Home » US-Iran war live updates: Trump says US seized Iranian ship in Strait of Hormuz; US delegation will head to Pakistan for second round of negotiations; Tehran rejects US peace talks

US-Iran war live updates: Trump says US seized Iranian ship in Strait of Hormuz; US delegation will head to Pakistan for second round of negotiations; Tehran rejects US peace talks

written by Emily Kaine, Ellen Connolly, Adam Carey Source

Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

  • The US has seized control of an Iranian container ship, Donald Trump says, after it tried to evade the American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the navy ship “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room”.
  • The US president also announced on social media earlier today that a delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, will travel to Pakistan on Monday (Washington time) for a second round of negotiations with Iran.
  • However, Iran has not confirmed that it will participate in the talks, as state media reported that no agreement had been reached to attend the meeting.
  • Trump also threatened strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges if a deal was not reached this week.
  • Shipping remains at a standstill in the crucial Strait of Hormuz as Iran continues to enforce its blockade. Two tankers were forced by Iranian military forces to turn back on Sunday.
  • Meanwhile, thousands of displaced Lebanese families are continuing to return home after a 10-day ceasefire that came into effect last Friday.

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a virtual standstill on Monday after a brief and confused reopening over the weekend ended with the first US seizure of an Iranian vessel, underscoring just how difficult it will be to restore activity in the vital strait.

Transits through the waterway have reduced to a trickle over seven weeks of war in the Persian Gulf, as Iran tightens control in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes. On Friday, that paralysis appeared to be at an end as Iran and the US announced a reopening, prompting oil to plunge and vessels to rush for the crossing — only for the situation to rapidly unravel.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ceased again following a brief reopening over the weekend.AP

By Sunday, the US navy had seized an Iranian cargo ship in waters off the Iranian port of Jask in the Gulf of Oman as it headed towards Hormuz — the first such move during this US blockade — raising the stakes for shipowners operating across the region and widening the area seen to be risky for transits. Benchmark oil has jumped in response, as a historic supply crisis begins to look even more prolonged.

“The continued volatility will deter most, if not all shipowners, to adopt a cautious ‘wait and see’ approach,” said Ivan Mathews, head of APAC analysis at Vortexa Ltd.

Israel’s Defense Forces have verified the authenticity of a viral image showing an Israeli soldier smashing the head of a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon.

In a statement issued on X on Monday, the IDF said it “views the incident with great severity and emphasises that the soldier’s behaviour is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops”.

The photograph, reportedly shared millions of times on social media, shows an Israeli soldier hammering the head of a toppled statue of Jesus.

The IDF said it would work to assist the community to restore the statue and take action against those involved.

Israel also published details of its “forward defense line area” in southern Lebanon on Sunday, stating five divisions of its defence forces are operating in southern Lebanon, south of the line, “to dismantle Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites and prevent direct threats to communities in northern Israel”.

Israel and Lebanon announced a 10-day ceasefire on April 16 to allow negotiations on a longer-term settlement of fighting to go ahead. US President Donald Trump has also directed Israel to cease attacking Lebanon.

Asked on Sky News if she had confidence in the actions of US President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Penny Wong paused before saying: “We know that how President Trump envisages the role of America in the world differs very greatly from many past administrations.

“And I’ve also said one of the things that President Trump himself has said is one of his characteristics, or one of his tactics, is unpredictability. And we’ve certainly seen unpredictability.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged de-escalation in the Middle East.Alex Ellinghausen

When asked by Sky host Andrew Clennell if she “had any concerns Donald Trump might blow this”, Wong again paused before acknowledging “this is an inherently risky situation”.

Wong said she had not spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio since the end of March.

“You don’t engage with the secretary of state all the time. They obviously have a fair bit on their plate, and Secretary Rubio has even more because he’s the national security adviser as well,” Wong said.

But she confirmed that “her position” in discussions with the US reflected what the Albanese government had said publicly, that regime change would be very difficult to achieve.

As the US prepares to send a delegation to Pakistan for a second round of negotiations, Iran has confirmed it will return to the table after earlier stating it had no plans to be involved.

In a series of interviews, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee, Ebrahim Azizi, said the Middle Eastern nation would talk if it received “positive signals” from the US but would never give up control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s our inalienable right,” Azizi told the BBC on Monday.

A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran.AP

The Iranian lawmaker said the strait was “one of our assets to face the enemy” and a critical bargaining chip in the ongoing conflict, which was started by the US and Israel in February.

Viva Energy says its Geelong oil refinery could return to more than 90 per cent of its maximum output within weeks.

In encouraging news for local fuel supplies, energy reporter Nick Toscano reports that the quicker than expected timeline for recovery from a poorly timed fire at the refinery promises to stabilise domestic fuel security as the Middle East conflict continues.

The fire at the Geelong refinery last week.Jessika Louise Wicks/FRV Geelong

In a statement on Monday morning, Viva said that damage assessments at its Geelong oil refinery, on the shores of Corio Bay, had confirmed the blaze was confined to the alkylation unit, which converts gases into a component needed in petrol. Other major processing units in the petrol-production complex were unaffected.

The fire, sparked by an equipment fault, forced Viva to cut back to minimum output levels across the facility at an inopportune time. Until last week, the Geelong refinery had been operating at full capacity, delivering up to 50 per cent of all the fuel used in Victoria, and 10 per cent of the national total.

Read the full story here.

Four candidates to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations will audition for the job this week, far fewer than there were 10 years ago when António Guterres was selected as UN chief.

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet – one of two women and one of three from Latin America – will be the first to face ambassadors from the UN’s 193 member nations during a three-hour question-and-answer session on Tuesday. Bachelet will be followed by UN nuclear chief Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina.

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet is vying to be the next secretary-general of the UN.AP

On Wednesday, UN trade chief Rebeca Grynspan will take centre stage in the General Assembly hall, and finally, former Senegal president Macky Sall.

In 2016, a hotly contested race drew 13 candidates. What has changed?

Europe correspondent David Crowe reports that Ukraine has slammed a surprise US decision to suspend sanctions on Russian oil amid a wave of airstrikes on Kyiv and other cities, deepening a rift over the European conflict while US President Donald Trump puts a priority on the war with Iran.

The dispute centres on a policy backflip by Trump’s economic team last week when American allies were expecting the sanctions to be applied within days, only to be surprised when the US extended a temporary ruling that helps Moscow.

Read the full story here.

More than 20 vessels passed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler showed, the highest number of ships crossing the waterway since March 1.

Among the vessels that passed through were five cargo ships loaded in Iran with products including oil products and metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers with one heading to China and one bound for India.

More than 20 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.AP

Other vessels included a tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas from the United Arab Emirates to Indonesia, as well as vessels loaded with oil bound for destinations including Taiwan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Mozambique and Italy.

Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz late last week, but reversed its decision on Saturday in response to a US blockade of Iranian ships.

About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait, which has been blockaded since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, which pushed up fuel prices and put pressure on global supply of the fossil fuel.

With Reuters

Australia’s sharemarket is losing ground, as oil prices surge on renewed tensions between the United States and Iran, putting upcoming peace talks at risk and hitting investor confidence.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 11.6 points by midday on Monday, down 0.13 per cent, to 8934.8, as the broader All Ordinaries dipped by 8.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 9159.1.

Australia’s sharemarket has lost ground.Bloomberg

“Reports that the US has seized an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz have escalated tensions, while conflicting signals around negotiations persist,” Moomoo consultant Greg Boland said.

The US is pushing ahead with talks in Pakistan, but Iran has indicated no current plans to participate, criticising the ongoing US naval blockade of the strait.

The body of a French UN peacekeeper killed in southern Lebanon has been flown home to France and honoured as someone who “gave everything you had for peace in this land”.

UNIFIL Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio was killed in gunfire on Sunday while serving as a peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, which had been under assault from the Israeli military targeting Hezbollah until a ceasefire was declared late last week.

Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio, in an image shared by France’s Chief of the Defence Staff.X/@CEMA_FR

The circumstances of Montorio’s death are being investigated by UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), which has also urged Lebanon to conduct its own investigation into the killing, which happened during an ambush in which three other peacekeepers were injured. Montorio is reportedly the fourth UN peacekeeper killed in the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron has directed blame at Hezbollah. “Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” he posted on X.

Hezbollah denied responsibility. Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Diodato Abagnara said in a service on the tarmac at Beirut’s airport that Montorio, who is survived by his wife and two daughters, had “all our respect”.

What’s your Reaction?
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
written by Emily Kaine, Ellen Connolly, Adam Carey Source

Leave a Comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.


To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
You can enter the Tamil word or English word but not both