live Iran Says Some Progress Made In US Talks Under Pakistan Mediation, But Differences Remain

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 would 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.

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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.

Iran has sentenced four more protesters, including a woman, to death over mass demonstrations in January that posed one of the biggest threats to the country’s clerical rulers in years, according to two human rights groups.

The authorities have so far executed seven people in connection with the protests, which were crushed in an unprecedented government crackdown that left thousands of people dead, rights groups said. Tens of thousands of others were detained or summoned for questioning.

Human rights defenders have repeatedly accused Iran of using the death penalty to instill fear in society in the wake of a wave of anti-government protests in recent years.

To read the full report, click here.

The European Union has warned member states that a prolonged Iran conflict could trigger a sustained shock to global energy markets, forcing cuts in fuel consumption, diplomats told Reuters.

In a closed-door meeting with ambassadors from EU countries, the European Commission outlined two scenarios: if a cease-fire holds and the Strait of Hormuz reopens, oil and gas flows could recover within months, easing prices, though liquefied natural gas markets may remain tight for years due to infrastructure damage in Qatar.

If disruptions persist, however, markets could face extreme price spikes and “demand destruction” -- where high costs force consumers and industries to reduce fuel use.

Europe could also struggle to refill gas storage ahead of winter, while localized jet fuel shortages may emerge within weeks.

Although the EU has avoided supply shortages so far, rising prices are already hitting the economy.

The commission is drafting measures to cushion the impact to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and improve resilience to future shocks, including cutting electricity taxes and accelerating the deployment of clean energy, Reuters reported.

With reporting by Reuters

US President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping told him in a letter that Beijing is not providing Iran with weapons.

"I wrote him [Xi] a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that, essentially, he's not doing that," Trump, who is scheduled to meet Xi next month, said in an interview with Fox News that was conducted on April 13 and aired on April 15.

In the interview, the US president said he believes the war "very close to being over," though he did not elaborate