Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

Trump extends ceasefire to give Iran more time to negotiate

Directs to continue US naval blockade

www.thedailystar.net

Trump extends ceasefire to give Iran more time to negotiate

Directs to continue US naval blockade

Representational image

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations, but would maintain a US naval blockade of the country's ports.

Trump posted on social media that he would "extend the Ceasefire" until Iran came up with a proposal to end the conflict. However, he "directed our Military to continue the Blockade."

Trump's ceasefire extension came hours before it was believed to be set to expire.

It also came as the White House said Vice President JD Vance would not be going to Pakistan for what had been expected to be a second round of peace talks.

The US president cast the breakdown in more talks as resulting from Iranian infighting, adding that Pakistan's leaders had asked him to extend the truce.

"Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," Trump posted on his Truth Social site.

But the blockade of ports on Iran's coast in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place, Trump said, while the US military will "in all other respects, remain ready and able."

The ceasefire, he said, will be extended "until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."​

 

[Saif]

Trump says Iran talks ‘possible’ within days as ceasefire extended

US President Donald Trump has said a second round of peace talks with Iran could begin within the next few days, raising cautious hopes for diplomatic progress. According to a report by the New York Post, Pakistani officials indicated that talks might take place within the next 36 to 72 hours. Whe

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump says Iran talks ‘possible’ within days as ceasefire extended

BBC
Published :
Apr 23, 2026 00:21
Updated :
Apr 23, 2026 00:21

US President Donald Trump has said a second round of peace talks with Iran could begin within the next few days, raising cautious hopes for diplomatic progress.

According to a report by the New York Post, Pakistani officials indicated that talks might take place within the next 36 to 72 hours. When asked about the possibility, Trump replied in a text message, “It’s possible! President DJT.”

The development comes a day after Trump announced the extension of a ceasefire with Iran, which was initially set to expire on Wednesday evening. The extension is aimed at giving Tehran more time to present a “unified proposal” to end the ongoing conflict.

While uncertainty remains over Iran’s participation, the prospect of renewed talks signals a potential diplomatic opening amid heightened tensions between the two sides.​

 

[Saif]

Three ships targeted in Hormuz, Iran seizes two: monitors, Guards

British maritime security agency UKMTO said an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman Wednesday

en.prothomalo.com

Three ships targeted in Hormuz, Iran seizes two: monitors, Guards

AFP
Published: 22 Apr 2026, 19: 18

Map of Strait of Hormuz Reuters file photo

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 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.

"The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat... that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said.

It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and all the crew were safe.

According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and "had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz".

Iranian news agency Tasnim said the ship had "ignored warnings from Iran''s armed forces".

The IGRC said its naval force "this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships".

In a statement, the force said the vessels "were seized by the IRGC''s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast."

The IRGC named the two ships seized as the MSC-Francesca and the Epaminondas, Iranian broadcaster IRIB said on Telegram.

It alleged the Francesca was linked to Israel while the Epaminodes lacked "the necessary permits" and had been "tampering with navigation systems".

Ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic showed the two vessels -- both container ships -- stopped near the Iranian coast on Wednesday.

Cargo ship fired on

In a separate incident, a cargo ship eight nautical miles west of Iran was fired upon and stopped in the water, UKMTO said.

"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," UKMTO said.

Vanguard identified it as the Panama-flagged containership Euphoria, which it said was "transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz".

MarineTraffic later showed the Euphoria had left the strait and was headed to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been heavily restricted by Iran since the start of the war with Israel and the United States, while the US military is enforcing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the truce between the two countries would be extended after it first took effect on 8 April.​

 

[Saif]

Iran tightens control of Hormuz after US calls off renewed attacks

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as it tightened its grip on the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump announced he was indefinitely calling off attacks, with no sign of peace talks restarting. The status of a two-week-old ceasefire, due to have expired earlier this week

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Italy ready to deploy two minesweepers in Hormuz Strait, navy chief says

REUTERS
Published :
Apr 23, 2026 19:37
Updated :
Apr 23, 2026 19:38

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Stringer

Italy is ready to deploy up to four vessels, including two minesweepers, as part of an international mission to clear the Strait of Hormuz, ‌the navy's chief of staff said.

European leaders met in Paris last week to discuss a multinational effort to protect shipping through the strait, which was largely closed during the US-Israel war against Iran.

About a fifth of the world's ⁠oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz. More than a dozen countries, including Italy, have said they would join a mission to ensure safe passage once conditions allow.

"The contingency plan drawn up by the Chief of the Defence Staff envisages a group consisting of two minesweepers, an escort vessel and a logistics vessel," Navy Chief ‌of ⁠Staff Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto told state broadcaster RAI late on Wednesday.

"Obviously we are not acting alone. We are part of an international coalition, and other nations will also send minesweepers," he said, ⁠adding that Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands had mine-clearing capabilities.

Berutti Bergotto said the Italian ships would sail from the northwestern port ⁠of La Spezia and would take about four weeks to reach the area. Italy currently has eight minesweepers in ⁠service.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said last week that the government would seek parliamentary approval before authorising Italy's participation in the Hormuz mission.​

 

[Saif]

Iran tightens control of Hormuz after US calls off renewed attacks

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as it tightened its grip on the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump announced he was indefinitely calling off attacks, with no sign of peace talks restarting. The status of a two-week-old ceasefire, due to have expired earlier this week

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Iran tightens control of Hormuz after US calls off renewed attacks

REUTERS
Published :
Apr 23, 2026 16:23
Updated :
Apr 23, 2026 16:33

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Stringer

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as it tightened its grip on the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump announced he was indefinitely calling off attacks, with no sign of peace talks restarting.

The status of a two-week-old ceasefire, due to have expired earlier this week, remained unclear. In a sharp about-face hours after threatening ‌renewed violence, Trump made what appeared to be a unilateral announcement on Tuesday that the US would extend a ceasefire until it had discussed an Iranian proposal in peace talks to end the two-month-old war.

But Iranian officials did not say they had agreed to any extension of the truce, and criticized Trump's decision to maintain the US Navy blockade of Iran's trade by sea, itself considered by Iran an act of war. Iran's parliament speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said a full ceasefire only made sense if the blockade was lifted.

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the slender chokepoint that carried a fifth of the world's oil trade before the war, was impossible with such a "flagrant breach of the ceasefire," Qalibaf said on social media.

"You did not achieve your goals through military aggression and you will not achieve them by bullying ⁠either," he wrote in his first response to Trump's announcement. "The only way is recognizing the Iranian people's rights."

In another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon, Navy Secretary John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The move came just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted the Army's top general.

The Pentagon said Phelan was leaving the administration "effective immediately," but did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go.

Trump has again backed away from his repeated threats to bomb Iran's power plants and other civilian infrastructure, which the United Nations and others warn would violate international humanitarian law. But little progress has been made in ending the war that started with joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

That leaves the two sides in a holding pattern with the crucial Strait of Hormuz still effectively shut, straining economies across the world. Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, where the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group joined the fighting against Israel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two vessels and escorted them to Iranian shores, according to statements by the shipping companies and Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The Revolutionary Guards accused the ships it had seized, the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, of operating without required permits and tampering with their navigation systems.

A third, Liberia-flagged container ship ‌was fired ⁠upon in the same area but was not damaged and had resumed sailing, according to maritime security sources.

Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News that since the ships were not US or Israeli vessels the seizure was not a violation of the ceasefire. She called it an act of "piracy".

The US military said on Wednesday it had so far directed more than 30 ships to turn around or return to port as part of the US blockade against Iran. Far beyond the Gulf, the US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters, sources said, redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Brent, the international crude oil benchmark, remained above $100 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday, having hit triple figures ⁠a day earlier for the first time in two weeks.

NO NEW DEADLINE FOR CEASEFIRE

In his Tuesday announcement, Trump said that the US had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators "to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal ... and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."

He has not set any deadline for the proposal or discussions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator, ⁠was still trying to bring the sides together after both failed to show up for tentatively scheduled talks in Islamabad on Tuesday before the two-week-old ceasefire was due to expire.

A first session of peace talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad 11 days ago produced no agreement.

Trump wants Iran to give up highly enriched uranium and forgo further enrichment to prevent it building a nuclear weapon. Iran says it has only a peaceful civilian nuclear programme, ⁠and wants the lifting of sanctions, reparations for damage and recognition of its control over the strait.

Iran has also made a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group a condition of truce talks. On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes on Lebanon killed at least five people, including the Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil.

It was the deadliest day since a 10-day ceasefire was announced on April 16 between Israel and Lebanon.

Iran executed a man convicted of links to both an exiled opposition group and Israel's intelligence service, Iranian media reported on Thursday.​

 

[Saif]

Trump rules out striking Iran with nuclear weapon

President Donald Trump on Thursday ruled out striking Iran with a nuclear weapon, after his previous threats to completely destroy Iranian civilization. "No, I wouldn't use it," Trump told reporters at the White House.

en.prothomalo.com

Trump rules out striking Iran with nuclear weapon

AFP
Washington, US
Published: 24 Apr 2026, 12: 47

US President Donald Trump participates in a healthcare affordability event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, 23 April, 2026.

President Donald Trump on Thursday ruled out striking Iran with a nuclear weapon, after his previous threats to completely destroy Iranian civilization.

"No, I wouldn't use it," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"Why would I use a nuclear weapon when we've, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it?" he asked.

"A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody."

Trump on 7 April issued a genocidal threat to Iran that a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back," but within hours agreed to a ceasefire that he has since extended in the war launched by the United States and Israel.

Vice President JD Vance during the conflict warned that the United States was ready to intensify damage on Iran with weapons not previously used, but the White House denied he was threatening nuclear strikes.

Vance in failed negotiations had pushed Iran for greater concessions on its contested nuclear work.

Trump told reporters that he was seeking an Iran "without a nuclear weapon that's going to try and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East."

Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and the UN nuclear watchdog says that an atomic bomb was not imminent before the war.

The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat, obliterating the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, killing some 214,000 people.

Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not publicly acknowledge them.

Trump's blanket statement against any nuclear use would appear to be at odds with longstanding US nuclear doctrine, which reserves the right to use nuclear weapons.

Trump has previously called for an end to a US moratorium on nuclear testing in response to US allegations of secret testing by China and Russia.

Former president Barack Obama had called for an eventual goal of a world without nuclear weapons, but his administration also said that so long as they existed, the US arsenal would serve as a deterrent.

The United States has rejected calls to declare that it will never use nuclear weapons first in a conflict.​

 

[Saif]

US hopes for progress, but Iran says not direct talks

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian said that direct talks were not in the cards.

en.prothomalo.com

US hopes for progress, but Iran says not direct talks

AFP
Islamabad, Pakistan
Updated: 25 Apr 2026, 09: 29

]Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, 24 April 2026. Reuters

Iran's foreign minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday and US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations amid a fragile ceasefire.

The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct talks were not in the cards.

Despite President Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday of a three-week ceasefire extension in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.

While Trump expressed confidence at the prospect of a lasting peace in Lebanon, sealing a deal to end the wider Middle East war is a thornier proposition, even as urgency mounts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).


White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner would head to Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in talks...with representatives from the Iranian delegation."

"The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation," Leavitt said, adding that the talks would "hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal."

Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad two weeks ago that concluded without a deal, would not be joining for the time being, but was on "standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary."

It remained unclear late Friday whether the Iranian side would meet directly with the US envoys.

Iranian state television said Araghchi has no plans to meet with the Americans and Islamabad would serve as a bridge to "convey" Iranian proposals to end the conflict.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said Araghchi had arrived in Islamabad to discuss "ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability" with Pakistani officials, without directly referencing talks with Witkoff and Kushner.

An Iranian spokesman said Araghchi would visit Oman and Russia after the Pakistan stop to discuss efforts to end the war launched against the Islamic Republic by Israel and the United States on February 28.

EU says opening Hormuz 'vital'

Since the last round of talks, efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as a US naval blockade on its ports remained in place.

Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the vital waterway, throwing global energy markets into turmoil.

Oil prices slid on Friday amid hopes that fresh peace talks would see an end to Tehran's disruption of trade through the strait.

European Council President Antonio Costa said Friday that the strait "must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling."

"This is vital for the entire world," Costa said.

Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records on Friday as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan.

The United States continued meanwhile to build up its forces in the Middle East with the arrival of its third aircraft carrier in the region, the USS George H.W. Bush.

'Destroyed'

Trump spoke in glowing terms on Thursday of peace prospects for Lebanon after meeting with Israeli and Lebanese envoys, voicing hope for a three-way meeting with the Lebanese and Israeli leaders.

The two countries have been officially at war for decades and until last week had not met so directly since 1993.

Mohammed Raad, the head of the Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, urged the Lebanese government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel and warned that a lasting peace deal of the kind sought by Trump "will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy the Iran-backed movement, said: "We have started a process to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it's clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this."

In south Lebanon's Tyre, Mohamad Ali Hijazi was searching a mountain of rubble for mementos of family members killed in an Israeli airstrike minutes before the ceasefire took hold.

"I'm trying to find my mother's hairbrush...and a bottle of perfume that she loves," said Hijazi, 48 -- some of the last things he sent her from France, where he has long lived with his wife and two daughters.

"My life has been destroyed. I haven't slept for five days," he told AFP, repeatedly fighting back tears.​