Despite all the uncertainty, host Pakistan appeared to be preparing for the US-Iran talks to proceed. Two giant US C-17 cargo planes landed at an airbase on Sunday afternoon, carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the US delegation\u2019s arrival, two Pakistani security sources said. Barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel, where last week\u2019s talks were held, and the hotel has told all guests to leave.<\/p>\n
Oil prices surged after Iran closed the strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it. Brent crude climbed to $95.64 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased to $87.90 per barrel. However, equities across Asia rose in early trading on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Israeli army has confirmed an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.<\/p>\n
The Israel army said it viewed the incident with \u201cgreat severity\u201d, adding that the \u201csoldier\u2019s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops\u201d.<\/p>\n
Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country\u2019s north-east, its civil aviation authority said.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Pezeshkian says that ‘every rational and diplomatic path should be used to reduce tensions’<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s president Masoud Pezeshkian attempted to temper down tensions after escalations over the weekend between the US and Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWar is not in anyone\u2019s interest, and while resisting threats, every rational and diplomatic path should be used to reduce tensions\u201d, the state-affiliated IRNA reported him saying.<\/p>\n Still, Iran has not committed to joining US negotiators for another round of talks in Pakistan, and the president said \u201cdistrust of the enemy and vigilance in interactions are an undeniable necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n The US and Iran were in the middle of negotiations when Israel<\/a> and US launched a military attack on Iran in February.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the US president, Donald Trump<\/a>,. accused Iran of firing on ships passing through the strait of Hormuz in what he claimed was in violation of the ceasefire agreement. A spokesperson for Iran\u2019s foreign ministry, however, said it was Washington\u2019s blockade of the waterway that was a violation of the agreement.<\/p>\n Iranian negotiators have reportedly said that no further talks will take place unless the US ended its blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.20 EDT<\/p>\n IDF demolishing homes in Lebanon, paying bulldozers based on how many builders are destroyed, reports say<\/p>\n The IDF has continued to demolish homes and other buildings including educational institutions in villages in southern Lebanon, even after the ceasefire agreed between the countries last week.<\/p>\n The army has hired civilian contractors to destroy homes, with some operators paid a daily rate while others are paid based on the number of buildings they destroy,<\/a> according to Haaretz. As many as 20 excavators are running operations in a single village, the Israeli newspaper reported based on conversations with army commanders.<\/p>\n Academics have described the operations as domicide<\/a>, a strategy that is used to systematically destroy and damage civilian housing to render entire areas uninhabitable.<\/p>\n Buildings in villages, including educational institutions, homes and others are destroyed after receiving permission, in a policy the IDF refers to as the \u201cmoney plow\u201d, according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n Israel Katz, the country\u2019s defence minister, previously said<\/a> that \u201call houses in villages near the border in Lebanon will be demolished in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun models in Gaza\u201d and said that 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return to their homes until Israelis living on the northern border are safe. Academics have questioned whether many will ever be able to return \u2013 or whether their homes will still exist.<\/p>\n The IDF did not give any comment to Haaretz. On Sunday, the force said it had verified<\/a> a viral image that showed a IDF soldier destroying a statue of Jesus with a hammer in the Christian town of Debel. An official account distanced itself from the solider and said that \u201cthe IDF is operating to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.56 EDT<\/p>\n Interim summary<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re just joining us, here\u2019s today\u2019s main developments. It is 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Jerusalem, 11am in Islamabad and 2am in Washington DC.<\/p>\n Iranian state media reported that Tehran was not planning to take part in peace talks with the US, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad for the scheduled Monday meeting. \u201cThere are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,\u201d state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.<\/p>\n Donald Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday, and he again threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached. Trump did not say who would lead the delegation, but a White House official said it was vice-president JD Vance.<\/p>\n Ratcheting up the tension, the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship<\/a>, the M\/V Touska, that tried to run its blockade. Iran has vowed to retaliate. Hours after the announcement, the US military released footage of incident, including video of US Marines rappelling onto the vessel.<\/p>\n Despite all the uncertainty, host Pakistan appeared to be preparing for the US-Iran talks to proceed. Two giant US C-17 cargo planes landed at an airbase on Sunday afternoon, carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the US delegation\u2019s arrival, two Pakistani security sources said. Barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel, where last week\u2019s talks were held, and the hotel has told all guests to leave.<\/p>\n Oil prices surged after Iran closed the strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it. Brent crude climbed to $95.64 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased to $87.90 per barrel. However, equities across Asia rose in early trading on Monday.<\/p>\n The Israeli army has confirmed an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross.<\/p>\n The Israel army said it viewed the incident with \u201cgreat severity\u201d, adding that the \u201csoldier\u2019s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country\u2019s north-east, its civil aviation authority said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country\u2019s north-east, its civil aviation authority said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>IDF warns Lebanese residents to not cross specified line<\/p>\n The Israeli military has just now warned residents in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages or approach areas near the Litani River, saying its forces remain deployed in the area during a ceasefire due to what it described as continued Hezbollah activity.<\/p>\n In a statement, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee also urged civilians not to return to multiple border villages until further notice, citing security risks.<\/p>\n Further to this, the Israeli military on Sunday published for the first time a map of its new deployment line inside Lebanon, bringing dozens of mostly abandoned Lebanese villages under its control. You can see that map below:<\/p>\n A handout graphic of a map, according to the Israeli military, shows the Forward Defense Line and the area in which they are operating in southern Lebanon. Photograph: Israel Defence Forces\/Reuters<\/p>\n Stretching east to west, the deployment line on the map runs 5-10km (about 3-6 miles) deep from the border into Lebanese territory, where Israel<\/a> has said it plans to create a so-called buffer zone.<\/p>\n Israeli forces have destroyed Lebanese villages in the area, saying their aim is to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks. It has created buffer zones in Syria and in Gaza, where it controls more than half the enclave.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.56 EDT<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s defence minister, Israel<\/a> Katz, said his military will use \u201cfull force\u201d in Lebanon \u2013 even during the ongoing ceasefire \u2013 should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s military said meanwhile it has reopened a road and bridge between the city of Nabatieh and Khardali that was damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, a day after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s decision to send US officials to Islamabad for further talks on Monday with Iran just 24 hours after Iran once again closed the strait of Hormuz<\/a> will signal to Tehran that the strategic waterway remains a bargaining asset beyond parallel, writes Patrick Wintour, the Guardian\u2019s diplomatic editor.<\/p>\n In his analysis<\/a>, Wintour says that with the strait in effect closed, Trump has clearly examined his array of bad options and decided to try diplomacy again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Mizan news outlet is reporting that Iran has executed two individuals accused of involvement in a \u201cspy network linked to Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n Mizan claimed the two men were accused of belonging to a spy network linked to Mossad and had received training abroad, including in Iraq\u2019s Kurdistan region, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n They had been convicted on charges including \u201cenmity against God\u201d and cooperation with hostile groups, and their death sentences were upheld by the supreme court before being carried out, Mizan reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.00 EDT<\/p>\n Footage of US Marines rappelling onto Iranian vessel released<\/p>\n The US has just released some more footage<\/a> of the encounter with the Iranian flagged vessel, the M\/V Touska.<\/p>\n In a post on X, US Central Command said US Marines had departed the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli by helicopter and rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel.<\/p>\n It said the US had \u201cdisabled Touska\u2019s propulsion when the commercial ship failed to comply with repeated warnings\u201d over a six-hour period.<\/p>\n Iran has since vowed to retaliate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.42 EDT<\/p>\n UK police are investigating whether a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London are the work of Iranian proxies, as the country\u2019s chief rabbi said British Jews are facing a campaign of violence and intimidation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Metropolitan police says officers are probing fires at synagogues and other sites linked to the Jewish community, as well as an attack on a Persian-language media company.<\/p>\n A police forensic officer works inside a cordon set up near Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north-west London. Photograph: Justin Tallis\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n No one has been injured in the blazes, the latest of which caused minor damage to a north London synagogue on Saturday night.<\/p>\n Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans said the attacks had been claimed online by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe are aware of public reporting that suggests this group may have links to Iran. As you would expect, we will continue to explore that question as our investigation evolves \u2026 I\u2019ve spoken previously about the Iranian regime\u2019s use of criminal proxies, and we\u2019re considering whether this tactic is being used here in London.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Footage of US destroyer firing at Iranian vessel released<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re just joining us, the US military has released footage of their destroyer USS Spruance firing at an Iranian-flagged tanker<\/a>, which Iran later vowed it would retaliate for.<\/p>\n US Central Command released a video of the warning message sent by the Spruance to the M\/V Touska, saying it shows the moments before the Touska was seized for crossing the US-imposed blockade line in the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n \u201cMotor vessel Touska, Motor vessel Touska. Vacate your engine room. Vacate your engine room. We are about to subject you to disabling fire,\u201d can be heard in the video. Later, three rounds are fired, leaving smoke in their wake.<\/p>\n Central Command said its fire targeted the vessel\u2019s engine room before forces seized the ship. It said Touska was headed to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and ignored multiple US warnings over six hours to evacuate the engine room. The Spruance then fired, after which Marines boarded and took hold of the ship.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.43 EDT<\/p>\n British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has said that any talks between the US and Iran<\/a> must result in a toll-free passage for vessels through the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Cooper is travelling to Japan on Sunday on the final leg of a diplomatic mission ahead of the US-Iran ceasefire expiring this week, which she has called a \u201ccritical diplomatic moment\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the ceasefire looming. Further talks on a lasting settlement are welcome \u2013 they must lead to a toll-free strait of Hormuz \u2026 it is about the precedent this will set for freedom of navigation all over the world. If the wrong precedent is set, it would be deeply damaging not just for the global economy, but for global security, and that is why it is an argument we must win.\u201d<\/p>\n UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper. Photograph: Leon Neal\/PA<\/p>\n The strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil normally flows, has been closed by Iran as a response to America and Israel\u2019s strikes, and the foreign secretary has said that proposals have been circulating from Tehran to introduce tolls on the crucial waterway once the conflict concludes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Oil prices surge amid uncertainty over strait and peace talks<\/p>\n Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran<\/a> closed the strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it.<\/p>\n In early trading on Monday, the price of Brent crude climbed 5.8% to $95.64 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate increased 6.4% to $87.90 per barrel.<\/p>\n Customers fill up their tanks at a petrol station in Hanover, Germany. Photograph: Odd Andersen\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n S+P 500 futures fell around 0.6% and European futures fell 1.1%. But equity benchmarks in Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo shrugged off risks to advance, with Taiwan\u2019s shares touching a record high and the other two not far behind.<\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng rose 0.8%, Japan\u2019s Nikkei climbed 1% and South Korea\u2019s Kopsi rose 1.4%.<\/p>\n However, one of the strongest notes of caution in markets on Monday came from Australia\u2019s largest business lender, National Australia Bank, which flagged a $500m impairment charge as it expects the war to drive up bad debts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.34 EDT<\/p>\n Despite all the uncertainty, Pakistan appears to be preparing for talks between the US and Iran<\/a> to proceed.<\/p>\n Two giant US C-17 cargo planes landed at an airbase on Sunday afternoon, carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the US delegation\u2019s arrival, two Pakistani security sources said.<\/p>\n Municipal authorities in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad halted public transport and heavy-goods traffic through the city.<\/p>\n Barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel, where last week\u2019s talks were held. The hotel told all guests to leave.<\/p>\n A police officer gestures to a vehicle at a security checkpoint near Faisal Masjid. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro\/ReutersShare<\/a>Bahrain to review citizenship for those deemed threat to its security<\/p>\n Bahrain\u2019s king has ordered a review of citizenship of those deemed a threat to the island kingdom, amid an intensified crackdown on dissent during the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered the government to immediately take measures against \u201cthose who have betrayed the nation or undermined its security and stability\u201d, including stripping Bahraini citizenship from those \u201cwho don\u2019t deserve it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation is still delicate,\u201d the king was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n Bahrain\u2019s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa met with Adm Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, on 13 April. Photograph: Bahrain News Agency\/Reuters<\/p>\n Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet, has been one of the hardest hit by Iranian missile and drone attacks during the war.<\/p>\n Authorities in the small Shiite-majority island, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, have detained many people over the course of the war.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>More than 5,000 killed since war began: report<\/p>\n Now in its eighth week, the Iran<\/a> war has killed more than 5,000 people across several countries.<\/p>\n At least 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel<\/a> and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, the Associated Press has reported. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have also been killed.<\/p>\n A family mourns a relative killed in the war, at a temporary graveyard in Tyre, south Lebanon. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.40 EDT<\/p>\n Just to recap the latest peace talks news, and whether or not Iran will attend negotiations<\/a> in Pakistan.<\/p>\n State broadcaster IRIB on Sunday cited Iranian sources as saying \u201cthere are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks\u201d.<\/p>\n The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying \u201cthe overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive\u201d, adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on Monday, just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.08 EDT<\/p>\n Summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the Guardian\u2019s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The shaky two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran<\/a> was under further pressure on Monday morning, after the US said that it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, and Iran said it would retaliate.<\/p>\n![\"Controlled](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Controlled_detonation_in_Deir_Seiryan___video--dd05e82a-c829-44c2-bc93-f4d44d451b7e-1.0.0000000.jpg\")
Controlled detonation in Deir Seryan \u2013 video<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/US_navy_ship_fires_on_vessel_trying_to_get_past_blockade--267e38dd-841e-4531-9ea3-17a4d8fd2222-4.0.0.jpeg\")
US navy ship fires on vessel trying to get past blockade<\/p>\n