Panama Calls Seizure Of Ship In Strait Of Hormuz 'Illegal'
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.
Montenegro's maritime affairs minister confirmed the seizure of the MSC-Francesca, saying four Montenegrin sailors were on board and that the crew was safe.
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.
Macron Continues To Push Goal Of Reopening Strait Of Hormuz
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.
Iranian Foreign Minister Meets Pakistani Army Chief
Abbas Araqchi met with Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and separately with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, though no details of the latter meeting have emerged.
In his talks with Munir, Araqchi conveyed Iran's "views and considerations for ending the war" as well as its reservations about US demands, according to Reuters, which cited an unnamed Pakistani source involved in the talks.
More from our news desk.
Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport Resumes International Flights
The Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran resumed international passenger flights on April 25, with several departures operating, according to Iranian state media.
Iranian airports had been largely closed since late February due to the war with Israel and the United States. Limited domestic and some regional operations began resuming in mid-April.
Iranian media reported initial flights from Tehran to Medina, Istanbul, and Muscat, operated by domestic airlines.
A departure board at the airport also showed a flight to Muscat.
Iran Executes Another Protester
Erfan Kiani, who was reportedly arrested during the nationwide anti-government protests in January in the central city of Isfahan, was executed on April 25, according to Mizan, the news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary.
Mizan reported that the protester, whose age was not reported, was executed after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Authorities accused Kiani of leading a group that attempted to destroy public property at the city's Piroozi intersection on the evening of January 8.
The charges against him included "destroying public and private property, setting fires, carrying and using Molotov cocktails, carrying weapons, blocking the path of vehicles, attacking officers, and creating fear and panic among citizens."
No details about the trial proceedings, evidence presented, or access to a lawyer have been made public. There had been no prior independent reporting on Erfan Kiani before the execution announcement. RFE/RL is unable to independently verify the full details of the case.
Mass protests in Iran in January were brutally suppressed by security forces. The US-based human rights monitoring group HRANA verified thousands of deaths during the crackdown, with figures for confirmed protester deaths reaching over 6,000. Many more arrests occurred across the country.
Since the protests, 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.
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.
US Treasury Chief Says No Plans To Renew Waiver On Iran Petroleum Purchases
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed to The Associated Press that Washington does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Iranian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea after an initial waiver expired five days ago.
“Not the Iranians,” Bessent said in comments to AP on April 24. “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.”
“And we think in the next two, three days, they’re going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells,” he told the news agency.
There had been some speculation that the waiver on Iranian products could be extended after the US renewed a similar waiver on Russian petroleum products already at sea. That renewal came two days after Bessent said the administration had no plans to do so.
In his April 24 comments, Bessent also told AP that the waiver on Russian sales and purchases would not be renewed again.
The original waiver for Russian products was announced in March as part of efforts to stabilize global energy markets thrown into disarray with the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks on Gulf Arab states.
Oil prices surged further after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carried some 20 percent of the world's oil and natural gas supplies before the war.
Britain's Starmer Plans To Have IRGC Declared Banned Organization
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he plans to introduce legislation in the next few weeks to ban Iran’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia have already designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
British ministers have previously said such proscription is not intended for state organizations such as the IRGC, but the Home Office confirmed that work is under way on legislation that includes “proscription-like powers” that can clamp down on “malign state activity.”
“In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we’re bringing forward as soon as we can," Starmer said in response to a question by the Jewish Chronicle.
“We go into a new session in a few weeks’ time and we’ll bring that legislation forward.”
The IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military and has been linked to at least 20 credible threats in the UK since 2022.
With reporting by dpa
White House Says US Delegation Will Head To Pakistan For Iran Peace Talks
WASHINGTON -- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States would send a delegation to Pakistan this weekend, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is also expected to arrive in Islamabad.
Leavitt told journalists that President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be traveling for a fresh round of negotiations with Tehran on April 25, saying Washington had seen "some progress" from the Iranian side in recent days.
Araqchi was expected to arrive in Islamabad on April 24 for talks that would reports said would include consultations on proposals for reviving peace negotiations with the United States.
US and Iranian teams held peace talks in the Pakistani capital on April 11-12, but they ended without an agreement and a second round that had been expected earlier this week did not materialize.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US team on April 11-12, would not lead the US delegation this time around, Leavitt said. She added Vance would stay on "standby" in the United States and "will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time."
"The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, will be waiting here in the United States for updates."
According to an earlier report by CNN, which cited unnamed US officials, Vance would be ready to travel to Islamabad if negotiations produce progress.
In a post on X, Araqchi said he would visit Pakistan, Oman, and Russia to coordinate with regional partners on bilateral issues and to discuss recent developments. He added that relations with neighboring countries remain a priority for Tehran.
The US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28. A cease-fire has been in place since April 8, and Trump announced an extension shortly before it was due to expire on April 22.
Iran Rights Group Says 3 Teenage Protesters Could Face Execution
The Committee to Follow Up on the Status of Detainees, an advocacy group that monitors arrests in Iran, says the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of three young protesters: Ehsan Hosseinipour Hesarloo, Matin Mohammadi, and Erfan Amiri. According to the group, the sentences have been confirmed, raising fears they could face imminent execution.
The three were reportedly 17 and 18 years old at the time of their arrests during the nationwide protests in January. They were arrested in connection with a fire at the Seyyed al-Shohada Mosque in Pakdasht, southeast of Tehran.
According to reports, prosecutors accused them of acting against national security, gathering and colluding against national security, participating in the killing of two people, intentionally setting fire to the mosque, and destroying public property.
Iran's judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency previously said the three were the "main instigators" of the attack on the mosque on January 8, and alleged that two people died after becoming trapped inside the building.
The detainee-monitoring committee said Hesarloo was arrested on January 8 and later told them he had been subjected to severe pressure and torture in detention.
The group also cited informed sources claiming that confessions used in the case were obtained under threats and coercion, and that the defendants were denied a meaningful chance to defend themselves.
These allegations have not been independently verified.
Merz: EU Could Ease Sanctions Against Iran If Agreement Reached With US
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the European Union is willing to gradually ease sanctions on Iran if a comprehensive agreement is reached.
"Reducing sanctions could be part of a process," Merz said after the EU summit in Nicosia.
"And no one has objected to this," he added.
Merz described this as "part of the assistance" that Europe could provide to advance the process and hopefully help secure a lasting ceasefire.
This position was met with caution from other European Union leaders.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, said at a joint press conference after the meeting that it was still too early to discuss lifting any sanctions on Iran.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, made similar remarks.
Merz made the comments as the European Union is reportedly developing contingency plans to deal with an imminent jet fuel shortage and to maximize refinery production because of rising energy prices linked to the Iran war.
Europe is more dependent on jet fuel imports than any other transport fuel, with around 75 percent coming from the Middle East.
Jet fuel prices have risen sharply since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which followed the US-Israeli war with Iran that started on February 28. European airlines have warned that if the conflict continues, ticket prices could rise, flights may be canceled, and aircraft could be grounded.