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US Iran war updates highlights: Tehran vows ‘swift response’ after US seizes vessel in Gulf of Oman
US Iran war updates highlights: The deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz lingers as Iran shuttered the energy passage again on Saturday citing US blockade after briefly opening it. The ceasefire violation between Israel and Lebanon further threatens the stability in the region.
- 6:06 AM IST, Apr 20Tehran calls US's vessel seizure an act of ‘piracy’, vows response
- 5:22 AM IST, Apr 19US treasury secretary meets Qatari official
- 4:37 AM IST, Apr 19US says Iran ship crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period
- 3:59 AM IST, Apr 19Iran vows ‘swift response’ to US seizure of ship in Gulf of Oman
- 3:18 AM IST, Apr 19Iranian woman arrested in LA over allegedly helping Iran traffic arms
- 2:47 AM IST, Apr 19Iran not planning to attend talks with US in Pakistan
- 2:11 AM IST, Apr 19UAE in talks with US about a financial backstop, report says
- 1:42 AM IST, Apr 19US Marines checking what's on board seized Iranian-flagged ship, says Trump
- 1:14 AM IST, Apr 19Intercepted Iranian-flagged vessel was nearly 900 feet long, says Trump
- 12:59 AM IST, Apr 19Iran-flagged cargo ship in US marines custody, says Trump
- 12:42 AM IST, Apr 19Pakistan, Iran yet to confirm second round of talks
- 12:10 AM IST, Apr 19Pakistan PM Sharif speaks with Iran's president
- 12:02 AM IST, Apr 19Washington's ‘excessive demands’, naval blockade blamed as Iran bows out of talks
- 11:54 PM IST, Apr 19White House response on Iran's ‘rejection’ from talks awaited
- 11:51 PM IST, Apr 19Iran noncommittal about joining talks in Islamabad even as Trump gives nod
- 11:09 PM IST, Apr 19Pak foreign minister urges ‘continued dialogue’ over phone call with Iran FM Araghchi
- 10:50 PM IST, Apr 19Iran to skip second round of negotiations with US in Pakistan, state media reports
- 9:43 PM IST, Apr 19Iran V-P says negotiators ‘bravely defending’ national interests
- 8:34 PM IST, Apr 19White House says Vance part of US delegation to Pak
- 7:46 PM IST, Apr 19Iran says no decision on sending delegation to Islamabad
- 7:36 PM IST, Apr 19White House official says Vance going to Pak as Trump confirms his exclusion
- 7:33 PM IST, Apr 19Trump tells ABC News Vance won't be going to Islamabad for Iran talks
- 7:29 PM IST, Apr 19‘No more Mr Nice Guy,’ says Trump as he threatens Iran infrastructure
- 7:24 PM IST, Apr 19Israel orders military to use ‘full force’ to protect soldiers in Lebanon from threat
- 5:49 PM IST, Apr 19Trump says second round of talks with Iran to be held on Monday
- 5:44 PM IST, Apr 19Trump says he will get peace deal ‘nice way or hard way'
- 5:43 PM IST, Apr 19Trump says Iran committed ‘serious violation’ of ceasefire terms
- 5:16 PM IST, Apr 19‘Israel trying to create fait accompli,’ says Turkey
- 5:07 PM IST, Apr 19Iran to reopen six airports including Mashhad, to resume international flights from Monday
- 4:41 PM IST, Apr 19Iran prevented two tankers from passing through Hormuz, Tasnim reports
- 4:15 PM IST, Apr 19Turkey says Iran-US talks largely complete, ceasefire extension needed for couple of disagreements
- 3:57 PM IST, Apr 19Iran Guards say speed of replenishing launches during ceasefire greater than before war
- 3:32 PM IST, Apr 19‘Far from final discussion,’ says Iran Parliament Speaker
- 2:44 PM IST, Apr 19Iran official flags US' ‘maximalist’ demands amid uncertainty over talks
- 2:41 PM IST, Apr 19Energy agency chief proposed new Iraq-Turkey pipeline to shift balance away from Hormuz
- 2:38 PM IST, Apr 19Hormuz standstill threatens to deepen energy crisis, stall talks, says report
- 1:57 PM IST, Apr 19Talks likely next week: Report
- 1:41 PM IST, Apr 19Tehran to restore international internet access gradually, says report
- 1:20 PM IST, Apr 19No casualties reported after 2 Indian tankers attacked by Iran in Hormuz
- 1:17 PM IST, Apr 19Emirates Airlines employee in jail since March 8 for sharing Iran attack photos: Report
- 1:10 PM IST, Apr 19US Iran war updates LIVE
- 12:54 PM IST, Apr 19‘Hitting F-35 is not one-off event’: Iran says it neutralised 180 drones, targeted US stealth jet
- 12:32 PM IST, Apr 19Ghalibaf says strait will remain closed
- 12:23 PM IST, Apr 19As Iran war strains ties with Trump's US, UK looks to Europe
- 12:05 PM IST, Apr 19Ghalibaf claims ‘Trump requesting ceasefire’
- 11:35 AM IST, Apr 19French peacekeeping solider killed in Lebanon
- 11:30 AM IST, Apr 19Iran Guards target vessels in Hormuz after closure
- 11:16 AM IST, Apr 19Hezbollah warns Israel over ceasefire violation
- 11:11 AM IST, Apr 19Pak starts arrangements for talks, though no dates announced
- 11:06 AM IST, Apr 19'Not stronger, yet pushed back enemy': Iran on using asymmetric warfare against US
- 10:35 AM IST, Apr 192 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon in 12 hours
- 10:08 AM IST, Apr 19Kamala Harris says Trump ‘pulled into’ Iran war by Netanyahu
- 9:58 AM IST, Apr 19What we know of the two Indian ships hit in Hormuz Strait
- 9:52 AM IST, Apr 19Hormuz chaos further threatens global energy supplies
- 9:45 AM IST, Apr 19Iran says no date set for talks with US
- 9:28 AM IST, Apr 19What did Iran say on restoring control over Strait of Hormuz?
- 9:07 AM IST, Apr 19Iran firmly positioned on battlefield, says Ghalibaf
- 8:43 AM IST, Apr 19Trump's praise for Israel
- 8:26 AM IST, Apr 19Iran ‘getting a little cute’: Trump hits back amid Hormuz closure
- 8:14 AM IST, Apr 19Iran pushed back US using asymmetric warfare, says Ghalibaf
- 8:09 AM IST, Apr 19'India-Iran relationship strong': Tehran rep after tankers shot at near Hormuz
- 7:55 AM IST, Apr 19Iran fires at two Indian ships in Hormuz
- 7:40 AM IST, Apr 19US preparing to board Iran-linked vessels, seize ships in international waters: Report
- 7:20 AM IST, Apr 19Hormuz to stay shut until port blockade lifts, Iran says
- 7:09 AM IST, Apr 19Good conversation, says Trump
- 7:04 AM IST, Apr 19No deal so far, despite good progress in talks, says Iran's Ghalibaf
US Iran war updates highlights: The clock is ticking as the two-week halt to the US-Iran war nears, with the ceasefire set to end on Wednesday, April 22. So far, there has been no indication of any extension to the truce. The uncertainty around the second round of negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan remains as Iranian state media reports that Tehran has decided to skip the talks....Read More
According to IRNA, Iran had decided to remain absent owing to Washington's “excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire.”
US President Donald Trump had earlier said that American representatives will be in Pakistan's Islamabad on Monday for negotiations with Iran.
Amid the nearing deadline, the two sides are trading barbs and countering each others claims, while there is still no official word on another round of talks to ease the flaring tensions. The stalemate over Strait of Hormuz persists as Iran rolled back its decision to open the energy passage citing US blockade.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insists on the country's nuclear rights as he slammed on US President Donald Trump saying he has no justification to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights.
"Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn't say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?" Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).
Iran-US negotiations on Monday?
Uncertainty around the extension of the ceasefire and the second round of negotiations continued on Sunday. While US President Trump said American representatives would be in Pakistan's Capital Islamabad on Monday evening for negotiations, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that there was no decision on whether Tehran would send a delegation.
Trump, while confirming that a delegation was headed to Islamabad, warned Iran to “take” the deal offered by US, threatening the country's infrastructure. Meanwhile, according to Tasnim, Tehran is not prepared to send representatives “as long as there is a naval blockade.”
Iran's Hormuz u-turn
In a u-turn of its order to reopen Hormuz, Iran on Saturday again shut the energy choke point, adding fresh uncertainty to the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.
Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran's navy was ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on its enemies. Trump called the move "blackmail" even as he praised the talks.
On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire in tatters
However, uncertainty looms over the ceasefire as Israeli army has confirmed carrying out fresh strikes on what it described as threats south of the new "yellow line" in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.
Beirut-based correspondent reported that, along with ongoing artillery shelling and machinegun fire on several villages, Israel launched two air strikes on Sunday, as per a report by Al Jazeera.
One of the strikes targeted a group of Hezbollah fighters who, according to Israel, were approaching the yellow line but had not crossed it. "So that actually indicates that they were to the north of it and not inside it," she noted, as per Al Jazeera.
The second strike was aimed at an individual approaching a tunnel entrance south of the yellow line, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel said it "carried out a strike on him and destroyed that tunnel entrance," the correspondent added, noting that the Israeli military spokesperson maintained the action did not violate the ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported.
