live Lebanese Authorities Say At Least 14 Killed In Israeli Air Strikes

Lebanese officials said ⁠Israeli strikes killed at least ⁠14 people and wounded ‌37 on April 26 after the Israeli military warned residents to leave seven towns beyond the "buffer zone" it is occupying, as a fragile cease-fire continues to fray.

Two children and two women were killed in the latest attacks, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.
Israel said one of its soldiers was killed.

The Israeli military accused the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group of violating the cease-fire and vowed to respond. It warned people to move north and west away from ⁠the named towns.

A militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has blacklisted its armed wing but not its political branch.

"From our perspective, what obliges us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, the security of our communities," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has left Islamabad and is traveling to Moscow, where he is expected to meet with close ally President Vladimir Putin, the Iranian ministry said on April 26.

Araqchi, who had been in the Pakistani capital earlier in the week, worked in a quick visit to the Omani capital, Muscat, before returning to Islamabad ahead of the trip to Russia.

Iranian officials said the foreign minister would meet with Putin. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Interfax as saying Putin is planning to meet with Araqchi.

The status of Pakistani-mediated peace talks between the US and Iran is uncertain.

On April 25, US President Donald Trump said he was canceling planned trip to Islamabad by his negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

"I said, we're not doing this anymore. We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us, you know there is a telephone, we have nice secure lines," Trump told Fox News

However, Iran's Fars news agency said Tehran had transmitted "written messages" to US negotiators through Pakistan that were "about some of the red lines of the Islamic republic of Iran, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz."

Media reports said Araqchi met with Omani leaders to press the idea of jointly charging shipping tolls to vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a plan sharply opposed by most of the rest of the world.

Israel's military on April 26 urged residents of seven towns north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon to evacuate, saying it would act forcefully against Iran-backed Hezbollah over cease-fire violations.

A militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has blacklisted its armed wing, backed by Tehran.

A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country's troops to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, further testing a US-mediated cease-fire there, which was extended for three more weeks following a meeting between the countries' representatives at the White House.

While the cease-fire has significantly reduced in hostilities in the region, both Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange attacks in southern Lebanon.

Israel has been launching strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon since March 2, two days after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Amer Ramesh, a political prisoner accused of being a member of a militant group, has been executed in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan, the Mizan news agency has reported.

According to Mizan, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, the execution took place on April 26. Mizan reported that he was charged with: "Rebellion through bombing and ambushing military forces, membership in the rebel group Jaish-ul-Adl, and membership in the hostile group of the Baloch Justice Movement affiliated with Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi."

Ramesh was reportedly arrested in October 2024.

Jaish al-Adl, or "Army of Justice" in Arabic, is a a Baluch separatist militant group. Many of its fighters are members of Iran's ethnic Baluch minority. The group claims that it is fighting for the rights of the Baluchis and seeking independence from Iran.

Members of the Baluch minority, many of whom are Sunni Muslims in Shi'a-majority Iran, have long faced disproportionate discrimination and violence at the hands of the authorities. Many live in Sistan and Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces.

In December 2025, the Jaish al-Adl said it has joined forces with several smaller Baluch paramilitary groups to form a new coalition targeting Iran’s clerical establishment.

The news agency also referred to what it described as Ramesh's "candid statements during various stages of interrogation, investigation, and trial."

Human rights groups had previously reported that Ramesh's confessions were forced and were broadcast and published by state media.

Since the nationwide protests in January, Iran has carried out multiple executions of individuals arrested in connection with the unrest, with a noticeable surge in recent weeks.

Rights groups have warned of an alarming increase in executions overall -- with Iran already recording one of the world's highest rates -- and have expressed concern that the authorities are using the death penalty to instill fear and suppress dissent following the protests.

US President Donald Trump said a shooting at a Washington, DC, event he was attending would not deter him from the war with Iran, although he added that he did not believe incident was connected to the conflict in the Middle East.

"It's not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran," Trump told a news conference late on April 25, about 40 minutes after the security incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at a Washington hotel.

"I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I really don't think so, based on what we know," Trump said.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and multiple cabinet leaders and other officials were whisked away by Secret Service agents after shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the ballroom where Trump was preparing to speak.

Officials said the motives of the suspect were not immediately known. The suspect was arrested and is due to be formally charged on April 27.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it intercepted and sent back to an Iranian port a vessel linked to Iran's so-called "shadow fleet," as the US military continues to enforce a blockade of ships entering or exiting the country's ports.

"Earlier today, Sevan was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a US Navy helicopter from guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney...and the merchant vessel is currently complying with US military direction to turn back to Iran under escort," CENTCOM -- responsible for US military operations in the Middle East -- said on April 25.

The M/V Sevan was among 19 shadow fleet vessels sanctioned by the US Treasury a day earlier "for activities related to transporting billions of dollars' worth of Iranian energy, oil and gas products, including propane and butane, to foreign markets," CENTCOM said.

The latest Treasury Department sanctions targeted ships in Iran's shadow fleet, which the US says plays a key role in raising funds from Iranian oil and gas exports.

"US forces continue to enforce US sanctions and fully implement the blockade against ships entering or departing Iranian ports. Thirty-seven vessels have been redirected since the start of the blockade," CENTCOM said.

A "shadow fleet" generally refers to an illegal network of ships operating under false flags to circumvent international sanctions.

A series of Israeli strikes has been reported in at least four locations in the south of Lebanon on April 25 after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to attack Hezbollah targets following alleged cease-fire breaches.

Iran-allied Hezbollah is a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has blacklisted only its armed wing.

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported two strikes in succession in a town in Bint Jbeil district, another on a town in Tyre district, and strikes on two towns in Nabatieh district.

The Israeli military said it had "struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure used for military purposes across southern Lebanon" and would "continue to operate decisively against threats."

Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli army vehicle in southern Lebanon in retaliation for an earlier attack.

US President Donald Trump had on April 23 announced that a 10-day cease-fire that had begun in Lebanon on April 17 had been extended for three weeks.

With reporting by AFP

Iranian state media are reporting that ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister ‌Abbas Araqchi is due to make a return ⁠visit to mediator Pakistan after completing a ⁠trip to ‌Oman and before traveling on to Russia.

Iran's top diplomat -- a member of Tehran's negotiating team in peace talks with the US -- earlier left the Islamabad without any sign of a breakthrough ‌in ⁠discussions ‌with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials.

The IRNA news agency reported that part of Araqchi's delegation had returned to Tehran "to consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war and is scheduled to rejoin Araqchi in Islamabad on Sunday night [April 26]."

It was not immediately clear when Araqchi would arrive back in the Pakistani capital.

Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip to Pakistan by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace talks with Iran.

"Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within [the Iranian] 'leadership," Trump said after Iran said its team would not be meeting with US negotiators and instead would pass messages through Pakistan.

A senior US official has confirmed to RFE\RL that a planned trip by special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran has been called off. The comments come after Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi held what he called a "timely tour" to the Pakistani capital on April 25 to coordinate on "bilateral matters" with Pakistani officials before proceeding to Oman and Russia. Several media outlets have reported that Araqchi and his delegation have left Islamabad. Iran has conditioned its return to the negotiating table on the lifting of a US naval blockade of its ports, a demand Trump has so far rejected. Tehran has also dismissed Trump's unilateral extension of the cease-fire as "meaningless" so long as the blockade remains in effect.

Further developments here.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated that his focus is on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Macron said that panic caused by geopolitical uncertainties could itself lead to shortages.

"Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with international law, so that freedom of navigation is guaranteed without tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. Then the situation can gradually return to normal," Macron said.

This strategic waterway has been effectively closed since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran. About a fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

More than a dozen countries have said they are ready to join an international mission, led by France and Britain, to protect shipping in the strait if conditions allow, even though US President Donald Trump has said he does not need help from allies.

"We are all in the same boat, and I must say it is not a boat that we chose. We are victims of geopolitics and we are victims of this war that started a few months ago," the French president said.

A day earlier, the CEO of the French oil company TotalEnergies also emphasized the importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

"If this situation continues for another two or three months, we will enter a world of energy shortages, something that Asian countries have already experienced. You cannot stop 20 percent of the world's oil and gas and make it inaccessible without major consequences," Patrick Pouyanné told a global policy conference in Chantilly, outside Paris.