By Bo Erickson and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that the U.S. will have the Strait of Hormuz "open fairly soon" but did not elaborate and acknowledged that it will not be an easy step. Trump also suggested that
By Simon Lewis and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. team led by Vice President JD Vance left for Islamabad on Friday for weekend talks with Iran, even as both sides accused each other of breaking commitments made to secure a temporary ceasefire. White House
One of the sources, a person with direct knowledge of the peace board's operations, said that out of ten countries that pledged funds, only three: the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and the U.S., had contributed funding. The Iran war 'has affected everything,' the source added
By Phil Stewart and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The White House considered but decided against a national televised address by President Donald Trump on Tuesday about his ceasefire deal with Iran, with some aides and advisers privately voicing concern about
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Friday that NATO was "in America's interests", at the end of a three-day visit to the Gulf to discuss bolstering the "fragile" Middle East truce. Starmer's comments followed US President Donald Trump's renewed attacks this week on
Iranian officials say Lebanon cease-fire and release of frozen assets must precede U.S. talks, urge Washington to halt Israeli strikes and honor commitments. Earlier on Friday, Trump told The New York Post that the U.S. is 'loading up the ships with the best ammunition'
The preliminary conversation comes ahead of expected peace talks between Israel and Lebanon that are set to take place at the U.S. State Department in Washington next Tuesday. A diplomatic source familiar with the matter said Israel has agreed to cease attacks in Beirut
Iran's widening ambitions after the war include a bid to exercise permanent control over the Strait of Hormuz.
By Gram Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland and Nandita Bose WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - When JD Vance arrives in Islamabad for talks on Saturday with Iranian officials, it will fulfill a wish for Tehran's remaining leaders, some of whom have quietly sought the U.S.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States -- apart from Tehran's effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel. "The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term
Lebanon's presidency said Friday that a meeting would be held with Israel in Washington next week to discuss a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and the start of negotiations between the neighbours. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly expressed readiness for
An Israeli strike, one of multiple on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on Friday, killed 13 State Security personnel, the agency said, as Lebanon prepared to start ceasefire talks with Israel. "This painful loss only strengthens our determination to achieve a ceasefire
Lebanon's State Security agency said an Israeli strike on the southern city of Nabatiyeh on Friday killed 13 of its personnel, as Lebanon prepared to start ceasefire talks with Israel. Lebanon's health ministry raised the toll of massive Israeli strikes across the country on
The Lebanese government’s openness to talks with Israel has angered Hezbollah while its efforts to assert authority in Beirut has won praise from Gulf states.
By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily BEIRUT, April 10 (Reuters) - Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has called for historic direct talks with longtime foe Israel since war erupted a month ago - a month in which Israel's military has forced more than a million Lebanese to flee,
More than 100,000 Muslim worshippers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem, the holy site's Islamic authority reported, after it reopened the previous day following a truce agreed between the United States and Iran. Jerusalem's Old City is home to
By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, April 10 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked to postpone giving testimony in his long-running corruption trial that was set to resume next week, citing the ongoing security situation in the region, Netanyahu's lawyer said in a
'India has always emphasized the protection of civilians as the foremost priority. Observing international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is essential,' a statement by India's foreign ministry said
By Marc Jones, Uditha Jayasinghe and Ariba Shahid LONDON/COLOMBO/ISLAMABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - Sanoj Weeratunge thought this would finally be the year his tour firm put Sri Lanka's spate of crises behind it. Then the Iran war erupted 2,700 miles away, the government hiked
LOS ANGELES, April 10 (Reuters) - Vice President JD Vance said on Friday he was looking forward to having positive negotiations with Iran as he left for talks in Pakistan with a warning to Tehran not to "play us." "We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's going to
WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday that the United States is trying to have a stable relationship with China, but if Beijing is going to be involved with Iran in a way that goes against U.S. interests, that would complicate
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, April 10 (Reuters) - Israeli and Lebanese officials are expected to meet in Washington next week as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Both
NEW DELHI, April 10 (Reuters) - India is "deeply concerned" by reports of civilian casualties in Lebanon, the Indian foreign ministry said on Friday, two days after Israel's worst bombardment in its war with Lebanon killed more than 300 people. Israel invaded Lebanon last month
US Vice President JD Vance warned Iran on Friday against trying to "play" Washington, as he set off for talks in Islamabad aimed at transforming a fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace deal. Despite the temporary truce struck between the foes, deep disagreements remain as to
A cloud of uncertainty hung Friday over the scheduled start of talks in Pakistan between the United States and Iran, with no announcement yet on the arrival of negotiators and both sides accusing the other of failing to properly implement a fragile ceasefire. US President
Iran demanded a truce in Lebanon and the release of its blocked assets on Friday as US Vice President JD Vance warned Tehran not to "play" Washington, casting doubt on planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan. Despite the temporary truce struck between the foes, deep disagreements
Inside an underground shelter at a hospital in the Israeli city of Haifa, a television screen flickers with images of Iranian missiles as doctors and midwives deliver Sarah Bird's third child. "She's beautiful," a midwife says, placing the newborn in her mother's arms for a
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that he discussed military capabilities and the logistics of moving vessels though the Strait of Hormuz when he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier. "We've been pulling together a
The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Trump warning - President Donald Trump said Friday that US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal, in an interview with the New York Post. "We have a reset going.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.
Pakistan is due to host talks between Iran and the United States in a bid to turn a fragile two-week ceasefire into a lasting end to a war that has roiled global energy markets. Here are five things to know about the Islamabad talks: - The war behind the talks - On February 28,
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, April 10 (Reuters) - Lebanon is facing a food security crisis as the Iran war disrupts supplies of goods inside the country, the United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday. A fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran showed
Despite talk of convergence, the sides remain far apart: Iran is demanding a no-strike guarantee, sanctions relief and control over Hormuz, while the U.S. is pushing zero enrichment, missile limits and cuts to Iran's regional proxy network
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI, April 10 (Reuters) - Taiwanese officials are tracking what they view as a worrying rise in Chinese naval activity and military pressure against the island, even as Beijing presses a message of peace and cooperation in meetings with
KYIV, April 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine is in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain to cooperate in the security sector and share its drone defence expertise and technology, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Zelenskiy visited several Middle Eastern countries last month to offer
Exiled Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani has a huge following back home for his biting humour. And one of his recent sketches sums up the "dilemma created by the regime" over the US-Israel bombing of his homeland and how it divides Iranians. Two men hold a banner with the words
Indonesia said Friday it had submitted a joint statement on peacekeeper security with dozens of allied nations to the United Nations after three of its blue helmets were killed in Lebanon. In the joint statement, the countries urged the UN Security Council to conduct a thorough
By Parisa Hafezi, Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell and Ariba Shahid JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/ISLAMABAD, April 10 (Reuters) - A fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran showed further strain on Friday, a day before they are to negotiate in Pakistan, as Washington accused Tehran
It was a war JD Vance never wanted. Now the US vice president has been tasked with ending it. Vance heads to Pakistan this week with orders from President Donald Trump to turn the shaky Iran ceasefire into a lasting peace deal. For the 41-year-old Vance, who has kept a notably
US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Iran of doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil through the Strait of Hormuz and of breaching the terms of their two-week ceasefire agreement. In a barrage of social media posts that sparked fresh fears for the shaky truce, Trump