live Trump Says Israel, Lebanon Leaders To Hold Discussions; Beirut 'Not Aware' Of Talks

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Iran to ensure freedom and safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqhchi, as tensions over the Iran conflict threaten global energy supplies.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang described the situation as being at a “critical stage” between conflict and peace, and called for respect for Iran’s sovereignty while maintaining open maritime transit.

Araqchi welcomed China’s role and expressed a willingness to pursue a negotiated solution, according to the Chinese statement.

The call on April 15 comes amid a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and the effective closure of the strait by Tehran following attacks by the US and Israel.

Although recent talks in Islamabad failed to yield an agreement, further negotiations may resume soon as mediators push to extend a fragile cease-fire set to expire on April 22.

China has criticized the blockade as “dangerous” and is seeking de-escalation in the region.

An Iranian Education Ministry spokesperson has announced that school activities across all levels and grades throughout the country will continue to be conducted virtually and remotely until further notice.

The decision follows the suspension of in-person classes on February 28, just hours after the start of joint attacks by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic. Classes have since been held online, a measure that has also been extended to universities.

According to the ministry, any changes to this decision and the resumption of in-person schooling will be announced to students and parents three days in advance.

The ministry added that the necessary infrastructure for students’ education has been provided through the SHAD platform -- Iran’s official online learning system -- as well as the country's televised school system.

The announcement of virtual learning comes despite the fact that Internet access in the country has reportedly been cut off for more than 47 days.

Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is in critical condition after suffering a heart attack last month, according to her family and supporters.

Her Iran-based family and legal team were allowed a second in-person visit with Mohammadi on April 11 in her prison in northern Iran where "clear signs of a deterioration in her general condition were observed, and her physical state was described as critical" her foundation said in a statement.

During a recent prison visit in northern Iran, relatives observed severe physical deterioration, including extreme weakness and significant weight loss.

Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, also reported that she is being held with violent offenders and has received death threats from fellow inmates.

Mohammadi, awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her long-standing human rights advocacy, was arrested in December in Mashhad and later transferred to Zanjan prison with limited contact with her family.

Her detention conditions, compounded by a recent hunger strike and ongoing political tensions in Iran, have heightened concerns.

Supporters warn that her continued imprisonment poses an immediate and potentially irreversible threat to her life.

With reporting by AFP and dpa

US President Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will hold talks on April 16, the first such negotiations since 1993, as they seek a cease-fire to end more than six weeks of war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, 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 its armed wing.

Lebanon, however, said it had no knowledge of any such discussions.

“We are not aware of any planned contact with the Israeli side, and we have not been informed of any through official channels,” an official Lebanese source told the AFP news agency after Trump’s remarks.

"Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow," Trump wrote in a social media post late on April 15.

He did not give specifics on who will be involved in the talks or offer any other details.

Lebanon’s prime minister is Nawaf Salam and his Israeli counterpart is Benjamin Netanyahu, while the two presidents are Joseph Aoun and Isaac Herzog, respectively.

Ending the fighting in Lebanon, which broke out after US and Israeli air strikes were launched against Iran on February 28, has been a key sticking point in ending that conflict.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said on April 15 that Iran will "for sure" participate in the 2026 World Cup despite the Middle East war and advice from US President Donald Trump that the team stay home for the players' "life and safety."

"Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation, that would definitely help," Infantino told US broadcaster CNBC.

"But Iran has to come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play," he said of the team's matches scheduled in Los Angeles and Seattle beginning in June.

Iran is scheduled to open against New Zealand on June 15, then meet Belgium on June 21, with both matches in Los Angeles.

On June 26, Iran is scheduled to play against Egypt in Seattle. Should Iran advance to the next round, its following games would also be held in the United States.

Iran requested that FIFA switch its matches to Mexico, which is hosting games along with the US and Canada, but was denied.

Infantino said he recently visited the Iranian team at its training camp in Antalya, Turkey, where he said players indicated they wanted to play.

“They should play -- sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said.

“Now, OK, we don’t live on the moon; we live on planet Earth, but if there is nobody else that believes in building bridges and in keeping them intact and together, well we are doing that,” he said.

The last time a national team pulled out of a FIFA World Cup was 1950, when several teams did not participate in the first tournament held after World War II.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and CNBC

Iranian officials are set on April 16 to meet with Pakistani mediators to discuss new US proposals and decide on a possible second round of talks a day after US President Donald Trump asserted that the end of the war could come “very soon.”

“After today's meeting of the Pakistani delegation headed by Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir with Iranian officials, the Iranian team will conduct the necessary review and then a decision will be made about the next round of negotiations between Iran and the US,” the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported.

Pakistan's powerful army chief arrived in Tehran on April 15 and was greeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Munir, who had mediated a first round of talks, was in Iran "to narrow gaps" between the two sides.

Read more here.

A majority of the Republican-controlled ⁠US Senate voted to block a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war in Iran until attacks are authorized by Congress.

The Senate voted 52-47 not to advance the war ⁠powers resolution, underscoring President ⁠Donald Trump's continuing support for the Republican president's war policy more than six weeks after the launching of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.

It marked the fourth time Democrats have forced Senate votes on war powers measures since the war began on February 28. All of them have failed in the face of opposition from every Senate Republican except Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul often opposes excessive military spending and for a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He was the only Republican to vote in favor of the resolution in the latest vote.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman Pennsylvania voted along with Republicans in opposing the measure. Republican Jim Justice of West Virginia did not vote.

With reporting by Reuters

WASHINGTON -- The United States has not requested a Lebanon cease-fire, but President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the war in which Israel is targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, a senior US administration official said on April 15.

Hezbollah is both 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 only blacklisted its armed wing.

“This is not something we have asked for nor is it part of the peace negotiations with Iran, but the president would welcome the end of hostilities in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

"The United States wants to see a durable peace but did not demand an immediate cease-fire," the official said.

"The United States' focus is on building trust between the two governments so that we can create space for a peace deal, and so that any future understandings can be durable. Both sides need to build political momentum,” the official added.

Israel’s current war with Hezbollah began days after the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28. On April 14, the United States hosted the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington in the first direct talks between the neighboring countries in decades.

Iran has argued that a two-week cease-fire agreement it reached with the United States on April 7 applied to Lebanon as well, but the United States and Israeli said it did not.

Citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, Reuters reported that Israel’s security cabinet convened on April 15 to discuss a possible Lebanon cease-fire

During the security cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that Israeli forces continued to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, which borders Israel. Netanyahu said he had told the military to continue reinforcing the “security zone” in southern Lebanon while also negotiating a peace deal with Lebanon.

With reporting by Reuters

Washington will not be renewing waivers that had enabled purchases of Iranian and Russian oil exempt from US sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 15.

On April 14, Reuters reported that the United States did not plan to renew a 30-day waiver -- expiring this week -- of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea, and let a similar waiver on sanctions on Russian oil expire over the weekend.

"We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license ‌on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So all that has been used," Bessent said told a briefing at the White House.

This could be an end to Washington's efforts to use sanctions waivers to free up more oil supplies amid soaring global energy prices.

The Treasury Department had issued ‌the Iranian waiver on March 20, allowing some 140 million barrels of oil to reach global markets and relieve pressure on energy supply during the war, Bessent said last month. The waiver is set ‌to expire on April 19.

With reporting by Reuters

Iranian state media reported that Pakistani Army Commander Asim Munir had arrived in Tehran on April 16 as the head of a high-ranking political-security delegation.

The Islamic Republic Radio and Television, Iran's official state media channel, announced that the senior Pakistani military official was traveling to Tehran with the aim of "conveying the American message and planning for the second round of talks."

A senior Iranian official also told Reuters that Munir was seeking to "reduce differences between Iran and the United States."

Citing "informed sources" in Pakistan, the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation announced that the second round of Iran-US talks is scheduled to be hosted by Islamabad in the coming days.

Media reports have indicated that Pakistan is trying to host a new round of talks between Iran and the United States later this week.

The first round of talks was held in the Pakistani capital on April 11-12, but the sides failed to reach an agreement after about 21 hours of negotiations. However, US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, raised the possibility of further meetings in an interview, citing "significant progress" in the first round of talks in Islamabad.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said that Pakistani delegation could be present in Iran on the same day.

Munir arrived in Tehran as the United States, on the orders of President Donald Trump, began a naval blockade of Iran on April 13.