Closing summary
We’re wrapping up this live coverage of Middle East news for the moment but you can see our last full report here, and below is a recap of the latest developments. Thanks for joining us.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday announced the strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. The 10-day truce took effect on Thursday.
Donald Trump hailed the reopening as a “brilliant day for the world” but said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. He also said Iran had agreed to never close the strait again, but that has not been verified.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said later that the Hormuz strait “will not remain open” if the US blockade continued and that Trump had made multiple false claims on Friday.
World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement on the reopening, with UN chief António Guterres calling the move “a step in the right direction” and urging “the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, respected by everyone.”
Oil prices tumbled after Iran’s Hormuz announcement amid hopes that energy supplies could resume after nearly two months of disruption. Brent crude – the benchmark for oil traded globally – plunged below $90 a barrel, a 10% fall.
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said the reopening must become permanent. The British prime minister and the French president on Friday co-chaired a virtual summit of about 50 countries on the issue.
Amid the Israel-Lebanon truce, Trump said the US “prohibited” Israel from bombing Lebanon. Minutes before Trump’s post on social media, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu uploaded a video address declaring that Israel was not done yet with Hezbollah.
The Lebanese army alleged “a number of violations” of the ceasefire by Israel on Friday morning, as thousands of displaced families began making their way home to southern Lebanon.
A cruise ship successfully transited the strait of Hormuz on Friday, making it the first passenger vessel to make it through since the war began, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic. But there remained uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, with some vessels observed making unsuccessful attempts cross the strait on Friday before turning back.
Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium would be brought to the US, also claiming the US and Tehran would work together to recover the uranium but denying reports the US was considering a $20bn cash for uranium deal. “No money is changing hands,” he told Reuters.
The Trump administration issued a waiver permitting countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control soaring global energy prices.
The UK will make “a wide-ranging military contribution” to an international mission to protect shipping in the strait of Hormuz, the UK ambassador to the US, Christian Turner, said in Washington
The UN children’s agency said it was “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to deliver clean water to families in Gaza were killed by Israeli fire.
Updated
Donald Trump also said there had been some positive news regarding Iran but declined to elaborate.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” he was quoted as telling reporters aboard Air Force One.
When asked what the good news was, the US president replied:
You’ll hear about. I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will.”
Updated
Trump says US may 'start dropping bombs again' if deal with Iran isn't reached
Donald Trump has also said he may end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war is agreed by Wednesday.
The president told reporters on Air Force One, cited by Reuters :
Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade [on Iranian ports] is going to remain. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately we have to start dropping bombs again.”
The two-week US-Iran ceasefire expires on Wednesday and the two countries have been in indirect talks aimed at extending the truce.
The White House said midweek that the administration felt “good about the prospects of a deal”, just days after negotiations in Islamabad failed to reach a deal.
Updated
Xi Jinping 'very happy' Hormuz strait reopening, says Trump
Donald Trump has just said on social media that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “very happy” that the strait of Hormuz “is open and/or rapidly opening”.
Trump also said in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform that their meeting in China next month “will be a special one and, potentially, Historic ... Much will be accomplished!”
Updated
Oil prices dropped back to where they were in the early days of the Iran war while US stocks raced to another record after Iran announced it was reopening the strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping.
The S+P 500 leaped 1.2% after Iran’s move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up as many as 1,100 points before paring its gain and ended with a jump of about 870 points, or 1.8%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%.
Oil prices fell 9%, the AP reports.
A freer flow of oil could take pressure off prices not only for petrol but also for groceries and all sorts of other products.
Continuing on Australia for a moment, the government has extended an easing on fuel-quality standards until September as the country’s grapples with the impact of the Iran war on its fuel supply.
“I’ve decided to extend the period of higher sulphur for petrol in Australia,” energy minister Chris Bowen said in televised remarks on Saturday cited by Reuters.
The relaxation – announced in March – increases the amount of sulphur permitted in fuel to 50 parts per million from the usual 10 parts.
Australia imports most of its fuel and has experienced localised shortages amid disrupted supply chains due to the war.
Updated
Australia’s prime minister has welcomed Iran’s announcement of reopening the strait of Hormuz but says the situation remains “fragile”.
Anthony Albanese said on Saturday after taking part in a virtual summit of about 50 countries on the issue:
This was positive news that we received last night. We hope that it holds, but what we know is that the impact will be long lasting.”
Updated
Turning now to Gaza, the UN children’s agency says it is “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to deliver clean water to families in the Strip were killed by Israeli fire.
Unicef said in a statement that the incident occurred during routine water trucking on Friday morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which supplies Gaza City. Two others were injured in the attack.
Unicef said it had suspended activities at the site and called on Israeli authorities to investigate, stressing that humanitarian workers, civilians and vital water infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law.
Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Updated
US extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil
Donald Trump’s administration has issued a waiver permitting countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the war on Iran.
The US Treasury department allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday until 16 May, an extension of an original 30-day waiver that expired on 11 April, according to a document posted to the department’s website.
The extension comes two days after Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver that allowed countries to purchase Russian oil without facing US sanctions, Reuters reports.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had said the first waiver would free 100m barrels of Russian crude, equal to almost a day’s worth of global output.
The reprieve on sanctions could temporarily boost world supplies of oil but has not prevented petroleum prices from spiking due to the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.
Updated
UK to make 'wide-ranging' contribution to Hormuz mission, says envoy
Britain will make “a wide-ranging military contribution” to an international mission to protect shipping in the strait of Hormuz trade waterway, the UK ambassador to the US has said.
Christian Turner’s commitment comes amid long-running concerns over the state of Britain’s armed forces and warnings of under-funding, PA Media reports.
The multinational mission, led by the UK and France, aimed to provide reassurance to vessels using the critical waterway once the Iran conflict was over, Turner told an event in Washington.
The initiative was announced at talks in Paris involving nearly 50 countries, which Turner said signalled global resolve to prevent tolls or restrictions being imposed on the shipping route, normally used to move one fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
So far about 12 nations have committed to take part in the mission.
The move has been derided by Donald Trump, who used it as a fresh opportunity to criticise Nato as “useless” after it refused to support his offensive against Iran.
Updated
World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement it was reopening the Hormuz strait, which it made before later warning it would close the waterway if the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships continued.
British prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron welcomed the reopening but said it must become permanent.
Macron, who with Starmer on Friday night was co-chairing a virtual summit of about 50 countries on reopening the strait and supporting the fragile ceasefire, said the move “goes in the right direction”.
We all oppose any restrictions or system of agreements that would, in effect, amount to an attempt to privatize the strait – and, of course, any toll system.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb said:
Finland stands ready to work on a solution that brings stability to the region and respects international law.”
Turkish vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz called the reopening “an important step towards deescalation of tension”.
Preventing similar crises, conflicts, and developments that disrupt maritime transport in our region is only possible through dialogue, restraint and strengthening multilateral cooperation.”
As reported earlier, UN chief António Guterres called the reopening “a step in the right direction”.
The UN position remains clear: we need the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, respected by everyone.”
Updated
Iran warns it will close Hormuz strait if US blockade continues
Iran will shut the strait of Hormuz if the US blockade continues, Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also said passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran, while swiping at Donald Trump in the series of posts on X.
Ghalibaf said (in a translation):
1 - The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.
2 – They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”
Ghalibaf, who last weekend co-led the Iranian side in negotiations with the US in Islamabad that failed to reach an agreement, continued in his posts:
3 – With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.
4 – Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization”.
Whether the strait was open or closed and the regulations governing it “will be determined by the field, not by social media”, Ghalibaf added.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi announced earlier that commercial shipping though the strait was now “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”, prompting Trump to welcome to move but also emphasise that the US naval blockade of Iran would remain in place until the conflict was fully concluded.
Trump also said Iran had agreed to never close the strait again, but that has not been verified.
Updated
US president Donald Trump said no money will change hands as part of a deal being negotiated to end the war in Iran.
He also said Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, Reuters reports.
A cruise ship successfully transited the strait of Hormuz today, making it the first passenger vessel to make it through since the war began, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic.
The Malta-flagged vessel, the Celestyal Discovery, had reportedly been stuck in Dubai for 47 days after arriving there in early March.
“According to MarineTraffic data, the ship crossed the strait of Hormuz at UTC today and is currently heading toward Muscat, Oman, with an estimated arrival on 18 April,” the tracking service wrote on X.
It added that reports indicate the vessel is sailing without passengers.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, has again entered the waters of the Middle East, defense officials told the Associated Press.
The Ford, which until recently was operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, transited the Suez Canal along with two destroyers and is now operating in the Red Sea, according to the AP.
The Ford is returning to the Red Sea after more than a month in the Mediterranean following a major fire in a laundry space that forced the ship back to port for repairs and left 600 sailors without places to sleep. This week marks the longest that a carrier has been deployed since the Vietnam war.
It lacked the triumphalist symbolism of George W Bush’s memorable – and subsequently ill-fated – appearance before the “mission accomplished” banner aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln six weeks after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
But there was no mistaking the boastful claims asserted on Friday by Donald Trump after a military assault on neighbouring Iran that has, so far, lasted a similar period and which, by widespread agreement outside the Trump administration, has not gone to plan.
Ahead of resumed peace talks in Islamabad and in a frenetic flurry of posts on his Truth Social network, the president all-but proclaimed unambiguous victory, insisting all the major sticking points had been ironed out in advance.
“A great and brilliant day for the world,” Trump declared in his trademark block-capital letters.
Read more:
Here are a few photos of people displaced by fighting between Hezbollah and Israel returning to their villages in Lebanon following a ceasefire that went into effect Friday.
The US Department of Energy said on Friday it had loaned 26.03 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to nine oil companies, the third allotment under the Trump administration’s effort to curb fuel prices that have surged since the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Companies that have been awarded SPR loans include BP Products North America, ExxonMobil Oil Corp and Marathon Petroleum, the DOE said in a statement.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Friday for joint efforts for an effective mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and said Kyiv’s wartime experience in the Black Sea could help.
“Decisions made regarding Hormuz now will determine how other aggressive actors perceive the possibility of creating problems in other straits and on other fronts,” Zelenskyy said in remarks to a video conference attended by 50 countries and chaired by France and Britain.
“We need to be as specific and clear as possible so that in six months we don’t find ourselves in the same situation as in Gaza, where much still needs to be done.” He added: “In Hormuz, there are security challenges that cannot be addressed by political decisions alone.”
Zelenskyy said that in the course of four years of war with Russia, Ukraine had “already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea”.
“Russia also attempted to blockade our sea and we have experience in escorting merchant vessels, demining, defending against air attacks and the overall coordination of such operations,” he said.
Ukraine, he said, had sent specialists throughout the Middle East to help countries benefit from its experience in defending against Russian drones, many designed in Iran.
“We can also contribute to maritime security,” he said. Ukraine has clinched security cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and says it is in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The commander of the Iranian navy, Shahram Irani, said Friday that Trump “has blockaded his friends” and not Iran, as the US said its blockade will remain in place after Iran declared the strait of Hormuz open to commercial traffic.
In a statement carried by Mizan, Iran’s official judiciary news agency, the navy chief said Trump’s blockade is just “empty words” and that no one is listening to him.
United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the opening of the strait of Hormuz by Iran and said it was “a step in the right direction.”
In a statement, he said: “We need the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz to be respected by all parties.”
The statement adds that Guterres hopes that “together with the ceasefire, this measure will contribute to creating confidence between the parties and strengthen the ongoing dialogue facilitated by Pakistan”.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said a ceasefire agreed to by his country should be transformed into “permanent agreements,” without saying whether he was referring to a prospective peace deal with Israel.
“Now, we all stand before a new phase: the transition from working towards a ceasefire to working towards permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation,” he said.
Hezbollah has said it opposes direct talks with Israel and its lawmakers on Friday criticised the government for agreeing to hold such negotiations.
Without mentioning Israel, Aoun said: “These negotiations are not a sign of weakness, nor a retreat, nor a concession.”
After Donald Trump said a US blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports - announced after talks with Tehran last weekend ended without agreement - would remain until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete”, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned Tehran would take “necessary reciprocal measures” if a maritime blockade continued.
Updated
Significant differences between Iran and the United States remain to reach a deal aimed at ending the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is “conditional on U.S. adherence to the terms of ceasefire”.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “no agreement has been reached on the details of the nuclear issues,” and serious negotiations are required to overcome differences.
He said Tehran hoped a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days with mediator Pakistan’s efforts, with the possibility of extending the ceasefire to “create space for more talks on lifting sanctions on Iran and securing compensation for war damages”.
“In exchange, Iran will provide assurances to the international community about the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme,” he said, adding any other “narrative about the ongoing talks is a misrepresentation of the situation”.
Shipping companies cautiously optimistic about strait of Hormuz reopening
Shipping companies have reacted with cautious optimism to Iran’s announcement that the strait of Hormuz is now open, but industry leaders insist they need further guarantees before fully resuming operations.
Maersk, the world’s second largest container shipping company, released a statement “welcoming” the reopening of the strait, but said uncertainty still remains.
“We welcome the announced ceasefire and the public statements that commercial passage through the strait of Hormuz may again be possible – albeit for now for a limited period”, adding “the ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but it does not yet provide full maritime certainty, and we need to understand all potential conditions attached.”
German shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said it was working for its ships to sail through the strait “as soon as possible” but added that they require more clarity.
“It is good news that there appears to have been some progress in the negotiations between the US and Iran. Nevertheless, the situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile. Whether the announced opening will actually hold will become clear in the coming days.,” it added.
Shipping association Bimco also cautioned members on returning to the strait.
“The status of mine threats... is unclear and Bimco believes shipping companies should consider avoiding the area,” said Jakob Larsen, Bimco’s chief safety and security officer
Updated
Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the US, according to Bloomberg News.
The president told the outlet in a phone interview on Friday that a deal to end the war, which the US and Israel began with Iran in late February, is mostly complete. Talks over a lasting agreement will “probably” be held this weekend, he added.
Today so far
Iran’s foreign minister announced that passage for all commercial vessels though the strait of Hormuz is “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”. Donald Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate with a series of rapid-fire posts, but details of the reopening remain unclear – Iran’s announcement came with the caveat that ships would have to take a specified route. Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the UN’s International Maritime Organisation, said his agency is “currently verifying the recent announcement”.
Trump was clear, however, that even with the reopening of the strait, the US naval blockade of Iran will remain in place until the conflict is fully concluded. He also said that Iran has agreed to never close the strait again, but that has not been verified.
The oil price tumbled following Iran’s announcement about the reopening of the strait of Hormuz. Crude oil has plunged on hopes that energy supplies could resume after weeks of disruption. Brent crude, the benchmark for oil traded globally, has plunged below $90 a barrel, a 10% fall.
Trump also posted that Israel is “PROHIBITED” by the US from bombing Lebanon and that “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer”. However, minutes before that post, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu uploaded a video address declaring that Israel was not done yet with Hezbollah. Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon at the request of Trump and that it has given Israel the opportunity to promote a combined political and military solution with the Lebanese government – which he described as one hand holding a weapon while the other is extended in peace. Earlier Friday, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the Israeli military “holds and will continue to hold” all positions it has “cleared and captured” in Lebanon.
The Lebanese army has also reported “a number of violations” of the ceasefire this morning, as thousands of displaced families have begun making their way home to southern Lebanon. The current bout of fighting, which began on 2 March, has killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.
Trump also said in an interview with Reuters on Friday that Iran’s enriched uranium will be brought to the US. Trump said the US and Iran would work together to recover the uranium, but denied reports that the US was considering a $20bn cash for uranium deal. “No money is changing hands,” Trump said.
Updated
Trump: Iran's enriched uranium will be brought to the US
Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Friday that Washington will work with Tehran to recover Iran’s enriched uranium to bring back to the US.
“We’re going to get it together. We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery... We’ll bring it back to the United States,” Trump said.
He referred to “nuclear dust” – a reference to what he believes remains after the US and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear installations last year – and said it would be retrieved “very soon”.
Trump has repeatedly said that a primary reason for the war was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran has 440.9kg of uranium enriched to 60% uranium-235, a level that can be quickly enriched to weapons-grade – 90%, but has long maintained that its enrichment of uranium was strictly for peaceful civilian use.
When asked by Reuters about a report that the US was considering a $20bn cash for uranium deal, Trump said: “It’s totally false. No money is changing hands.”
Analysis: Despite Trump's social media celebration, Hormuz status remains unclear
Rarely has the timeworn cliche “the fog of war” found a more fitting application than the current state of play in the strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, Iran declared the strategically vital waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass, “completely open” for the remainder of the current ceasefire with the US and Israel, having used its closure as a major part of the response to the military attacks on it.
The announcement, from the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, initially appeared to signal a major breakthrough and was treated as such by Donald Trump and global oil markets.
The US president, who once demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” issued a gushing “thank you” on his Truth Social network, while the price of Brent crude fell 10% to under $90 a barrel, promising welcome relief to motorists who have seen petrol prices soar at the pumps.
Yet - as often with an Iranian regime known for its opacity and tortuous negotiating tactics - all was not as it seemed.
Araghchi’s announcement was qualified by the caveat that ships would have to take a specified route described by shipping analysts as a shallow route near the island of Larak and the Iranian coastline.
With its experience of the “tanker wars’ that characterised Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, Tehran was clearly granting something less than the freedom of navigation that existed in the strait before the current conflict started on 28 February.
Further confusion was added by a threat from an unnamed Iranian official who, as reported by the semi-official news agency Fars, threatened to re-close the waterway if the US continued its naval blockade of ships entering and leaving the strait.
For its part, the US navy issued an advisory note to seafarers on the dangers posed by Iranian mines that neither inspired confidence nor lifted the veil of obfuscation.
“STATUS OF MINE THREAT IN PARTS OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD AND AVOIDANCE OF AREA SHOULD BE CONSIDERED,” it read.
If peace is at hand, negotiators clearly have to navigate a minefield
of their own before it can be fully grasped.
Thomas Kazakos, the secretary-general for the International Chamber of Shipping said in a statement to the Guardian the announcements today about the reopening of the strait of Hormuz offer “a cautious measure of reassurance to the global maritime community”.
He continued:
While this announcement is a positive step there is still much uncertainty around what it means in practice. Regardless it is essential that it marks the beginning of a broader and more durable return, beyond the current ceasefire, to freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical maritime corridors.
An orderly and sustained return to normal transit through the Strait will be essential. This will require close coordination between the International Maritime Organization, regional states, naval authorities, and the shipping industry to ensure that vessels can transit safely.
Above all, it is imperative that full freedom of navigation is respected by all parties in accordance with international law.
When asked about a Truth Social post made by Donald Trump in which he claimed that Nato offered to help the US with the strait of Hormuz, a Nato official responded:
NATO observed today’s meeting on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and is closely monitoring the military planning being carried out.
In the post, Trump said Nato was “useless when needed” and had only offered to help after the strait was reopened, describing the military alliance as a “paper tiger”.
Updated
Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the UN’s International Maritime Organisation, said his agency is “currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in terms of its compliance with freedom of navigation for all merchant vessels and secure passage using the IMO established traffic separation scheme”.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, had posted on X earlier that “passage for all commercial vessels through strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”.
Moments later, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the strait was “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE” but that the US naval blockade of Iran would remain in place.
Updated
Trump says Iran has agreed to never close the strait of Hormuz again
In his tenth Truth Social post in an hour, Donald Trump said that Iran “has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again”.
“It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!” Trump said.
“A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!” Trump wrote in a post moments before.
Hormuz deal not tied to Lebanon, Trump says
Donald Trump reminded his followers, shortly after posting that Iran “has removed, or is removing” all sea mines, that “this deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon”.
“This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted.
Trump claims Nato offered to help with strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump said on Friday that Nato has offered to help the US with the strait of Hormuz.
Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
This was the US president’s sixth post in two hours. During this time, Trump celebrated Iran’s announcement that the strait of Hormuz, declared the US naval blockade was still in place and proclaimed that the Israel was now prohibited by the US from bombing Lebanon.
The president has since gone on to post five more times in 18 minutes.
Updated
Netanyahu: We are not done yet with Hezbollah
Minutes before Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the US was prohibiting Israel from bombing Lebanon, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu uploaded a video address to his official YouTube page declaring that Israel was not done yet with Hezbollah.
In the address, Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon at the request of Trump, which has given Israel the opportunity to promote a combined political and military solution with the Lebanese government.
Netanyahu described it as one hand holding a weapon while the other is extended in peace.
Updated
Israel 'PROHIBITED' by the US from bombing Lebanon, Trump says
A half hour after posting that the US naval blockade on Iran was still in effect, Donald Trump posted that “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer”.
“They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!! Thank you!” the US president wrote.
Updated
Iran’s state tv has reported that ships seeking passage through the strait of Hormuz can only go through a determined route and still need permission from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, according to Reuters.
Only commercial vessels, and not military ships, can pass the waterway, Iran’s state TV reported, citing a senior military official.
Trump says US naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain until deal is reached
Donald Trump has issued a further comment on the strait of Hormuz, saying it was “completely open and ready for business”.
In another all caps post on Truth Social, he said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force” until a deal is reached with Iran. He added that the process should move quickly, given that “most of the points are already negotiated”.
He wrote:
THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE, BUT THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE. THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
Updated
Oil falls 10% after the reopening of strait of Hormuz
The oil price is tumbling, after Iran announced that the strait of Hormuz is now open.
Crude oil has plunged on hopes that energy supplies could resume after weeks of disruption.
Brent crude, the benchmark for oil traded globally, has plunged below $90 a barrel, a 10% fall.
For the latest updates on the economic impact of the war in the Middle East and other financial news, you can follow our business live blog here:
Trump reacts to announcement of strait of Hormuz reopening
Following Iran’s announcement that the strait of Hormuz is open, Donald Trump has issued his response in an all caps post on his Truth Social app.
He wrote:
IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!
Iran foreign minister says passage though Hormuz strait is open during ceasefire
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, posted on X on Friday that “passage for all commercial vessels through strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”.
The passage through the strait will be on the coordinated route announced by the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran, Araghchi said.
Updated
Yvette Cooper, the UK foreign secretary, on Friday called for the Lebanon ceasefire to “open a pathway to a lasting peace”.
“A long-term political settlement, consistent with UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,” Cooper said in a statement posted on X.
How Pakistan’s army chief became an unlikely peacemaker in the Iran war
Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely diplomatic broker between Iran and the US, and Field Marshal Asim Munir is widely seen as a key driving force.
Pakistan’s army chief was one of the few able to get the US and Iranian leadership on the phone, passing along messages as a trusted intermediary to both sides. It is widely acknowledged that the negotiations have been coordinated from Rawalpindi, the seat of the army, rather than Islamabad, the seat of the parliament.
“Field Marshal Munir is the driving force – without him this would not work,” said Maleeha Lodhi, who served as Pakistan’s former ambassador to the UN, US and UK.
“The foreign ministry is just a junior partner. Countries like Iran and the US have this confidence in Asim Munir. Our government ministers are really an adjunct.”
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has expressed his hope that the 10-day ceasefire agreed by Israel and Lebanon would serve as a basis for a longer-term solution.
In a post on X, he urged “all parties to ensure full and immediate implementation, in good faith” of the ceasefire, adding:
Meaningful efforts must now focus on a durable political solution that addresses the root causes of the conflict and ensures long-term protection on all sides for civilians, who have borne the brunt of weeks of unrelenting violence, destruction and displacement.
Here some images on the newswires of UK prime minister Keir Starmer being welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron after he arrived in Paris for a summit on reopening the strait of Hormuz:
Video: celebrations and relief in Lebanon as ceasefire with Israel begins
Celebrations have taken hold across Lebanon after a 10-day truce agreed with Israel began on Friday morning. Celebratory gunfire erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and people beeped their car horns and cheered across the country as they returned to their homes after being displaced by Israeli strikes. While many appeared hopeful, some were still cautious. A man who had returned to his home in Nabatieh said he would be leaving again upon seeing the destruction in the city.
Lebanon president says ceasefire is 'gateway' to negotiations as he calls for withdrawal of Israeli troops
The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, has described the ceasefire with Israel as a “gateway to proceeding with negotiations”, saying he will prioritise the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied territories in southern Lebanon.
In a statement on social media, he said:
Direct negotiations are delicate and crucial; there must be a unified sense of national responsibility in the coming phase, as the eyes of the world are on Lebanon.
The state’s position is to consolidate the ceasefire, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied southern territories, secure the release of prisoners, and resolve outstanding border disputes.
The ceasefire is the gateway to proceeding with negotiations and is an option that enjoys both domestic and international support.
He continued:
The Lebanese army will play a key role following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, deploying as far as the southern international border, ending armed activities, and reassuring the people of the south upon their return to their villages and towns that there will be no armed forces other than the army and the legitimate security forces.
His statement came moments after the Israeli defence ministry issued remarks by Israel Katz (see previous post) insisting the IDF will not leave areas it occupies in southern Lebanon and that Israel’s remaining missions will be completed, by force if necessary.
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Israel defence minister says army 'holds all territories' it occupies in Lebanon
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the Israeli military “holds and will continue to hold” all positions it has “cleared and captured” in Lebanon.
In a statement from his office on the first day of the temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, Katz said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintains a strip of land up to 10km (about 6 miles) deep along the border in southern Lebanon, indicating that the IDF would continue demolishing homes in villages he described as having been turned into “terrorist outposts”.
He said Israel’s goals of disarming Hezbollah have not been achieved yet and that an area of southern Lebanon “has not been demilitarised”.
“This would have to be done, either diplomatically or by resuming Israeli military activities at the end of the ceasefire,” he said.
Summary of developments so far
Thousands of displaced families have begun making their way home to southern Lebanon after a 10-day ceasefire halting Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah was announced. The current bout of fighting, which began on 2 March, has killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.
World leaders have welcomed the ceasefire but have expressed caution due to immediate reports of continued military actions. French president Emmanuel Macron called for Hezbollah to “renounce its weapons” and Israel to “respect Lebanese sovereignty and stop the war”. UN chief António Guterres also urged “all actors” to fully respect the truce.
The Lebanese army reported “a number of violations” of the ceasefire this morning. In a statement it said it renewed its call for people “to refrain from returning to the southern villages and towns” after “a number of Israeli attacks … [and] intermittent shelling affecting a number of villages”. The Israeli military has not commented on the reports.
The army also said it was working to “fully reopen” the Qasmiyeh-Tyre bridge over the Litani river in southern Lebanon. Images show a queue of cars stretching for miles as they wait to pass through one lane on the bridge after it was damaged by Israeli strikes yesterday. The key crossing links southern cities and villages in Lebanon to the rest of the country.
Hezbollah warned its fighters “will keep their fingers on the trigger”. The statement by the Iran-backed group did not make a specific reference to the ceasefire but it said it was “ready to defend against the enemy’s treachery and betrayal”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also threatened it was prepared with its “hand on the trigger” to respond to any US-Israeli “aggression”. In a statement, the IRGC said its fighters “together with the Iranian army” were ready to respond “powerfully, devastatingly, and with crushing force”.
The Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said talks between Syria and Israel “have not reached a dead end” but were facing “great difficulty” due to what he described as Israel’s insistence on remaining in Syrian territory. Sharaa stressed that Syria was “serious about reaching a security agreement that preserves regional stability”.
Keir Starmer said he would “do everything I can” to alleviate the economic impact of the Iran war and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The UK prime minister arrived in Paris this morning where France and the UK are chairing a meeting of about 40 countries to draw up an international plan to secure the vital waterway.
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Starmer arrives in Paris for summit on reopening strait of Hormuz
UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he would “do everything I can” to alleviate the impact of the Iran war on the public and reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Starmer has arrived in Paris where France and the UK are chairing a meeting of about 40 countries to draw up an international plan to secure the vital waterway.
The PA news agency has reported his remarks to reporters:
It is very important that we build a coalition of countries around the principle that the ceasefire should be permanent, there should be a deal, and that the strait of Hormuz is open.
It is in all of our interests to do that, because what’s happening in the war in Iran is affecting each of our economies.
That’s why countries are coming together. Everybody is clear that in order for that to happen, we need a diplomatic and political limb, we need a logistics and economic limb, and we need some military planning, and that is what we’re coming together to do today.
And it’s the right thing to do, because the longer this conflict goes on, the more the impact, and I’m mindful that people across the United Kingdom, that’s impact on them and the cost of living and I will do everything I can with other countries to alleviate that and get the strait open as soon as possible.
Starmer is also facing questions over his leadership after the Guardian revealed Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US. You can follow the latest on that over on the UK politics live blog.
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Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, has thanked the capital Beirut and northern areas of the country for opening their doors to the displaced, as people uprooted by war began to return to their homes in the south.
In a statement posted on social media, he said: “I take this opportunity, as we are on the first day of the truce coming into effect and the start of the return of residents to their villages and towns, to renew my thanks to the capital, Beirut, which has opened its doors and neighbourhoods, as have the mountains and the north, to the displaced from the south, the suburbs and the Bekaa.”
The UN said more than 1.2 million people – about a fifth of the Lebanese population – have been displaced across Lebanon, many of them from the south after repeated warnings by the Israeli military to flee their homes.
Syria-Israel talks 'have not reached a dead end', says Syrian president
The Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said talks between Syria and Israel “have not reached a dead end” but were facing “great difficulty” due to what he described as Israel’s insistence on remaining in Syrian territory.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Sharaa stressed that Syria was “serious about reaching a security agreement that preserves regional stability”.
“The negotiations have not reached a dead end, but they are progressing with great difficulty due to Israel’s insistence on maintaining a presence on Syrian soil,” he said.
Israeli forces have pushed into a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 and conducted incursions deeper into southern Syria. Israel previously said it sent troops as the Assad regime fell to protect the security of its borders.
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Foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will meet on the margins of a diplomacy forum in the southern Turkish province of Antalya today to discuss regional issues including the Iran war, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.
“The meeting is expected to include discussions on developing regional solutions to regional issues, particularly the US-Israel-Iran war, within the framework of a regional ownership approach,” the source said.
Ministers from the four countries held meetings in March as part of efforts to broker an end to the Iran war.
Following Hezbollah’s warning that its fighters were ready with their “fingers on the trigger” for any truce violations by Israel, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also threatened it was prepared with its “hand on the trigger” to respond to any US-Israeli “aggression”.
The IRGC “together with the Iranian army” have their “‘hand on the trigger’ ready to respond powerfully, devastatingly, and with crushing force to any act of aggression or criminality by the American-Zionist enemy and their accomplices”, the group said in a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The Lebanese army said it was working to “fully reopen” the Qasmiyeh-Tyre bridge over the Litani river in southern Lebanon. The army has reopened one lane on the damaged bridge after Israeli strikes hit the key crossing linking southern cities and villages to the rest of the country.
In a statement this morning, the army said: “A specialist army unit is working to fully reopen the Qasmiyeh-Tyre bridge, in cooperation with local councils and community organisations, following an Israeli attack on 16 April 2026; one of the military units has taken up position in the vicinity of the bridge.”
Hezbollah warns it will keep 'finger on the trigger' if Israel violates ceasefire
Hezbollah has warned that its fighters “will keep their fingers on the trigger” if Israel violates the ceasefire in Lebanon.
In a short statement carried by the Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV, the Iran-backed group said: “These mujahideen [fighters] will keep their hands on the trigger, ready to defend against the enemy’s treachery and betrayal.”
A local government official in Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik said Israel struck the neighbourhood 62 times over the past six weeks, Associated Press reports.
The deputy mayor of Haret Hreik, Sadek Slim, said 26 buildings were completely destroyed.
“We’ve been able to clear up the rubble of the partially damaged buildings, but for those totally destroyed we will need special equipment,” Slim said in a news briefing.
Thousands of people fled Haret Hreik, widely reported as a Hezbollah stronghold, in a mass displacement crisis affecting the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital known as the Dahiyeh.
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, which he credited to the “bold and sagacious diplomatic efforts led by president Donald Trump”.
In a post on X, Sharif expressed hope that the ceasefire “will pave the way for sustainable peace”, adding: “Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and will continue to support all efforts aimed at lasting peace in the region.”
News agencies have been speaking to displaced families returning to their homes in southern Lebanon, despite warnings for people to stay put due to how unstable the situation is.
Alaa Damash acknowledged the warnings “to wait a bit” but she told AFP that the people’s “love for their lands and houses, and their attachment to them, pushed them to go back”.
Cars lined the coastal road linking the capital Beirut to major southern cities including Tyre. Queues formed for miles as people waited to cross the bridge over the Litani river near Qasmiyeh, which was undergoing repairs after an Israeli bombing yesterday.
In the southern village of Jibchit, the Associated Press reported people returning to flattened apartment blocks and streets littered with slabs of concrete, twisted aluminum shutters and dangling electrical wires.
“I feel free being back,” Zainab Fahas, 23, said. “But look they destroyed everything: the square, the houses, the shops, everything.”
Macron says Lebanon-Israel ceasefire 'may already be undermined'
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has expressed concern that the ceasefire announced by Lebanon and Israel “may already be undermined by the continuation of military operations”.
“I call for the safety of civilian populations on both sides of the border between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah must renounce its weapons. Israel must respect Lebanese sovereignty and stop the war,” Macron said in a post on X.
Local media reports suggest the ceasefire is largely holding, although Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Israeli machine gunfire at an ambulance belonging to the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Authority in the southern Lebanese town of Kounin.
The Lebanese army also reported “a number of violations” of the ceasefire this morning. In a statement it said it “renews its call for citizens to refrain from returning to the southern villages and towns, in light of a number of violations of the agreement. A number of Israeli attacks have been recorded, in addition to intermittent shelling affecting a number of villages”. The Israeli military has not immediately commented on the reports.
The Lebanese army said it also arrested nine people in Beirut for firing shots into the air last night after the ceasefire went into effect.
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Here are some early images on the newswires from Lebanon, as people celebrate a 10-day ceasefire announced last night. People displaced by war, mostly in southern Lebanon, began making their way home, defying orders by the Lebanese government and the Israeli military to delay their return.
The day so far
In case you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in the Middle East to bring you up to speed. It’s 9am in Beirut and Jerusalem, 9.30am in Tehran and 2am in Washington DC.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced more than 2.1 million. The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders “for meaningful talks” at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement.
Israel and Hezbollah both maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken – here’s our full report.
Netanyahu called the ceasefire a “historic” opportunity for peace but refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. “We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” he said, due to the “danger of an invasion” and to prevent fire into Israel. “That is where we are, and we are not leaving.”
UN chief António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT) in Lebanon, and urged “all actors” to fully respect it. He hoped the halt in fighting would “pave the way for negotiations”.
The Lebanese army warned people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling that was reported after the ceasefire came into effect.
The Israeli military warned residents of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the truce.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan.
Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire in the hours before the truce took effect.
Asian stocks were poised for a second week of strong gains and oil prices were pinned below $100 a barrel with investors hopeful for a near-term resolution to war in the Middle East.
The UK and France will chair a meeting of about 40 countries on Friday aimed at signalling to the US that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and France have mine-clearance capacity that could help secure passage through the strait, France’s defence minister has said.
Turkey is hosting a forum on Friday bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war.
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European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and France have mine-clearance capacity which could help secure passage through the strait of Hormuz, France’s defence minister has said.
“There are capabilities to provide fully supported escort services – that is to say, in no way offensive, of course – for ships to ensure safe passage through the strait; that is what will be debated today in Paris,” Catherine Vautrin told French TV station TF1 on Friday, cited by Reuters.
As mentioned earlier, the UK and France are set to chair a meeting of about 40 countries on Friday aimed at signalling to the US that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Turkey is hosting a high-stakes forum on Friday bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the war in Iran.
Pakistan’s army chief met senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the almost seven-week war.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will address the three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum when it opens on Friday in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to meet on the sidelines of the forum, with the war and the blockade of the strait of Hormuz expected to dominate, Agence France-Presse reports.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a key mediator in regional diplomacy after hosting rare talks between Iran and the US last weekend which ended without an agreement.
Erdoğan told his ruling AKP party in parliament this week that “the window of opportunity opened by the [US-Iran] ceasefire must be fully utilised”.
Donald Trump has said the next US-Iran meeting might take place this weekend, while the White House said the talks would “very likely” again be in Islamabad.
Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”, the US state department has said.
But otherwise Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military and other state targets”.
The wording suggests Israel will maintain the freedom to strike at will, as it did in the months after the ceasefire that ended the previous war, the Associated Press reports. This time, Hezbollah said it would respond to any strikes by Israel.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce went into effect at midnight Friday local time (2100 GMT Thursday).
Israel’s military said it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah kept firing rockets at northern Israeli towns and communities right up to the start of the ceasefire. Air raid sirens went off in some often-targeted border towns less than 10 minutes before midnight.
Australia’s prime minister has been forced to rebuff another swipe from Donald Trump and reiterate there has been no direct requests from the US – the country’s most important ally – for military support in the Middle East.
As Lebanon and Israel agreed to their 10-day ceasefire, Donald Trump said in Washington that Australia had not supplied military aid to help reopen the strait of Hormuz.
“I’m not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there,” the US president said.
They were not there having to do with Hormuz. So I’m not happy. I’m not happy with them.”
Anthony Albanese responded by saying the US administration had not asked for additional assistance in the region. The PM, quoted by Australian Associated Press, told reporters on Friday:
There’s been no new requests at all, and indeed President Trump has himself said that he has got this, and he has made that position clear. There’s been no change.
My job is to engage constructively with the US administration. That’s what we do.”
Stocks gaining and oil under $100 amid peace hopes
Asian stocks were poised for a second week of strong gains and oil prices were pinned below $100 a barrel with investors hopeful for a near-term resolution to war in the Middle East.
With the Lebanon-Israel truce coming into effect and Donald Trump saying the next US-Iran meeting might take place over the weekend, oil prices were pushed lower, with Brent crude futures falling more than 1% to $98.14 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.6% to $93.15 a barrel.
In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6% but remained close to its highest since 2 March, the first trading day after the Iran war broke out.
The index is up 14.5% in April after dropping 13.5% in March, Reuters reports. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9% in early trading after hitting a record high on Thursday.
Almost all stock markets are back to levels before the war erupted in late February.
However, equity markets needed “some concrete evidence that peace is going to last”, said ATFX Global’s chief market strategist, Nick Twidale.
And to me, that is a full reopening of the strait [of Hormuz], or we could see some substantial corrections in global stocks in the coming days and weeks.”
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Starmer to co-chair global summit on reopening strait of Hormuz
The UK and France will chair a meeting of about 40 countries on Friday aimed at signalling to the US that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
British prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to say the reopening the strait of Hormuz is a “global responsibility”.
The talks come as the 10-day Israel-Lebanon truce agreement could boost efforts to extend the US ceasefire with Iran.
Starmer will reportedly arrive in Paris late on Friday morning to co-host the virtual meeting with Emmanuel Macron and then have lunch with the French president.
Iran has largely shut the Hormuz strait in response to US-Israeli airstrikes and this week Donald Trump imposed a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. The US president has called on other countries to help enforce the blockade and has criticised Nato allies for not doing so.
The initiative being discussed on Friday doesn’t yet include the US or Iran, but according to a note sent to invited nations and cited by Reuters, the meeting aims to reaffirm full diplomatic support for full freedom of navigation through the Hormuz strait and the need to respect international law.
The meeting will also address economic challenges facing the shipping industry and the safety of more than 20,000 stranded seafarers and trapped commercial vessels.
Starmer is expected to tell the summit:
The unconditional and immediate reopening of the strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again.
Emmanuel Macron and I are clear in our commitment to establish a multinational initiative to protect freedom of navigation.”
PA Media also reports that British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper and defence staff chief Richard Knighton will join Starmer.
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The energy shock from the Middle East crisis and higher commodity prices are increasing production costs in the world’s biggest manufacturing country, trade data from Beijing this week and anecdotal information from Chinese manufacturers indicates.
Before the US-Israeli war on Iran, China’s export sector was performing strongly , having weathered Donald Trump’s tariff hikes by targeting new markets and achieving a record trade surplus last year.
But overseas orders are now slowing at the same time as the cost of plastic, copper and aluminium is surging, according to manufacturers who spoke to Reuters this week at China’s largest trade exhibition, the Canton Fair.
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Donald Trump has posted a short statement about the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
“May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, signing off as “President DJT”.
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Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
United Nations chief António Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire announced on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, urging “all actors” to fully respect the truce.
“The secretary general welcomes the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and commends the role of the United States in facilitating” it, Guterres spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, adding he hoped the temporary halt to fighting would “pave the way for negotiations”.
The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT) in Lebanon, where Israel has been conducting devastating airstrikes aimed at wiping out the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
The Lebanese army warned people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling that was reported after the ceasefire came into effect.
The terms of the truce, as provided by the US state department, prohibit Israel from offensive military actions in Lebanon. But they appear to leave more room for “self-defence”, including “against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”.
We’ll bring you more on this soon. Here is a summary of key developments:
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting in a devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced more than 2.1 million. The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders “for meaningful talks” at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement. But how long the ceasefire will hold is the key question, as both Israel and Hezbollah have maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken. Here’s our report.
Netanyahu called it a “historic” opportunity for peace, though he refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. “We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” he said, due to the “danger of an invasion” and to prevent fire into Israel. “That is where we are, and we are not leaving.” The Israeli prime minister maintained that his key demand was dismantling Hezbollah. He has previously declared his intention to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River – about 30km from the border – while Lebanon demands the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and for displaced residents to be able to return to their homes.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan. Baghaei said Iran emphasised “from the outset” the need for a “simultaneous ceasefire throughout the region, including Lebanon”, and expressed his “solidarity” with the people and government of Lebanon. He called for the return of displaced residents to their homes and emphasised the necessity of the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from the south of the country – which, as mentioned, Israel has refused to do.
The Lebanese army urged residents to “exercise restraint” in returning to their villages and towns in southern Lebanon ahead of the ceasefire coming into effect. The army added that even then residents should avoid areas that remain occupied by Israeli forces. It was followed by a similar statement issued by Hezbollah, urging caution amid Israel’s history of “breaking covenants and agreements”.
The Israeli military issued an urgent warning to the people of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the ceasefire coming into force.
In the hours before the truce took effect, Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire. Just as the ceasefire came into force, the Israeli military said it had hit more than 380 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, including rocket launchers, headquarters and Hezbollah members themselves. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Lebanese towns and villages killed dozens of people, including an attack on the town of Ghazieh which killed at least seven people and wounded 33, the health ministry said on Thursday.
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