President Donald Trump says he told top U.S. envoys not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, telling Fox News that ″they can call us anytime they want.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The move, announced Friday, actualizes the administration’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities that do business with Iran, an effort to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue — its oil exports.
Airlines worldwide have begun canceling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Here’s what to know if your flight is canceled.
Here is the latest:
Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan again
That’s according to a report by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
It says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
US says it’s hunting for explosive mines in latest push to open the Strait of Hormuz
Trump says the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz. The vital sea route for Persian Gulf oil is closed to most ships, and that’s a strain on the global economy.
Experts say sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
Any future claims that the U.S. cleared the waterway where 20% of the world’s oil typically passes might fail to convince commercial freighters and their insurers that it’s finally safe.
“There’s only so much the U.S. can do to give that confidence back to commercial shipping,” said Emma Salisbury, a scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s National Security Program.
Seeking out mines is among the latest tactics announced by the Trump administration to get traffic moving again through the strait as rising energy prices and wider economic effects pose a political risk.
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Trump says Iran presented new offers 10 minutes after he canceled US team’s trip
Amid the stalled negotiations with Iran, the president said the Iranians sent over a new peace proposal, but that it “could have been better,” and rejected it.
“They gave us a paper that could have been better, and interestingly, immediately when I canceled it, within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better,” Trump said to reporters on Saturday before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Florida.
The President wouldn’t offer specifics about what was in the latest proposal other than saying “they offered a lot.” But he stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said he canceled the latest rounds of negotiations with Iran because it was “a lot of traveling” and because his negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, “weren’t meeting with the leader of the country.”
Trump said the U.S. will “deal by telephone and they can call us anytime they want” before adding that “we have all the cards.”
Israeli fire kills one Palestinian in Gaza, health officials say
The drone strike near a school in northern Gaza City wounded at least two others, according to officials at Shifa hospital, where the casualties arrived.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel continues to carry out near-daily strikes across Gaza, where more than 800 Palestinians have been killed despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Pakistan PM, Iran president hold ‘warm’ talks on regional situation
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone on Saturday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, holding what he described as a “warm and constructive discussion” on the evolving regional situation.
In a post on the social platform X, Sharif said he appreciated Iran’s continued engagement, including the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Islamabad led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
He added that, with the support of friends and partners, Pakistan remains committed to serving as an “honest and sincere facilitator” to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region.
Netanyahu orders “vigorous” strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
The statement by the prime minister’s office follows a string of rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel and on Israeli ground troops in southern Lebanon on Saturday. There were no injuries.
Also on Saturday, Israel launched multiple airstrikes in southern Lebanon while a fragile temporary ceasefire was in effect, killing at least six people it said were Hezbollah militants.
Netanyahu has instructed the army “to vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,” the statement said, without providing further detail.
Iran’s top diplomat arrives in Oman
Abbas Araghchi has arrived in the capital, Muscat. He’s expected to meet about regional developments. Oman was a mediator for indirect talks before the war.
Iran says continued US naval blockade will trigger ‘powerful response’
Iran’s joint military command warned in a statement Saturday that if the U.S. continues its “naval blockades, banditry, and piracy in the region,” it will provoke a decisive military response from Iran.
The statement, carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, added that if the U.S. and Israel renewed their aggression, they would face more losses.
It remains unclear whether Iran and the U.S. will resume negotiations soon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan, the key mediator in the negotiations between the two countries, a few hours ago, with no immediate word on possible resumption of talks. Shortly after, Trump said in a social media post that he called off sending U.S. envoys to Pakistan for negotiations.
Pakistan eases Islamabad restrictions after Iran delegation leaves
Pakistani authorities on Saturday evening began easing restrictions following the departure of an Iranian delegation and a U.S. decision not to send its delegation to Islamabad for potential talks, offering relief to hundreds of thousands of residents after nearly a week of near-lockdown conditions.
The developments signal a setback to Pakistan’s efforts to host a second round of talks.
The Islamabad administration said in a post on the social platform X that entry of all types of public and goods transport has been allowed. It added that bus terminals across the capital have reopened, except for a key terminal on the city’s outskirts, which will remain closed until further notice.
The move is expected to improve the supply of fruit, vegetables and other essential items in the capital.
Trump says he called off dispatching top U.S. envoys to Pakistan for negotiations with Iran
The president said in a social media post, “I just canceled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad.”
That came shortly after Trump told Fox News that he’d instructed U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to go.
He wrote in the subsequent post, “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!”
The president also repeated his past suggestions that the leadership of Iran remains unsettled, writing, “Nobody knows who is in charge.”
Trump’s post followed two Pakistani officials saying Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left Pakistan without meeting U.S. officials.
Trump tells Fox News he’s no longer sending Witkoff and Kushner to Pakistan for Iran talks
Trump says he told top U.S. envoys not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, telling Fox News that ″they can call us anytime they want.”
In a brief phone interview, Trump told Fox News that he told U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, “You’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”
Trump also said of the U.S. side, “We have all the cards.”
His comments on Saturday came after the White House said Friday that Witkoff and Kushner would be heading to Pakistan for another round of negotiations with Iran.
Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority backs the president’s right to hold talks to end war with Israel
The Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, headed by Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim Grand Mufti Abdul-Latif Derian, said that the “constitutional right” of President Joseph Aoun to pursue diplomatic negotiations to end the war with the “Zionist entity” should be respected.
The council blasted Israel, saying it launched “a devastating and relentless war on Lebanon and committed the most heinous and dangerous crimes.”
Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to Washington held two rounds of talks this month, the first official meetings between the two countries in decades.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group is opposed to direct negotiations with Israel and has blasted the meetings held in Washington.
Trump said this week that Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to meet in Washington in the coming weeks.
There has been no official confirmation from Lebanon that Aoun will attend such a meeting with Netanyahu.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry raises death toll to 2,496
The ministry added in figures released Saturday that 7,725 people were wounded in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out on March 2.
The war started after Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked its main backer, Iran.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on April 17. The ceasefire was extended by three weeks on Thursday.
Despite Lebanon ceasefire, Israeli strikes kill suspected militants and Hezbollah fires on Israel
The Israeli military said that in multiple strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, it killed six people that it said were militants. And several rockets and drones were launched at Israel from Lebanon, the army said, causing no injuries.
A 10-day ceasefire, in effect since April 17, has been repeatedly violated by both sides. On Thursday, Trump said Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend it by three weeks. Hezbollah has not been part of the ceasefire talks.
One strike, in the village of Yohmor, killed three people driving a truck that the army said was loaded with weapons. A second strike in that area killed a person on a motorcycle. A third strike, in the Litani area, killed two people that the army said posed a threat to Israeli ground forces.
Iran’s foreign minister leaves Islamabad without meeting US envoys, Pakistan officials say
Two Pakistani officials say Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left Pakistan without meeting U.S. officials.
Senior Pakistani officials were at an airport near Islamabad to see him off. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Araghchi had met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and other senior officials about matters including Iran’s red lines in negotiations.
— Cara Anna
Israeli airstrikes kill 4 people in southern Lebanese village
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes on the village of Yohmor in southern Lebanon targeted a pickup truck and a motorcycle, killing four people.
Saturday’s airstrikes came despite a 10-day ceasefire in place since April 17.
Since the truce went into effect, it has been repeatedly violated by both sides.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks.
Pakistan’s prime minister meets with Iran’s foreign minister
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday at the prime minister’s office in the capital, Islamabad.
Sharif’s office issued a statement saying the meeting was ongoing.
It said Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were also present.
No further details were immediately available, and the statement only said the “current regional situation will be discussed.”
Iran’s top diplomat meets with Pakistan army chief
Iran’s top diplomat and Pakistan’s army chief have discussed efforts to launch a new round of talks with the United States.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Telegram that he met with Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir Saturday morning in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, and explained Iran’s views on ending the war between the Islamic Republic and the U.S.
Araghchi didn’t offer further details, but said Tehran will continue engaging in the Pakistani-led mediation efforts “until a result is achieved.”
Iran’s president calls on people to save electricity
Iran’s president has urged people to reduce their use of electricity after American and Israeli strikes damaged the county’s energy infrastructure, state media reported.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said the government aims to “control consumption” of electricity, according to the Iranian state television.
“Instead of turning on 10 lights at home, turn on two lights. What is wrong with that?” he said.
He said the U.S. and Israel “destroyed our infrastructure,” and noted that the U.S. imposed a blockade on Iran’s ports.
Commercial flights resume at Tehran’s airport
Commercial flights resumed Saturday at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran for the first time since the war with the United States and Israel started about two months ago.
Iran’s state-run television reported the airport has flights to Istanbul in Turkey, Oman’s capital, Muscat, and the Saudi city of Medina.
Flightradar24, a flight tracking platform, showed at least three Istanbul-bound flights departed Saturday morning.
Iran partly reopened its airspace earlier this month during a ceasefire with the U.S.
Germany to deploy minesweeper ships
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country plans to deploy minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean, which later could be transferred to the Strait of Hormuz.
“We will deploy a minesweeper to the Mediterranean and provide it with a command and supply ship,” Pistorius told the Rheinische Post newspaper Saturday.
He did not say exactly when the ships are scheduled to depart.
After an end to hostilities between the U.S., Israel and Iran, the German minesweepers could be deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, though such a mission would need to be approved by Germany’s parliament.
“To save time, we have decided to deploy part of the German units to the Mediterranean early on so that — once the mandate is approved — we do not lose any further time,” Pistorius said.
Islamabad locked down before talks
Pakistan’s capital Islamabad appeared to be in a near-lockdown Saturday morning, hours after Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived on a closely watched visit as Pakistan attempts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran.
The weeklong security restrictions have disrupted daily life, with hundreds of thousands of residents struggling to commute even short distances. Checkpoints, road closures and diversions have become routine sights, particularly around sensitive zones.
The usually busy arteries leading to the airport and the heavily fortified Red Zone were largely deserted early Saturday, with movement tightly restricted. Soldiers and police were at key intersections while helicopters circled overhead.
The measures were reinforced over the past 24 hours on the city’s outskirts with additional forces stationed along key airport access routes. Soldiers were visible on rooftops overlooking major approach roads, particularly near the airport where the Iranian delegation arrived late Friday.
Iran executes another man over alleged ties to Mossad
Iran hanged a man Saturday over alleged ties to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and his participation in anti-government protests in January.
Erfan Kiani was the latest in a series of executions in Iran following the war and nationwide protests.
The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary announced Kiani was convicted of charges including attacks on security forces in the city of Asfahn in January.
The agency claimed he was on a “mission for Mossad” without offering evidence.
Human rights activists long have said Iran convicts people in closed-door trials without allowing defendants to properly defend themselves.
There recently have been multiple executions of alleged spies, as well as protesters and those affiliated with an Iranian exiled opposition group.
Pakistan president will travel to China
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to travel to Beijing on Saturday to begin a weeklong visit at the invitation of the Chinese government.
Discussions will include economic and trade cooperation and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
China has played a role in facilitating Pakistan as a host for ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran. Zardari is expected to discuss his country’s efforts to host a second round.
The visit is part of a longstanding tradition of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China and holds special significance as they mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.
“It reflects the deep commitment of both countries to further strengthening the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership,” the ministry said.
Iran's foreign minister arrives in Pakistan
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met late Friday with Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir shortly after arriving in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, officials said.
On Saturday morning Araghchi met with Munir and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, officials said.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the Iranian delegation will hold talks with Pakistan’s senior leadership on the latest regional developments and efforts to promote peace and stability.
The visit comes as Pakistan is also preparing to receive U.S. envoys, although officials have not specified when Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due in Islamabad.
Egyptian and Pakistani officials discuss the Iran war
Egyptian and Pakistani foreign ministers late Friday discussed efforts to launch a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.
Badr Abdelatty of Egypt spoke by phone with his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said the diplomats affirmed that negotiations are the best way to end the war.
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