US Iran news LIVE: Trump hints at next round of talks over the weekend, calls Iran ‘tough, smart’

US Iran news LIVE: Iranian state media on Thursday mocked US President Donald Trump over saying « US would have free Hormuz, free oil » as « successful » negotiations are going on. Sharing a clip of Trump, Iran’s state-owned broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said the US president is « Building castles in the air! »

The state media also shared a Persian proverb: « ‘The camel dreams of cottonseed; sometimes gulping it down, sometimes eating it grain by grain ». The proverb is used to describe something unrealistic, far-fetched hopes or fantasies.

US Iran news LIVE: Media outlets in Lebanon have reported that Israel fired a machine gun and an artillery shell towards an ambulance team affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority in Kunin in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon, AL Jazeera reported. Casualties have been reported. This comes even as a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel started after US intervnetion on Thursday.

US Iran news LIVE: Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Esmaeil Baqaei, welcomed the recent 10-day ceasefire announcement between Lebanon and Israel, describing it as part of broader regional diplomatic understandings and praising what he called the « resistance » of the Lebanese people and fighters against Israeli military actions.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Baqaei said that the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon formed part of a ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States following discussions in Islamabad.

He added that Tehran had consistently emphasised during talks with regional and international stakeholders the need for a simultaneous ceasefire across the region, including Lebanon, and pursued the matter through continued diplomatic engagement.

« The cessation of the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran had emphasised from the beginning, during its talks with various regional and international parties, including the Islamabad talks, the necessity of establishing a simultaneous ceasefire in the entire region, including Lebanon, and pursued this issue seriously after the Islamabad talks, » the statement read.

US Iran news LIVE: It will take about two years to recover the energy output lost in the Middle East from the conflict there, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, was quoted as saying on Friday in an interview with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper.

« That will vary from country to country. In Iraq, for example, it will take much longer than in Saudi Arabia. However, we estimate it will take approximately two years overall to reach pre-war levels again, » Birol told the Swiss newspaper.

Birol added that the market was underestimating the consequences of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipments of oil and gas that were already en route to their destinations before the war in Iran began have now arrived, mitigating the impact of shortages, he said.

« But no new tankers were loaded in March. There were no new deliveries of oil, gas or fuels to Asian markets. This gap is now becoming apparent. If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, we must prepare for significantly higher energy prices. »

via Reuters

US Iran news LIVE: Gold prices declined on Friday, April 17, with 24-carat gold falling by ₹268 to ₹15,309.2 per gram. The 22-carat variant also dropped by ₹245.49 to ₹14,023.23 per gram. Over the past week, 24-carat gold has eased by 0.41%, while it is down 5.74% over the past month. Check city-wise gold rates

US Iran news LIVE: Turkey hosts a high-stakes forum Friday bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war.

Pakistan’s powerful army chief met senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the six-week war.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will address the three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum when it opens on Friday in the Mediterranean holiday resort of Antalya.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to meet on the sidelines of the forum, with the war and the blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz expected to dominate. The timing of the meeting has not yet been announced.

US Iran news LIVE: Sri Lanka is among the worst impacted countries in the Asia-Pacific due to the ripple effects of the West Asia crisis, a UN report said.

The report published by the United Nations Development Programme, released on Thursday, provides a preliminary assessment on how the ongoing conflict is destabilising global trade, energy markets, and financial systems.

The report titled « Military escalation in the Middle East: Human Development Impacts Across Asia and the Pacific » shows that Sri Lanka is highly exposed, as 80.2 per cent of migrant-worker departures from the island nation in 2025 were to the Middle East, the report says.

Sri Lanka is among the worst impacted countries in the Asia-Pacific due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the UN report said.

via PTI

US Iran news LIVE: The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday released footage showing the US Navy enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports by diverting a merchant vessel. In a post on X, a sailor aboard the USS Michael Murphy (Warship 112) is seen communicating with the “Motor Vessel Molly,” informing the crew that the ship would be escorted to its next port of call.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the sailor can be heard saying in the video.

US Iran news LIVE: The Lebanese people who were displaced by the recent war and deadly Israeli airstrikes have started journeys back home despite the government asking them to delay the return on account of ‘unstable situation’, Al Jazeera reported. The 10-day ceasefire with Israel was a big reprieve for the people of Lebanon who were majorly impacted by the war that lasted nearly 46 days.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump described Iran as a « tough, smart country » while asserting that its military capacity had been severely reduced.

« And against a very tough, smart country. These people were fighters, and you know, I don’t want to claim it before the fact, but they (Iran) have no Navy left. 158 ships at the bottom of the sea. 158, think of it, » Trump said.

US Iran news LIVE: Nigerian airlines warned they may halt flights next week unless jet fuel prices that they said have surged by much more than the price of oil are lowered.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria, which represents mostly domestic carriers, said that the “astronomical and artificial increase of 300%” imposed by the nation’s private-sector fuel marketers was jeopardizing their operations.

This compared with a 30% rise in the price of oil since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 and was well above the increase in the international market rate for jet fuel in that time, it said.

“The airlines are now facing existential threats.,” it said. “If we price tickets to reflect current fuel costs, we will be flying empty planes,” the group wrote in the letter to the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria.

via Bloomberg

US Iran news LIVE: A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war.

US President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce.

Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire « to advance » peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw. (AP)

US Iran news LIVE: President Donald Trump said prospects for a deal with Iran are “looking very good” as the two sides are in discussions to extend a truce ahead of its expiration next week.

“It’s looking very good that we’re going to make a deal with Iran, and it’s going to be a good deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. Talks between Washington and Tehran could resume this weekend, he said.

Trump said he believed Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon and turning over nuclear material. The deal would also include “free oil” and an opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump added. Tehran has not publicly confirmed it’s made those concessions.

Trump’s stated expectations of a quick resolution run counter to some Gulf Arab and European leaders, who predict that a US-Iran peace deal will take about six months to be brokered.

Trump said he didn’t believe he would have to extend the two-week ceasefire in order to reach a deal, predicting a resolution would be made “fairly soon,” but that if he needed to he would.

Oil prices rose, with Brent crude up more than 4% to near $99 a barrel as traders remain focused on whether flows through the Strait of Hormuz will pick up. Worries that a peace deal could take much longer kept investors on edge and risk premia in oil prices elevated. (Bloomberg)

US Iran news LIVE: President Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone for prospects that the US and Iran could clinch a permanent ceasefire as the two sides discuss an extended truce ahead of its expiration next week.

“It’s looking very good that we’re going to make a deal with Iran, and it’s going to be a good deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. Talks between Washington and Tehran could resume this weekend, he said.

Trump claimed, without evidence, that Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon and turning over nuclear material. The deal would also include “free oil” and an opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump added. Tehran has not publicly confirmed it’s made those concessions.

via Bloomberg

US Iran news LIVE: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday (local time) said that US forces are actively enforcing a large-scale maritime blockade targeting Iran’s ports and coastline, involving more than 10,000 personnel, over a dozen naval vessels, and upwards of 100 aircraft.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said, « USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transits the Arabian Sea as the United States blockades Iran’s ports and coastline. US forces are not blockading the Strait of Hormuz. More than 10,000 American service members, 12 ships, and 100 aircraft have enforced the blockade in regional waters, ensuring that no vessels violate the President’s proclamation. »

US Iran news LIVE: Amid reports of another round of talks between Iran and the US over the weekend, Trump has hinted at a possible Pakistan visit to finalise a peace deal. “I would. I would go to Pakistan, yeah. Pakistan has been great,” Trump said in response to a question on his plans to visit Pakistan. Trump further praised Pakistan and said, “They’ve been so good. Islamabad, I’ll be—I might go. Yeah. If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go. The field marshal has been great. The prime minister has been really great in Pakistan. So I might go. They want me.”

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) expressed hope that Hezbollah would act responsibly and peacefully during the 10-day ceasefire with Israel, urging an end to hostilities and stressing the need for lasting peace in the region.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, « I hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP. »

The remarks come alongside ongoing diplomatic efforts led by the United States to stabilise the Israel-Lebanon border after a 10-day ceasefire was announced following intensive negotiations involving Washington, Tel Aviv, and Beirut.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that the United States is heading towards « victory very shortly » against Iran while making strong remarks on military developments involving Iran and past US operations in the region.

Speaking during an event here, Trump suggested progress in ongoing strategic actions and claimed significant degradation of Iranian capabilities.

« And I said, we’re in there for two months, and you know what? We’re gonna have victory very shortly, » he said.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump earlier said that he thought the US had a chance of a deal with Iran.

« And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust, » he said.

The president said he was not sure a two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran last week would need to be extended beyond next week, adding that Tehran wanted to make a deal.

« We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe. And I think it’s a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade. »

US Iran news LIVE: The Lebanese Army said early on Friday that Israel committed violations of the ceasefire after it took effect, including the intermittent shelling of several southern Lebanese villages.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which had said earlier that its forces remained deployed in the area. In a post on X, Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the deployment was in response to what he described as continued Hezbollah militant activity.

Hezbollah released a lengthy statement detailing what it described as its military operations against Israel throughout Thursday, which showed that its last attack came at 11:50 p.m. local time, 10 minutes before the ceasefire took effect.

US Iran news LIVE: A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect on Thursday after last week’s strikes on Lebanon caused massive loss of lives and widespread destruction. The attacks also threatened the fragile truce between Iran and the US as Iran termed the strikes as ceasefire violation.

If the Lebanon ceasefire clears the way for a broader peace deal with Iran, it would be a significant win for the Trump administration, which has struggled so far to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.

Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut as the clock struck midnight on Thursday, the time the ceasefire was set to go into effect. For around half an hour, the sound of explosions from rockets fired in celebration could also be heard, witnesses said.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Trump has said the next meeting between the US and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end. Trump said Iran had offered not to possess nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at talks in Islamabad last weekend.

US Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump has said that the war in Iran is going « swimmingly » and that it « should be ending pretty soon. » He said this while speaking at an event in Las Vegas, Navada.