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One-week ceasefire in Lebanon to begin tonight, according to pro-Hezbollah media
The pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, citing an Iranian official, has reported that a one-week ceasefire will take effect in Lebanon starting tonight.
The move comes after pressure from Iran, according to the official. The truce will coincide with the final week of the temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Israel’s Channel 12 news, however, reported that Israel has not yet decided on the issue, according to its sources. A senior Israeli official claimed the idea of declaring a week-long ceasefire in Lebanon was raised by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Channel 12 reported that the Israeli cabinet will convene tonight to discuss the matter, but noted that some ministers “are pressing for the exact opposite – to resume the attacks in Beirut and beyond the Litani [river]”.
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Israel’s military chief of staff said he had ordered areas south of Lebanon’s Litani River to be turned into a Hezbollah “kill zone” as troops pressed a major offensive there.
“I have ordered that all of the area of south Lebanon up to the Litani (River) line be turned into a Hezbollah terrorist kill zone,” chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on a visit to troops operating in the area.
The US military said that it successfully stopped nine vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of a naval blockade against the Islamic republic.
“Nine vessels have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or coastal area,” US Central Command (Centcom), which is responsible for American troops in the Middle East, said in a post on X.
“No vessels have made it past US forces,” Centcom said.
However, maritime tracking data appeared to contradict the US assertion.
Tracking data from Tuesday indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the strait of Hormuz, though some vessels taking the route later turned back.
Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday at the start of a four-day tour before a possible second round of US-Iran peace talks, his office said in a statement.
Sharif will also visit Qatar and Turkey on his trip, which comes after Washington and Tehran held their highest-level talks in decades in Islamabad last weekend.
The Pakistani leader will discuss the “regional situation” with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, his office said.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes targeted paramedic teams in south Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least three of them.
“The Israeli enemy targeted paramedic teams in the town of Mayfadoun, Nabatiyeh District, three consecutive times,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This resulted in the martyrdom of three paramedics and the injury of six others, while one paramedic remains missing.”
Lisa O’Carroll
Donald Trump’s counter blockade of the strait of Hormuz has “reversed” a gradual increase in ships getting through the choke point since the US launched its war with Iran in late February.
Data from AXSMarine said that an average of five vessels per day crossed in most of March rising to 10 at the end of the month and into early April “before any ceasefire was announced, suggesting traffic was already beginning to recover”.
“The early-April ceasefire added modest momentum, with crossings peaking at 17 on 12 April. However, within 24 hours of the counter-blockade enforcement, daily crossings fell back to single digits.
“As of 15 April, 949 merchant vessels are tracked west of Hormuz inside the Gulf, with 307 operating without Automatic identity signals (AIS). This puts the AIS-dark rate at 32%, more than double the pre-conflict baseline of 17%” it said in its latest report on strait traffic.
Diplomatic efforts by Iran and other regional countries could produce a ceasefire in Lebanon “soon,” senior Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim al-Moussawi told Reuters on Wednesday, saying Tehran had used its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as leverage.
“The Iranians are exercising high pressure against the Americans and they have put their conditions that the Americans should include Lebanon in the ceasefire. If they don’t do it, they are going to continue their blockade of Hormuz. It’s the economic card,” Moussawi said.
“The Iranians have opened up to several regional and international parties to achieve this goal,” he said.
Moussawi declined to comment on whether the group would abide by such a ceasefire.
Iranian state TV said Tehran will welcome a Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir on Wednesday, after the Islamic republic confirmed that exchanges with the US had continued via Pakistan after failed talks in Islamabad to end the war.
State TV reported that Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will welcome the delegation, which will bring a new message from Washington following the negotiations in the Pakistani capital over the weekend.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene on Wednesday at 8pm to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official has said.
Shah Meer Baloch
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has said that a high-ranking Pakistani delegation will visit Tehran today to follow up on talks with the US in Islamabad.
“During this visit, the views of both sides are likely to be discussed in detail,” Baghaei said.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry refused to comment on the delegation details and visit.
Pakistani sources said that senior intelligence and military officials are part of the delegation. However, Pakistan’s military media wing has yet to comment on it.
Baghaei also said that several messages with the US through Pakistan have been exchanged since the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran after the Islamabad talks.
“Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan,” Baghaei said in his press briefing.
One-week ceasefire in Lebanon to begin tonight, according to pro-Hezbollah media
The pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, citing an Iranian official, has reported that a one-week ceasefire will take effect in Lebanon starting tonight.
The move comes after pressure from Iran, according to the official. The truce will coincide with the final week of the temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Israel’s Channel 12 news, however, reported that Israel has not yet decided on the issue, according to its sources. A senior Israeli official claimed the idea of declaring a week-long ceasefire in Lebanon was raised by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Channel 12 reported that the Israeli cabinet will convene tonight to discuss the matter, but noted that some ministers “are pressing for the exact opposite – to resume the attacks in Beirut and beyond the Litani [river]”.
Finance ministers from more than 10 countries, including the UK, have called for a “swift and lasting” end to the US-Iran war.
In a joint statement issued by the UK Treasury, the ministers said the US-Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliatory attacks have caused “unacceptable loss of life and significant disruption to the global economy and financial markets”.
While they welcomed the ceasefire, they said the impacts of the war on “growth, inflation and markets will persist” even if the conflict is resolved.
The statement said: “We call for a swift and lasting negotiated resolution to the conflict, and a return to free and safe transit through the strait of Hormuz, that mitigates impacts on growth, energy prices and living standards, in particular for the poorest and most vulnerable.”
The statement was signed by finance ministers from the UK, Australia, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Poland and New Zealand.
Keir Starmer said he was “not going to yield” to pressure from Donald Trump after the US president threatened to change the terms of a trade deal with the UK over Britain’s refusal to join the war.
“My position on the Iran war has been clear from the start. We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war,” the UK prime minister said.
“I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so.”
You can follow our UK politics blog to get the latest updates on this story:
Iran’s foreign ministry has said that Tehran’s right to enrich uranium was “indisputable” although the level of enrichment is “negotiable”.
In a weekly press briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy could not be “taken away under pressure or through war”.
“Regarding the level and type of enrichment, we have always stated that this issue is negotiable. We have emphasised that Iran should be able to continue enrichment in accordance with its needs,” he added.
The United States has not formally agreed to the extension of its ceasefire with Iran, a senior official said on Wednesday.
“There is continued engagement between the US and Iran to reach a deal,” a senior US official told Reuters.
Trump says China is happy he is permanently opening strait of Hormuz
US president Donald Trump said that China and the United States are working together and that Beijing is happy that he is opening the strait of Hormuz.
“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He added:
President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!!
Summary of developments so far
Donald Trump said the war was “close to over” as he hinted at another round of peace talks in Pakistan in the coming days. Speaking to Fox News, the US president said the conflict was near its end. “I think it’s close to over, yeah, I mean I view it as very close to over.”
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, suggesting any US-Iran talks will not happen soon.
Iran has threatened shipping beyond the strait of Hormuz if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continues. The Iranian military said it would block trade through the Red Sea, along with the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
Trump said he exchanged letters with Chinese president Xi Jinping urging him not to supply weapons to Iran. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Xi “essentially” told him that China was “not doing that”.
Trump said he believed gas prices will be “much lower” before the midterm elections. “Gasoline is coming down very soon and very big,” he told Fox News.
The US president levelled more criticism at the UK, telling Sky News that he had given Britain a “good trade deal” but warned that the deal could “always be changed”.
The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said his country is not seeking war but dialogue, as he warned any attempt by the US to impose its will or force Tehran to surrender “is doomed to failure”.
The Israeli military has continued its strikes on southern Lebanon, as it issued another order forcing people to flee their homes south of the Zahrani river.
Iran threatens shipping in Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Red Sea if US naval blockade continues
The operational headquarters of the Iranian armed forces has warned that it would threaten shipping beyond the strait of Hormuz if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continues.
Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said if the blockade “creates insecurity for Iran’s merchant and oil tanker vessels”, then Tehran would consider it a breach of the ceasefire.
In that case, the Iranian armed forces “will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Red Sea”, he said in a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim agency.
Shah Meer Baloch
Donald Trump has suggested that another round of peace talks “could be happening over the next two days” in Pakistan.
But in Islamabad there is little sign of that, writes Shah Meer Baloch, and in fact the prime minister and head of the army are away on a foreign trip:
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by a high-level delegation, including army chief Asim Munir, departed for a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, leaving the chances of Iran-US second round of talks on Thursday or Friday in Islamabad dim.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that Sharif was undertaking an official visit to the three countries to discuss ending the war from 15 to 18 April.
The development makes it very difficult for Iran and US talks to be held on Thursday, official sources said.
Iranian and Pakistani sources said that the talks would take place soon but there was very little hope of them being held in a day or two. The sources did not confirm any dates or venues although the Iranian sources said that they preferred the talks to held in Islamabad.
“We don’t have confirmation about the venue of talks yet. Islamabad is one of the venues under discussion so far,” said one official Iranian source.
