US Iran war highlights: Trump says ‘winning war’; Tehran vows to reveal ‘new cards’ ahead of talks in Pakistan

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran has once again asserted that it will never surrender its authority over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi, who chairs the Parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, maintained that the narrow waterway would remain under the comprehensive control of the Islamic Republic, Press TV reported.

Azizi said that Iran's authority over the Strait is an "inalienable right".

US Iran war LIVE updates: The Israeli army said on Monday that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.

The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.

via AFP

US Iran war LIVE updates: Security preparations are underway in Islamabad, Pakistan, as the city braces for possible talks between Iran and the United States, reported Al Jazeera.

Parts of the Pakistan capital, including the heavily guarded Red Zone, have been placed under lockdown with roads closed and security tightened.

US Iran war LIVE updates: India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend to review the regional situation against the backdrop of the West Asia conflict and to shore up India’s energy security.

Doval’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday came close on the heels of external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s trip to the United Arab Emirates and petroleum minister Hardeep Puri’s trip to Qatar. These visits are part of New Delhi’s outreach to key energy suppliers amid disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

US Iran war LIVE updates: An oil tanker is reportedly heading to discharge its cargo at South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, shipping analytics firm Kpler's data showed.

The Malta-flagged Odessa passed the narrow waterway on April 13. The tanker, which can carry one million barrels of oil, had its AIS tracker switched off and reappeared on April 17 near the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah port, LSEG data showed.

US Iran war LIVE updates: More than 20 vessels reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler. This is the highest number of ships transiting the waterway since March 1.

US Iran war LIVE updates: The hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has effectively seized control of Iran's military apparatus and diplomatic negotiation teams over the weekend, reported The New York Post, citing regional analysts.

IRGC Commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi and his inner circle have allegedly assumed leadership of the Islamic Republic.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Oil prices surged on Monday morning amid uncertainty over an extension of the current ceasefire and the truce talks between Iran and the US.

Brent Crude rose by 4.72 per cent to $94.65 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate climbed 5.51 per cent to $88.47.

US Iran war LIVE: Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after the US attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

Pezeshkian told Sharif that US actions, including bullying and unreasonable behaviour, have led to increased suspicion that the US will repeat previous patterns and "betray diplomacy".

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf said in a post on X, "Vibe-trading digital oil is like vibe-hedging in treasuries during Hormuz risk-off. Both share one house of cards that works on paper.

Difference: oil at least has Dated Brent. Treasuries? Vibes all the way down."

He also shared a new formula: "EUCRBRDT Index GP

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iranian Armed Forces intercepted two oil tankers sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola in the Strait of Hormuz and turned them back.

The developments come amid further escalation following Iran's confirmation that a US operation targeted an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman. Iran's Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters accused Washington of "violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy" and said the vessel had been seized.

"We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military," it said.

The statement followed claims by US Central Command (CENTCOM) that American forces intercepted and disabled the Iranian-flagged vessel TOUSKA in the Arabian Sea after it allegedly violated a naval blockade. (ANI)

US Iran war LIVE updates: The U.S. military said it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people Sunday.

The Trump administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 181 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Despite the Iran war, the series of strikes have ramped up again in the past week or so, showing that the administration's aggressive measures to stop what it calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere are not letting up. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.

The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty. (AP)

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said global fuel prices could stabilise only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports end.

"One cannot restrict Iran's oil exports while expecting free security for others," Aref wrote on X. "The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone."

Oil prices rose in early trading Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the US prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.

The price of US crude oil increased 6.4 per cent to USD 87.88 per barrel after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.5 per cent to USD 96.25 per barrel. (AP)

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iranian forces launched drones towards US warships following an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iranian media.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed that US forces stationed in the Sea of Oman were forced to retreat after firing at an Iranian merchant vessel, Press TV reported.

Citing Mehr news agency, Press TV reported that US forces operating in the region targeted an Iranian merchant ship in an attempt to compel it to return to Iranian territorial waters.

According to the report, the incident took place amid heightened maritime tensions involving the Strait of Hormuz and movement of international shipping vessels. (ANI)

US Iran war LIVE updates: President Donald Trump said that his negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran.

At first, Trump said "no" to vice president JD Vance going to the talks in at least two interviews. However, the White House later told another news channel that Vance "will attend" the talks in Pakistan along Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

US Iran war LIVE updates: Iran slammed the United States for the "flagrant act of aggression" it carried out on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman, saying that US deployed "its terrorist marines onto the ship's deck and disabled its navigation systems".

Lieutenant-Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said, "The aggressor United States violated the ceasefire and committed maritime piracy by firing at an Iranian merchant ship in the waters of the Sea of Oman and landing a number of its terrorist marines on the deck of the vessel, disabling its navigation system."

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to this armed piracy and retaliation by the US army," PressTV cited him as saying.

US Iran war LIVE updates: An Iranian-flagged cargo ship was intercepted and subsequently seized in the Gulf of Oman after it tried to get past the naval blockade imposed by the US near the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said on Monday. Subsequently, Iran reportedly vowed a swift response against what it called “armed piracy”.

The US President said that that USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer gave the vessel a “fair warning” to stop but when the Iranian crew didn't listen, the ship stopped them by “blowing a hole in the engine room.

According to the US President, the Iranian ship, Touska, was nearly 900 feet long and weighed almost “as much as an aircraft carrier”. Following the interception, Touska is now under the US Marines custody.

“The TOUSKA is under US Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!,” Trump said in a Truth Social Post.