Al Jazeera

By Stephen Quillen and Zaid Sabah

    The US blockade of Iranian ports is in effect, but President Donald Trump says there is still plenty of room for Iran to make a deal.

    Iran accuses the US of committing piracy as thousands of Iranians rally in Tehran against the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

    Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejects upcoming talks between the Lebanese government and Israel, saying the negotiations are a ploy to pressure his group into laying down weapons.

    Trump has also doubled down on his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, saying the pontiff’s opposition to the war in Iran was “wrong” and accusing him of being “weak on crime”.

    Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.

Lebanon minister says meeting with Israeli envoy aimed at ending attacks

    Lebanon’s Culture Minister Ghassan Salame says the upcoming talks between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington, DC, are a “preliminary meeting” aimed at halting Israel’s attacks on the country.

    “We are talking about a preparatory meeting on ambassador level in order to produce a pause in military activity if not a ceasefire,” he told Al Jazeera.

    Salame said the two sides would only be able to discuss potential peace negotiations “with some kind of serenity” when the Israeli bombardment stops. He said Lebanon had already received “some kind of commitment that there should be a de-escalation” in the Beirut area, although “guarantees is probably too big a word”.

    He acknowledged that Lebanon doesn’t have much leverage heading into the talks, but said the government “is trying to do is reassert the state authority”.

    On the question of disarming Hezbollah, Salame said such a process “takes time” and cannot be accomplished in a matter of hours or days.

Israeli military says one soldier killed in southern Lebanon

    The Israeli military says the soldier was killed during combat in southern Lebanon.

    It said three other Israeli troops were also wounded during the battle.

South Korea’s president warns of prolonged energy disruption

    Lee Jae Myung has warned that high oil prices and ⁠supply-chain strains were likely to persist for some time amid the rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

    “For the time being, difficulties in global ‌energy and raw materials supply chains and high oil prices will continue,” Lee told a cabinet meeting, according to Reuters.

    “I ask that we pursue the development of alternative supply chains, medium- to long-term industrial restructuring, and the transition to a post-plastic economy as top-priority national strategic projects,” he said.

    According to Reuters, Lee’s government is prioritising support ⁠for the passage of seven South Korea-bound oil tankers stuck ⁠in the Gulf area.

    Foreign Minister Cho Hyun also told the meeting that the ministry had sent officials to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria and Libya in a bid to secure ‌energy supplies, in addition to presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon Sik travelling to countries such as Kazakhstan since last week.

Pakistan offers to host a second round of US-Iran talks

    The Associated Press news agency is reporting that Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round of negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad in the coming days, before the end of the ceasefire.

    The agency cited two Pakistani officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The officials said the proposal will depend on whether the parties request a different location.

Is the US blockade in Strait of Hormuz legal under international law

    We’ve spoken to Douglas Guilfoyle, a specialist in international law and maritime security, on the legality of the US blockade.

    Guilfoyle, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said international law acknowledges maritime blockades as a potential tool of economic warfare, but “adds a number of important limitations”.

    “One is that neutral trade that doesn’t connect with Iran should be allowed through,” he told Al Jazeera. “Another important limitation is, for the blockade to be legal, it must be effective; it must be applied against all vessels,” he said. “We’ve only heard so far of one vessel successfully making it through the blockade. So that sounds like an effective blockade.”

    Guilfoyle went on to say that any blockade must not result in adverse impacts on civilians.

    “The critical point is that it does not have the consequence of starving the civilian population or denying them access to, say, vital food and medicine,” he said. “That’s obviously being the criticism of Israel’s blockade, for example, of Gaza.”

Lebanese divided over upcoming talks with Israel

    While some Lebanese people have expressed hope that the coming talks could bring an end to the deadly conflict, others were sceptical of Israel’s intentions.

    “What matters to us is to reach a stage where we can raise our children and live in peace,” 49-year-old Saad, who suffered a minor injury from a recent Israeli air strike in Beirut, told the AFP news agency. “If there is a comprehensive solution for peace, we are for it, on the condition that no one encroaches on the other.”

    Kamal Ayad, 49, said Lebanese are weary of war and open to talks that are in the country’s interests. “We are in favour of [negotiations] if they serve Lebanon’s interest; if they will resolve matters, end the war, and let us live in peace,” he told AFP.

    Others, like 57-year-old Mohammad Al-Khatib, questioned whether Israel would respect any agreement.

    “You don’t hold negotiations under bombardment, shelling and humiliation. Where is the justice ” he asked, according to AFP. “They [the Israelis] have never stuck to peace in their lives. Their ambition is expansion and control over Lebanon.”

Israel-Lebanon talks to start at 11am in Washington, DC; Rubio to join

    Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter are due to meet in Washington, DC, at 11am local time (15:00 GMT) to begin rare direct talks, according to a schedule published by the US State Department.

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join the “working-level” talks with the two ambassadors, the State Department said.

    The discussion is expected to focus on securing a ceasefire in Lebanon – where Israel has unleashed devastating air attacks and a ground invasion – as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah and a broader peace arrangement.

    Hezbollah has rejected the planned negotiations, calling them “futile” and urging the Lebanese government to focus on confronting Israeli “aggression”.

Trump claims Iran wants to talk, as reports emerge of nuclear moratorium proposal

By John Holman

Reporting from Wahington DC, US

    We heard from the US president a short while ago, saying that Iran badly wanted to talk, something that his vice president, JD Vance, who headed the negotiations in Islamabad on the weekend, has also been speaking about on Fox News.

    Vance said there is a grand deal to be had and said progress has been made.

    There have also been media reports here that the US proposed to Iran a moratorium on uranium enrichment for 20 years, and then Iran came back with a counterproposal on Monday, saying not 20 years, but five years, and that was rejected.

    But that, at least, is a negotiating proposal and a counterproposal between the two sides.

    Until very recently, it seemed as if there had just been maximalist demands from the United States, and a complete refusal to meet them from Iran.

    So it does seem that during this ceasefire, that still has about nine days to run, and even as things escalate with this blockade, there are still attempts to talk to each other, and perhaps find an end to this.

Diplomatic efforts to revive US-Iran talks continue

By Ali Hashem

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    There’s a very strong possibility that there are going to be meetings at the expert level and that mediations are going on, especially from countries like Pakistan, Turkiye, and Egypt.

    And there are other mediators, also, that are in the middle of this process.

    What we understood is that there are issues that could have been solved during the Islamabad talks, and there was a framework that they almost announced.

    But later on, it seems that the United States made a decision to leave.

    But now, given the fact that many interventions are going on and there is actually a will from both the United States and Iran not to resume the war… maybe [the sides can] end this phase and end this episode.

US and Iran ‘could be headed for a second round of talks’

    Even though talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad have ended without a deal, engagement between the two sides is continuing, according to the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies.

    The two sides could “be headed for a second round of talks” as soon as Thursday, the AP reported, citing US officials and diplomats.

    Here’s what to know:

    Since the Islamabad meeting, the US has remained in contact with mediators, with Pakistan exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington, Reuters reported, citing a Middle East-based diplomat and a source involved in the talks.

    A US official, referring to Trump’s comments that Iran had called and would like to work out a deal, told Reuters there was continued engagement between the US and Iran, as well as forward motion on trying to get to an agreement.

    AP, citing two US officials and a person familiar with the matter, reported that the two sides are weighing new in-person negotiations in a bid to reach a deal aimed at ending their six-week war before the ceasefire expires next week.

    It reported that a diplomat from one of the mediating countries said that Islamabad was once again being discussed as the host location. But the US officials said Geneva was also a possibility, and that while the venue and timing had not been decided, the talks could happen on Thursday.

    (01:50 GMT)

How would a US blockade of Iranian ports work

By John Holman

Reporting from Wahington DC, US

    It’s being reported that the United States has more than 15 warships that are in the area around the Strait of Hormuz. Now, if a vessel that’s Iranian or linked to Iran goes through, then the plan is that they would stop that vessel.

    What’s being reported is that if an Iranian vessel or Iranian-linked vessel decided that it would resist, then there would be something that’s called a contested boarding in which specialised units of Marines or Navy Seals would board that ship.

    This is something that we’ve seen on the other side of the world, in South America, especially with the blockade that happened with Venezuela. It tends to be a complicated sort of operation, but it’s one that the US has been able to do on tankers recently.

    Interestingly, something else that has been reported is that, shortly after the blockade was first announced, an Iranian-linked vessel that was either in the Strait of Hormuz or was about to go from the strait, did manage to get through successfully and defy the blockade.

    That’s the only one that we know of so far.

    Since then, it seems that the blockade has been effective.

Democrats to force vote on resolution to curb Trump’s Iran war powers

    Senator Chuck Schumer says the Democrats will again force a vote in the US Senate to “stop the war in Iran and rein in an out-of-control Trump”.

    The minority leader said the move would mark the fourth such vote since the US-Israel war on Iran began.

    “For the 4th time, Republicans will have the chance to end this war,” he wrote in a post on X.

    Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives have tried and repeatedly failed in recent months to pass war powers resolutions to force ⁠Trump to obtain authorisation from Congress before launching military operations.

    The US Constitution says that Congress, not the president, can declare war.

    But Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress, who hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House, have blocked the Democratic moves to pass the war powers resolutions.

    Schumer dubbed Trump’s Operation Epic Fury as “Operation Epic Fail”. He said the operation has only resulted in chaos in the Strait of Hormuz and the highest gasoline prices in years in the US.

    The Iranian government is “still standing” and its nuclear ambitions remain “exactly the same”, he wrote.

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More about Russia’s offer to take Iran’s enriched uranium

By Yulia Shapovalova

Reporting from Moscow, Russia

    The Kremlin has reiterated its readiness to help Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium to Russia, which is capable of accommodating it.

    For many years, Russia has been one of the key countries participating in the negotiation process on Iran’s nuclear programme.

    It has repeatedly offered to export excess enriched uranium from Iran, process it and return it in the form of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants.

    Still, Iran hasn’t accepted the offer.

Iranians denounce Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade

    Iranians rallying in Tehran have dismissed Trump’s “empty” threats to block Iran’s energy exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

    “He said he would strike our power plants and our infrastructure, and even take one of our islands, but none of it happened,” Zahra, a 32-year-old beauty salon owner, told the Reuters news agency. These latest threats are “just empty promises”, she added.

    Another protester, Milad, told Reuters that Trump’s threats demonstrate the US’s “desperation and helplessness in confronting Iran’s capabilities”.

    Another protester, who did not want to be named, said: “Even if your threats are carried out, we know that our country’s armed forces will fully respond to them.”

‘It’s a matter of who blinks first, the Americans or the Iranians’

By Ali Hashem

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    We’re currently dealing with two rhetorics: the Iranian rhetoric that stresses defending itself against the US and Israel, and the American rhetoric that it will not accept that Tehran blackmails the world.

    But the issue right now is that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, regardless of who is closing the strait, whether it’s the Iranian blockade or the American blockade. The strait is closed, and this will have serious implications for the global economy.

    Now, this plays into Iran’s hands because this is what they wanted from the beginning when they started launching rockets and drones towards the Gulf countries and the oil facilities, and later on, closing the strait. However, there is a big question [regarding] how much Iran can stay without selling oil the way it used to.

    But we do know that Iran, which has been under pressure [and] under sanctions in recent years, has created several and different ways to sell its oil in a way that it could not be discovered.

    We also know that most of the Iranian oil is sold outside the Strait of Hormuz, so now it’s a matter of who blinks first, the Americans or the Iranians.

Russia renews offer to receive Iran’s enriched uranium

    The Kremlin has repeated an offer to accept Iran’s enriched uranium as part of a potential agreement with the US.

    In comments carried by Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposal “was voiced by President [Vladimir] Putin in contacts with both the United States and regional states”.

    “The offer still stands, but has not been acted upon,” he said.

    Peskov stressed that Russia was ready to provide any support to help de-escalate the crisis.

US Christians criticise Trump’s attack on Pope Leo

    Senior figures from the US Christian community have urged Trump to apologise to Pope Leo, saying his now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus went “too far”.

    Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by Trump’s “disparaging” words against the pope, while Minnesota-based Bishop Robert Barron called the president’s remarks “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful”. Barron said Trump must apologise.

    David Brody, a prominent Trump-supporting commentator with the Christian Broadcasting Network, slammed Trump’s post depicting himself as Jesus. “TAKE THIS DOWN, MR. PRESIDENT. You’re not God. None of us are. This goes too far. It crosses the line,” he wrote on X.

    Ralph Reed, a member of the White House’s faith advisory board, defended the president, saying that the “deep reservoir of appreciation” for the president “eclipses any disagreement over a social media post”.