U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to wait for "the best deal" to end his conflict with Iran and said he was in no rush to reach a peace agreement and wanted it to be "everlasting," while continuing to assert that the U.S. had a clear upper hand in the naval stand-off in the Strait.
A day after Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key shipping corridor, Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran's "little wise-guy ships" and said he believed Tehran was hamstrung from making a deal because its leadership was in turmoil.
On Thursday (23 April), he said the U.S. Navy has orders to "shoot and kill" Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. could knock out in a day any refurbishing of weapons that Iran may have made during a ceasefire in place since 8 April.
But navigation in the passage remained effectively blocked with the U.S. blockade and Iran stopping ships passing through the narrow waterway, capturing two cargo ships on Wednesday. The situation has caused trouble for oil markets and brought major strains to the global economy.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday rejected Trump's claim of disarray in the leadership describing it as "the enemy's media operations" to maliciously undermine Iranian unity and security.
"Unity will become stronger and more solid, and enemies will become weaker and more humiliated," he said in a post on X, as he remained out of the public eye since taking over from his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed by U.S. strikes in the early days of the war that began on 28 February.
Trump said this week he would indefinitely extend what had been a two-week ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, which have yet to be scheduled.
"Don't rush me," he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal. "I want to make the best deal ... I want to have it everlasting."
He ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, telling reporters they were unnecessary because the U.S. had "decimated" Iran with conventional arms.
"No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody," Trump said when asked by a reporter at the White House.
Despite the extension of the ceasefire, fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces continued to pound the Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets following some of the deadliest days since their earlier deal to halt fighting on 16 April.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it killed two armed individuals in southern Lebanon after identifying them approaching soldiers and posing what it described as an immediate threat.
Those killed by Israeli strikes this week included Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military official and her employer, Al-Akhbar newspaper.
Hezbollah said it carried out four operations in south Lebanon on Wednesday (22 April) in response to Israeli strikes. The group was not present at the ceasefire talks in Washington.
Israel has sought to make common cause with Lebanon's government over Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and which Beirut has been seeking to disarm peacefully for the past year.
Separately, before the announcement in Washington on Thursday, Israel warned it was ready to restart attacks on Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was waiting for a "green light" from the U.S. to resume the war, saying that if it did, it would begin by targeting Khamenei and "return Iran to a dark age."
Iran says no U.S. meeting is planned in Islamabad, despite Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arriving in the Pakistani capital. He is also set to vis...
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Iran says no U.S. meeting is planned in Islamabad, despite Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arriving in the Pakistani capital. He is also set to visit Muscat and Moscow for regional consultations.
Residents in central Gaza are preparing to vote in municipal elections on Saturday (25 April), marking the first ballot in the Strip since 2006. The vote in Deir al-Balah is being watched closely as a rare indication of public sentiment, including towards Hamas.
Militants have staged coordinated attacks in Mali’s capital, Bamako, and several locations across the country, the army said on Saturday (25 April), in an assault apparently involving jihadist and Tuareg-led groups.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Azerbaijan for talks with President Ilham Aliyev, holding meetings in Gabala on Saturday (25 April) during a working visit to the country.
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war are intensifying, with the White House confirming that U.S. President Donald Trump will send special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner to Islamabad for talks with Iran under Pakistani mediation.
Argentina has reiterated its interest in resuming talks with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South Atlantic, after reports that an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing Washington’s support for the UK’s claim amid tensions over the Iran war.
Russian emergency services have contained a major fire at the Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea coast, local officials said on Thursday, ending a four-day effort after a Ukrainian drone strike.
Slovenia’s national broadcaster RTV Slovenia has confirmed it will not air the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining a widening boycott over Israel’s participation.
Iran says no U.S. meeting is planned in Islamabad, despite Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arriving in the Pakistani capital. He is also set to visit Muscat and Moscow for regional consultations.
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad on Saturday for Pakistan-mediated talks with Iran, the White House said.
Iran is pursuing a dual-track strategy in the Strait of Hormuz, balancing cooperation with South Korea while increasing military pressure, as tensions disrupt shipping and raise concerns over regional stability.
Iran’s leadership has presented a united front, rejecting claims of internal divisions amid continued tensions with the U.S. and Israel following a fragile ceasefire and stalled Iran–U.S. talks.
The Middle East conflict is pushing up energy prices and feeding into UK food costs, with businesses warning the impact is reaching consumers through everyday grocery bills.
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