US Iran war highlights: JD Vance says further Iran talks hinge on Tehran, ‘ball is in their court’

US Iran war live updates: Indian flagged vessel ‘Jag Vikram’, carrying 20,400 metric tonnes of LPG, is likely to arrive at Kandla, Gujarat, on April 14, the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said Monday.

“Indian flagged LPG vessel Jag Vikram, which crossed the Strait of Hormuz on April 11, is likely to reach Kandla on April 14. The vessel is carrying 20,400 metric tonnes of LPG, and there are 24 seafarers on board,” , Additional Secretary Mukesh Mangal said during an inter-ministerial meeting.

US Iran war live updates: Two oil tankers linked to Iran exited the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, ahead of the blockade threatened by US on Iranian ports and coastal areas. The shipping data was showed by Kpler and LSEG, Reuters news agency reported.

The tanker Auroura is laden with Iranian oil products while the New Future tanker is carrying diesel loaded from the Hamriyah port in the United Arab Emirates, Kpler data showed.

US Iran war live updates: Russia is ready to take in Iran's enriched uranium as part of a future peace deal with the United States, Kremlin said on Monday, according to AFP.

“This 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,” Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

US Iran war live updates: Israel will achieve full operational control of the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil within days, Israeli military official alleged, according to Reuters news agency.

“Only a small number of terrorists remains in the area of Bint Jbeil,” Reuters cited the official as saying.

US Iran war live updates: China urged restraint by all sides on Monday, after US President Donald Trump's threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz after talks between US and Iran in Islamabad failed.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference that keeping the Strait of Hormuz safe, stable and unimpeded served the interest of the international community, Reuters news agency reported. “China hopes the relevant parties will abide by the temporary ceasefire arrangements, remain committed to resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means, and avoid a resumption of hostilities,” he said.

US Iran war live updates: Iranian foreign minister Abbas Aragchi and his Saudi Arabia counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud discussed the talks held between US and Iran in Islamabad, according to Iran's foreign ministry.

US Iran war live updates: Strikes hit the Red Cross centre in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Monday, the state news agency reported, according to Reuters news agency.

One person was killed, and Red Cross vehicles damaged in the attacks.

US Iran war live updates: Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan in an interview with the official Anadolu news agency said both US and Iran were “sincere” about the ceasefire, according to AFP.

“I am thinking that if the nuclear issue comes down to an all-or-nothing situation especially regarding enrichment, we might face serious obstacles,” Fidan said. However, he said these could be “overcome this with the support of some mediators.”

US Iran war live updates: Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Momday urged for the Strait of Hormuz should open “as soon as possible”, AFP reported.

“Negotiations with Iran should be conducted, persuasion methods should be used, and the strait should be opened as soon as possible,” Fidan told the official Anadolu news agency.

US Iran war live updates: Pope Leo on Monday said he would “continue to speak out loudly against war.”

He called for promoting “peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” Reuters news agency reported. In response to US President Donald Trump's direct attack against him, Pope Leo said, “I don't want to get into a debate with him….I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”

US Iran war live updates: French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for a “lasting resolution” to the conflict in Middle East through diplomatic means.

“To achieve this, all substantive issues must be addressed with lasting solutions, whether concerning Iran's nuclear and ballistic activities or its destabilizing actions in the region, but also to enable the resumption, as quickly as possible, of free and unhindered navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and to ensure that Lebanon returns to the path of peace in full respect of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Macron said.

US Iran war live updates: France and United Kingdom will host talks on a “peaceful multinational mission” for the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

“Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, we will organize with the United Kingdom, in the coming days, a conference with countries ready to contribute alongside us to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait,” Macron said in a post on X.

US Iran war live updates: Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran resumed operations on Sunday with a limited number of diplomatic and administrative staff, including the ambassador, the embassy said said in a post on X.

US Iran war live updates: Iran’s government has said the restoration of internet access will reportedly depend on a decision by security authorities.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the timing of reconnecting internet services is in the hands of security officials, reported Iran International.

She did not provide any timeline for when the shutdown might be lifted.

US Iran war live updates: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will not be drawn into the Iran conflict and does not support a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Starmer stressed the need to restore full access to the key waterway, reported Reuters.

“It is, in my view, vital that we get the Strait open and fully open, and that's where we've put all of our efforts in the last few and we'll continue to do so,” he said.

US Iran war live updates: A spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has said security in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman must be ensured collectively, warning of broader consequences if Iran’s ports are threatened, reported Mehr news agency.

The official said that if the security of Iranian ports is compromised, no port in the Persian Gulf or Gulf of Oman would remain secure, signalling the risk of wider regional escalation.

US Iran war live updates: A spokesperson for Iran’s Unified Armed Forces Command has condemned US restrictions on vessels in international waters, calling them “illegal and constitute piracy.”

The official also said Tehran will decisively implement a “permanent mechanism to control the Strait of Hormuz” following US threats, reported Reuters.

The remarks come amid escalating tensions over Washington’s planned naval blockade.

"If the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran's ports in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe," it added.

US Iran war live updates: Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have urged the United States and Iran to keep negotiations going and fully implement the ceasefire.

The ministers met virtually on Monday to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and called for efforts toward a permanent resolution.

They also stressed the need to restore safe and uninterrupted movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

“we call for the restoration of the safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz in line with the1982 UNCLOS, as well as for all parties to ensure the safety of seafarers and ships in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).”

US Iran war live updates: An Iranian lawmaker has criticised Washington’s planned naval blockade, calling it a sign of “confusion and a lack of a proper and workable strategy,” reported UK-based Iran International.

Vahid Ahmadi said any attempt to impose a maritime blockade on Iran would trigger broader global energy disruptions.

“The first place where it would create a flood is the economy of Western countries and the Americans,” he said.

Ahmadi added that the United States appeared to be seeking at the negotiating table what it failed to achieve through military means.

US Iran war live updates: US President Donald Trump has said American forces will intercept vessels in international waters that pay tolls to Iran, as Washington moves ahead with its planned blockade.

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.

“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”

He also said the US Navy will begin destroying mines allegedly placed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade will begin at 10 am ET (5.30 pm in Iran) on Monday.

US Iran war live updates: Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will not return to normal conditions for the United States and Israel, as restrictions on passage continue amid the ongoing conflict that began on February 28, reported Iranian state media

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said the strategic waterway “will never return to its former state, especially for the US and Israel,” a report in Press TV said.

Since the start for the war, Tehran has allowed vessels from what it calls friendly nations to pass, while barring ships linked to countries it considers aggressors and their supporters.

Iran’s parliament has reportedly moved forward with draft legislation to impose transit fees in national currency and explicitly ban US and Israeli vessels from the strait.

US Iran war live updates: Iran’s Navy commander has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz as “very ridiculous and laughable,” reported Iranian state-media.

Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said Iranian forces are closely monitoring US military movements in the region.

“The brave men of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy are tracking and monitoring all movements of the aggressor US military in the region,” he said in a statement carried by Iranian media.

“The threats of the US president following the humiliating defeat of his army in the third imposed war, a naval blockade on Iran, are very ridiculous and laughable.”

US Iran war live updates: Saudi Arabia’s crude shipments to China are expected to drop sharply next month as the Middle East conflict disrupts energy flows and drives up prices, according to traders familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.

The world’s top oil exporter is likely to send around 20 million barrels to Chinese buyers in May, down from roughly 40 million barrels allocated for April, the traders said.

The expected cut follows a record increase in official selling prices by Aramco, as the Iran war has effectively shut down flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route.

While Saudi Arabia can route some exports through its Red Sea outlet at Yanbu, the alternative corridor is not capable of handling the full volume that typically moves through the Persian Gulf, the report added.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment on the development.

US Iran war live updates: The US military has announced it will begin its blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10 am EDT (5:30 pm in Iran), setting a clear timeline for the move after ceasefire talks with Tehran collapsed.

The US Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” including those along the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

The announcement marks a scaling back of US President Donald Trump’s earlier threat to block the entire Strait of Hormuz, with CENTCOM clarifying that ships traveling between non-Iranian ports will still be allowed to transit the waterway.

Trump later confirmed the blockade timing in a post on Truth Social.

US Iran war live updates: Israel has intercepted a drone in the Upper Galilee region, Al Jazeera reported citing Channel 12.

The broadcaster reported that the intrusion triggered alarms in Metula and surrounding areas.

It added that the drone was successfully intercepted and authorities have said it is now safe for residents to leave their shelters.