In a report issued this morning, UKMTO said: \u201cA master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel.<\/p>\n
\u201cUKMTO is aware of high levels of activity in the SoH (strait of Hormuz) area and encourages vessels to report any suspicious activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
It follows an earlier report<\/a> of a container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.55 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n We have some images on the newswires from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which is still locked in gear to host US-Iran talks that were pushed back at the last minute.<\/p>\n A worker sweeps a street in Islamabad. Photograph: Asif Hassan\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA police officer crosses a barricaded road in the Pakistani capital. Photograph: Anjum Naveed\/APPeople walk past billboards of the US-Iran talks near the Serena Hotel. Photograph: Anjum Naveed\/APA man reads a morning newspaper at a stall. Photograph: Anjum Naveed\/APPakistani soldiers disembark from a truck as they arrive near the presidential palace. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n To understand more about what Hezbollah is and how much power it wields in Lebanon, watch this video by the Guardian\u2019s Matilda Boseley, where she explains the group\u2019s beginnings and its connections to Iran:<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, has urged Lebanon to make joint efforts with his country to counter Hezbollah, AFP reports.<\/p>\n Speaking ahead of talks between the countries that are set to resume in Washington, Saar said: \u201cTomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington DC. I call on the government of Lebanon \u2013 let\u2019s work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory.<\/p>\n \u201cThis cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative for ensuring a future of peace for you and for us.\u201d<\/p>\n People carrying Hezbollah flags and posters gather to attend the funeral ceremony for the members of Hezbollah who were killed in Israeli attacks, in Nabatieh, Lebanon. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n The Israeli military said it killed \u201ctwo terrorists who had violated the ceasefire agreement\u201d in southern Lebanon, saying they crossed what it described as the front defence line that separates an area occupied by the Israel<\/a> Defense Forces (IDF) from the rest of the country.<\/p>\n In a report issued today, the IDF said: \u201cYesterday (Tuesday), forces identified two terrorists in the Saluki area who violated the ceasefire agreements, crossed the front defence line, and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter identification and a quick closing of the circle, the air force attacked and eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n After the 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire took effect on Friday, the Israeli military has carried out demolitions in the territory that it occupies on Lebanon\u2019s southern border with Israel, while Hezbollah said it had launched rockets toward northern Israel in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of the truce.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Two million people in Iran lost their jobs because of war, says Iranian minister<\/p>\n More than two million people have lost their jobs in Iran<\/a> as a result of the war, according to an Iranian minister, pushing a fragile economy already battered by sanctions and an internet blackout deeper into crisis.<\/p>\n The war has inflicted severe damage on Iran\u2019s critical infrastructure, including its oil and gas facilities, petrochemical industries, steel plants and aluminium factories. Internet disruptions during the January protests, and the blackout since the start of the war<\/a> on 28 February, have also paralysed the digital economy.<\/p>\n Widespread redundancies have followed, with Hadi Kahalzadeh,<\/a> a former economist at Iran\u2019s Social Security Organisation, estimating 10 to 12 million jobs, roughly 50% of Iran\u2019s workforce, are at risk.<\/p>\n Iranians wait in a bus station in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh\/EPA<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Gholamhossein Mohammadi, an Iranian deputy labour minister and head of Iran\u2019s technical and vocational training organisation, said initial estimates showed the war has led to the loss of more than one million jobs and direct and indirect unemployment of two million people, Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.<\/p>\n He said the Iranian government has launched initiatives to train and recruit people for the reconstruction of damaged homes and industries. He was quoted as saying: \u201cOur approach this year has shifted from quantity to quality, with a focus on the training required for reconstruction, renewable energy and the digital economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.15 EDT<\/p>\n Second ship reports attack in strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a second ship coming under attack in the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n A cargo ship was fired at about 8 nautical miles northwest of Iran<\/a>, UKMTO said, although it did not say where the shots were fired from.<\/p>\n In a report issued this morning, UKMTO said: \u201cA master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel.<\/p>\n \u201cUKMTO is aware of high levels of activity in the SoH (strait of Hormuz) area and encourages vessels to report any suspicious activity.\u201d<\/p>\n It follows an earlier report<\/a> of a container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.55 EDT<\/p>\n Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel\u2019s intelligence service and passing sensitive information, the judiciary\u2019s news outlet Mizan reports.<\/p>\n Mizan said the man had held a position in a civil defence unit within a sensitive organisation and had used his access to gather and transmit information to Israel\u2019s Mossad, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n His death sentence was upheld by the supreme court, Mizan said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In the UK, inflation rose by 3.3% in March after the surge in fuel prices triggered by the Iran<\/a> war led to the biggest jump in transport costs since December 2022.<\/p>\n Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)<\/a> show the consumer prices index increased last month from 3% in February, adding to pressure on household finances already battered by a cost of living crisis. The rise matched City economists\u2019s forecasts.<\/p>\n Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said: \u201cInflation climbed in March, largely due to increased fuel prices, which saw their largest increase for over three years.<\/p>\n \u201cAir fares were another upward driver this month, alongside rising food prices.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iranian media has reported the container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman had \u201cignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces\u201d.<\/p>\n As reported earlier,<\/a> the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a container ship coming under fire near the strait of Hormuz by an IRGC gunboat, causing damage to the vessel but no casualties.<\/p>\n The incident happened 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, UKMTO said, adding that the captain of the tanker reported the gunboat opened fire without issuing a radio challenge.<\/p>\n But Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the vessel \u201cignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces [and] was fired upon \u2026 causing serious damage to the ship\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.59 EDT<\/p>\n IRGC warns it would inflict ‘crushing blows’ if fighting resumes<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned it would inflict \u201ccrushing blows\u201d against \u201cthe enemy\u2019s remaining assets\u201d in the Middle East if fighting resumed, according to Iranian media.<\/p>\n The warning came after Donald Trump<\/a> announced an extension of the US-Iran ceasefire that was set to expire today.<\/p>\n In a statement carried by Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said it is \u201cprepared to confront any threat or renewed aggression from the enemy decisively, conclusively, and immediately, and in the next phase of a potential military conflict, will inflict crushing and unimaginable blows on the enemy\u2019s remaining assets in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6480.jpg\")
What is Hezbollah? How the group embedded itself into the fabric of Lebanese life \u2013 videoShare<\/a><\/p>\n