US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was freed<\/a> a week after being kidnapped in Baghdad late last month, has taken to social media to thank people for helping secure her release by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. \u201cThank you all so very, very much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Italian sports officials say Italy is not interested in replacing Iran <\/a>at the upcoming World Cup after a suggestion to that effect by a Trump administration official.<\/p>\n Pope Leo urged the US and Iran to return to talks to end the war and condemned capital punishment, calling for a new \u201cculture of peace\u201d to replace the recourse to violence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.42 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit Saudi Arabia and hold talks with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior official in Kyiv told AFP.<\/p>\n Zelensky has brokered closer ties with several states in the Gulf amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, striking defense deals, including with Riyadh, to share Kyiv\u2019s expertise in downing drones, gained through fending off four years of Russian attacks. Ukraine touts its anti-drone defences as the best in the world.<\/p>\n This visit, taking place on Friday, his second trip to the country in as many months. In a visit last month, Zelenskyy said the two sides had \u201creached an important arrangement\u201d on air defence.<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photograph: Byron Smith\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n There is still no sign that Iran<\/a> and the US are to meet in Pakistan, Reuters reports, as the capital has been waiting for peace talks for nearly a week.<\/p>\n Key roads leading into Islamabad are shut down and a strict security cordon envelops the administrative centre, the so-called \u201cRed Zone\u201c. In the adjacent \u201cBlue Area\u201c, cafes have run out of fruit, markets are deserted and with no service at bus terminals, weekend commuters are struggling to get home.<\/p>\n Government officials say the measures are not ending any time soon and that they are ever ready for delegates, including US president Donald Trump, to show up at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been told that the talks could be held any day,\u201d one official said.<\/p>\n Sky News reports that Iran\u2019s foreign minister has spoken to senior Pakistani officials about the ceasefire with the US.<\/p>\n Abbas Araghchi said he had spoken separately with Pakistan\u2019s foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and army chief Asim Munir.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Spain plays down reports of Pentagon Nato punishments Spain\u2019s prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, has played down reports that the Pentagon is considering punishing Nato allies deemed insufficiently supportive of the US offensive against Iran<\/a> by suspending them from the alliance.<\/p>\n A US official told Reuters that an internal memo was circulating at the highest levels of the Pentagon that outlined retaliatory options, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the US position on the UK\u2019s claim to the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n The official said the policy options were set out in an email that expressed frustration over some allies\u2019 perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the US access, basing and overflight rights \u2013 known as ABO \u2013 for its strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n The email described ABO is \u201cjust the absolute baseline for Nato\u201d, and said that options included suspending \u201cdifficult\u201d countries from important or prestigious positions within the alliance.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez \u2013 who has been the most vociferous European critic<\/a> of the US and Israel\u2019s war in Iran \u2013 has also angered Donald Trump by refusing the US permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain to attack Iran. Trump responded by threatening to cut off al trade with Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spanish prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez. Photograph: George Christoforou\/EPA<\/p>\n The socialist prime minister previously riled Trump last year by rejecting Nato\u2019s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP<\/a>, saying the idea would \u201cnot only be unreasonable but also counterproductive\u201d.<\/p>\n The UK, meanwhile, gave permission for the US to use British military bases for strikes on Iran, but only if those strikes were defensive<\/a> \u2013 such as attacks on Iranian missiles sites.<\/p>\n Speaking in Cyprus on Friday morning, where he was attending a meeting of EU leaders to discuss topics including Nato\u2019s mutual assistance clause, S\u00e1nchez stressed that Spain was a \u201cloyal\u201d Nato member and one that complied with its responsibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t work on the basis of emails; we work with official documents and statements made by the US government,\u201d he added. \u201cThe Spanish government\u2019s position is clear: absolute cooperation with allies, but always within the framework of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n But S\u00e1nchez also went on to renew his criticisms of the US war in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crisis that this illegal war has brought to the Middle East shows the failure of brute force \u2013 and has prompted demands for international law to be respected and for the multilateral order to be safeguarded and reinforced,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Asked by Reuters about the memo, the Pentagon press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, said: \u201cAs President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us. The War Department will ensure that the president has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal deliberations to that effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Human Rights Watch has called on Lebanon<\/a> to join the international criminal court, after Israeli forces killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zainab Faraj in an airstrike earlier this week.<\/p>\n Posting on social media, the group wrote: \u201cThe Lebanese government should join the \u2018Rome Statute\u2019 of the \u2018international criminal court\u2019 to enable accountability for serious international crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Lebanese president Joseph Aoun condemned the attack. \u201cIsrael deliberately targets journalists in order to conceal the truth about its crimes against Lebanon,\u201d Aoun said in a statement denouncing \u201cwar crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam wrote on X that \u201ctargeting journalists and obstructing access for rescue teams constitutes a war crime\u201d.<\/p>\n Amal Khalil, 43, who worked for al-Akhbar newspaper, was buried on Thursday. She was killed in what colleagues described as a sustained attack by Israeli forces. There were reports of rescuers attempting to dig her out of the rubble of a building also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving assistance.<\/p>\n Khalil was the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year. Last month three journalists were killed in a double-tap attack.<\/p>\n A woman mourns next to a press ballistic helmet as relatives and friends gather at the house of Amal Khalil. Photograph: Mahmoud Zayyat\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Lebanese MP Najat Saliba has praised the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extension, and says it will help lots of the people in the area.<\/p>\n This comes as US president Donald Trump has announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the participants in the meeting, said he hoped the two countries\u2019 leaders would meet during the additional three-week cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n Speaking to Newsday on the BBC World Service, Saliba said: \u201cEverybody is relieved that the ceasefire is going to continue for another three week. This is going to help a lot of people go back to their homes, check out their homes and get going with their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about how Hezbollah<\/a> could respond to the ceasefire extension agreement, she said \u201cwe don\u2019t expect things to go forward very smoothly\u201d.<\/p>\n But she added the Lebanese government is \u201cvery firm about going forward with the discussion in order for us to find a common ground that will relieve the people from all the bombing and killing.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Later<\/a>, at 8am ET (1pm BST), US defense secretary Pete Hegseth and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine will be hosting a press conference on Operation Epic Fury, the bombing of Iran.<\/p>\n We will be reporting live as this happens.<\/p>\n US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth speaks alongside chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff gen Dan Caine during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington DC, on 16 April 2026. Photograph: Saul Loeb\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s deputy president has warned the US of \u201can eye for an eye\u201d over oil strikes, the Mehr news agency has reported.<\/p>\n According to the outlet, Esmaeil Saqab Esfahani said: \u201cIf the enemy makes another mistake, our strategy will be an eye for an eye. If any of our oil wells are hit, one of the oil [facilities] of the countries from whose soil we are attacked will be targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that Tehran\u2019s negotiation team has \u201cgrabbed the enemy\u2019s collar at the negotiating table\u201d.<\/p>\n He also said Iranians shouldn\u2019t worry about their energy supply as the \u201cnecessary arrangements\u201d have been made.<\/p>\n This comes after US president Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike oil plants in the area, as well as threatening to \u201cobliterate\u201d Iran\u2019s power stations and fresh water plants.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The EU\u2019s foreign chief has said that talks with Iran<\/a> should include nuclear experts otherwise \u201cwe will end up with a more dangerous Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking on Friday ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, EU\u2019s foreign chief Kaja Kallas said: \u201cIf the talks are only about the nuclear and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd (if) the problems in the region, missile programmes, their support to proxies, also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe are not addressed, we will end up with a more dangerous Iran,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Kaja Kallas addresses the media. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Iran will reportedly be resuming flights between Tehran and the north-eastern city of Mashhad from Saturday, according to Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera reports that this comes after Iran has been slowly reopening its aviation sector since 18 April, and has a four-stage plan to return to normal.<\/p>\n On Monday Iran reopened Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports in the capital Tehran. \u201cAuthorisation for passenger flights at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport has been issued\u201d from Monday, the Civil Aviation Organization says in a statement, according to ISNA news agency.<\/p>\n It added that passenger flights from 10 airports across Iran \u201cwill also be possible from Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n An Iran Air passenger plane. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah<\/a> have accused each other of violating ceasefire agreements.<\/p>\n This comes after the IDF said earlier that it had intercepted several projectiles launched from Lebanon<\/a>, with sirens sounding in the Shtula area. Then, Hezbollah said on Telegram that it targeted the area in a rocket attack.<\/p>\n Writing on X<\/a>, it said: \u201c3 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated after unsuccessfully launching a surface-to-air missile toward an IAF aircraft<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2 separate incidents, Hezbollah terrorists launched rockets and an explosive UAV toward IDF soldiers operating south of the Forward Defense Line in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cThese actions constitute blatant violations of the ceasefire understandings.\u201d<\/p>\n Last night, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel<\/a> in response to an Israeli \u201cviolation of the ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Interim summary<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a snapshot of the latest Middle East news to bring you up to speed.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the participants in the meeting, said he hoped the two countries\u2019 leaders would meet during the additional three-week cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n When he was asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, he replied: \u201cDon\u2019t rush me\u201d.<\/p>\n The US president had earlier ordered the US navy to \u201cshoot and kill\u201d small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait of Hormuz and claimed that US minesweepers \u201care clearing the strait right now\u201d amid the standoff over the key waterway. US special forces earlier boarded a stateless oil tanker in the Indian Ocean which the Pentagon claimed was carrying Iranian crude oil, ratcheting up the standoff with Tehran over the strait.<\/p>\n Trump said the US had \u201chit about 75% of our targets\u201d in Iran and that a deal had not yet been reached because Iran\u2019s leadership was \u201cin turmoil\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said there were no \u201chardliners\u201d or \u201cmoderates\u201d in Iran, responding to the Trump claim of internal division in Iran\u2019s leadership. Separately, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said Iranian state institutions \u201ccontinue to act with unity, purpose and discipline\u201d.<\/p>\n The US offered up to $10m for information on the leader of a Tehran-backed Shia militia in Iraq. The US state department\u2019s \u201crewards for justice\u201d program said Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji was leader of the Kata\u2019ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and called it a terrorist group.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, 43, in a strike has been met with international outrage<\/a> as Lebanon\u2019s prime minister described the attack as a \u201cwar crime\u201d. Colleagues called it a sustained attack by Israeli forces and said rescuers attempting to dig her out of the rubble of a building were also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving assistance.<\/p>\n US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was freed<\/a> a week after being kidnapped in Baghdad late last month, has taken to social media to thank people for helping secure her release by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. \u201cThank you all so very, very much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Italian sports officials say Italy is not interested in replacing Iran <\/a>at the upcoming World Cup after a suggestion to that effect by a Trump administration official.<\/p>\n Pope Leo urged the US and Iran to return to talks to end the war and condemned capital punishment, calling for a new \u201cculture of peace\u201d to replace the recourse to violence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.42 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East.<\/p>\n A burnt palm tree marks a building destroyed in the Corniche al-Masraa neighborhood of Beirut by Israeli strikes on 8 April that hit 100 targets in 10 minutes across Lebanon. Donald Trump has announced a three-week extension to the current Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Photograph: Scott Peterson\/Getty ImagesThe sun rises behind a tanker anchored in the strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran. Photograph: Asghar Besharati\/APRelatives welcome members of the Bnei Menashe (Sons of Manasseh) community from India upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv. Photograph: Jack Guez\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA pedestrian walks beneath of poster of the current and former supreme leaders of Iran in Tehran on Thursday. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesIsraeli military vehicles and soldiers in a village in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army operates, as seen from the Israeli side of the border. Photograph: Ayal Margolin\/ReutersA charity distributes meals to Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza City as food shortages continue amid Israel\u2019s blockade and restrictions on aid entry. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.18 EDT<\/p>\n A US journalist who was released<\/a> a week after being kidnapped from a street corner in Baghdad late last month has taken to social media to thank people for her helping secure the release.<\/p>\n Shelly Kittleson posted on X in what were reportedly her first public comments since being released by Iran<\/a>-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. She said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI am and will always be incredibly grateful to those who worked for my release when I was held hostage by an armed faction in Iraq earlier this month.<\/p>\n So many people \u2013 including but not limited to government officials, press freedom organisations, and my wonderful community of fellow journalists and friends – put an immense amount of effort into ensuring that the level of attention to my case remained high.<\/p>\n Thank you all so very, very much.\u201d<\/p>\n Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad before she was kidnapped. Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Kittleson, a freelance journalist, had lived abroad for years before the kidnapping, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. She had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.29 EDT<\/p>\n Analysis: Trump may talk of regime infighting, but Iran seems united Donald Trump has claimed that the infighting between moderates and hardliners in Iran\u2019s leadership is so intense that Iranians have \u201cno idea who their leader is\u201d, but many experts questioned his analysis, saying \u2013 given the mass assassinations of senior commanders<\/a> \u2013 the country had shown remarkable institutional cohesion.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s allegations of \u201cCRAZY\u201d splits in the Iranian leadership \u2013 the second outing for this argument in three days \u2013 is remarkable since he has previously said either he has little knowledge of the new Iranian leadership or that there has already been regime change.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s team, either through Pakistani mediators or more direct contacts, may be picking up that different factions are demanding different preconditions for the talks to restart. Trump at a minimum is implying that military hardliners have taken charge from the civilian diplomatic leadership.<\/p>\n It is hardly a secret that Iran has been riven for decades over how to approach the US and the wisdom of negotiations, but some Iranian academics and observers are accusing Trump of cognitive warfare: attempting to create what Mohamed Amersi, a member of the Global Advisory Council at the Wilson Centre, described as \u201cchronic systemic paralysis in which the country\u2019s decision-making machine becomes deadlocked\u201d.<\/p>\n Read the full analysis here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.39 EDT<\/p>\n US puts $10m bounty on Iran-backed militia leader in Iraq<\/p>\n The US has offered up to $10m for information on the leader of a Tehran-backed Shia militia in Iraq.<\/p>\n The US state department\u2019s \u201crewards for justice\u201d program alleged Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji was the leader of the Kata\u2019ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) and called it a terrorist group.<\/p>\n The notice \u2013 posted on X<\/a> \u2013 said:<\/p>\n double quotation markKSS members have killed Iraqi civilians and attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, as well as attacking U.S. military bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n As the Guardian\u2019s Jason Burke has reported<\/a>, Israel and the US have targeted Iran\u2019s network of militant groups around the Middle East in response to their intensified attacks on Israel, the US and allies over the war against Iran. Iraq has emerged as a key front in this new and often clandestine confrontation.<\/p>\n The militias are recruited among Iraq\u2019s majority Shia community and follow orders from senior officers of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Asian stocks dip and oil prices rise amid US-Iran standoff<\/p>\n Asian stocks were mostly lower and oil prices extended their gains on Friday as talks on ending the war against Iran<\/a> remained stalled.<\/p>\n US futures edged lower after Wall Street pulled back from its all-time highs.<\/p>\n Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%, led by heavy buying of technology stocks. On Thursday, it hit a record intraday high.<\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng lost 0.8% while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5%.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s Kospi shed 0.4%, and in Australia the S+P\/ASX 200 dropped 0.6%, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s Taiex jumped 2.5% as chipmaker TSMC \u2013 which makes up a key part of the index \u2013 gained more than 4%.<\/p>\n The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to be delivered in June rose 3.1% on Thursday to settle at $105.07, and at one point topped $107. The price for a barrel of Brent to be delivered in July, which is the more popular contract for traders, settled at $99.35 after rising as high as $101.<\/p>\n Early on Friday Brent crude was up 0.4% at $99.70 a barrel, while US benchmark crude was up 0.6% to $96.62 a barrel.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Opening summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has ordered the US military to \u201cshoot and kill\u201d small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait of Hormuz and claimed that US minesweepers \u201care clearing the strait right now\u201d amid the standoff over the key waterway.<\/p>\n Trump made the boats announcement in a social media post on Thursday after US special forces boarded a stateless oil tanker in the Indian Ocean which the Pentagon claimed was carrying Iranian crude oil, ratcheting up the standoff with Tehran over the Hormuz strait.<\/p>\n The US president also announced that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks.<\/p>\n Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office <\/a>alongside the participants in the meeting, said he hoped the two countries\u2019 leaders would meet during the additional three-week cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n He also told reporters that Iran<\/a> might have loaded up their weaponry \u201ca little bit\u201d during the two-week ceasefire. He said that the US military could \u201cknock that out\u201d in about one day.<\/p>\n When he was asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, he replied: \u201cDon\u2019t rush me\u201d.<\/p>\n The Lebanese ambassador to the US, Nada Moawad, who went into the meeting seeking an extension of the truce, thanked Trump for hosting the talks, saing: \u201cI think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again.\u201d<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Trump said the US had \u201chit about 75% of our targets\u201d in Iran and that a deal had not yet been reached because Iran was \u201cin turmoil\u201d. Trump added to reporters in the Oval Office that he would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran as the conflict continues without a clear end in sight.<\/p>\n Trump also said the US had \u201ctotal control over the strait of Hormuz\u201d \u2013 a claim that has drawn scepticism in the face of Iran\u2019s seizure of two container ships and a US report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s killing of a Lebanese journalist in a strike has been met with international outrage<\/a> as Lebanon\u2019s prime minister described the attack as a \u201cwar crime\u201d. Amal Khalil, 43, was killed in what colleagues described as a sustained attack by Israeli forces, with rescuers attempting to dig her out of the rubble of a building also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving assistance.<\/p>\n Mourners carry the coffin of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil during her funeral procession in the village of Baisariyah, southern Lebanon, on Thursday. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPA<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said there were no \u201chardliners\u201d or \u201cmoderates\u201d in Iran, responding a Trump claim there was internal division in Iran\u2019s leadership. Separately, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said Iranian state institutions \u201ccontinue to act with unity, purpose and discipline\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777027090_630_Sam_Jones.png\")
Sam Jones<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777027090_475_Patrick-Wintour,-R.png\")
Patrick Wintour<\/p>\n