Al Jazeera

By Lyndal Rowlands and Zaid Sabah

    US President Donald Trump has announced an extension to the Iran ceasefire, as he continues to blockade Iranian ports, until Tehran submits a proposal for talks, and “discussions are concluded, one way or the other”.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that “blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire”, adding that Tehran knows “how to resist bullying“.

China capitalises on ‘energy security’ crisis as Southeast Asian ties deepen

By Patrick Fok

Reporting from Hong Kong

    We’ve seen a slew of world leaders travel to Beijing in recent weeks, and Beijing is stepping up diplomacy.

    [China’s Foreign Minister] Wang Yi travelled to Southeast Asia, and it’s the latest manoeuvre as the crisis drags on, and as we continue to see pressure on energy security and maritime trade globally.

    Wang Yi will be visiting Cambodia on the first day, and he’ll then head on to Thailand and then to Myanmar to deepen ties with those countries.

    China wants to present itself as a stable alternative for these countries, as opposed to the US.

    So we’re going to see a lot of diplomatic efforts go on there.

    These also are countries that have been hit very heavily by the energy supply disruptions. There are also countries that were hit heavily by Washington’s trade tariffs.

    It’s a perfect opportunity, in many ways, for China to capitalise on.

    Importantly, one thing to note is that defence chiefs are going to be taking part in the talks in Cambodia, which are very much about security alliances as well.

    We’re likely to see economic support from China to these countries, and we may also see them deepen the expansion of energy projects, Chinese energy projects, in the coming days as well.

US said to halt cash payment to Iraq to pressure Iranian-backed militias

    The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration is suspending US dollar shipments to Iraq and freezing security cooperation programmes with its military, a move designed to pressure Baghdad into dismantling powerful Iranian-backed armed groups in the country.

    The report follows after a recent decision by the US Treasury Department officials to block a cargo-plane delivery of nearly $500 million in US banknotes.

    The funds, which represented proceeds from Iraqi oil sales held in Federal Reserve Bank of New York accounts, were withheld due to specific US concerns regarding the influence and activities of militias, the Journal said, citing US and Iraqi officials.

    US Treasury and Trump administration officials have yet to comment on the report.

Another day of ‘chaotic headlines’ for investors in Asian markets

By Patrick Fok

Reporting from Hong Kong

    It’s another day of chaotic headlines for investors to digest.

    All prices rose following reports that Vice President JD Vance had scrapped his trip to Islamabad, bringing into doubt whether these peace talks would go ahead, and more importantly, whether there’d be any movement on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

    Oil prices briefly topped $100 per barrel before just coming down below that. Brent crude is currently trading around $98 per barrel, and that’s putting pressure on equities across the region.

    We’re seeing Sydney, Seoul and Hong Kong in the red right now. Japan’s Nikki 225 is finding a little bit of support, but the market is also pulling back following yesterday’s highs, when investors appeared to brush off a lot of the geopolitical developments.

    For now, uncertainty continues to drag.

    One of the things worth bearing in mind is, even though President Trump has been flexible in extending the [ceasefire] deadline… you’re talking about this blockade by both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, [which] is going to create pressure around the situation, [and] investors are going to be wary of potential escalations.

‘Goods over humans’: EU condemned for failure to suspend Israel trade deal

    Human rights experts, including Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research and advocacy, have accused the European Union of “knowingly enabling” Israel’s “grave violations” after two EU countries blocked a move to suspend a trade agreement between the trading bloc and Israel.

    “The EU’s failure to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel is a damning betrayal of its own values,” Rosas wrote in a post on X after Germany and Italy blocked a move put forward by Spain, Slovenia and Ireland to suspend the deal.

    “Given the overwhelming evidence that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, maintained an apartheid system against Palestinians, and unlawfully occupied their territory, inaction becomes a deliberate choice,” Rosas added.

    Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, also condemned the decision.

    “Maintaining trade in times of genocide means valuing goods over humans,” she said in a post on X.

    “Markets over life,” she added.

    Before Germany and Italy stopped the bid on Tuesday, more than 60 human rights organisations, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, had called on the EU and member states to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel.

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    US President Donald Trump has extended his ceasefire with Iran just hours before it was due to expire, but key disputes between the US and Iran remain unresolved.

    Trump said the ceasefire will stay in place until Tehran submits a proposal, and talks on ending the war are completed.

    The move came after the US and Iran failed to take part in another anticipated round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

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No reaction in Tehran to Trump’s truce extension, but openness to diplomacy amid military readiness

By Almigdad Alruhaid

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    This is a central issue right now in Tehran.

    The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is seen here as an act of war, an act of piracy, and is also a greater violation of the ceasefire.

    The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the main issues of violations of the ceasefire.

    We have another dimension of the whole matter here. It’s a military dimension from the headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya, saying that in the past few hours, they are well prepared, and also fully prepared, for any kind of escalation, if there is any kind of escalation that comes from across the Strait of Hormuz, or if any targets are hit here, inside Tehran, or in the country.

    They are sending a strong message against any kind of retaliation, and they are ready and prepared for any kind of escalation.

    So there is no official reaction towards the announcement of [the ceasefire], and also there is openness for diplomatic efforts, as well as readiness militarily.

Trump to extend US shipping waiver for oil supplies

    US news site Axios reports that President Donald Trump intends to maintain the waiver of a controversial maritime law.

    The report notes that Trump is pushing to keep the Jones Act requirements waived for energy shipments.

    Critics say the 1920s law typically inflates domestic shipping costs by mandating that oil supplies moved between US ports be carried on American-flagged vessels, which are in far shorter supply than the global fleet.

    To combat the soaring fuel prices triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran, Trump originally issued a 60-day waiver of the law on March 18.

    Due to the success of the move, he now wants to keep the waiver in place, according to the report.

Some think Trump is ‘doing the right thing’ with Iran negotiating tactics

By Alan Fisher

Reporting from the White House, Washington DC

    Donald Trump has, throughout this, been inconsistent in some of the things he said about ceasefires and whether or not there would be military action.

    In fact, just in the last hour or so, he said that Iran approached the United States, [saying it would] reopen the Strait of Hormuz if [the US] removed the blockade.

    Donald Trump said that, without the blockade, Iran would not get to the negotiating table, and therefore, it was staying in place. If he didn’t have the blockade, then he would have to bomb the rest of Iran.

    So he’s gone from conciliatory, saying that he was waiting for a unified proposal from the Iranians, to, once again, threatening to bomb the entire country.

    This isn’t playing well in the markets.

    They closed in the United States with all of the main indices down, concerned by the uncertainty in the Middle East.

    But some people think that the US president is doing the right thing; that this shows a degree of consideration and measurement that you don’t often relate to Donald Trump. He’s considered to be much more impulsive and reactive.

    From the Pakistanis getting involved, saying, ‘Look, there is the possibility we could get some movement here’, he’s decided to extend the ceasefire and decided that he’ll wait to hear what the Iranians have to say before deciding what his next step is.

Iran’s silence after Trump’s ceasefire extension a ‘cautious move’ by Tehran officials

By Almigdad Alruhaid

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    So far, the answer is no.

    There is no official response or reaction from the Iranian government; silence fills the air here in the Iranian capital, Tehran. And this silence is not like previous silences.

    It’s a cautious move from Iranian officials here, because they are saying that they are speaking about the broader spectrum, the broader image for the whole matter, and the key point of the whole matter is mistrust between the United States and Iran over historical rounds of negotiations in the past days, and past few years.

    They are saying that the mistrust comes from there being no commitment from the United States to fulfil or to respect their terms and their conditions over the past few rounds of negotiations.

    So, Iranian officials right now are not dealing with the [ceasefire] extension itself. They are focusing on the whole matter.

    They are focusing on how to secure their conditions, or how to move forward if there is any round of negotiation in place in the next few days.

    They are saying that they are open to any kind of negotiation if that trust is built in the coming days.

Iran says it has repaired more than half of 1,300 schools damaged during war

    Iran’s Minister of Education Alireza Kazemi has said that 775 of the 1,300 schools damaged during US-Israeli attacks have now been repaired, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.

    About 20 of the schools were destroyed, Kazemi said, with the most damage occurring in the provinces of Tehran, Kermanshah, Isfahan, and Hormozgan.

    Repairs to the most damaged schools were expected to be completed by October, he added.

    Kazemi also said that despite the attacks, education has continued throughout the war, either in person or remotely, including through the Iranian Television School.

    He said that counselling had also been offered, and that schools held commemorations for the 170 people killed in the missile attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ School in Minab, most of them schoolgirls and their teachers.

All eyes on ‘what the next step is’ after Trump’s ceasefire extension

By Alan Fisher

Reporting from Washington, DC, United States

    All the main indices are down after the news that there will be an extension of the ceasefire and no sign of talks getting under way.

    But Donald Trump clearly listened to the Pakistanis.

    He summoned JD Vance here to the White House on Tuesday morning.

    Both spoke at some length, and it’s thought that they were discussing what the Pakistanis had put on the table, asking for extra time to get some sort of deal put together.

    It appears that Donald Trump was very amenable to that.

Now, we wait to see what the next step is: Will JD Vance get on a plane sometime soon and head to Islamabad

Is there the possibility that the United States could return to war

    All of it is very much in the hands of Donald Trump this evening.

IAEA chief says peace without nuclear oversight is ‘Illusion’

    Speaking to reporters, Grossi described the effort to end the war as a “complex process” and emphasised that it is important to allow “continuity” for that process to play out.

    Grossi also warned both sides that any peace deal must include the IAEA from the start to enforce oversight over Iran’s nuclear programme. Otherwise, he said, “you will have an illusion of an agreement”.

Trump claims Strait of Hormuz ‘totally BLOCKADED’ by US, and Iran wants it open

    In his latest post, Trump states: “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!).”

Trump added that “people approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’

US Central Command says forces ‘rearming’, ‘retooling’ during ceasefire

    Accompanied by a video clip featuring warplanes, ships and US troops, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper is featured at an updated news conference with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

    “There is no military in the world that adjusts like we do, and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now during the ceasefire,” he said.

Reporting from Wahington DC, United States

    On Monday, Trump said there’d be no extension of the ceasefire, and way back on Friday, he said that there was going to be a deal, probably by the end of the weekend; that the Iranians had agreed to a great deal.

    It’s now been decided that JD Vance will not be going to Islamabad, but there will be an extension of the ceasefire.

    They have rearmed over the last two weeks, and that is something that Donald Trump is aware of, and, certainly, the Iranians will be aware of as well.

    So that’s a slight change as well, because the United States was expecting Iran just to accept all the proposals that were put in front of them, including no nuclear weapons ever, the return of enriched uranium, which US troops were going to get… and also, the Strait of Hormuz would be opened, even at one point suggesting that he might be in co-charge of that.

US missile stockpiles seriously depleted from war on Iran

    According to a new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the scale of Operation Epic Fury’s air and missile campaign has created significant gaps in US munitions reserves, The Hill report said.

• Patriot Missiles: almost 50 percent of the total stockpile depleted
• Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs): more than 45 percent of the stockpile use

London to host defence summit on reopening the Strait of Hormuz

    Beginning later today, the meeting will build on the progress made during recent talks among leaders on securing the strait, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defence.

    “The task, today and tomorrow, is to translate the diplomatic consensus into a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the strait and support a lasting ceasefire,” UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.

Pakistan sources believe Iran will reciprocate after US ‘apparent softening of stance’

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

    They will come back to the table. The Pakistanis have been making all of the arrangements.

    So all-out efforts are being made by the mediators to provide the right circumstances where they can come and talk to each other.

    The Iranians have set preconditions, and the Americans have refused those preconditions.