He says Iran\u2019s energy industry is not destroyed \u201cyet\u201d and that threatening to shoot at commercial ships \u201cis not control, it\u2019s piracy\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon chief adds:<\/p>\n
double quotation markFor as long as it takes, we will maintain the blockade.<\/p>\n
He is now attacking the \u201clegacy, Trump-hating press\u201d for not being patriotic enough for his liking\u2026<\/p>\n
Updated at\u00a008.46 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan told AFP on Thursday that the Lebanese government\u2019s decision to hold direct negotiations with Israel was a \u201cgrave error\u201d, urging Beirut to stop making concessions to Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n Israel and Lebanon<\/a> agreed on Tuesday to begin direct talks following a landmark meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, weeks after Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cDirect negotiations with the enemy are a grave sin and a grave error,\u201d Hajj Hassan said from his parliamentary office.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Lebanese army said that Israeli strikes that destroyed the Qasmiyeh bridge over the southern Litani River have cut off the area from the rest of the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the context of the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon<\/a>, the Qasmiyeh-Tyre coastal bridge was targeted and destroyed, with the aim of separating the area south of the Litani from its north and isolating it,\u201d the army said in a statement, adding that the strikes killed one person and wounded three others, among them \u201ca soldier from the unit stationed on the bridge\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pope Leo XIV has said the world is being \u201cravaged by a handful of tyrants\u201d who spend billions on war, in comments that will be seen as another sharp escalation in his almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first American-born pontiff did not mention Donald Trump<\/a> by name, but used his speech in Cameroon on Thursday to denounce world leaders who invoke religion to justify violence against other nations.<\/p>\n Lebanese president Joseph Aoun rejected a US request for a direct phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, an official source told AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lebanese president refused a direct call with Netanyahu and informed [US secretary of state] Marco Rubio of this,\u201d adding that \u201cthe American side was understanding\u201d, the source said.<\/p>\n US president Donald Trump<\/a> said Wednesday the \u201cleaders\u201d of the two countries would speak the following day.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Israeli troops being prepared for Lebanon ceasefire – report<\/p>\n A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon<\/a> is expected to begin at 7pm local time today, according to IDF officials.<\/p>\n High-ranking IDF commanders have been given orders to prepare forces currently deployed in southern Lebanon for the truce, Haaretz<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n They have been informed that the ceasefire would begin some time between 7pm and midnight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We have some images coming through the newswires of the bridge over the Litani river in Qasmiyeh in southern Lebanon<\/a> that was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Lebanese media reported that it was the last remaining bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country. Earlier today the Israeli military ordered people south of Zahrani river \u2013 a short distance from the Litani \u2013 to leave their homes and head north.<\/p>\n Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki\/Reuters Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki\/Reuters Photograph: Mohammed Zaatari\/AP Photograph: Mohammed Zaatari\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, has warned Iran to choose \u201cbetween a bridge to the future and an abyss of isolation and destruction\u201d, saying his country could strike harder if threats persist.<\/p>\n Speaking at a memorial ceremony, Katz said targets not yet hit by Israel would be \u201ceven more painful\u201d, according to Israeli media reports.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Moments after Pope Leo delivered a speech in Cameroon denouncing leaders for using religion to justify war (see post at 12:55<\/a>), Pete Hegseth has again used Biblical language and scripture to describe the US military campaign in Iran. He likened the rescue mission of American crew members whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran as a \u201cmiracle\u201d and compared the press to the Pharisees, who challenged Jesus in the Bible, because of \u201cthe relentless negative coverage\u201d of the war.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.41 EDT<\/p>\n Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said a ceasefire in Lebanon<\/a> was \u201cas important\u201d as in Iran, according to a statement posted on Telegram.<\/p>\n In a telephone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart, Nabih Berri, the Iranian official said Tehran was \u201cseriously seeking to force the enemies to establish a permanent ceasefire in all conflict areas in accordance with the agreement\u201d reached with the US on 8 April, adding: \u201cA ceasefire in Lebanon is as important to us as a ceasefire in Iran<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Asked whether there is any update on the welfare of the new Iranian supreme leader, Hegseth says his status \u201cremains the same\u201d.<\/p>\n He adds that Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to be alive, wounded and disfigured.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Caine tells reporters that the United States would pursue any vessel attempting to provide support to Iran<\/a>, adding that enforcement would occur in Iranian territorial seas as well as and international waters.<\/p>\n He says that 13 ships have \u201cmade the wise choice to turn around\u201d and that, as of this morning, the US has not boarded any ships.<\/p>\n He adds:<\/p>\n double quotation markIf you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force.<\/p>\n![\"Pete](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776352749_623_4583.jpg\")
Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine hold a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon Photograph: Nathan Howard\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5793.jpg\")
Pope Leo laments world ruled by ‘tyrants’ after Trump attacks \u2013\u00a0videoShare<\/a><\/p>\n