Key moments
- Tense calm in markets after extension of truce in Iran
Iran fired this Wednesday at a container ship 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. The attack comes hours after US President Donald Trump announced on his social network, Truth, an extension of the truce with Iran until negotiations conclude. The Republican, however, said he would maintain the naval blockade on the strait, as it is necessary to reach an agreement. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has warned that it is “prepared to face any new aggression” and has threatened to “deliver devastating blows to the enemy’s remaining assets” if fighting resumes, according to the Iranian Mehr agency. Meanwhile, the new round of negotiations between the US and Iran remains up in the air. Late on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state television that they had not yet decided whether or not to attend the talks in Pakistan. And US Vice President JD Vance, who was to have flown at the head of his country’s delegation, postponed sine die his trip.
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- Trump extends ceasefire until Iran presents a proposal and negotiations conclude
British maritime agency warns of new incident eight miles west of Iran
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors navigation safety in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, has reported a new incident eight nautical miles (about 15 kilometers) west of Iran. For now, there are no further details about what happened.
China backs ceasefire extension and calls for diplomatic resolution of conflict with Iran
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its support for all parties involved in the conflict to continue resolving their differences “through political and diplomatic channels,” following Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire extension with Iran.
STOCK MARKET CHRONICLE
Tense calm in markets after the indefinite extension of the truce in Iran
US stock index futures rise 0.5% on hopes of a deal, while Asian stocks show mixed signs and the EuroStoxx 50 registers timid gains ahead of the European session opening.
Investors cling to the hope that a de-escalation of hostilities will reduce oil prices and boost economic growth. Crude oil prices fall slightly to 98 dollars per barrel of Brent.
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Oil
The Iranian route for Hormuz founders among shipping companies: the sector will only cross via the pre-war route
The last few days have been chaotic and marked by total paralysis in maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s announcement of a full reopening of that maritime route was followed a few hours later by a new closure. And, while the US established a second blockade in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran attacked two Indian vessels and Washington boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship. Shipping companies, transporters, and insurers operate in absolute uncertainty, with hundreds of vessels trapped, but with two clear premises: the current situation is incompatible with navigation, and the alternative route proposed by Iran does not meet minimum safety guarantees. Only a return to the pre-war situation will allow a safe return to normality in the transport of precious raw materials from the Persian Gulf countries.
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Iranian Revolutionary Guard warns it is ready to “deliver devastating blows” if fighting resumes
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has warned, in its first statement since Trump announced the ceasefire extension, that it is “prepared to face any new aggression” and has threatened to “deliver devastating blows to the enemy’s remaining assets” if fighting resumes, according to the Iranian Mehr agency. The IRGC also stressed the need to maintain vigilance in the “silent battlefield” and to monitor enemy actions during “the so-called ceasefire.” (Reuters)
Israeli army says it is unaware of drone attack that left one dead in Lebanon overnight
A drone attack in the vicinity of Al-Jbour, in the western Beqaa Valley, left one dead and two injured overnight, according to the Lebanese state agency. The Israeli army said it was unaware of the attack. The incident occurs when Israel and Lebanon are supposed to be observing the ten-day ceasefire agreed on Friday between both countries, with the inclusion of Hezbollah. Both states, which do not maintain diplomatic relations, will hold new talks in Washington this Thursday, according to the US State Department. (Reuters)
WAR AGAINST IRAN
The city of Tyre distrusts the truce with Israel: “They want to fill our hearts with terror”
There is nothing normal about what surrounds the residents of Tyre. The largest city in southern Lebanon, beloved by local and international visitors as a Mediterranean paradise among banana trees and ancient city ruins, is currently processing the fear of becoming one of the Israeli army’s main targets from now on. Although Lebanon is in a supposed temporary truce, Israel left its message written on four residential buildings it destroyed in the city center in the last minute before the cessation. Now, the rubble from those attacks — one of which, described by locals as an earthquake, was a massacre, with about twenty dead while two more bodies are still being searched for — instills fear among residents that Israel will resume the war with the same force with which it paused it.
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US Treasury Secretary admits naval blockade aims to collapse Iranian economy
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Tuesday that the naval blockade on Iran is designed to economically suffocate the regime. “Within days, storage on Kharg Island will be full and fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut down,” he wrote on X. Kharg accounts for most of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Bessent stressed that “restricting Iran’s maritime trade directly targets the regime’s main sources of income” and warned that any person or vessel facilitating Iranian trade or finance “runs the risk of being exposed to sanctions.” The Treasury, he added, will continue to apply its “maximum pressure” strategy, which it calls Economic Fury, to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.”
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Iran fires at container ship near Hormuz after US announces ceasefire extension
Iran has attacked a container ship with gunfire in recent hours, 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
An armed boat of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) approached the vessel without prior radio contact and opened fire on it, “causing serious damage to the bridge,” stated the agency, which collects information on vessel attacks in the Iran war. The entire crew “is safe” and “no fires or environmental repercussions have been reported,” added the UK-based agency.
The incident occurs just hours after Trump announced the ceasefire extension. (Reuters)
Iran executes senior Civil Defense official accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed a man who held a senior position in Civil Defense and had been convicted of espionage for Israel, according to the Iranian judicial agency Mizan. The news comes in the midst of a night of diplomatic tension, just hours after Trump announced the ceasefire extension.
WAR AGAINST IRAN
Trump extends ceasefire until Iran presents a proposal and negotiations conclude
Just as 14 days ago, when he announced the ceasefire with Iran, US President Donald Trump waited until the moment of maximum tension this Tuesday to communicate its extension. Around 10:00 PM Spanish time, just hours before the ceasefire expired and with the mediating country, Pakistan, still awaiting the arrival of the US and Iranian negotiating delegations, Trump justified the decision by citing internal divergences in Iran and extended the ceasefire until the US receives “a unified proposal” and “concludes its negotiation, one way or another.” He made it clear, however, that he would maintain his naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in the meantime.
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Tense calm in markets after the extension of the truce in Iran
The indefinite extension of the ceasefire between the US and Iran provides some relief to stock markets, although uncertainty remains about future peace talks, while the closure of the Strait of Hormuz worries investors. Negotiations, which were expected to take place on Tuesday, failed at the last minute. Trump said the naval blockade against Iran would be maintained, which angered Iranian officials, who called it an “act of war.” US stock index futures rise 0.5% on hopes of a deal, while Asian stocks show mixed signs and the EuroStoxx 50 registers declines of around 0.3% ahead of the European session opening. Investors cling to the hope that a de-escalation of hostilities will reduce oil prices and boost economic growth. Crude oil prices fall slightly to 98 dollars per barrel of Brent. Although global stock markets have recovered losses caused by the war and oil has fallen from highs, markets remain caught between cautious optimism and renewed concern about the Middle East. An incentive has been the resurgence of the artificial intelligence sector, which has boosted chip manufacturers and led South Korean and Taiwanese stock indices to new highs.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, falls 0.5% after hitting a seven-week high on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei soars to an all-time high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng drops 1.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite index adds 0.2%.
What is known so far about the ceasefire extension between the United States and Iran?
Around 10:00 PM (Spanish time), with the ceasefire about to expire and none of the delegations having yet arrived in Islamabad (Pakistan), the President of the United States announced the extension of the truce. These are the key points:
What is behind this decision? The president justified the extension by stating that “the Government of Iran is seriously divided” and by the express request of Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Islamabad requested time for Tehran to arrive at the talks with a consensual position.
How long does it last? There is no specific date. Trump has said that the ceasefire will be extended until Iran presents “a unified proposal” and “negotiations conclude, one way or another.”
What doesn’t change? The naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz remains. Trump has ordered his armed forces to remain “prepared and operational” while negotiations last. Iran conditions its participation in the talks precisely on the lifting of that blockade.
Where are the negotiators? The US delegation did not travel to Islamabad. Iran also did not send its representatives: until the last minute, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had not confirmed whether they would attend, citing “contradictory messages and behaviors” from Washington.
Good morning. We begin the live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East conflict, this Wednesday, April 22, one day after US President Donald Trump announced on his social network, Truth, an extension of the ceasefire with Iran until negotiations conclude. The Iranian regime, for its part, has not yet commented on Trump’s announcement.
Late on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state television that they had not yet decided whether or not to attend the talks in Islamabad. And US Vice President JD Vance, who was to have flown at the head of his country’s delegation, postponed sine die his trip.
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