Tehran will maintain the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed till Washington ends the blockade of Iranian ports.
Printed On 19 Apr 2026
The strategic Strait of Hormuz was closed again amid the standoff between Iran and the US, because the influential Iranian parliamentary speaker indicated {that a} conclusive peace settlement was nonetheless “far” away, regardless that talks made some headway.
With mediators urgent on after high-level discussions in Pakistan failed to provide an accord, Tehran declared it could maintain the important maritime commerce hall closed till Washington lifts its blockade on Iranian ports.
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any try to cross via the strait with out permission “shall be thought of cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel shall be focused”.
The present two-week ceasefire will expire on Wednesday until it’s prolonged.
Here’s what we all know:
In Iran
- US President Donald Trump has no justification to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, the Iranian College students’ Information Company quoted Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as saying on Sunday, as Washington and Tehran proceed to face disagreements over nuclear points.
- Iran’s “valiant navy” is “able to inflict new bitter defeats on its enemies”, Supreme Chief Mojtaba Khamenei stated on Saturday.
- Deputy International Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh dismissed Trump’s claims over the uranium and sounded a word of warning with regard to future talks between the 2 nations.
- “There may be now a sure sense of frustration and uncertainty in the case of the highway forward. We all know that Iranians are very a lot anxious, not solely concerning the shadow of the warfare, but additionally concerning the ingredient of shock, even throughout this ceasefire,” Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reported from Tehran.
- Minister of Schooling Alireza Kazemi has stated the federal government doesn’t have plans to renew “in-person training” for the time being.
- The Tasnim Information Company, citing the deputy director of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, stated the nation’s airspace could be reopened, with flights from east to west established regularly.
Battle diplomacy
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, stated in a televised handle on Saturday evening that there had been “progress” with Washington, “however there are numerous gaps and a few elementary factors stay”.
- “We’re nonetheless removed from the ultimate dialogue,” stated Ghalibaf, certainly one of Tehran’s negotiators within the talks geared toward ending the warfare launched by Israel and the US towards Iran.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on Saturday from his go to to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye prematurely of an anticipated second spherical of US-Iran talks.
- Egypt’s International Minister Badr Abdelatty stated Cairo and Islamabad hoped to safe a closing settlement “within the coming days”.
Within the US
- Trump accused Iran of getting “a bit cute” with its latest strikes and warned Tehran to not attempt to “blackmail” Washington by flip-flopping on the strait.
- “We have now excellent conversations happening,” the president informed reporters on the White Home, including that Washington was “taking a tricky stand”.
- The US army stated it pressured 23 ships to show round close to the Strait of Hormuz because it imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports. In a submit on X, the Central Command stated US forces had been nonetheless imposing the blockade “towards ships getting into or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas”.
In Israel
- The Israeli army stated one other soldier had been killed in fight in southern Lebanon, the second demise introduced in lower than 12 hours.
- Israeli forces stated they’ve established a so-called “yellow line” in southern Lebanon, much like an Israeli army measure within the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel has additionally been accused of violating the phrases of the ceasefire with Lebanon.
- Greater than 1,000 houses in Tel Aviv have been left uninhabitable by the latest warfare with Iran, the town’s mayor stated on Saturday.
In Lebanon
- United Nations Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres condemned Saturday’s assault that killed a French soldier serving with the UN mission UNIFIL in Lebanon.
- Naim Kassem, head of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, in an announcement learn on the group’s Al-Manar TV, stated a paper printed by the US Division of State, which he described because the textual content of a ceasefire settlement between Lebanon and Israel, “means nothing on the sensible degree, however it’s an insult to our nation”.
- “Everybody is aware of that the federal government of Lebanon has not met or accredited this assertion,” he stated.
