live Revolutionary Guards Say Any Vessel Approaching Strait 'Will Be Targeted'

The head of the Tehran Crisis Management Organization (TCMO) said on April 19 that 44,750 building units in Tehran were damaged during the war and that the government would compensate losses to those properties, including household belongings, repairs, and damaged vehicles.

The pledge came after a government spokesperson said earlier this week that “existing economic realities” meant the state lacked the resources to compensate civilians whose homes were damaged in the war.

According to TCMO chief Ali Nasiri, most residential damage can be resolved through “minor repairs.”

For heavily damaged units, planned support includes hotel accommodation or rental housing, repair payments, shopping cards for household appliances, and compensation for damaged vehicles.

Nasiri also said the government would cover compensation for damaged furniture and household goods.

Earlier, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani had also pledged that the municipality would cover “all costs” of rebuilding homes damaged in the war.

Iran says some university professors will begin receiving restored access to the international Internet while the wider public remains under a nationwide blackout that has passed its 50th day.

The Iranian science ministry said on April 19 that access for academics would start with professors, with other researchers to be added later.

Officials said the names of eligible professors had been sent to the communications ministry for a phased reconnection.

Selected professional groups have also regained or are close to regaining access, but authorities have remained silent on when ordinary citizens will be reconnected.

At present, the only group widely known in the country as having “white SIM cards” -- a term used for specially privileged mobile access -- consists of a limited number of government supporters who are able to use the Internet.

With Iran's digital shutdown now lasting more than 1,200 hours, critics say most ordinary Iranians cannot earn income online or contact relatives through Internet-based apps.

The head of Iran’s judiciary, has again ordered courts to handle detainees’ cases “outside the normal process” and with greater speed.

In remarks in a newly released video, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said cases involving alleged collaborators with the “aggressor enemy” should not follow ordinary procedures.

Ejei said the judiciary had adopted a “wartime posture,” urging officials to return files the same day and, when necessary, question suspects in prison to accelerate indictments.

Since the US-Israeli with Iran began, state media have reported daily arrests of alleged spies and traitors, while rights groups have raised alarm over executions and rapid trials.

Reports have also emerged of “online trials” being held in the country and rapid verdicts being issued.

Iran's state-funded Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs says that more than 3,400 people were killed in the country during the war with the United States and Israel.

The semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted the head of the foundation, Ahmad Musavi, as saying that 3,468 “martyrs” had died in the recent conflict.

The figure, released during a two-week cease-fire, was higher than a previous official toll of 3,375 issued on April 12.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) earlier estimated at least 3,636 deaths, including 1,701 civilians.

Independent verification of casualty numbers remains difficult in Iran because of reporting restrictions.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and AFP

The brother of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her life is "in serious danger" following a heart attack she suffered in prison last month.

Hamid Reza Mohammadi said his sister was being denied medical care and suffering from "vision problems, nausea, blood-pressure issues, and chest pain."

Narges Mohammadi has spent much of the last decade behind bars as a result of her human rights activism. She was most recently arrested in December, during a memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad .

"After her arrest in Mashhad, because of blows she received to the head, she was already in bad condition," her brother said.

Following her arrest, she was given a new prison sentence of 7 ½ years, her foundation said in February. In April, her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Radio Farda that her health had significantly deteriorated in prison.

Hamid Reza said she was now being held in Zanjan prison, some 330 kilometers west of the capital, Tehran.

"Lawyers and the family have been trying to at least send her to a specialist in Tehran for treatment, but that too was prevented," he said. "They do not allow Narges to see a trusted specialist."

The Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a statement in February calling on Iran to end what it called the "cruel abuse" of Mohammadi, and to release her immediately.

Read more here.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on April 19 that an Israeli soldier had been killed during combat in southern Lebanon despite a temporary cease-fire which took effect this week.

The IDF identified the soldier as Lidor Porat, 31, from Ashdod, serving in the 7106th Battalion, 769th Regional Brigade. The Israeli military also said that nine soldiers were wounded in the fighting, including one who was severely injured.

No further details were given.

According to an AFP tally based on military figures, the death has brought Israel’s military toll in the six-week war with Hezbollah to 15.

Porat was the second Israeli soldier reported killed in southern Lebanon since a 10-day truce announced by the US began on April 17.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

Iran's powerful parliament speaker and lead negotiator said that "we have had progress" in talks with Washington but that there is "still a big difference between us."

In a televised address early on April 19, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said: "There are some issues on which we insist...They also have red lines. But these ⁠issues could be just one or two."

Many observers see Qalibaf as the power behind the regime in Tehran. He has often expressed hard-line comments and has accused US President Donald Trump of lying, even as he speaks progress in talks.

Qalibaf led the Iranian delegation in face-to-face meetings with US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, in Islamabad last week in talks mediated by Pakistan. He did not state a date for the next round to discussions in his TV address.

Read more here.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on April 18 condemned an attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon that left one French soldier dead and three others injured.

France blamed the attack on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the EU has blacklisted only its armed wing.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Guterres said an initial assessment by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was that it was carried out by the Iranian-backed group.

The attack comes an agreement between Israel and Lebanon for a 10-day cease-fire to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

"Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X, calling on Lebanese authorities to arrest the attackers.

The slain soldier was identified as Sergeant Major Florian Montorio, who French officials said was killed by a "direct gunshot" while caught in an "ambush" as his unit was headed to a UNIFIL outpost.

With reporting by AFP

In a new statement, the naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) late on April 18 warned that any vessel approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as a target.

"We warn that no ship, of any kind, should leave its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted," the statement on the IRGC's official news website stated.

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Iran Fires On Ships In Strait Of Hormuz, Trump Says 'They Can't Blackmail Us'

The remarks came after Iranian forces attacked at least three civilian ships following an announcement by Tehran that it was reversing its decision to reopen the vital waterway.

Speaking in Washington, US President Donald Trump said: "They [Iranians] got a little cute...They wanted to close up the strait again, you know, as they've been doing for years. And they can't blackmail us."

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a vocal Trump supporter, wrote on X that "about 24 hours ago, the foreign minister, the guy in the suit, declared the straits open with full passage."

"Last night, the IRGC, the guys with the guns, attacked a container ship and said the straits were closed."

"Here’s what I’ve learned: the guy in the suit is not in charge. It’s the guys with the guns who are in charge. They are the IRGC, who are the Iranian equivalent of the SS/gestapo – an important distinction," he added.

With reporting by AFP