26 entries, newest first, by day in U.S. Mountain Time.
CENTCOM said the Iranian-flagged Touska, heading for Bandar Abbas, ignored warnings over six hours, after which USS Spruance disabled its propulsion with several 5-inch rounds into the engine room and Marines of the 31st MEU boarded it; Trump said the sanctioned ship was in U.S. custody. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters called it “armed piracy” and a ceasefire violation and vowed to retaliate “soon.”
The Israeli military published its first map of a new deployment line in southern Lebanon, running 5 to 10 km from the border and enclosing dozens of emptied villages, and said five divisions and naval forces were operating south of it to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. The line, also called a “Yellow Line,” was not in the ceasefire terms published by the U.S.
Trump said Iran’s firing on ships in Hormuz was a “Total Violation” of the ceasefire, announced U.S. negotiators would be in Pakistan on Monday, and warned that if Iran rejected the U.S. deal the U.S. would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran.” Iran’s IRNA denied Tehran had agreed to a second round, citing “excessive demands” and the blockade.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the ceasefire “cannot be one-sided,” that fighters would remain “with their hands on the trigger” and respond to Israeli violations, and dismissed the ceasefire text published by the U.S. State Department, which gives Israel a right of self-defence, as “an insult to our country.”
Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio was killed and three other French peacekeepers wounded when a UNIFIL unit came under small-arms fire near Ghandouriyeh on Saturday morning. Macron said “everything suggests” Hezbollah was responsible and the UN secretary-general said an initial UNIFIL assessment pointed to Hezbollah; the group denied involvement. A second wounded soldier, Cpl. Anicet Girardin, died on April 22.
UKMTO said two IRGC-linked gunboats fired on a tanker without a radio challenge, and a container ship was hit by an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman; crews were reported safe. Two Indian-flagged vessels, including a supertanker carrying Iraqi oil, reversed course, and India summoned Iran’s ambassador to convey “deep concern.”
Iran’s joint military command said control of the Strait of Hormuz had “returned to its previous state” under strict armed forces control because of the U.S. blockade. That evening the IRGC Navy declared the strait closed until the blockade is lifted, warned ships not to leave anchorage and said violators would be targeted.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said air routes over eastern Iran reopened at 7 a.m., and the Association of Iranian Airlines said six airports, including Tehran’s Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad, Mashhad, Birjand, Gorgan and Zahedan, had reopened, with flights to resume gradually.
Brent fell about 9% to around $90 a barrel and U.S. crude fell nearly 11% to $84.36 after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open, CBS News reported; Al Jazeera said Brent settled at $90.38, down 9.1%, as the S&P 500 closed above 7,100 for the first time.
Trump posted that the U.S. would get all of Iran’s “nuclear dust” with no money changing hands, told reporters U.S. and Iranian crews would excavate it together and ship it to the U.S., and said Israel was “PROHIBITED” from bombing Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the enriched uranium would “not be transferred anywhere,” and parliament speaker Ghalibaf called Trump’s claims false.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for the rest of the ceasefire in Lebanon, on a route coordinated by Iran’s maritime authorities; the IRGC Navy said transits still needed its permission and warships remained barred. Trump thanked Iran but said the U.S. blockade would stay “in full force” until a deal with Iran was “100% complete.”
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight Beirut time (5 p.m. EDT on April 16), hours after Trump said he had agreed it in calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The terms published by the State Department let Israel act in self-defence against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks while halting offensive operations; Hezbollah, not a party to the deal, said Israeli occupation gave Lebanon the right to resist.
International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told AP that Europe had “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel left and flight cancellations could come “soon” if Hormuz stayed blocked, calling it “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” with Japan, Korea, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh hit first.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli warplanes carried out two consecutive strikes on the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River, the last remaining route between Tyre and Sidon, destroying it. The UN estimated 100,000 to 150,000 civilians remained south of the river.
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said all Iranian vessels, ships under active sanctions and those suspected of carrying contraband, including oil, weapons, iron and steel, were subject to visit, search and seizure anywhere in the Gulf, Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At a Pentagon briefing, Gen. Dan Caine said 13 ships had turned back and none had been boarded, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned bombing of Iranian power and energy infrastructure could follow if Iran “chooses poorly.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that Israeli troops were about to take the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil and that he had instructed the army to widen and extend eastward the security zone it holds in southern Lebanon, while negotiating with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah.
OFAC sanctioned more than two dozen people, companies and vessels in an oil-shipping network run by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of the late security official Ali Shamkhani, plus a Hezbollah financier and firms tied to an Iran-Venezuela oil-for-gold scheme. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries buying Iranian oil or holding Iranian money now faced secondary sanctions, the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign.
Field Marshal Asim Munir landed in Tehran and was received by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in what Pakistan’s military called part of ongoing mediation; Iranian state TV said the delegation carried a new message from Washington and would discuss a second round of talks. A senior U.S. official said no new terms for extending the ceasefire had been agreed.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the blockade had been fully implemented within 36 hours and U.S. forces had “completely halted” sea trade in and out of Iran; CENTCOM said no ship passed in the first 24 hours, six merchant vessels were turned back and over 10,000 personnel were involved. A U.S. official said a destroyer turned back two tankers from Chabahar, while tracking data showed some Iran-linked ships still crossing the strait.
The U.S. Treasury said the short-term authorization allowing sale of Iranian oil already at sea, set to run through April 19, would not be renewed, and that it was prepared to use secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions supporting Iran. AP reported a Treasury letter warned banks in China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Oman over Iranian money flows.
A U.S. official told CBS News that American negotiators in Islamabad proposed at least a 20-year suspension of Iranian uranium enrichment plus other restrictions; AP, citing a regional official and a person briefed, said Iran rejected it and offered a five-year moratorium, which the White House turned down. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the length of any moratorium was a political decision but any deal needed “very detailed” verification.
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad met for two hours with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries since 1993; Hezbollah, which opposed the talks, was not represented. The State Department called the meeting productive and said all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.
The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, secretary general of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, which it said was responsible for attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq and kidnappings of U.S. citizens, including the recent abduction of journalist Shelly Kittleson.
The International Energy Agency's April Oil Market Report said global oil supply plunged by 10.1 million barrels a day to 97 mb/d in March as attacks on Middle East energy sites and restrictions on Hormuz tanker traffic caused the largest disruption in history; Hormuz loadings averaged about 3.8 mb/d in early April against more than 20 mb/d in February. It now expects world oil demand to shrink by 80,000 barrels a day in 2026, with a 1.5 mb/d second-quarter drop the sharpest since Covid-19.
In a televised speech, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected negotiations with Israel as “futile,” called on Lebanon to cancel the ambassadors’ meeting set for Washington the next day, said no one could take Lebanon down that path without internal consensus, and vowed Lebanon would not lose “a single metre” to an Israeli buffer zone.
The U.S. blockade of all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iranian ports began at 10 a.m. EDT; CENTCOM told mariners that vessels entering or leaving the blockaded area without authorization faced interception, diversion and capture. Trump warned Iranian fast-attack boats approaching the blockade would be “immediately eliminated,” Iran’s armed forces called it illegal “piracy,” and MarineTraffic showed at least two tankers, Rich Starry and Ostria, turning back.