live White House Says 'No Firm Deadline' For Ending War With Iran As US Naval Blockade Continues

Iran's judiciary announced on April 23 that it had executed a man after he was convicted of being a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization (MEK), a banned opposition group, and allegedly collaborating with Israeli security forces.

"Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr was hanged early this morning for membership in the terrorist group" of the MEK and "collaboration with the Israeli regime's spy service," reported Mizan Online, the official website of the Iranian judiciary.

Mizan wrote that Fakhr was a "longtime member" of the MEK and had "extensive cooperation in various fields" with the group for years. It also claimed Fakhr had confessed to taking part in two official MEK operations against the Islamic republic.

The details of his arrest were not clear.

Following the violent crackdown on nationwide mass protests in January, Iran has ramped up executions, and it recent week has hanged several political prisoners accused of having ties to the MEK, including Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, and Pouya Ghobadi.

Iran has also intensified executions in recent weeks for charges of participating in the mass protests, as well as "collaboration with Israel."

Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world, and human rights groups say the Islamic republic uses the death penalty to instill fear in society.

On April 22, US President Donald Trump said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over pre-war anti-government protests after he urged Tehran to release them.

Iran's judiciary dismissed the claim as "false news" and said the women were never at risk of execution.

Panama condemned the seizure of a ship flying its flag as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, calling it an "illegal detention."

According to media reports, Panama's Foreign Ministry has announced that the ship, the MSC-Francesca, was "forcibly" transferred to Iranian waters.

Panama also accused Iran of violating international law, saying the move was a "serious attack on maritime security" and an "unnecessary escalation" of tensions.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced on April 22 that it had seized "two offending ships" that it claimed were attempting to "secretly exit" the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the IRGC announcement, the Israeli-owned MSC-Francesca and the Greek-owned Epaminondas were stopped on charges that they intended to "secretly" exit the Strait of Hormuz "without authorization" and "by committing repeated violations and tampering with navigational aid systems and endangering maritime security."

The IRGC Navy said these vessels have been transferred to Iranian territorial waters to examine the cargo and documents.

The announcement came on a day when, according to maritime sources, three container ships were targeted by gunfire.

WASHINGTON -- The expiration of a US sanctions waiver on Iranian oil last weekend has brought renewed attention to Washington's economic strategy, as policymakers seek to limit Tehran's access to revenue while navigating global energy market pressures.

The measure, known as General License U, lapsed on April 19, ending a short-lived window that allowed a significant volume of Iranian crude -- estimated at up to 170 million barrels -- to circulate more freely on international markets.

The decision coincides with a broader push by the US Treasury to intensify pressure on networks linked to Iran's military procurement, including a new round of sanctions announced on April 21 targeting entities involved in weapons development.

For some analysts, the timing reflects a deliberate effort to align economic tools with a wider strategic posture.

To read the full analysis, click here.

The US Senate on April 22 voted 51-46 to reject a Democratic-led effort to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to use military force against Iran.

It was the fifth such attempt since the start of the eight-week conflict. The proposal, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, would have required the withdrawal of US armed forces from hostilities within or against Iran unless explicitly authorized by Congress.

Democrat John Fetterman voted with most Republicans against the measure, while Republican Rand Paul joined Democrats in supporting it.

Democrats said they would continue pressing for further war powers votes.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X on April 23 that American forces had ordered 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the US blockade on Iran.

CENTCOM wrote that "the majority have complied with US directions" and that "most have been oil tankers."

The United States began its naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 13 in response to Iran's effective closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a sticking point in attempts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran that started on February 28.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump wants to see a “unified” response from Tehran to US proposals for ending the US-Israeli war with Iran and has not set a “firm deadline” at this point, the White House said a day after he unilaterally extended a cease-fire that had been due to expire on April 22.

Trump is “offering a bit of flexibility” to the Iranian regime, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She asserted there is “a lot of internal division” in Tehran.

“This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hard-liners in Iran right now, and the president wants a unified response, and so as we await that response, there's a cease-fire with the military and kinetic strikes” while economic pressure and a US naval blockade remain in place, Leavitt said.

Trump has made a “very strong proposal” for ending the war and “has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal” in response, she said, without going into detail. Earlier on April 22, Leavitt told Fox News that ‌Iran must agree to turn its enriched uranium over to the United States as part of negotiations to end the war.

The war began with US and Israeli air strikes on Ian on February 28. After face-to-face talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 ended without an agreement, a new round was expected this week but has not materialized, with Iran never confirming it would take part and US negotiators holding off so far on traveling to Pakistan.

Leavitt’s comments came after Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf repeated Tehran’s accusations that the US naval blockade on Iran, which Trump imposed on April 13 and has said will stay in place until there’s a deal, was a violation of the cease-fire.

In a post on X, Qalibaf said that “reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the cease-fire."

Iran has effectively shut the narrow strait, normally the conduit for about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, since shortly after the war began.

US President Donald Trump said he has learned that eight Iranian women "who were going to be executed tonight" would not be killed after he appealed to Tehran to release them. Iran's judiciary denied it and asserted that none of the women faced the death penalty.

Neither claim could immediately be verified.

"Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on April 22.

"I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution," he wrote.

In a post a day earlier, Trump called on Iran to release eight women whom a US-based activist claimed the Iranian regime was "preparing to hang" -- an assertion that could not be verified and was denied by the Iranian judiciary. He said releasing them "could be a very good start" for negotiations that had been expected this week in a bid to end the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Trump's April 21 post included an X post from earlier that day in which US-based pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby wrote that Iran "is preparing to hang eight women" and included photographs of eight girls and women; he said earlier that one of them was 16 years old.

Yakoby did not name them, but RFE/RL's Radio Farda determined that they are Bita Hemmati, Ghazal Ghalandari, Golnaz Naraghi, Panah Movahedi, Ensieh Nejati, Mahboubeh Shabani, Venus Hosseinnejad, and Diana Taherabadi.

Rights groups have said Hemmati has been sentenced to death in connection with large, widespread protests in January that were suppressed with a massive and deadly state crackdown.

The Iran-focused human rights group Hengaw said earlier this month that Shabani, who is 33 and was also detained during the protests, faces a charge of "waging war against God," which "can result in the death penalty."

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject told RFE/RL that Naraghi has been out of jail since February 18. RFE/RL could not immediately confirm the status of the others and whether any of them have been sentenced to death.

Iran's judiciary claimed that the post Trump cited was "completely false." In a statement carried by its official news agency, Mizan, the judiciary said that "a number of the women have been released, some face charges that would, if confirmed by a court, result at most in prison sentences, and none of them have a final verdict carrying the death penalty."

The judiciary's claim could not be independently verified, and rights groups have documented numerous executions and harsh sentences tied to protest-related cases in Iran.

Iran has executed at least eight people in connection to the January protests.

"Hundreds of protesters are currently facing death penalty charges, with at least 30 having already been sentenced to death," according to the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights.

PEN America announced on April 22 that this year’s PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award will go to two jailed Iranian writers, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi.

In its statement, the organization referred to what it called the worsening crisis of freedom of expression in Iran and highlighted the pressures facing writers.

“It is essential that we continue to shine a spotlight on writers like Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi,” said Summer Lopez, executive director of PEN America. “Together, they represent both the increasing repression of dissent in Iran and the longstanding persecution of writers and civil society.”

Iraee and Asadollahi will be honored at a PEN America ceremony on May 14 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The annual Freedom to Write Award “recognizes writers who are in jail at the time the recipients are selected, and who have been targeted for their expression.”

PEN America says that most past recipients have since been released, often following international attention and pressure.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the United States renewed sanctions relief for Russian oil for a month due to requests from several countries that are particularly vulnerable to oil shortages.

Bessent had initially said last week that the waiver allowing certain shipments of Russian seaborne oil to be delivered and sold would not be extended. But the government later reversed itself and extended the waiver for 30 days.

On April 22, Bessent told a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that the change was made after he was "approached by more than 10 of the most vulnerable and poorest countries in terms of energy" during International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings last week.

"They asked us to extend that [waiver], and it's only for 30 days," he said.

Iran has choked off most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the sole sea route out of the Persian Gulf and normally the conduit for about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, since shortly after its war with the US and Israel began on February 28. That has driven prices up and increased demand for oil and gas from other sources.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized the waiver, saying it helps Russia fund its full-scale war on Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

A report from the International Energy Agency said Russia's revenues from exports of crude and refined oil products rose from $9.7 billion in February to $19 billion in March.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters