US President Donald Trump vowed to have the Strait of Hormuz open “with or without” Iran’s cooperation and said his top priority in peace talks was to ensure Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
The plane transporting US Vice President JD Vance, who is heading the Washington delegation, stopped for refuelling in Paris before flying on to the Pakistani capital.
- Iran says lacks ‘trust’ with US -
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said shortly after arriving in Pakistan’s capital that previous experiences negotiating with the United States had led to a lack of trust.
“We have good intentions but we do not trust,” Iranian state media quoted him as saying.
“Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises,” he added.
- Iran internet shutdown hits 1,000 hours -
Digital monitor Netblocks said Iran’s internet blackout has lasted more than one thousand hours, in an X post on Sunday.
While Iran’s domestic intranet remains operational -- supporting local messaging apps, banking platforms and other services -- access to the global internet has been severely restricted since early February.
- Pakistan PM says process at ‘make or break’ stage -
“A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations,” said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government is leading mediations, in a televised speech.
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism that the strategic oil route will be cleared following a fragile truce, despite Iran’s attempts to impose fees on international shipping.
“This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of ‘make or break’,” he added.
- Israel won’t discuss ceasefire -
Israel’s US ambassador Yechiel Leiter told his Lebanese counterpart in Washington that he “refused to discuss a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terrorist organization”, according to a statement after a meeting.
Israel “agreed to begin formal peace negotiations” with the Lebanese government, with which it has no diplomatic relations, the Israeli ambassador said.
- Trump: Hormuz to open ‘fairly soon’ -
US President Donald Trump vowed Friday to have the Strait of Hormuz open “with or without” Iran’s cooperation and said his top priority in peace talks was to ensure Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Trump has sent Vance to Pakistan to meet with top Iranian officials in a bid to reach a peace deal following a two-week ceasefire that was agreed on Tuesday.
- Lebanon-Israel talks -
Lebanon’s presidency said Friday a meeting will be held at the US State Department on Tuesday “to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices,” according to a statement.
The statement said the date was agreed to during a first telephone call on Friday evening between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, and the US ambassador to Lebanon.
- Iran arrives for talks -
Iran’s delegation of top officials, led by Iranian Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived in Islamabad for ceasefire talks with the United States, Iranian state television reported Friday.
Official sources say the Islamabad talks will cover sensitive points, including Iran’s nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran demands Lebanon ceasefire -
Iran’s parliament speaker demanded a truce in Lebanon and the release of his country’s blocked assets on Friday as Vance warned Tehran not to “play” Washington in talks scheduled to start in Pakistan.
“We’re going to try to have a positive negotiation,” Vance told reporters as he left for Pakistan where he is expected to arrive Saturday.
- Lebanon toll mounts -
Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes across the country on Wednesday had risen from 303 to 357, with 1,223 people wounded.
It said the figure was not final and raised the overall toll in Lebanon since war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2 to 1,953 dead and 6,303 wounded.
Lebanon’s State Security agency said that one Israeli strike in the southern city of Nabatiyeh had killed 13 of its personnel. Israel said it had killed 180 Hezbollah militants in Wednesday’s strikes, while the Lebanese health ministry said that day’s attacks alone killed 357 and wounded 1,223 more, noting the count was still provisional as rubble is still being removed.
- Trump warning -
Trump said that Iran has “no cards” in upcoming talks with the United States, apart from its effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.
In a separate interview with the New York Post, Trump said US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if the talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal.
“We have a reset going. We’re loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made -- even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart,” the Post quoted Trump as saying.
- Hezbollah fires on Israel -
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired around 30 projectiles into Israel, reporting that some strikes caused damage. Air-raid sirens were heard across northern Israel.
The Israeli military also said it had “dismantled” more than 4,300 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon since fighting with the militant group began on March 2.
- Hezbollah warns Beirut -
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged the Lebanese government to stop giving “free concessions” to Israel ahead of negotiations between the two governments due to begin in Washington next week.
“We will not accept a return to the previous situation, and we call on officials to stop offering free concessions,” Qassem said in a written message broadcast on the party’s Al-Manar TV, in which he also denounced Israeli strikes that killed more than 300 people in Lebanon on Wednesday as “bloody criminality”.
