live Britain Summons Iranian Ambassador Over Social Media Posts

Britain announced on April 28 that it had summoned Iran's ambassador to London following what it described as "unacceptable and inflammatory comments on social media.”

The British Foreign Office said in a statement that Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer had stressed that the Iranian embassy "must cease any form of communications that could be interpreted as encouraging violence in the UK or internationally."

Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment after the British announcement, Reuters reported.

In a post on the Telegram channel of the Iranian Embassy in London earlier this month, Iranians living in the UK were asked to volunteer for the "Jan Feda" campaign, in which they would declare their readiness to sacrifice their lives in a war with the US and Israel.

The Foreign Office did not specify which of the embassy's social media posts it was referring to. British MPs have previously warned of “significant and widespread threats” from Iran against the UK.

Britain also summoned Iran's ambassador last month after an Iranian citizen and a British-Iranian dual national were charged under the UK's National Security Act for allegedly assisting Iran’s intelligence services.

The chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with Iran has called for the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, Narges Mohammadi, and other political prisoners in Iran.

Referring to recent talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad, Hannah Neumann posted on X on April 28: “We demand #NasrinSotoudeh’s immediate release. No deal unless the Iranian regime opens the internet, #StopExecutionsInIran and releases all #politicalprisoners!.”

She also spoke to the European Parliament.

Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, was arrested at her home in Tehran on the evening of April 1 without being charged.

Meanwhile, concerns have grown about Mohammadi's health in prison and reports that the Nobel Peace Prize winner is being denied access to proper medical care.

In a meeting held on April 28, China’s leadership laid out plans to strengthen the economy by prioritizing energy security and technology self-sufficiency in the wake of the Iran war.

Beijing’s highest decision-making body, the Politburo, pledged to “systemically respond” to external challenges and “counter various uncertainties,” according to a readout published in Xinhua, a prominent Chinese news outlet.

Beijing has been comparatively resilient to the effects of the war in Iran, largely due to oil stockpiles and a focus on renewable energy. The extended blockade, however, of the Strait of Hormuz is starting to take effect.

A 5 percent growth figure for the first quarter shows that China has weathered the worst of the energy shock, but the economy has still been affected by the crisis. Export growth slowed to 2.5 percent in March, down from 21.8 percent between January and February.

Speaking to Reuters on April 28, Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said that Beijing’s economic momentum “will likely slow in the second quarter due to the uncertain external environment and high energy prices."

US President Donald Trump has said that Iran has asked the US to open the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on his TruthSocial network, Trump said that Iran had "informed us that they are in a 'State of Collapse'" and wanted the US to open the strait "as soon as possible."

Iran has restricted commercial shipping from transiting through the strait, while the United States has enforced a naval blockade on all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. This has led to sharply reduced traffic and ongoing disruptions to global oil flows.

Trump said Iran wanted the strait opened “as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” although it remains unclear exactly what he was referring to.

After Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli attack, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly appointed, although he has not yet been seen in public, with some speculation that he was also injured in air strikes.

There are divisions in Iran between various political groups about whether to negotiate with the US.

Trump has said before that Iran wants the Strait of Hormuz open. In a April 22 TruthSocial post, Trump said that Iran wanted the strait open immediately as the country was "collapsing financially."

Beijing has pushed back on a US decision to sanction the Hengli oil refinery, rejecting Washington's accusations that the company "plays an outsized role" in buying Iranian oil.

The US Treasury Department last week sanctioned the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, based in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, for having "purchased billions of dollars' worth" of Iranian petroleum.

Washington accuses Hengli of playing an instrumental role in sustaining Iran's oil economy since US and Israeli air strikes on Iran sparked a war that has spread through the Middle East. Hengli is China's second-largest "teapot" refinery -- the name for independent Chinese oil refineries -- and plays "an outsized role in purchasing crude oil from Iran's armed forces," according to the Treasury Department.

To read the full report, click here.

Oil prices continued their upward trend on April 28.

As uncertainties persist over whether Iran and the United States will reach an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the price of Brent crude oil for June delivery rose in European markets on the morning of April 28, rising almost 3 percent to exceed $111 per barrel.

Oil prices rose for the seventh consecutive day on global markets, while stocks fell in many Asian financial markets on April 28.

The failure of Iran-US talks after the cease-fire and increasing concerns about the long-term economic impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the global economy have led to increased speculation about changes in central bank policy in various countries.

This policy change takes the form of an interest rate increase to counter the inflationary effects of recent developments.

WASHINGTON -- The US Navy's blockade of Iranian ports, now in its third week, has stopped almost all of the country's maritime trade, including key oil exports. But it has also ratcheted up tensions between the two sides as they hold sporadic peace negotiations.

RFE/RL spoke with former US Central Command (CENTCOM) Communications Director and retired US Army Colonel Joe Buccino on April 27 to discuss the escalating situation and the strategic "staring contest" now defining the region.

Of the stalemate between Washington and Tehran on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Buccino says: "Iran understands this creates economic pressure far beyond the region; oil markets, global trade, and energy security are all affected."

At the same time, the US has deployed significant naval power, including three carrier strike groups -- more than at any point in the region since 2003," he said. "What you have now is essentially a staring contest: each side waiting to see who yields first."

To read the full interview, click here.

A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the US Navy's seizure of an oil tanker carrying nearly 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil in the Indian Ocean as "legitimizing piracy and armed robbery at sea."

"Welcome to the return of the pirates," Esmail Baqaei wrote on X.

"The difference is that this time, they are sailing under an official flag and following government orders, and they call their actions 'implementing and enforcing the law.'"

Earlier, a US federal prosecutor announced the seizure of the tanker MT Majestic, formerly known as MT Phoenix, in the Indian Ocean, and described it as similar to the previous action by the US Navy in seizing another tanker, MT Tiffany, carrying 1.9 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Web monitoring watchdog NetBlocks reports that Iran's nationwide Internet blackout, imposed at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, has now entered its 60th day.

"Exactly two months ago on 28 February, #Iran was thrown into digital darkness as authorities cut off access to the global internet," the group said in a post on X on April 28.

"Metrics show the blackout is now entering its 60th day after 1,416 hours despite regime efforts to introduce tiered access for privileged groups."

What distinguishes this shutdown from the January blackout is not only its duration but the architecture of control Iran has built around it.

Rather than a total blackout, authorities have maintained an elaborate whitelisting system of selectively granting connectivity to favored institutions, companies, and individuals while leaving the rest of the population cut off.

In recent weeks, that system has been formalized further through a paid scheme called Internet Pro that allows business owners and academics to purchase access at pre-shutdown levels, a development critics have quickly labeled a form of tiered or class-based Internet.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, expressed his gratitude toward Russia for its "support" and "solidarity" during the war with Israel and the United States and heightened tensions throughout the Middle East.

On April 27, Araqchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials in St. Petersburg for talks.

"Pleased to engage with Russia at the highest level as the region is in major flux," he wrote. "Recent events have evidenced the depth and strength of our strategic partnership. As our relationship continues to grow, we are grateful for solidarity and welcome Russia's support for diplomacy."

For more about Araqchi's meeting with Putin yesterday, click here.