Trump says US will blockade Strait of Hormuz after Iran talks end without dealYour support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
President Donald Trump is considering resuming air strikes on Iran after peace talks in Pakistan collapsed over the weekend, according to US officials cited in the Wall Street Journal.
It follows threats by the US leader to “take out” Iran’s energy infrastructure and blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump added, without elaborating: “Other countries will be involved with this Blockade.”
The US Central Command announced that it will attempt to close access to all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 10am EDT, or 5.30pm in Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “approaching military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.
The country’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s negotiators at the weekend talks with Washington, taunted Trump over rising gas prices, saying, “enjoy the current pump figures”.
Negotiations in Islamabad are reported to have failed after disagreements over Hormuz and the development of Iran’s nuclear programme.
An Iranian analyst close to the government told The New York Times the talks fell apart due to US demands for zero enrichment and the removal of nearly 900 pounds of stockpile uranium.
Opinion: Trump’s genocidal rant marked the end of the American century
President Truman and JFK expressed that the US cared for the world’s poor, says Peter Frankopan, while the current administration seems only to care about the supposed glory of America, and destroying their enemies.
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 07:30
Oil jumps and Asian markets slide as US readies for Strait of Hormuz blockade
Oil prices have been rising as shipping through the strait has essentially stalled since late February. Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.
On Monday, benchmark US crude jumped 8.7 per cent to $104.95 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $7.00, or 7.4 per cent, to $102.23 a barrel.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.0 per cent in morning trading to 56,357.40. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 per cent to 8,913.50.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 1.1 per cent to 5,795.15. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped nearly 1.5 per cent to 25,513.42, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2 per cent to 3,976.57.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 07:15
Catholic cardinal calls Trump’s social media posts ‘sickening’
A U.S. Catholic Cardinal Blase Cupich has described the Trump administration’s social media posting around the Iran way as “sickening”
“We’re dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people and the killing of children and our own soldiers into entertainment,” Cupich said, speaking during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday on CBS.
The official White House account has posted numerous clips interspersing action films and video games along with real footage from Operation Epic Fury.
“It is sickening. To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening,” Cupich added.
“This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 07:00
UN says US war on Iran plunged more than 32 million people into poverty
More than 32 million people could be pushed into poverty as the economic fallout from the Iran war ripples across the global economy, with developing countries expected to bear the brunt.
In a new report, the United Nations Development Programme warned of a “triple shock” driven by rising energy costs, food insecurity, and slowing economic growth, even as a fragile ceasefire hangs in the balance.
The agency said the conflict is already reversing years of development progress, with poorer nations likely to suffer the most severe and lasting damage.
“This is development in reverse,” said Alexander De Croo, head of the UNDP.
“Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is obviously very welcome, the impact is already there. You will see an enduring impact, especially in poorer countries, where people are pushed back into poverty.”
Energy prices have surged since the initial US–Israeli strikes on Tehran, while Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global oil and gas flows.
The knock-on effects on fertilisers and shipping have raised fears of a looming “food security timebomb” for the developing world.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:47
Trump tells Fox he could take out Iran ‘in one day’
Donald Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he could “take Iran out in one day,” hours after his vice president emerged from talks in Islamabad without an agreement to end the war with Iran.
“I could take out Iran in one day… in one hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their power-generating plants, which is a big deal. I hate to do it, because if you do it, it takes ten years to build… they’ll never be able to rebuild it,” Trump added.
The president also said that he took out a bridge in Iran “just to how them because they came out with a statement.
Trump called into Fox from his resort in the Miami suburb of Doral, in Florida, where he reportedly played golf and discussed the talks with advisers.
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 06:45
Why the US-Iran peace talks failed after just one day – and what happens next
US and Iranian officials travelled to Pakistan on Saturday for what were hailed as “make or break” peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the bloody six-week war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But less than 24 hours later, the teams departed Islamabad empty-handed.
An Iranian analyst close to the government told The New York Times the talks fell apart due to US demands for zero enrichment and the removal of nearly 900 pounds of stockpile uranium, as well as the Hormuz issue.
A foreign ministry spokesperson said the negotiations took place in an “atmosphere of mistrust”, adding it was unrealistic to expect a deal in a single round. They confirmed there are currently no plans in place for a resumption of talks.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:30
Whereabout of prominent female lawyer unknown after arrest
Uncertainty is deepening over the fate of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has not been seen for 12 days since her arrest, according to the rights monitor HRANA.
During this period, she has managed just one short phone call with her family.
In the call, she told them she had been detained by intelligence agents, but giving no indication of where she was being held.
Efforts by her family to trace her through judicial and security channels have so far failed, with authorities reportedly saying there is no official record of her detention.
Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh (L) speaks on the phone next to her husband Reza Khandan as they pose for a photo at their house in Tehran in 2013, after she was freed following three years in prison (AFP/Getty)
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:29
Starmer refuses to join Trump’s blockage of Strait of Hormuz
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to join Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which could compound economic pain for Britons with higher petrol costs.
The president threatened stop tankers from entering or leaving the key oil and gas shipping lane, a move that is expected to further drive up oil prices when markets open, after they have already risen as a result of Iran’s grip on the strait in retaliation for the US-Israel war against it.
The prime minister will discuss cost-of-living pressures with local people on a visit to Greater Manchester on Monday.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will travel to Washington for International Monetary Fund meetings this week, after warning that “the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and business”.
MPs return to Westminster from the Easter recess on Monday with no resolution to the Middle East crisis in sight and the fate of a shaky two-week ceasefire uncertain.
Britain will not be involved in the blockade, it is understood.
The UK is “urgently working with France and other partners to put together a wide coalition to protect freedom of navigation,” a government spokesperson said.
Sir Keir and French president Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to work with a broad coalition of partners on the matter in a call, according to No 10.
Britain will host further talks on reopening the maritime pinch-point with a coalition of countries this week.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:15
US strike on alleged drug boat kills five
A US military strike on two boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of five people and leaving one survivor, the military said.
The attacks on Saturday bring the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 168 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.
As with most of the military’s statements on the dozens of strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes.
The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs.
Videos posted on X showed small boats moving across the water before they each were engulfed in a bright explosion.
US Southern Command stated on X that it notified the US Coast Guard to activate the search-and-rescue system for the survivor. The Coast Guard confirmed it was coordinating the search and said updates would be provided when available.
Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the US over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
Shweta Sharma13 April 2026 06:12
ICYMI: Trump slammed for smiles at UFC 327 as Iran peace talks fail
President Donald Trump faced criticism for enjoying a night out with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the extended Trump family at UFC 327 while peace talks between U.S. and Iranian officials faltered.
On Saturday evening, Trump arrived at the Kaseya Center alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White and several family members, including Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, to watch the light heavyweight fight between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg.
Read more about the reaction here from Ariana Baio:
Mike Bedigan13 April 2026 06:00