War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the European Union is willing to gradually ease sanctions on Iran if a comprehensive agreement is reached, Reuters reports.

“The easing of sanctions can be part of a process, and no one has objected to that,” says Merz at an EU summit in Nicosia.

“It is, so to speak, part of the contribution we can make to advance this process and, hopefully, lead to a lasting ceasefire.”

United States Central Command says that a naval blockade of Iranian ports continues, and that 34 vessels have been redirected by American forces in the region.

Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting three Israeli air strikes on the town of Deir Aames, after Israel warned its residents to evacuate, Al Jazeera reports.

The strikes come amid a 10-day ceasefire, which US President Donald Trump said would be extended for an additional three weeks.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has expressed cautious optimism, saying there is a chance to steer the country out of its current crisis, Al Jazeera reports.

Salam has told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba that momentum must be seized despite ongoing challenges.

“There is a glimmer of hope in Lebanon that we must seize and strengthen in order to reach solutions, despite the difficulty and sensitivity of this stage,” he said in comments carried by Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

Nawaf says the government is working to rally domestic and international backing, particularly from Arab states.

“The government is working to mobilise all elements of internal strength and external support, foremost among them the support of our Arab brothers, to extricate Lebanon from its predicament, end the Israeli occupation of our country, and restore security and prosperity to all parts of Lebanon,” he adds.

Indonesia has once again strongly condemned an Israeli attack in Lebanon that caused the death of a fourth Indonesian peacekeeper, Reuters reports citing the foreign ministry.

The peacekeeper sustained severe injuries due to an artillery explosion from an Israeli tank on March 29, with the ministry announcing that he succumbed earlier today. Three other Indonesian peacekeepers were also killed in the attack.

Indonesia urged the UN to conduct a thorough, transparent and accountable investigation into the deaths of its Unifil peacekeepers.

The immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions is “vital” for the world, European Council President Antonio Costa says after talks with regional leaders, including from Lebanon and Syria, AFP reports.

“The Strait of Hormuz must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling, in full respect of international law and the principle of freedom of navigation. This is vital for the entire world,” Costa told a news conference in Cyprus.

Mehdi Tabatabaei, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s spokesperson, has called American dominance in Iran a “shattered dream”, suggesting the US is waging the war to distract from domestic issues.

“A troubled economy, an anxious society, and a murky domestic political landscape; to escape this crisis, it (the US) has resorted to big lies and chosen the wrong path,” Tabatabaei says on X.

“If it had even a slight understanding of Iran’s history and the condition of its people, it would not have made such a major mistake.”

The Israeli military claims that Hezbollah shot down one of its drones in south Lebanon, hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the group was extended, AFP reports.

“A short while ago, an IDF remotely piloted aircraft was downed in southern Lebanon following the launch of a small surface-to-air missile by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” the military has claimed in a statement, indicating the incident is under review.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged Nato allies to stick together, after a report that the United States was mulling action against Spain over its refusal to support operations against Iran, AFP reports.

“Nato must remain united. I believe it is a source of strength,” Meloni tells reporters as she attends an EU summit in Nicosia, Cyprus.

“We must work to strengthen Nato’s European pillar … which must clearly complement the American one,” she adds.

Oil prices slides on hopes of fresh peace talks aimed at ending the war, with Iran’s foreign minister expected later in Islamabad, AFP reports.

After jumping more than two percent, international benchmark Brent North Sea crude shows a loss of 0.5 per cent at $104.57 a barrel. The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, falls 1.1pc to $94.80.

Ankit Yadav, a seafarer from India, has been stuck on a boat at an inland Iranian port for about two-and-a-half weeks, surviving with his three fellow mariners on limited rations of tomatoes and potatoes, Reuters reports.

He is one among thousands of seafarers from India and other nations who are stranded in and around the Strait of Hormuz, as the war in Iran disrupts trade along one of the world’s busiest ship routes.

Ankit, who is in his early 30s, was on a small vessel carrying steel and plying between Iran, Kuwait and Oman. He said he could have left the conflict zone had the vessel received permission to sail to Oman and then be repatriated to India, but that could not happen because of the blockade imposed by the US Navy.

“The shipping company I work for is not ready to give us the sign-off because they do not want to pay higher air ticket prices, and we cannot afford to buy them on our own. The only way out is the government’s help,” he tells Reuters by phone.

Read more here.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will undertake a trip to Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow from today, IRNA reports.

“The purpose of this trip is bilateral consultations, discussions, and dialogue regarding the ongoing developments in the region, as well as the latest status of the imposed war by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran,” the report said.

Rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take “ages and ages”, UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash has said, after Iran targeted the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East conflict, AFP reports.

“You can’t be attacked with 2,800 missiles and drones and then talk to me about trust. That will take ages and ages,” Gargash has said at a World Policy Conference in the town of Chantilly, north of Paris.

The top official outlines that 89 per cent of the Iranian attacks targeted “civilians, civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure”.

“Tehran was telling the Arab Gulf countries that ‘you don’t matter in my calculations,’ and I think this is going to last for a very long time,” he said.

“To the region — to the United Arab Emirates and other countries, Iran will be seen as a strategic threat,” Gargash said.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has brushed off Pope Leo’s comments criticising the war in Iran, saying the Pope is “going to do his thing” and that was fine, Reuters reports.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says that any attempts to lay more mines by Iran would be a violation of the ceasefire, Reuters reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and “appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role in facilitating dialogue between Iran and the United States”, according to the Foreign Office.

In a post on X, it said that the two discussed bilateral relations and cooperation at multilateral fora in support of international peace and security.

It added that Dar underscored Pakistan’s resolve to “continue contributing to efforts aimed at promoting dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all issues”.

“Reiterating the importance of maintaining regular high-level engagements, they discussed rescheduling of the visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Russia at an early mutually convenient date,” it added.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says that the US blockade on Iran is going global, Reuters reports.

“Our blockade is growing and going global,” Hegseth told reporters.

“No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States Navy,” he said.

Addressing the press briefing, Secretary Hegseth also said that Iran has a “historic chance to make a serious deal”.

“The ball is in their court,” he added.

Addressing a press briefing, he further stated that 34 ships had been turned around from the Strait of Hormuz by the US Navy so far.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says Iran “has an open window to choose wisely at the negotiating table,” Reuters reports.

Rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take “ages and ages”, AFP reports, citing UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash, after Iran retaliated with strikes on the American assets in the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israel war against Iran.

“You can’t be attacked with 2,800 missiles and drones and then talk to me about trust. That will take ages and ages,” Gargash says at a World Policy Conference in the town of Chantilly near Paris.

The Swiss government has said it was gradually reopening its embassy in Iran, sending a small team of diplomats this week, Reuters reports.

The embassy was temporarily closed on March 11 on security concerns over the US-Israeli war against Iran.

An Iranian delegation is expected to arrive in Islamabad later tonight, Pakistani sources have said.

They added that a second round of peace talks with the United States was also expected. According to the sources, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive with a small negotiating team.

A logistics and security team from the US was already in the federal capital, according to the sources.

Only five ships, including one Iranian oil products tanker, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, Reuters reports, citing shipping data.

The Iranian-flagged oil products tanker Niki, which is subject to US sanctions, was among the few vessels that sailed out of the strait with no destination listed, Kpler analysis and tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed.

It was unclear what would happen if it continued to sail further east towards the blockade line imposed by the US Navy.

Container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd also said that one of its ships has crossed the Strait but did not provide any information on the circumstances or timing. The Comoros-flagged supertanker Helga arrived at an offshore oil loading terminal in Iraq’s southern Basra port, the second vessel to reach Iraq since the strait’s closure.