US Iran news highlights: Next round of US-Iran talks set to take place in Pakistan on Monday, Iranian sources say

US Iran news LIVE: Israel's defence minister on Friday said that Hezbollah will be disarmed from south of Litani either through political means or military activity after ceasefire ends.

A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday after last week's strikes on Lebanon caused massive loss of lives and widespread destruction.

US Iran news LIVE: Sri Lanka has sent home 238 Iranian sailors, including 32 who survived a US torpedo attack that sank their ship in the Indian Ocean, officials said Friday.

A US submarine sank the IRIS Dena on March 4 while the ship was returning home after taking part in a naval exercise on invitation from India. The Sri Lankan navy recovered 87 bodies and 32 were hospitalized. A second Iranian ship was brought to a southern Sri Lankan port after its crew reported technical problems.

US Iran news LIVE: Tensions over the Strait of Hormuz blockade have renewed concerns about Asia’s vital Strait of Malacca, a narrow passage linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans that carries around 40% of global trade, including key oil shipments to China, Japan and South Korea.

The strait, long seen as a vulnerability by China’s leadership since Hu Jintao, faces growing geopolitical risks amid US naval dominance, China’s expanding military reach and moves by Donald Trump to block vessels linked to Iran, raising fears of chokepoint disruption.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump claimed Iran has made key concessions in an ongoing negotiation to end the seven-week war, while a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon increased the prospect of a broader peace.

Trump said it may not be necessary to renew an April 7 truce with the Islamic Republic before it expires next week, defying expectations that an extension will be needed to allow more time for diplomacy.

US Iran news LIVE: The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Friday that it was keeping its "finger on the trigger" in case of any Israeli violations of a ceasefire that went into effect overnight.

In a statement, the Iran-backed movement said it had carried out "2,184 military operations" against Israel and its troops inside Lebanon, adding: "The fighters will keep their finger on the trigger because they are wary of the enemy's treachery."

US Iran news LIVE: Thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians took to the road on Friday, hoping that a 10-day ceasefire with Israel would allow them to return to their homes in southern Beirut and the country's war-torn south.

The Lebanese army had warned the residents not to go back to the areas, which have been pounded by Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah, and the Iran-backed movement said its finger remained "on the trigger" in the event of any violations.

US Iran news LIVE: Fourteen vessels have turned around in three days rather than test a US naval blockade on Iranian-linked ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said.

“US forces are focused, vigilant, and highly motivated as they execute a blockade on vessels attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports,” the command posted on social media Thursday.

US Iran news LIVE: Some Gulf Arab and European leaders believe that a US-Iran peace deal will take about six months to be agreed and that the warring sides should extend their ceasefire to cover that timeframe, officials from the regions familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The leaders want the vital Strait of Hormuz opened immediately to restore energy flows and are warning in private that a global food crisis may develop if that doesn’t happen by next month, said the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing private talks.

US Iran news LIVE: Foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will meet on the margins of a diplomacy forum in the southern Turkish province of Antalya on Friday to discuss regional issues including the Iran war, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

"The meeting is expected to include discussions on developing regional solutions to regional issues, particularly the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, within the framework of a regional ownership approach," the source said.

Ministers from the four countries held two meetings in March as part of efforts to broker an end to the Iran war. Turkey, a neighbour of Iran, has been in close touch with the U.S., Iran, and mediator Pakistan.

via Reuters

US Iran news LIVE: A local government official in Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik said Israel struck the neighborhood 62 times over the past six weeks.

Haret Hreik Deputy Mayor Sadek Slim said 26 buildings were completely destroyed.

“We’ve been able to clear up the rubble of the partially damaged buildings, but for those totally destroyed we will need special equipment,” Slim said in a news briefing under a bridge on a busy intersection.

The area is gridlocked with traffic with people returning to check on their homes and Hezbollah supporters zooming around on scooters and waving the militant group’s flag.

via AP

US Iran news LIVE: Following a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel coming into force, displaced residents began heading back to their homes in Beirut on April 17, Reuters reported.

US Iran news LIVE: The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states ever since the war began on February 28. Thirteen US service members have also been killed, according to the Associated Press.

US Iran news LIVE: Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to the ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war. Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in mediation efforts.

US Iran news LIVE: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as he praised US President Donald Trump for his ‘bold and sagacious’ efforts.

“I welcome the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon, facilitated through bold and sagacious diplomatic efforts led by President Donald Trump, and express the hope that it will pave the way for sustainable peace,” Sharif posted on X. “Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and will continue to support all efforts aimed at lasting peace in the region .”

US Iran news LIVE: A South Korean-flagged tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port has safely exited the Red Sea, South Korean officials said.

The passage marks the country’s first such shipment since it began seeking alternative energy routes while Iran is largely blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday described the passage as a “valuable accomplishment” during the government’s efforts to overcome challenges posed by the war.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries did not immediately say how many tankers would attempt to use the Red Sea route or when the vessel that passed would arrive in South Korea.

Officials say 26 of South Korea’s vessels remain stranded in the strait.

US Iran news LIVE: French President Emmanuel Macron said he supports the 10-day-ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and called for its continuation.

“Hezbollah must renounce its weapons. Israel must respect Lebanese sovereignty and stop the war,” he said Friday in a post on X.

US Iran news LIVE: Oil prices fell in early trade on Friday on optimism the Middle East conflict could be nearing an end after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect and President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran may meet for talks on the weekend.

Brent crude futures declined by 61 cents, or 0.61%, to $98.78 a barrel at 0707 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 89 cents, or 0.94%, to $93.8 a barrel, trimming gains from the previous session.

US Iran news LIVE: Iranian state media on Thursday mocked US President Donald Trump over saying "US would have free Hormuz, free oil" as "successful" negotiations are going on. Sharing a clip of Trump, Iran's state-owned broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said the US president is "Building castles in the air!"

The state media also shared a Persian proverb: "'The camel dreams of cottonseed; sometimes gulping it down, sometimes eating it grain by grain". The proverb is used to describe something unrealistic, far-fetched hopes or fantasies.

US Iran news LIVE: Media outlets in Lebanon have reported that Israel fired a machine gun and an artillery shell towards an ambulance team affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority in Kunin in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon, AL Jazeera reported. Casualties have been reported. This comes even as a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel started after US intervnetion on Thursday.

US Iran news LIVE: Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Esmaeil Baqaei, welcomed the recent 10-day ceasefire announcement between Lebanon and Israel, describing it as part of broader regional diplomatic understandings and praising what he called the "resistance" of the Lebanese people and fighters against Israeli military actions.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Baqaei said that the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon formed part of a ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States following discussions in Islamabad.

He added that Tehran had consistently emphasised during talks with regional and international stakeholders the need for a simultaneous ceasefire across the region, including Lebanon, and pursued the matter through continued diplomatic engagement.

"The cessation of the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran had emphasised from the beginning, during its talks with various regional and international parties, including the Islamabad talks, the necessity of establishing a simultaneous ceasefire in the entire region, including Lebanon, and pursued this issue seriously after the Islamabad talks," the statement read.

US Iran news LIVE: It will take about two years to recover the energy output lost in the Middle East from the conflict there, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, was quoted as saying on Friday in an interview with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper.

"That will vary from country to country. In Iraq, for example, it will take much longer than in Saudi Arabia. However, we estimate it will take approximately two years overall to reach pre-war levels again," Birol told the Swiss newspaper.

Birol added that the market was underestimating the consequences of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipments of oil and gas that were already en route to their destinations before the war in Iran began have now arrived, mitigating the impact of shortages, he said.

"But no new tankers were loaded in March. There were no new deliveries of oil, gas or fuels to Asian markets. This gap is now becoming apparent. If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, we must prepare for significantly higher energy prices."

via Reuters

US Iran news LIVE: Gold prices declined on Friday, April 17, with 24-carat gold falling by ₹268 to ₹15,309.2 per gram. The 22-carat variant also dropped by ₹245.49 to ₹14,023.23 per gram. Over the past week, 24-carat gold has eased by 0.41%, while it is down 5.74% over the past month. Check city-wise gold rates

US Iran news LIVE: Turkey hosts a high-stakes forum Friday bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war.

Pakistan's powerful army chief met senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the six-week war.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will address the three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum when it opens on Friday in the Mediterranean holiday resort of Antalya.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to meet on the sidelines of the forum, with the war and the blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz expected to dominate. The timing of the meeting has not yet been announced.

US Iran news LIVE: Sri Lanka is among the worst impacted countries in the Asia-Pacific due to the ripple effects of the West Asia crisis, a UN report said.

The report published by the United Nations Development Programme, released on Thursday, provides a preliminary assessment on how the ongoing conflict is destabilising global trade, energy markets, and financial systems.

The report titled "Military escalation in the Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia and the Pacific" shows that Sri Lanka is highly exposed, as 80.2 per cent of migrant-worker departures from the island nation in 2025 were to the Middle East, the report says.

Sri Lanka is among the worst impacted countries in the Asia-Pacific due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the UN report said.

via PTI

US Iran news LIVE: The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday released footage showing the US Navy enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports by diverting a merchant vessel. In a post on X, a sailor aboard the USS Michael Murphy (Warship 112) is seen communicating with the “Motor Vessel Molly,” informing the crew that the ship would be escorted to its next port of call.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the sailor can be heard saying in the video.