israel war highlights: Iran shoots at container ship, says ending of blockade crucial for talks")
The US–Israel–Iran conflict has reached a critical bottleneck as President Donald Trump continues to leverage a "maximum pressure" naval blockade to force a definitive peace deal. While the US and Iran have officially extended the ceasefire to allow more time for diplomacy, Trump has simultaneously directed the US military to maintain its chokehold on Iranian ports. This strategy aims to deplete Tehran’s financial reserves, with the White House alleging that the Iranian economy is "collapsing" and "starving for cash" as oil storage facilities on Kharg Island reach full capacity.
The diplomatic front remains shrouded in uncertainty. Despite reports of a pending summit in Pakistan, Iranian state media insists that no delegation has yet departed for Islamabad, maintaining that a total cessation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon is a prerequisite for formal talks. "So far, no delegation from Iran has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan; whether it is the main or subsidiary delegation; primary or secondary," Iranian state TV said, dismissing reports suggesting otherwise.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance has delayed his departure from Washington to participate in high-level policy meetings, signalling that the US counter-proposal is still being refined.
On the ground, the situation is increasingly volatile. A fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah has suffered its first major breach, with the militant group launching retaliatory drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, citing previous Israeli artillery violations. In Beirut, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has appealed for 500 million euros in urgent humanitarian aid to address a crisis that has now claimed over 2,400 lives across Lebanon.
As the regional standoff deepens, the stakes have expanded beyond the immediate combatants. The IRGC has issued a chilling warning to its southern neighbours, threatening to end all Middle Eastern oil production if Gulf territories are used as a launchpad for US or Israeli attacks. "The southern neighbours should know that if their geography and facilities are used in the service of the enemies to attack the Iranian nation, they should bid farewell to oil production in the Middle East," the commander of the Guards' aerospace force, Majid Mousavi, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying on Tuesday.
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The United States has vowed to blockade Iran's ships until the country makes a deal to end their war. But is the blockade working?
Analysts and ship-tracking data paint a complicated picture. Shifting objectives and shadowy activity by vessels making the success of the US operation hard to measure.
"There's been confusion over the scope and the parameters of the blockade because of conflicting information given by the US administration and some delays in when information has been released," Bridget Diakun, an analyst at shipping journal Lloyd's List Intelligence, told AFP.
Here are facts about the military standoff over shipping access to the Strait of Hormuz, based on data from tracking sources including Kpler and its MarineTraffic platform, and Bloomberg.
Israeli strikes killed three people in Lebanon despite an ongoing 10-day ceasefire, Lebanese state media said, adding that Beirut would request an extension of the truce during upcoming talks with Israel in Washington.
More than 2,400 people have been killed and more than a million displaced in the country since Iran-backed Hezbollah drew the nation into the war on March 2.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have damaged or destroyed more than 62,000 housing units in the country, a government estimate said.
Iran foreign ministry says 'appreciates' Pakistan's efforts to end war.
Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two and firing on a third, global security monitors and the country's Revolutionary Guards said, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war.
British maritime security agency UKMTO said an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, while a ship off Iran was also fired upon. Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said separately that their naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to Iranian waters.
It accused them of breaching its blockade of the route, imposed in the Middle East war that erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon during its latest war with Hezbollah damaged or destroyed more than 62,000 housing units in the country, a government estimate found on Wednesday.
"Within about 45 days (of the war), we had 21,700 destroyed housing units and 40,500 damaged housing units," Chadi Abdallah, head of the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), said in a press conference.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed more than 2,400 people and displaced more than a million since Iran-backed Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war on March 2.
Lebanese town official Sharif Badreddine begged his youngest son not to leave to fight for Hezbollah against Israel in the country's south, but as the tearful father buried his child he could not hide a sense of pride.
In the face of a government push to disarm the movement, its supporters call on a long-held enmity with Israel, deep religious beliefs and backing from Iran to justify their sons' sacrifice in the group's latest war that has killed thousands in Lebanon.
"Before he left, I told him, 'Don't go, the situation is bad,'" Badreddine, 67, told AFP.
But his son Ahmad, who was in his twenties with two children, insisted, leaving his father no choice but to accept his death as a necessary sacrifice for his homeland, where Israel has launched several invasions since the 1970s.
A French peacekeeper who was wounded in southern Lebanon after an attack by the IDF on Saturday has died. Another French peacekeeper, identified as Florian Montorio, died on the spot following the attack in the village of Ghandouriyeh. . The incident occurred during a mission to clear explosive ordnance and reopen access to an isolated UN outpost
The Lebanese negotiator wants to prolong a fragile truce at least by another month, reported CNN today. The White House is scheduled to host a second round of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh, respectively, on Thursday. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun called for “a complete halt to the Israeli aggressions,” as the negotiator set to meet for the second round of talks.
Israeli army claims 2 men approached the so-called ‘forward defence line’ in southern Lebanon, and Israeli forces opened fire and killed the pair in the Saluki area in Tyre in southern Lebanon. Since March 2, Israel has carried out attacks in Lebanon that have killed 2,294 people, wounded 7,544 and displaced more than 1 million. before the announcement of the 10-day ceasefire.
China has officially denied allegations from US President Donald Trump that a ship intercepted by US forces in the Gulf of Oman contained a "gift" from Beijing for Iran. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed the claims as "malicious association and speculation". Beijing clarified that the intercepted ship was a "foreign container ship" rather than a Chinese state ship.
The ongoing conflict involving Iran could drive up the cost of petroleum-based products such as clothing and crayons. Even items like plush toys may be affected, as disruptions to oil supplies from the Middle East impact materials used in their production, AP reported.
Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, reversing earlier declines after reports of gunfire targeting at least three container ships in the Strait of Hormuz and continued deadlock in talks between the United States and Iran. Brent crude rose 0.7% to $99.21 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 0.7% to $90.26, after both surged about 3% in the previous session.
Representatives from Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold talks in Washington on Thursday for the second time, with Beirut aiming to secure an extension of the ceasefire involving Hezbollah and Israel.
An Iranian opposition leader on Wednesday criticised European nations for failing to take stronger action against executions in Iran, following another death sentence carried out by authorities, an act critics describe as part of a broader wartime crackdown on dissent.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that their naval forces have stopped two ships trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the Guards said in a statement. “The two offending ships .... were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.”
Britain welcomed the extension of the US-Iran ceasefire on Wednesday (April 22) and called for talks to resume.
“The UK welcomes the ceasefire extension. We want to see negotiations restart, a comprehensive settlement and full reopening of the Strait without restrictions or tolls,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Wednesday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed the latest regional developments and bilateral relations with his Afghan counterpart, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
A drone attack targeted an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp southeast of Erbil in Iraq on Wednesday, wounding three, Reuters cited two security sources as saying.
Iran’s Education Minister said that 775 out of the 1,300 schools damaged by US-Israeli attacks have now been repaired, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.
The Israeli army has killed people it claims were Hezbollah members, alleging they crossed the ‘yellow line’ in southern Lebanon
China warned that the situation in the West Asia was at a "critical juncture" after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire to allow Iran more time to negotiate. "The current regional situation stands at a critical juncture transitioning between war to peace; the paramount priority remains to make every effort to prevent a resumption of hostilities," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing.
A cargo ship leaving Iran was fired upon and was stopped in the water, a British maritime agency reported. "A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. It said that the incident took place eight nautical miles west of Iran.
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Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said his government is not seeking confrontation with Hezbollah, but will not be intimidated as it holds direct talks with Israel. Lebanon and Israel ceasefire is in place with next round of talks scheduled. Speaking alongside French President Macron in Paris, Salam said that he needs international support for peace negotiations with Israel to succeed.
In a statement after Trump's ceasefire extension, the IRGC said that it is ready to confront any new aggression and will “inflict crushing blows” on its “enemy’s remaining assets” in case of renewed fighting, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. It said the IRGC had stressed the need for vigilance during a “silent battlefield” and for monitoring enemy actions during the “so-called ceasefire”.
A drone attack in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley has killed one person and injured two
In a statement to Iranian media IRNA and Tasnim News agency, Iravani said, "As soon as Washington ends the naval blockade, I think the next round of negotiations will be held in Islamabad. "The United States must halt its ‘violation of the ceasefire’ before any new round of negotiations. We have not been the initiator of military aggression. If they seek a political solution, we are ready. If they seek war, Iran is ready for that as well...When that happens, the next round of negotiations will take place in Islamabad." He warned, "If the US wants a political solution, they are ready, if they want war then Iran is also ready."
Iran has set a condition for attending the talks in Pakistan to end the war with Iran. Iran's United Nations (UN) envoy has said that negotiations will be held in Pakistan’s capital once the United States ends its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has denied reports that it has sent any delegation to Pakistan for a new round of talks with the United States, casting fresh doubt over diplomatic efforts.
State television said “no delegation… primary or secondary” has departed for Islamabad, dismissing earlier claims of Iranian participation.
Britain's annual inflation rate jumped to 3.3 percent in March as the Middle East war sent oil and gas prices surging, official data showed Wednesday.
The Consumer Prices Index increased from 3.0 percent in the 12 months to February, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
"Inflation climbed in March, largely due to increased fuel prices, which saw their largest increase for over three years," Grant Fitzner, chief economist of the Office for National Statistics, said in a statement.
Lebanon raised the toll from six weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah to 2,454 dead as a fragile 10-day ceasefire holds.
Hezbollah said it launched an attack on northern Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of a 10-day ceasefire, the first such claim since the truce began.
The Iran-backed group said in a statement that its fighters launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel that it said was the source of artillery shelling towards a south Lebanon town.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday the country needed 500 million euros ($590 million) to address the conflict's ongoing humanitarian fallout amid a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
"Lebanon needs 500 million euros to tackle the humanitarian crisis over the next six months," Salam said during a news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vice President JD Vance, who was expected to lead a US delegation at upcoming negotiations with Iran in Pakistan, was still in Washington midday Tuesday to participate in meetings, the White House said, despite recent reports saying he was to leave that morning.
"Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House in which the vice president will participate," an official said in a brief statement sent to AFP shortly after 1700 GMT.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to prevent oil production in the Middle East if the Islamic Republic faced attacks launched from its Gulf neighbours' territory.
"The southern neighbours should know that if their geography and facilities are used in the service of the enemies to attack the Iranian nation, they should bid farewell to oil production in the Middle East," the commander of the Guards' aerospace force, Majid Mousavi, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying on Tuesday.
An Israeli strike on Lebanon's Bekaa region killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, despite an ongoing truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"One person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of an attack carried out by an enemy drone at dawn on the outskirts of Al-Jabur in West Bekaa," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Since the first round of talks in Islamabad, Trump announced a blockade of Iranian ports, which US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would remain in place.
"In a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in," Bessent said in an X post Tuesday, adding that constraining Iran's maritime trade would target its "primary revenue lifelines".
He warned: "Any person or vessel facilitating these flows—through covert trade and finance—risks exposure to U.S. sanctions."
An Iranian gunboat opened fire on a container ship off the coast of Oman, causing significant damage but no casualties, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The agency said the vessel was approached by an IRGC gunboat about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, which then fired on the ship, damaging its bridge.
No fires or environmental damage were reported, and all crew members are safe. The incident marks a fresh escalation in tensions in the Gulf.
The US president on Truth Social claimed Iran is “collapsing financially” and was losing $500m every day the Strait of Hormuz is closed.
“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!!!”
