The United States has expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead in Pakistan. The US delegation maintains its plans to travel to Islamabad this Tuesday with Vice President J. D. Vance at the helm. For its part, a senior Iranian official has stated that Tehran is considering “joining,” while the Iranian commander leading the Khatam al Anbiya Command, Ali Abdollahi, has warned that his country “is prepared to respond decisively” to any US violation of the ceasefire, according to the Tasnim agency. All this hours before the two-week ceasefire announced by Trump on April 8 expires. Iran’s President, Masud Pezeshkian, has accused the US Government of issuing “unconstructive and contradictory signals” regarding the negotiations. “Iranians do not submit to force,” he wrote on the social network X. A Pakistani source involved in the talks has stated that there is momentum for them to resume on Wednesday. “Things are moving forward and the talks are on track for tomorrow,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
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Iranian delegation has not yet departed for Pakistan for negotiations with the US
No delegation from Iran has yet departed for the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for peace negotiations with the United States, Iranian state television reported this Tuesday. The two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US will expire this Wednesday. (Reuters)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker: “We will not allow a single meter of our territory to be reduced”
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has declared that “we will not allow a single meter of Lebanon’s territory to be reduced” and has called on Israel to withdraw “from the southern areas it has entered.”
“There is no yellow line, no red, no green, nor any other that is important to us; we absolutely cannot accept such a thing,” Berri declared this Tuesday, referring to the military presence Israel maintains in southern Lebanon, according to the Iranian agency Tasnim.
South of the Litani River, where Israel has destroyed the bridges connecting this region with the rest of the country and continues to demolish homes, what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called “the Gaza model” is being applied. Katz has stated that they “will maintain all the territories” they occupy in Lebanon.
Iran executes man accused of ties to Israeli intelligence
Iran on Tuesday executed a man accused of being the leader of a network linked to Israel’s intelligence service and of setting fire to a mosque in Tehran during January protests, the judiciary’s Mizan news outlet reported.
Mizan identified the man as Amirali Mirjafari and said he had been convicted of arson at the Qolhak mosque in Tehran and of leading anti-security activities.
His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out early this Tuesday, Mizan added.
Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier this year, which were suppressed in the Islamic Republic government’s biggest crackdown.
Iran is “prepared to respond decisively” to any US violation of the ceasefireThe Iranian commander leading the Khatam al Anbiya Command, Ali Abdollahi, has stated that his country “is prepared to respond decisively” to any US violation of the ceasefire, according to the Tasnim agency.
“Fully obeying the directives of the supreme commander-in-chief, [our forces] are prepared to respond decisively and immediately to enemy threats and actions,” Abdollahi said.
The commander affirmed that Tehran maintains the military advantage, including the management of the Strait of Hormuz, and that it will not allow the President of the United States to “build false narratives about the situation on the ground.”
The two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States is about to expire this Wednesday. Both countries have accused each other of violating the truce and have tightened control over maritime transit in the Gulf. (Reuters)
Moderate optimism in stock markets, attentive to peace talks between the US and Iran
Indications that Iran may join negotiations with the US ahead of the imminent ceasefire deadline improve investor sentiment, although uncertainty persists. Oil prices stabilize and fall 0.6% to below $95 per barrel of Brent. Asian stock markets show mixed signs, while US futures rise slightly after a slightly lower close last night.
The EuroStoxx 50 shows moderate gains ahead of the opening of the European session. The Nikkei 225 is up 1.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.1%, reaching a new all-time high. In China, the Shanghai Composite index is down 0.3% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is trading unchanged.
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Trump assures Iran will negotiate in Pakistan or “face problems never before seen”US President Donald Trump assured early Monday morning in an interview that Iran will sit at the negotiating table scheduled for this Tuesday in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, or Tehran “will face problems never before seen,” hours before the ceasefire ends.
During a brief phone interview on The John’s Fredericks Show radio program, Trump insisted on seeing his Iranian counterparts in a new round of talks in Islamabad, while threatening the Islamic Republic with possible consequences he did not want to clarify. However, so far, Iranian authorities have only stated that they have not made a decision on the matter. “They are going to have to negotiate, and if they don’t, they are going to face problems never before seen,” he said.
The White House occupant expressed optimism that a “fair” agreement would be reached with them and that reconstruction “without nuclear weapons” could begin. Regarding the start of the conflict, Trump again justified the offensive launched on February 28 with Israel against Iran, claiming that they “had no other option” and that it was “necessary.” “We have done a great job and we will close it. Everyone will be happy,” he assured. (EP)
WAR IN IRAN
Maps | How the Strait of Hormuz blockade works and why some ships pass and others don’t
The Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has dealt a severe blow to the global economy, exacerbated by the blockade of the blockade imposed by the United States. Tehran’s announcement to reopen the strait, only to declare its closure again the next day, and the US boarding of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship this Sunday have added confusion and tension to the situation.
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Trump assures that unearthing remaining nuclear material in Iran will be a “long and arduous” process
US President Donald Trump has assured that Operation Midnight Hammer – the attacks launched by Washington with Israel against Iran in June 2025 – meant the “total and absolute destruction” of Iran’s “nuclear dust” facilities, a term he uses to refer to highly enriched uranium reserves, subsequently defending that “unearthing it” will be a “long and difficult” process.
“Operation Midnight Hammer meant the total and absolute destruction of the ‘nuclear dust’ facilities in Iran. Therefore, unearthing it will be a long and difficult process,” the Republican magnate defended in a message published on his social network. The magnate’s words come days after he reiterated that the pact to end the surprise offensive launched with Israel against Tehran on February 28 would imply that the United States would seize Iranian nuclear material, an idea that Tehran flatly rejects.
To this must be added that this Wednesday the ceasefire announced by both (Washington and Tehran) will conclude, amid uncertainty about a new round of talks to which Iranian authorities have not yet confirmed the sending of a delegation. (EP)
WAR AGAINST IRAN
United States and Iran approach positions for a new round of talks, despite cross-attacks
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains interrupted after the interception on Sunday by the US Navy of an Iranian-flagged vessel in an operation that added tension to those disputed waters, on the eve of the expiration of the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran. Only five ships crossed this bottleneck, through which a fifth of global hydrocarbon trade passes, on Monday, according to data collected by the Kpler measurement firm; on Saturday, 24 ships passed, encouraged by Tehran’s announcement of its willingness to lift the de facto blockade it has been imposing in Hormuz for weeks.
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Peace talks remain in the air, hours before ceasefire endsThe United States has expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead in Pakistan and a senior Iranian official has stated that Tehran is considering “joining,” although significant obstacles and uncertainty remain “as the end of a ceasefire approached.”
A Pakistani source involved in the talks has stated that there is momentum for the talks to resume on Wednesday and that Trump could attend in person or virtually if an agreement were signed. “Things are moving forward and the talks are on track for tomorrow,” the source said on condition of anonymity. (Reuters)
Good morning. Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, has stated in a conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that the “illegal” actions of the US, as well as its contradictory attitudes, are “incompatible” with diplomacy, according to Iranian media. Araqchi also pointed out that Tehran will monitor US behavior and decide accordingly to protect its national security and interests.
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains interrupted after the interception on Sunday by the US Navy of an Iranian-flagged vessel in an operation that added tension to those disputed waters, on the eve of the expiration of the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran. Only five ships crossed this bottleneck, through which a fifth of global hydrocarbon trade passes, on Monday, according to data collected by the Kpler measurement firm; on Saturday, 24 ships passed, encouraged by Tehran’s announcement of its willingness to lift the de facto blockade it has been imposing in Hormuz for weeks.
The US delegation maintains its plans to travel to Islamabad (Pakistan), as Trump announced it would, for a second round of talks with the Iranian regime. The first ended without an agreement. After a series of contradictory messages, it seemed clear that Vice President J. D. Vance, who led the negotiators in the first contact, will travel to the Pakistani capital this Tuesday.
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