US-Israel war on Iran

A source has told Al Jazeera that Pakistan is expecting a breakthrough tied to Iran’s nuclear programme as Islamabad helps negotiate an end the US-Israeli war on Iran. Pakistani military and government officials met with Iranian and Saudi leaders on Wednesday.

Watch the moment a Democratic congresswoman tells the US Energy Secretary he is ‘living in a different world’ after his response to whether he’d adequately warned the White House that a war on Iran would have global consequences.

Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear programme.

A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire.

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is heading the delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday evening, according to Iranian state media. It said he came with a new message from the US and plans to coordinate a second round of US-Iran talks, after an initial round in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also joining mediation efforts in Tehran, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Saudi Arabia for the first stop in a four-day Gulf tour.

Pakistan’s diplomatic blitz comes as competing US and Iranian sea blockades strain tensions – and the global economy – but amid indications of progress towards a deal to end the war, which has killed 3,000 people in Iran and spiralled across the Middle East.

“The urgency is being driven by the ceasefire expiring on April 22, and Pakistani officials are hoping they can get that extended,” said Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett from Islamabad. “Sharif will try and convince regional partners to also use their leverage to convince the US to participate in new talks with Iran and make sure there is no diplomatic line-crossing.”

Washington ‘feels good’ about potential deal

The latest mediation appears bolstered by optimistic comments from US President Donald Trump, who said the world should brace for an “amazing two days” as the war with Iran is close to over.

Trump also said his negotiators were likely to return to Pakistan, thanks largely to the “great job” Munir was doing to moderate the talks.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reiterated that additional talks with Iran would likely go forward in Islamabad. “We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, the US military said its naval blockade on all Iranian ports was still in effect, with US forces “present, vigilant and ready to ensure compliance”.

The blockade, which Iran’s military slammed as a violation of the ceasefire, turned nine ships away as of Wednesday, according to US Central Command.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US did not lift its blockade. He also warned Iran would retaliate by blocking trade through the Red Sea along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman.

‘Detractors on all sides’

Mediators in the conflict are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points – Iran’s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and compensation for wartime damages.

Iran’s Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment”, according to Iranian state media.

Sources told Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are optimistic about a potential major breakthrough on the nuclear front, which is the reason for Munir’s rare diplomatic trip.

“It looks like there is some agreement in the making, but we’ve been cautioned by sources [close to the mediation effort] that there are detractors on all sides,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid from Doha.

He said the detractors include elements “in Tehran, in Washington, DC, and biggest of them all, according to Pakistani sources, is Israel, which does not want a peace deal and wants a perpetual war in the region”.

Italy’s decision to suspend a defence agreement with Israel has more symbolic value than concrete consequences, but it is an unprecedented move by the Italian government and reflects deep unease over its longtime ally’s actions in the Middle East, analysts say.

On Monday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy would not renew a memorandum of understanding – signed in 2003 and ratified in 2005 – between the two countries’ ministries of defence. The accord provided a framework for cooperation in “defence industry and procurement policy” and “import, export and transit of defence and military equipment”, among other things.

The memorandum was set to automatically renew every five years “unless a written notice of intention to denounce is given” by one of the two countries to the other.

That notice arrived on Monday in a letter written by Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.

The Israeli government has downplayed the move. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it was a deal that “never materialised” and did not have “substantial content”. “Israel’s security will not be harmed,” he wrote on X.

It is true that the Italy-Israel agreement constituted more of a political framework than a series of operational commitments between the two countries. Furthermore, the Italian government’s decision does not cancel it outright, as opposition parties and human rights advocates have long demanded, but merely suspends it.

Still, the move is a sharp reversal for a right-wing government that has been one of Europe’s staunchest allies of Israel.

Along with Germany, Italy has been one of the strongest opponents of calls to suspend a trade agreement between Israel and the European Union. Italy has largely supported Israel’s war on Gaza, which a United Nations inquiry says amounts to genocide, and it has refused to recognise Palestinian statehood. 

But relations between Israel and Italy have soured recently.

On Monday, the Italian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Luca Ferrari, was summoned after Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned Israel for its “unacceptable attacks against the civilian population” in Lebanon during a visit there. And last week, the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, prompting Tajani to summon the Israeli ambassador.

Israel also launched a massive attack across Lebanon last week, bombing 100 targets in 10 minutes on Wednesday, shortly after a two-week truce between Iran and the US was called. That series of strikes killed hundreds of people in one of the country’s worst mass slaughters since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990. Observers say the attack on Lebanon was an unwelcome disruptor to efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.

De-escalating Middle East tensions

The Italian government’s decision to suspend its defence agreement with Israel “must be seen within a broader effort to progressively stabilise the region, including by reducing tensions in Lebanon”, said Michele Valensise, president of the Institute for International Affairs and former secretary-general of Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Israel’s military operation there objectively constitutes an irritant, complicating negotiations with the Iranians,” said Valensise. “If the Lebanese front can be part of a deal with Iran, then everyone has an interest in de-escalation there.”

European governments, including Italy, have been watching nervously as the United States-Israeli war on Iran has unfolded. Following initial joint Israel-US strikes on Tehran on February 28, Iranian forces brought shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to a near-total halt, causing the paralysis of the one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports that pass through the narrow waterway in peacetime.

Following a first failed round of high-stakes Iran-US talks in Islamabad last weekend – amid a fragile two-week truce – Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, further aggravating fears of a protracted energy crisis. Italy heavily relies on gas imports.

‘Stop the genocide’

Possibly more importantly, Italy’s government and prime minister are preparing for elections next year.

“There is a general discontent over the war in Iran and the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz – a crisis that’s impacting Italian growth and, if it continues, could have a significant impact on citizens, something Meloni worries about in a pre-election year,” said Arturo Varvelli, a political scientist and senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Italian public opinion also has a strong pro-Palestinian component. Last October, more than two million Italians took to the streets as part of a general strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israel while trying to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The flotilla had been carrying 40 Italians among its passengers, calling on Israel to “stop the genocide”.

“There’s a concern that this will be a long agony, between an increasingly unmanageable Trump and the economic problems he and Netanyahu have caused with the war in the Middle East,” Varvelli said.

After years of efforts to emerge as US President Donald Trump’s “whisperer” in Europe, Meloni has been pushed by the war in Iran to put some distance between herself and Trump. Rome refused the US president’s request to join a naval coalition to force the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and to allow US bombers to refuel at a military base in southern Italy.

Trump had not commented on those decisions until yesterday, when, in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he took aim at Meloni. The Italian PM had leapt to defend Pope Leo XIV after he became embroiled in a feud with Trump. Pope Leo had condemned the US president’s threat that Iran’s “civilisation will die” if it didn’t re-open the Strait of Hormuz. In response to that, Trump unleashed a storm of criticism at Leo, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”. He said he does not “want a Pope who criticises the President of the United States”.

Trump also posted a bizarre image of himself as a Christ-like figure healing the sick on social media. He has since claimed it was meant to depict him as a doctor, following widespread criticism.

Of Meloni, who he once affectionately called “a real live wire”, Trump said, “I’m shocked at her” during an interview with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday.

“Do people like her? I can’t believe it,” he said in the interview, adding, “I thought she had courage. I was wrong.”

Draw for the 24-team 2027 AFC Asian Cup, originally set for Saturday, moved to May 9.

The draw for the 2027 ⁠Asian Cup ⁠in Saudi Arabia has been rescheduled for May 9 in Riyadh as the ⁠United States-Israel war on Iran disrupts regional sporting events.

The draw, originally scheduled for last Saturday, will be held at the historic At-Turaif District in Diriyah. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said ⁠on Wednesday that the postponement was ‌made to ensure the full participation of all key stakeholders and member associations.

A number of sporting events across the region have been postponed or cancelled due to the war, which began on February 28.

Saudi Arabia is set to ⁠host the 24-team, quadrennial continental championship for the first time from January 7 to February 5. With 23 of the ⁠24 teams already confirmed, the draw will divide the qualified ⁠nations into six groups of ⁠four.

The final qualification place will be decided on June 4 when Lebanon face Yemen in a playoff.

Defending champions ‌Qatar have already secured their place at the finals along with four-time winners Japan and fellow ‌World ‌Cup qualifiers South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Australia and Uzbekistan.

Israel’s ambassador to the US has held talks with his Lebanese counterpart. But as a pro-settler ‘activist’ and former soldier who took part in invading Lebanon, critics say Yechiel Leiter is a problematic negotiator.

Italy has suspended the renewal of a 20-year-long defence agreement with Israel, following recent tensions between the two countries after the Italian government accused Israeli forces of firing warning shots at a convoy of Italian peacekeepers in Lebanon.

After the first direct talks in decades, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to begin ongoing negotiations for the ‘security of both countries’. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna explains why US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees this ‘milestone’ meeting as just the ‘start of the process’.

US president says second round of talks could be held in Pakistan as blockade of Iranian ports continues.

Supply of humanitarian aid for people displaced by the conflict has been complicated by air and sea route closures.

Aid groups have said they’re seeking to boost humanitarian relief shipments into Iran as the effects of the United States-Israeli war hit the population.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Tuesday that it had delivered “life-saving” aid and medical supplies, marking one of the first humanitarian shipments since the war began.

The shipment entered the country through Turkiye on Sunday, IFRC spokesman Tommaso Della Longa said in a statement. Iran faces a deepening humanitarian crisis after nearly six weeks of conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people, according to Iranian authorities, and displaced up to 3.2 million, he stressed.

“The operation is critical as humanitarian supply chains into Iran have been severely disrupted in recent weeks due to the conflict, making it increasingly difficult and more costly for essential medical and relief items to reach those in need,” the spokesman said.

The convoy, which departed from the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday, carried around 200 trauma kits containing emergency medical supplies along with tents and blankets.

‘Needs are high’

The Turkish Red Crescent Society also dispatched four trucks separately carrying 48 tonnes of aid, including emergency shelters, hygiene kits and first-aid supplies.

“Needs are high, medical needs in particular, but also the psychological toll on people is immense,” Della Longa said.

He noted the toll on the Iranian Red Crescent Society has been high, confirming that the organisation had lost four relief workers in the line of duty.

The effort to respond to humanitarian needs in Iran is growing.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday that it had dispatched 14 trucks from Jordan carrying household supplies for around 25,000 people, including mattresses, jerry cans, kitchen sets and solar lamps.

In addition, ICRC said, 200 generators and 100 motor pumps purchased locally had been donated to the Iranian Red Crescent Society to support relief and rescue operations

Air and sea routes have been blocked by the conflict, it said, making overland crossings through Turkiye and Jordan critical for aid delivery.

The relief comes amid a fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

According to the Turkish Red Crescent Society’s president, Fatma Meric Yilmaz, around 3.6 percent of Iran’s 90 million people have been displaced, while 62,000 homes and more than 20,000 businesses have been destroyed.

CENTCOM contradicts reports on ships breaking blockade as Trump says US-Iran talks could resume in the next two days.

The Pentagon says no ships “made it past” the United States military blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in its first 24 hours and six merchant ships followed orders to turn around.

The statement on Tuesday from the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) was the first update since US President Donald Trump announced the blockade of the waterway after US-Iran talks over the weekend in Pakistan failed to yield an agreement on ending the war the US and Israel launched on February 28.

CENTCOM said the blockade applies only to vessels “entering and exiting Iranian ports” and other vessels remain free to transit the waterway.

It added: “US forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”

The Reuters news agency reported at least three vessels transited the strait during the first 24 hours of the blockade, citing shipping data. They included two tankers sanctioned by the US. The three ships were not heading to Iranian ports, according to Reuters.

However, the AFP news agency and several US media outlets, citing data from the maritime tracker Kpler, reported two ships had transited the waterway after leaving Iranian ports on Monday.

CENTCOM said 10,000 US sailors, Marines and airmen were involved in the operation, along with more than a dozen US warships and dozens of aircraft.

Military observers have widely said US forces have the capability to maintain the blockade for the foreseeable future but the continued pressure increases the likelihood of Iranian attacks. That in turn could see a two-week ceasefire that began on Wednesday collapse.

Meanwhile, any efforts to intercept vessels from strategic foes, including China, could create new escalations. The strategy is also likely to continue to roil global oil markets.

Iran has decried the US approach as “piracy” while Trump on Monday promised to “eliminate” any Iranian ships that seek to break the blockade.

Trump says more talks are possible

The update on Tuesday came as both sides signalled they would be open to further talks after failing to reach a breakthrough during 21 hours of negotiations between a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The talks were the highest-level face-to-face contact between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Key unresolved sticking points include control of the Strait of Hormuz, the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and whether the ceasefire extended to Israel’s ongoing invasion and bombardment of Lebanon.

In an interview with the New York Post newspaper on Tuesday, Trump said “something could be happening over the next two days” in Islamabad as he hailed Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been among the officials shepherding the negotiations.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said sources stated there are already messages being exchanged regarding what both sides consider to be “bridgeable issues”.

“Iran is open to talks, and it showed that from last week when it went to Islamabad. The main hurdle always is the mistrust, distrust between both sides,” Hashem said.

“For the Iranians, they’ve been repeating that they’re open. If the Americans want to fight, they’re going to fight. And if they want to talk, they can talk.”

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States arrived at the State Department in Washington for their countries’ first direct talks in decades. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting the discussions.

Now, the United States is the one shutting the Strait of Hormuz, even as President Donald Trump was calling for it to reopen just a few days ago. He said ships entering or leaving Iranian ports would be stopped by the navy after talks between Tehran and Washington fell apart.

However, this is not just about a blockade. Iran is tightening its grip on the strait, demanding the right to impose tolls on ships passing through it.

The ripple effects could go beyond energy and trade flows, challenging the dominance of the US dollar in global shipping.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Beijing as the United States blocks the Strait of Hormuz, through which China imports about a third of its oil supplies.

Lavrov received a red-carpet welcome on Tuesday, according to photos shared by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Beijing and Moscow have condemned the US and Israel over their war on Iran, with China also being economically affected by the energy crisis it has caused.

China, a big importer of Iranian oil, also slammed a recently imposed US scheme to blockade vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

“The Strait of Hormuz is an important international trade route for goods and energy, and maintaining its security, stability, and unimpeded flow is in the common interest of the international community,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday.

Lavrov speaks to Araghchi

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US’s goal is to choke Iran off by blocking everything coming in and out of Iranian ports.

“What the US hopes is that there’ll be pressure on Iran from some of its main business partners, including China,” he said, adding that Beijing imports about a third of its oil from Iran. “The United States is hoping that pressure on China will mean China putting pressure on Iran and forcing Iran to get back to the negotiating table.”

On Monday, Lavrov held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

The top Russian diplomat told  Araghchi it was important to guard against any resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, and said Russia stood ready to help with a settlement, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“S Lavrov emphasised the importance of preventing a recurrence of armed confrontation and once again confirmed Russia’s unwavering readiness to assist in resolving the crisis, which has no military solution,” the ministry said.

It added Araghchi related to Lavrov details of US-Iran talks in Pakistan at the weekend, which failed to reach a breakthrough.

Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and the relationship has deepened further since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Wang also held a call with Lavrov on April 5, when they agreed that Beijing and Moscow would work together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

Diplomacy traffic in Beijing

China welcomed a string of leaders of countries that have been affected by the war and its economic fallout this week, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as MBZ.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met MBZ and Sanchez on Tuesday morning, and Vietnamese President To Lam is expected in China for a four-day trip.

“I think what this really speaks to is that many people around the world have been surprised that China has not played a more active role in the Iran war, given it has such strong ties with Tehran, including as Iran’s largest trading partner and buyer of crude oil,” Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said.

“But what China has been doing, besides calling for restraint and more negotiation, is taking advantage of this moment to really look at states that may be a little disenchanted with the US or looking to diversify from reliance on Washington,” Yu said.

“China has presented itself as the opposite of Washington – a reliable, stable and predictable partner. For many states, that message really appeals.”

Trump’s threats after ‘fabricated’ reports

Trump, who is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with Xi, said on Sunday he would hit China’s goods with a 50 percent tariff if it provided military assistance to Tehran.

His comments came the same day CNN reported that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran within the next few weeks, quoting three people familiar with the assessments.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo said those reports were “completely fabricated”.

“If the US insists on using this as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on China, China will definitely take resolute countermeasures,” he said.

The US started a blockade on Iranian ports, but Trump said there is still a chance for Tehran to reach a deal.

President Donald Trump said there is still room for Iran to strike a deal, despite the US blockade of Iranian ports, as Israel intensified its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Iran has accused Washington of “piracy” as thousands rally in Tehran against the move, which targets shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Associated Press news agency reported on Tuesday that diplomatic efforts to revive US-Iran talks are continuing, with Pakistan offering to host a second round of negotiations in Islamabad this week.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• US blockade and protests: The US measures are now being enforced, prompting Iranian accusations of “piracy” and demonstrations in Tehran against the restrictions on maritime traffic.
• Tehran calls blockade ‘illegal’: Iran’s armed forces condemned the move as unlawful, warning that targeting its ports could put shipping across the Gulf at risk.
• IRGC warns of escalation: A Revolutionary Guard spokesperson said Iran still has “unused capabilities” and could deploy new tactics if the conflict deepens.
• Tehran backs pope: Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf praised Pope Leo XIV for condemning the war, calling his stance “fearless”.
• Russia withdraws nuclear staff: Russia has pulled most of its personnel from Iran’s only nuclear power plant, built with Moscow’s support, according to the head of the country’s atomic energy agency.

War diplomacy

• Qatar urges mediation: Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani urged Iran and the US to engage constructively in mediation efforts.
• Pakistan says truce ‘holding’: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire between the US and Iran was “holding”, with efforts ongoing to reach a deal after weekend talks failed.
• Shipping disruption grows: A UN spokesperson said there is “no military solution”, warning that instability in the Strait of Hormuz is worsening global economic fragility. About 20,000 vessels are reported stranded, with supply chains, including fertiliser, under strain.
• Push to include Lebanon: The United Kingdom urged Lebanon’s inclusion in a broader US-Iran ceasefire framework, which currently excludes fighting involving Hezbollah.
• Talks planned with Lebanon despite fighting: Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors will hold talks on Tuesday in Washington, DC, aimed at halting the war.
• Hezbollah rejects negotiations: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon to cancel the planned meeting in Washington, reiterating his group’s opposition to any direct engagement with Israel.
• Russia to accept Iran’s uranium: The Kremlin has repeated an offer to accept Iran’s enriched uranium as part of a potential agreement with the US. In comments carried by Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposal “was voiced by President [Vladimir] Putin in contacts with both the United States and regional states”.

In the US

• Iran ‘wants a deal’: Trump said Iranian representatives had reached out to pursue a peace agreement after talks in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough. “They’d like to make a deal. Very badly,” he told reporters, without specifying who made contact.
• No apology over pope remarks: Trump said he had “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV for calling for an end to the conflict. He described the pope as “weak” on key issues, including Iran.
• Warning over Iranian vessels: Trump said US forces would destroy any Iranian “fast attack ships” approaching the naval blockade now in effect.
• Domestic politics and war powers: Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, are pushing for another vote to curb Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran. Schumer criticised the campaign as an “epic fail”, citing rising US fuel prices, while previous efforts have been blocked by Republicans.
• Arrests of protesters: Police in New York City have arrested about 90 protesters in Manhattan as they stopped traffic to protest against the war on Iran and the US’s arms sales to Israel. Jewish Voice for Peace, the group leading the protest, said those taken into custody included whistleblower Chelsea Manning, actor Hari Nef and New York City Council Member Alexa Aviles.
• Trump rails at pope: Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, saying the pontiff’s opposition to the war in Iran was “wrong” and accusing him of being “weak on crime”.

In Israel

• Israel pushes ‘buffer zone’: Israel’s military is continuing ground operations and air raids across southern Lebanon, bulldozing buildings in border towns such as Naqoura as part of efforts to create a “buffer zone”.
• Hezbollah steps up attacks: Fighters have launched rockets and drones at Israeli troops and vehicles in areas including Bint Jbeil and Biyyada.
• Accusations against Israel: Hezbollah chief Qassem accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing a “Greater Israel” agenda with US backing.
• Tensions with Italy: Israel summoned Italy’s ambassador after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned attacks on Beirut as “unacceptable”, following reports of more than 300 deaths.
• The Israeli military said one soldier has been killed and three others have been wounded during battle in southern Lebanon.

In Lebanon

• Israel continues to attack Lebanon: Israel has intensified its invasion of southern Lebanon, as the death toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 rises to at least 2,089.
• An Israeli drone attack has hit a car travelling near southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh, killing at least two people, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday. Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic say Israeli forces have launched two raids on the towns of Machgharah and Sohmor in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
• Public opinion divided: Lebanese citizens appear split about negotiations, with some expressing fatigue from the war and hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough, while others remain sceptical of Israel’s intentions and doubt any deal will hold.
• Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed in a statement posted on X that a Canadian national has died in southern Lebanon. The minister did not provide details on the events that led to the Canadian’s death.

Strait of Hormuz and energy crisis

• The Reuters news agency is reporting that a Chinese tanker sanctioned ⁠by Washington has passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite a ⁠US blockade on the waterway. The tanker and its ‌owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, were previously sanctioned by the US for dealing with Iran.
• US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil prices could keep rising until “we get meaningful ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz”.

Police in New York have arrested around 100 anti-war protesters who were staging a sit-in outside the offices of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, demanding an end to US weapons sales to Israel. The demonstration comes as Senator Bernie Sanders pushes to block more than $600m worth of bombs bound for Israel’s military.

Naim Qassem says planned talks in Washington, DC, are a ploy to pressure Hezbollah into laying down its weapons.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected an upcoming meeting between the Lebanese government and Israel in the United States, calling such efforts “futile” as Israeli forces intensify their attacks on Lebanon.

In a televised speech on Monday, Qassem called on the government to take “a historic and heroic stance” by not attending the planned talks.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US are scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Qassem said the talks are a ploy to pressure Hezbollah into laying down its weapons.

“Israel clearly states that the goal of these negotiations is to disarm Hezbollah, as [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu repeatedly states. So, how can you go to negotiations whose objective is already clear?” Qassem said.

“We will not rest, stop or surrender. Instead, we will let the battlefield speak for itself,” he added.

Israel intensified its war on Lebanon in early March following a salvo of rockets launched by Hezbollah. A ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group had ostensibly been in effect since November 2024, but Israel continued carrying out near-daily deadly attacks.

Hezbollah said its March 2 attack was retaliation for the US and Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two days earlier, on the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Since then, Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south have killed at least 2,055 people, including 165 children and 87 medical workers. More than 6,500 others have been wounded, while some 1.2 million have been forced from their homes.

Lebanese authorities insist the priority is to secure a ceasefire, but Israel has said it wants to open formal peace negotiations with Lebanon. It has placed Hezbollah’s disarmament as a priority, with no mention of a ceasefire or withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon.

“We want the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations,” Netanyahu said on Saturday.

Qassem said the planned talks “require a Lebanese consensus to shift our approach from non-negotiation to direct negotiations”, calling them a “free concession” to Israel and the US.

His speech came after hundreds of people in the capital, Beirut, protested on Friday and Saturday against the planned talks. Demonstrators accused Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of betraying the Lebanese people by holding direct talks with Israel, while it continues its bombing campaign and expands its invasion.

The Israeli military on Monday said its forces had completely surrounded the key southern town of Bint Jbeil, while Hezbollah continued to claim attacks against Israeli forces there.

Qassem said that northern Israeli localities “will not be safe, even if the Israelis were to enter any area of Lebanon”. He also accused Beirut of “backstabbing” his group by declaring Hezbollah’s military activities illegal at the start of the war.

“Israel and the US clearly said they want to strengthen the Lebanese army to disarm and fight Hezbollah … but the army cannot do that,” Qassem added.

Iran accuses the US of committing piracy as thousands of Iranians rally in Tehran against the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping costs have increased by more than 10 percent in the past month due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Shipping and oil costs have continued to surge a month after United States President Donald Trump issued a waiver for the Jones Act, a maritime law that bars foreign-flagged vessels from transporting goods between US ports.

The 60-day waiver came into effect on March 18, as the movement of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, was choked off on account of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Under the Jones Act, goods shipped between US ports must be carried on vessels that are US-built, US-flagged and mostly US-owned, limiting the number of tankers available for domestic shipments.

The Trump administration argued that the temporary waiver of the law would lower energy costs. As the waiver approaches the 30-day mark, it has had little impact on oil prices.

“It is estimated that it’s going to be about 3 cents on the East Coast and it might go up on the Gulf Coast, but these changes are so small that they’re overshadowed by the spikes in oil prices, and the oil prices keep going up,” Usha Haley, a professor of management at the Wichita State University, told Al Jazeera.

“It is minuscule, a drop in the bucket compared to the rise in oil prices.”

Oil prices have continued to rise amid the ongoing conflict, which is disrupting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures rose 4 percent on the day amid a US blockade of Iranian ports, reaching $98.91 after hitting $101.03 earlier in the day. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.53, or 2.6 percent, to $99.10.

The US Navy imposed a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday to prevent the movement of oil to and from Iran after talks between US and Iranian negotiators failed to reach an agreement.

The strain is also hitting consumers at the petrol pump in the US. The American Automobile Association reports that the average price of gas is $4.125 per gallon (3.78 litres), compared with $3.63 at this time last month.

Meanwhile, shippers have adapted their routes, with more than 34,000 ships diverting from the strait over the past month.

The Containerized Freight Index, the benchmark for shipping container costs, jumped more than 10 percent over the last month, and is up more than 35 percent from this time last year, amid pressure on the market to find alternative shipping strategies.

In March, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd suspended vessel routes through the strait, a waterway connecting the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf.

Also in March, within days of the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, several major vessel insurers cancelled war risk coverage for ships travelling through the waterway, including Norwegian insurers Gard and Skuld, as well as the United Kingdom’s NorthStandard, dissuading ship owners from going through the Gulf.

Since then, even though maritime insurance has become available – at 10 times the price as before the war on Iran – fuel prices are expected to normalise only once traffic through the strait goes back to pre-war levels, experts have said.

US President Donald Trump says Iran wants to make a peace deal “very badly” after talks in Islamabad ended without agreement, insisting any framework hinges on Tehran agreeing never to develop a nuclear weapon.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon threaten regional stability after a meeting in Brussels on the fallout from the Iran conflict. Al Jazeera’s Abdullah Elshamy reports on the bloc’s response.