Iran warns it’ll shut Hormuz strait if US blockade continues
Iran will shut the strait of Hormuz if the US blockade continues, Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf additionally stated passage by the waterway would rely on authorisation from Iran, whereas swiping at Donald Trump within the collection of posts on X.
Ghalibaf stated (in a translation):
double citation mark1 – The President of america made seven claims in a single hour, all seven of which have been false.
2 – They didn’t win the battle with these lies, and they’ll actually not get anyplace in negotiations both.”
Iran parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran. {Photograph}: Handout/Iranian parliament communication workplace/Getty Pictures
Ghalibaf, who final weekend co-led the Iranian facet in negotiations with the US in Islamabad that failed to achieve an settlement, continued in his posts:
double citation mark3 – With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz is not going to stay open.
4 – Passage by the Strait of Hormuz shall be carried out primarily based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization”.
Whether or not the strait was open or closed and the laws governing it “shall be decided by the sphere, not by social media”, Ghalibaf added.
Iran’s international minister Abbas Araghchi introduced earlier that industrial delivery although the strait was now “fully open for the remaining interval of ceasefire”, prompting Trump to welcome to maneuver but in addition emphasise that the US naval blockade of Iran would stay in place till the battle was totally concluded.
Trump additionally stated Iran had agreed to by no means shut the strait once more, however that has not been verified.
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Up to date at 19.57 EDT
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Persevering with on Australia for a second, the federal government has prolonged an easing on fuel-quality requirements till September because the nation’s grapples with the affect of the Iran battle on its gasoline provide.
“I’ve determined to increase the interval of upper sulphur for petrol in Australia,” power minister Chris Bowen stated in televised remarks on Saturday cited by Reuters.
The comfort – introduced in March – will increase the quantity of sulphur permitted in gasoline to 50 elements per million from the standard 10 elements.
Australia imports most of its gasoline and has skilled localised shortages amid disrupted provide chains because of the battle.
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Up to date at 22.18 EDT
Australia’s prime minister has welcomed Iran’s announcement of reopening the strait of Hormuz however says the state of affairs stays “fragile”.
Anthony Albanese stated on Saturday after collaborating in a digital summit of about 50 international locations on the problem:
double citation markThis was constructive information that we acquired final evening. We hope that it holds, however what we all know is that the affect shall be lengthy lasting.”
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Up to date at 21.25 EDT
Turning now to Gaza, the UN youngsters’s company says it’s “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to ship clear water to households within the Strip have been killed by Israeli hearth.
Unicef stated in a press release that the incident occurred throughout routine water trucking on Friday morning on the Mansoura water filling level in northern Gaza, which provides Gaza Metropolis. Two others have been injured within the assault.
Unicef stated it had suspended actions on the web site and known as on Israeli authorities to research, stressing that humanitarian staff, civilians and important water infrastructure have to be protected beneath worldwide humanitarian legislation.
Israel’s embassy in Washington didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
Youngsters at a candlelight vigil in Gaza Metropolis forward of Palestinian prisoners’ day on Friday. {Photograph}: Abood Abo Salama/SIPA/ShutterstockShare
Up to date at 21.00 EDT
US extends waiver permitting international locations to purchase Russian oil
Donald Trump’s administration has issued a waiver allowing international locations to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum merchandise at sea for a few month, looking for to manage international power costs which have shot greater in the course of the battle on Iran.
The US Treasury division allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday till 16 Could, an extension of an unique 30-day waiver that expired on 11 April, in response to a doc posted to the division’s web site.
The extension comes two days after Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated Washington wouldn’t be renewing the waiver that allowed international locations to buy Russian oil with out going through US sanctions, Reuters experiences.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had stated the primary waiver would free 100m barrels of Russian crude, equal to nearly a day’s value of worldwide output.
The reprieve on sanctions might briefly increase world provides of oil however has not prevented petroleum costs from spiking because of the efficient closure of the strait of Hormuz.
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Up to date at 21.04 EDT
UK to make ‘wide-ranging’ contribution to Hormuz mission, says envoy
Britain will make “a wide-ranging navy contribution” to a world mission to guard delivery within the strait of Hormuz commerce waterway, the UK ambassador to the US has stated.
Christian Turner’s dedication comes amid long-running considerations over the state of Britain’s armed forces and warnings of under-funding, PA Media experiences.
The multinational mission, led by the UK and France, aimed to supply reassurance to vessels utilizing the crucial waterway as soon as the Iran battle was over, Turner instructed an occasion in Washington.
The initiative was introduced at talks in Paris involving practically 50 international locations, which Turner stated signalled international resolve to stop tolls or restrictions being imposed on the delivery route, usually used to maneuver one fifth of the world’s oil and fuel provides.
To date about 12 nations have dedicated to participate within the mission.
The transfer has been derided by Donald Trump, who used it as a recent alternative to criticise Nato as “ineffective” after it refused to assist his offensive towards Iran.
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Up to date at 21.27 EDT
World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement it was reopening the Hormuz strait, which it made earlier than later warning it could shut the waterway if the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships continued.
British prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron welcomed the reopening however stated it should turn out to be everlasting.
Macron, who with Starmer on Friday evening was co-chairing a digital summit of about 50 international locations on reopening the strait and supporting the delicate ceasefire, stated the transfer “goes in the best route”.
double citation markWe all oppose any restrictions or system of agreements that will, in impact, quantity to an try and privatize the strait – and, in fact, any toll system.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb stated:
double citation markFinland stands able to work on an answer that brings stability to the area and respects worldwide legislation.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb. {Photograph}: Canadian Press/Shutterstock
Turkish vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz known as the reopening “an necessary step in direction of deescalation of rigidity”.
double citation markPreventing related crises, conflicts, and developments that disrupt maritime transport in our area is just doable by dialogue, restraint and strengthening multilateral cooperation.”
As reported earlier, UN chief António Guterres known as the reopening “a step in the best route”.
double citation markThe UN place stays clear: we want the complete restoration of worldwide navigational rights and freedoms within the Strait of Hormuz, revered by everybody.”
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Up to date at 20.15 EDT
Iran warns it’ll shut Hormuz strait if US blockade continues
Iran will shut the strait of Hormuz if the US blockade continues, Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf additionally stated passage by the waterway would rely on authorisation from Iran, whereas swiping at Donald Trump within the collection of posts on X.
Ghalibaf stated (in a translation):
double citation mark1 – The President of america made seven claims in a single hour, all seven of which have been false.
2 – They didn’t win the battle with these lies, and they’ll actually not get anyplace in negotiations both.”
Iran parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran. {Photograph}: Handout/Iranian parliament communication workplace/Getty Pictures
Ghalibaf, who final weekend co-led the Iranian facet in negotiations with the US in Islamabad that failed to achieve an settlement, continued in his posts:
double citation mark3 – With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz is not going to stay open.
4 – Passage by the Strait of Hormuz shall be carried out primarily based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization”.
Whether or not the strait was open or closed and the laws governing it “shall be decided by the sphere, not by social media”, Ghalibaf added.
Iran’s international minister Abbas Araghchi introduced earlier that industrial delivery although the strait was now “fully open for the remaining interval of ceasefire”, prompting Trump to welcome to maneuver but in addition emphasise that the US naval blockade of Iran would stay in place till the battle was totally concluded.
Trump additionally stated Iran had agreed to by no means shut the strait once more, however that has not been verified.
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Up to date at 19.57 EDT
US president Donald Trump stated no cash will change palms as a part of a deal being negotiated to finish the battle in Iran.
He additionally stated Iran won’t ever have a nuclear weapon, Reuters experiences.
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A cruise ship efficiently transited the strait of Hormuz in the present day, making it the primary passenger vessel to make it by because the battle started, in response to ship monitoring service MarineTraffic.
The Malta-flagged vessel, the Celestyal Discovery, had reportedly been caught in Dubai for 47 days after arriving there in early March.
“In line with MarineTraffic information, the ship crossed the strait of Hormuz at UTC in the present day and is presently heading towards Muscat, Oman, with an estimated arrival on 18 April,” the monitoring service wrote on X.
It added that experiences point out the vessel is crusing with out passengers.
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The world’s largest plane service, the USS Gerald R Ford, has once more entered the waters of the Center East, protection officers instructed the Related Press.
The Ford, which till not too long ago was working within the Japanese Mediterranean, transited the Suez Canal together with two destroyers and is now working within the Purple Sea, in response to the AP.
The Ford is returning to the Purple Sea after greater than a month within the Mediterranean following a serious hearth in a laundry area that compelled the ship again to port for repairs and left 600 sailors with out locations to sleep. This week marks the longest {that a} service has been deployed because the Vietnam battle.
The USS Gerald R. Ford plane service departs from Break up, Croatia, on April 2, 2026. {Photograph}: Xinhua/ShutterstockShareRobert Tait
It lacked the triumphalist symbolism of George W Bush’s memorable – and subsequently ill-fated – look earlier than the “mission completed” banner aboard the plane service USS Abraham Lincoln six weeks after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
However there was no mistaking the boastful claims asserted on Friday by Donald Trump after a navy assault on neighbouring Iran that has, up to now, lasted an analogous interval and which, by widespread settlement outdoors the Trump administration, has not gone to plan.
Forward of resumed peace talks in Islamabad and in a frenetic flurry of posts on his Reality Social community, the president all-but proclaimed unambiguous victory, insisting all the key sticking factors had been ironed out prematurely.
“An amazing and sensible day for the world,” Trump declared in his trademark block-capital letters.
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Listed here are just a few photographs of individuals displaced by preventing between Hezbollah and Israel returning to their villages in Lebanon following a ceasefire that went into impact Friday.
Displaced individuals from southern Lebanon returning to their properties after the ceasefire in Qasmiyeh, Lebanon. A ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took impact on Friday, following an announcement earlier by US president Donald Trump. 17 Apr 2026 {Photograph}: Xinhua/ShutterstockDisplaced individuals from southern Lebanon returning to their properties after the ceasefire in Qasmiyeh, Lebanon. A ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took impact on Friday, following an announcement earlier by US president Donald Trump. 17 Apr 2026 {Photograph}: Xinhua/ShutterstockNeighbors in Lebanon going again to examine the aftermath of their companies and homes on first day after a ceasefire settlement. 17 Apr 2026 {Photograph}: Adri Salido/Getty PicturesNeighbors in Lebanon going again to examine the aftermath of their companies and homes on first day after a ceasefire settlement. 17 Apr 2026 {Photograph}: Adri Salido/Getty ImagesShare
The US Division of Power stated on Friday it had loaned 26.03 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 9 oil corporations, the third allotment beneath the Trump administration’s effort to curb gasoline costs which have surged because the US-Israeli battle on Iran.
Corporations which were awarded SPR loans embody BP Merchandise North America, ExxonMobil Oil Corp and Marathon Petroleum, the DOE stated in a press release.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy known as on Friday for joint efforts for an efficient mission to make sure freedom of navigation within the strait of Hormuz and stated Kyiv’s wartime expertise within the Black Sea might assist.
“Selections made relating to Hormuz now will decide how different aggressive actors understand the opportunity of creating issues in different straits and on different fronts,” Zelenskyy stated in remarks to a video convention attended by 50 international locations and chaired by France and Britain.
“We should be as particular and clear as doable in order that in six months we don’t discover ourselves in the identical state of affairs as in Gaza, the place a lot nonetheless must be finished.” He added: “In Hormuz, there are safety challenges that can’t be addressed by political choices alone.”
Zelenskyy stated that in the middle of 4 years of battle with Russia, Ukraine had “already carried out a really related mission within the Black Sea”.
“Russia additionally tried to blockade our sea and we’ve got expertise in escorting service provider vessels, demining, defending towards air assaults and the general coordination of such operations,” he stated.
Ukraine, he stated, had despatched specialists all through the Center East to assist international locations profit from its expertise in defending towards Russian drones, many designed in Iran.
“We will additionally contribute to maritime safety,” he stated. Ukraine has clinched safety cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and says it’s in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
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The commander of the Iranian navy, Shahram Irani, stated Friday that Trump “has blockaded his pals” and never Iran, because the US stated its blockade will stay in place after Iran declared the strait of Hormuz open to industrial visitors.
In a press release carried by Mizan, Iran’s official judiciary information company, the navy chief stated Trump’s blockade is simply “empty phrases” and that nobody is listening to him.
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United Nations secretary normal Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed the opening of the strait of Hormuz by Iran and stated it was “a step in the best route.”
In a press release, he stated: “We want the complete restoration of worldwide navigational rights and freedoms within the Strait of Hormuz to be revered by all events.”
The assertion provides that Guterres hopes that “along with the ceasefire, this measure will contribute to creating confidence between the events and strengthen the continued dialogue facilitated by Pakistan”.
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Lebanese president Joseph Aoun stated a ceasefire agreed to by his nation must be remodeled into “everlasting agreements,” with out saying whether or not he was referring to a potential peace take care of Israel.
“Now, all of us stand earlier than a brand new section: the transition from working in direction of a ceasefire to working in direction of everlasting agreements that protect the rights of our individuals, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation,” he stated.
Hezbollah has stated it opposes direct talks with Israel and its lawmakers on Friday criticised the federal government for agreeing to carry such negotiations.
With out mentioning Israel, Aoun stated: “These negotiations aren’t an indication of weak point, nor a retreat, nor a concession.”
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