US-Israel-Iran war LIVE Highlights: Deal that we are making with Iran will be far better than JCPOA: Trump

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.

Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel's top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday.

Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organisations unless they provided detailed information on their Palestinian staff, in a move humanitarian organisations warned would further curtail already inadequate aid to Gaza.

Israel's Supreme Court in February froze that ban, theoretically allowing the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank until a final ruling.

But foreign "staff continued to be rejected, supplies continued to be rejected", said Alan Moseley, Danish Refugee Council director for the Palestinian territories.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports 2,387 fatalities following six weeks of intense conflict with Israel. The figure underscores the heavy human toll of the "39-Day War" before the current 10-day ceasefire. 

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday France was not specifically targeted in the killing of a French UN soldier in Lebanon, while blaming pro-Iranian group Hezbollah for the attack.

"It was Hezbollah, in fact, that targeted our soldiers," Macron said of Saturday's attack.

"They didn't target them because they were French. They targeted them because they were on a mission to stand alongside the civilian population," Macron told journalists in Gdansk, Poland.

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday.

The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire -- now in its final days -- lapse.

Since initial talks in Islamabad ended without a deal earlier this month, both sides have accused the other of breaching the truce.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s military reach now stretches from Gaza to Mount Hermon and that its air power across the region proves what he calls Israel’s superiority over the "Iranian axis". "Our flag flies from the depths of the Gaza Strip to the summit of Mount Hermon, and our pilots dominate the skies of the region, proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis," says Netanyahu at a ceremony ahead of Israel's Memorial Day commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike hit a town in the country's south on Monday despite a 10-day ceasefire in force between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The state-run National News Agency said that "an enemy drone targeted the vicinity of the Litani River in the town of Qaqaiyat al-Jisr", without immediately reporting casualties. Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged. Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing - And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future! President DJT,”  wrote Trump on Trutch Social.

A senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters said that ‘positive efforts are underway by Pakistan to end the blockade," and ensured Iran’s participation in talks.

US Air Force's Boeing C-32 VIP plane and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes approach the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, ahead of a second round of US-Iran peace talks. 

"We are in touch with Iran and others so that we have a safe exit of our ships through the Strait of Hormuz, says India's MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

The Kremlin said it hopes US-Iran negotiations will continue to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.

Tehran “will take the necessary action” against US forces, state news reported on Monday, after the US military captured an Iran-flagged ship along the choked Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Americans are playing the game of blaming Tehran. “This game is ongoing instead of them playing a positive role. But we cannot expect the Americans to say the truth; they’re always accusing us,” Esmail Baghaei said, as per Al Jazeera. “It seems that America is not serious at all.”

Iran has reportedly rejected any possibility of transferring or reducing its enriched uranium reserves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stating that the country’s nuclear accomplishments will remain within its borders. "At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed," he said.

"As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us," Baghaei also said and added that framing Iran's nuclear programme as the product of years of domestic scientific endeavour that would not be surrendered.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday no decision has been taken yet to attend the next round of talks with the United States. "As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing."
 

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday the United States was not serious about following diplomacy, and accused it of the "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. "While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He confirmed a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship on Monday (April 20, 2026), the US naval blockage of the Iranian ports, and the delay in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

The Israeli military has warned people in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages near Litani River

Prominent French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has filed a legal complaint in France over an Israeli strike on his family home in Beirut that killed his parents in 2024

The Lebanese armed group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions that it said hit a convoy of eight Israeli armoured vehicles moving from the town of Taybeh towards the town of Deir Siryan 

Israeli military said that it struck a loaded and ready-to-launch launcher in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon overnight. It said the launcher was north of the so-called Yellow Line it has established in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 per cent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 per cent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 per cent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 per cent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 per cent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 per cent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 per cent at 10,667.63 (close)

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer on Sunday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

Israel said its military had been instructed to use "full force" against threats in Lebanon despite a truce, and vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with state media reporting demolitions were underway on Sunday.

Some displaced residents have rushed back to their homes in the south but others are hesitant, uncertain about the durability of the 10-day truce that came into effect on Friday, halting weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not currently planning to take part in new talks with the United States, hours after President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.

"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.