War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with the military’s top leadership, claiming that Lebanese armed group Hezbollah only has about 10 per cent of its arsenal left, Al Jazeera reports.

He says the figure was based on a comparison with missiles held “at the start of the war”, though it was unclear which war he meant — the conflict that unfolded alongside the Gaza war or the current one, which has played out since the start of the US-Israeli offensive on Iran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has lashed out at US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who has said that pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by her office, US forces will continue interdicting Iranian oil tankers.

“This is the outright legalisation of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas,” Baghaei has said on X. “Welcome to the return of the pirates — only now, they operate with government-issued warrants, sail under official flags, and call their plunder ‘law enforcement’.”

The spokesperson says that the US must be held “fully accountable for this brazenly lawless behaviour”, which attacks international law and free trade, and threatens the basic principles of maritime security.

Officials from the United States and Iran have sparred over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions at the opening of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review, Al Jazeera reports.

At issue is Iran’s election as one of 34 vice presidents of the conference. Iran was a candidate from the Non-Aligned Movement, comprising 121 mainly developing countries.

The US was backed by Australia and the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, France and Germany have also expressed “concern.” Russia has objected to singling out Iran.

The US representative, whose name was not immediately available, says the Trump administration is “deeply shocked” that a country that’s demonstrated “contempt” for the treaty is now a vice president.

Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Vienna, categorically rejected the US statement, calling the allegations “baseless and politically motivated”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has slammed sanctions placed on the country by the European Union, stating that they “trample” the basic rights of Iran’s citizens.

The spokesperson’s comments have been made in response to remarks by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said it was “too early” to lift sanctions on Iran.

“[The] EU’s inhuman sanctions on Iran were never about ‘human rights’ — they were designed to trample the basic rights of ordinary Iranians,” Baghaei says on X, adding that nobody is “buying this tired moral theatre”.

“Such posturing won’t earn you — or your constituency — an ounce of credibility on the world stage,” he states, addressing von der Leyen. “If anything, it only further demonstrates Europe’s ruling class’s double-standard and hypocrisy, and hastens Europe’s embarrassing descent into irrelevance.”

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, who is visiting Kyrgyzstan, has held talks with Iran’s Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei‑Nik, Al Jazeera reports citing Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.

Belousov has reiterated Russia’s longstanding position that the US-Israeli war on Iran should be resolved exclusively through diplomatic means, and that he is confident Moscow and Tehran will continue to support one another.

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, warns that the force is likely to be fighting on multiple fronts throughout 2026, as it fights wars against Iran and Hezbollah, AFP reports.

“Since October 7 [2023], the IDF has been engaged in fighting in an ongoing multi-front campaign … 2026 is likely to be another year of fighting on all of those fronts,” he has said in a statement, referring to Hamas’s attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says US President Donald Trump has discussed a proposal sent by Iran with his national security team.

“The president’s red lines, with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public but to them as well,” she tells reporters during a press briefing.

“I wouldn’t say they’re considering it, I would just say that there was a discussion this morning that I don’t want to get ahead of,” she adds, noting that Trump would address the topic “very soon”.

Stephen Doughty, the UK Minister of State for Europe and North America, has said that while his country is not in favour of the US blockade of Iranian ports, it supports working with the United States and others to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking ahead of a UN Security Council meeting, Doughty has said in comments carried by The Associated Press that Iran is holding “the rest of the world to ransom”.

Maritime traffic must flow safely and unimpeded through the strait, he said, “and that includes no tolls, no security risk and, of course, adherence to the international laws on freedom of navigation”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says rockets and drones possessed by Hezbollah remain a key threat that demands further action by Israel’s military in Lebanon, AFP reports.

“There are still two central threats from Hezbollah: the 122mm rockets and the drones. This demands a combination of operational and technological activity,” he has said in a statement issued by his office.

The French foreign minister says the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz “has lasted for far too long” and must be brought to an end, warning that maritime insecurity is threatening both global trade and the international rules-based order, Anadolu reports.

“All of this has lasted for far too long. This must all be brought to an end,” Jean-Noel Barrot tells the UN Security Council.

Calling freedom of navigation an “imprescriptible, inviolable right,” he has warned against any impediment to passage through the strategic waterway.

“Straits are the arteries of the world. They are not the property of any individual,” he says, adding they “cannot be impeded by any obstacles.”

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International Maritime Organisation (IMO) chief Arsenio Dominguez has told the United Nations Security Council, “Shipping and seafarers should never be used as leverage in geopolitical conflicts.”

Addressing a high-level debate on the safety and protection of waterways, Dominguez has reiterated his call for the “safety of seafarers, freedom of navigation & stability of supply chains worldwide”.

Iran is “serious” about reaching a deal with the US, but any agreement must prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, according to Al Jazeera.

“I think they are serious about getting themselves out of the mess that they’re in,” Rubio tells Fox News in an interview.

He points to Iran’s worsening economic conditions, including inflation, difficulties paying wages, as well as ongoing sanctions, saying: “All the problems that Iran had before the start of this conflict are still in place, and most of them are worse.

“We have to ensure that any deal that is made … definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point,” he adds.

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says that Iran has gone from “‘being sanctioned’ to ‘becoming a key reference in meeting global needs’“, due to fuel shortages caused by the US-Israeli military campaign on the country.

“Once, to cripple the Iranian nation, they withheld fuel sales to our aeroplanes. Today, those same countries have come to the negotiating table with Iran to sustain their own energy lifelines,” he says on X.

France’s top diplomat says that Iran must be ready to make “major concessions” in talks to end a crisis triggered by the US-Israel attacks on Iran, AFP reports.

“There can be no lasting solution to this crisis unless the Iranian regime agrees to major concessions and a radical shift in its stance,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells a UN Security Council session.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has chaired a meeting with Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and Foreign Office (FO) officials to “review the latest regional developments”.

“The DPM/FM reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to continue playing a constructive role through dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region,” the FO has said on X.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz amid stalled US-Iran peace talks, Anadolu reports.

“I appeal to the parties: open the Strait. Let ships pass. No tolls. No discrimination. Let trade resume. Let the global economy breathe,” Guterres says, addressing a high-level UN Security Council debate on maritime security.

“Since early March, the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has struck at global energy security, food supplies, and trade. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints,” Guterres adds.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) has just reported that the Lebanese health ministry has updated the death toll for the period since Israel launched its latest offensive, according to Al Jazeera.

The ministry says that 2,521 people have been killed from March 2 to April 27, with a further 7,804 wounded, according to NNA.

At least 22 people have been killed in Israeli attacks over the past two days amid the increasingly fragile ceasefire agreed by Israel and Lebanon.

The White House has told CBS News that it will not conduct its negotiations with Iran through the media, Al Jazeera reports.

“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press,” Assistant White House Press Secretary Olivia Wales says in a statement carried by CBS News.

“As the President has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” the statement continues.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warns that Hezbollah’s defiance will bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon, after the group’s leader rejected proposed direct talks between Tel Aviv and Beirut, AFP reports.

“[Hezbollah chief] Naim Qassem is playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon … if the Lebanese government continues to take cover under the wing of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation — fire will break out and engulf the cedars of Lebanon,” Katz tells UN envoy to Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, according to a statement issued by his office.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has briefed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on “his outreach with various regional and international counterparts” regarding the US-Iran peace process, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

Discussing the regional situation in a phone call, “The Egyptian FM appreciated DPM/FM’s efforts and Pakistan’s continued role in advancing dialogue and diplomatic engagement,” the FO says in a post on X.

It adds that both FMs “highlighted the importance of maintaining sustained engagement to support peace and stability in the region and beyond”.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he will talk to Iranian authorities after his two-day trip to Andorra and will insist on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

“We have established a coalition whose purpose is precisely to ensure security, to secure and stabilise, to demonstrate that the international community supports an opening [of the Strait of Hormuz], and so I hope that we will be able to convince the stakeholders in the coming days,” he tells reporters in Andorra.