US forces turn 23 vessels back to Iran since blockade began, says military Since the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas earlier this week, 23 ships have complied with US forces orders to turn back toward Iran, the US military said on Saturday.
Macron: French soldier was killed in Lebanon A French soldier who was part of international forces stationed in southern Lebanon was killed, President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday. Macron said that evidence suggested Hezbollah was responsible for the attack. Three other soldiers were wounded and have been evacuated, Macron said in a post on X, urging the Lebanese government to act against the alleged perpetrators.
Two vessels, including an Indian-flagged supertanker, were forced back out of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after being approached by Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ naval units, shipping monitor TankerTrackers said.
BBC Arabic's correspondent Carine Torbey reports from the border town of Khiam, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon goes into its second day.
Statement from supreme leader says Iran's navy 'stands ready' to defeat US A statement said to have been issued by Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that the Islamic Republic's navy is ready to defeat US forces, as the two countries sparred over the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement carried on his Telegram channel, Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since before the start of the war, said Iran's "brave navy stands ready to make the enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats".
Iran tells ships on radio that Strait of Hormuz 'is shut again' Some merchant vessels have received a radio message from Iran's navy that the Strait of Hormuz is shut again and no ships are allowed to pass through, shipping sources told Reuters on Saturday.
UK agency says IRGC-linked gunboats fired on tanker near Oman The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Saturday it had received a report of a tanker being fired upon by what it said were "two gunboats linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)" 20 nautical miles north-east of Oman. The captain of the tanker said the two gunboats opened fire without issuing a radio challenge, UKMTO said in its advisory note, adding that the vessel and its crew were reported safe.
Donald Trump earlier vowed to maintain the blockade of Iranian ports until a peace deal is reached The Iranian military has once again closed free passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, citing what it described as US 'piracy.
Amid Israel's 'forever wars', Palestinians must not abandon the one-state solution Submitted by Awad Abdelfattah on Sun, 04/12/2026 - 13:59 Among its goals, the US-Israel war on Iran aims to bury Palestinian self-determination. Now more than ever, a one-state framework is the only defence against surrender A Palestinian flag hangs from a building destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 2 December 2025 (Bashar Taleb/AFP) Off Since the declaration of the so-called ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in October 2025 - violated more than 2,000 times - and more dramatically since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February, Palestine has been actively displaced from the centre of global attention. When the US and Iran announced a two-week truce on 8 April, Israel simultaneously launched its largest wave of strikes on Lebanon , killing at least 303 people.
Iran command says Hormuz closed again over US blockade Iran's central military command announced on Saturday it would resume "strict management" of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington. In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's ports. Until the United States restores freedom of movement for all vessels visiting Iran, "the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain strictly controlled," the statement said.
How US-Israeli war on Iran has eclipsed the crisis in Sudan Submitted by Osama Abuzaid on Wed, 04/15/2026 - 18:47 With global attention now squarely fixed on the Gulf, Sudanese warring parties may double down on the conflict economy A Sudanese soldier carries anti-tank rockets seized from a base that had been used by the rival Rapid Support Forces, in the Salha area of Omdurman, on 26 May 2025 (Ebrahim Hamid/AFP) On After six weeks of escalating violence in the US - Israeli war on Iran , a fragile two-week ceasefire was brokered by Pakistan in early April, with peace talks taking place this past weekend in Islamabad. But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Tel Aviv has its “ finger on the trigger ” to resume war at any moment, and US President Donald Trump warning of devastating consequences if negotiations fail, the region remains on a knife’s edge. There’s no defined script for this conflict, which is playing out in real-time as an unpredictable confrontation with strategic reverberations across Southwest Asia and North Africa - including Sudan , where an ongoing civil war has already ravaged state institutions, displaced millions, and shattered fragile hopes for internal peace.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz is under strict control of the Iranian Armed Forces and will remain in its previous operational state.
Tehran [Iran], April 18 (ANI): Amid the US's continued blockade of Iranian ports despite the Islamic Republic announcing the opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy issued new directives restricting maritime movement through the strait, stating
New posts 11:00 Iran Reverses Decision To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz Some vessels had been reported to be transiting the Strait of Hormuz on April 18. (file photo) Iran has reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing the continued United States naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Fars News Agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Iranian parliamentary speaker also says passage through waterway will depend on Iranian authorisation and accuses Donald Trump of multiple falsehoods Iran says strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ to commercial vessels as oil prices fall Welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East. Iran temporarily reopened the strait of Hormuz on Friday after a truce agreement between Israel and Lebanon , raising hopes for a broader peace, but Tehran warned that it would close the waterway again if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continued. World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement on reopening the waterway, 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.
Tehran [Iran], April 18 (ANI): A cruise successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict, according to data from MarineTraffic. The vessel, identified as the Malta-flagged Celestyal Discovery, sailed through the critical waterway on Friday (local time). MarineTraffic indicated the liner was operating without passengers during the journey.
US says it will pursue Iran-linked ships in Indo-Pacific region US forces will pursue ships linked to Iran well beyond the Middle East, including in the Indo-Pacific, CNN reported, quoting the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Dan Caine said the effort includes “maritime interdiction actions” in the Pacific area of responsibility, targeting vessels that left before the blockade began. “We are also conducting similar maritime interdiction actions and activities in the Pacific AOR against those ships that left that area before we began the blockade,” he added.
Israeli forces kill person in Negohot settlement, army says The Israeli military said a person carrying a knife was killed in the settlement of Negohot in the occupied West Bank. The military said alarms were activated following reports that the settlement had been infiltrated. The army said the person was killed and that there were no reports of other casualties.
Trump says Iran ceasefire may end if no deal by Wednesday US President Donald Trump said he may not extend a temporary ceasefire with Iran if negotiations do not produce an agreement by Wednesday. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “Maybe I won’t extend it,” when asked about the truce. “So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we have to start dropping bombs again,” he said, referring to the US stance if talks fail.
Washington DC [US], April 18 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) indicated that he may not extend the ongoing ceasefire with Iran, raising the prospect of renewed military action in the region if a deal is not reached with the Islamic Republic in order to achieve a complete halt to the hostilities in West Asia.
