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China offers $200,000 emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran after school attack.
Iran says death toll of US-Israeli strikes reaches 1,230.
Iran's IRGC official says will burn any ship trying to pass through Strait of Horm.
WASHINGTON - The US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will leave the Middle East and begin sailing for home in the coming days, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The move is "an expected relief for roughly 4,500 sailors who have been deployed for 10 months -- but a loss of significant firepower as peace talks between the United States and Iran stagnate," said the report.
The Ford Carrier Strike Group began its latest deployment on June 24, 2025, departing from the US state of Virginia for the US European Command area of responsibility, later deploying to Latin America for counter-narcotics operations and then to the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated.
It is one of three carriers operating in the Middle East region, alongside USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln.
US President Donald Trump is set to receive a briefing on new plans for potential military action in Iran on Thursday from the US Central Command (CENTCOM), online media Axios reported on Wednesday.
"The briefing signals that Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations either to try to break the logjam in negotiations or to deliver a final blow before ending the war," said the report.
CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran -- likely including infrastructure targets -- in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, it said, citing three sources with knowledge.
US military prepared plan for "short and powerful" strike waves on Iran -- report
NEW YORK -- Crude futures saw prices rise over 5 percent in the morning session on Wednesday amid reports that US President Donald Trump told aides and energy companies to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran's ports.
As of 10 am Eastern Time (1400 GMT), West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June delivery reached as high as 105.04 US dollars per barrel, up 5.11 dollars or about 5.11 percent from the settlement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures for June delivery saw a high of 117.15 dollars per barrel, up 5.89 dollars or 5.29 percent from the settlement in the previous session.
"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump said in a post on social media early Wednesday.
Earlier, media reports said that Trump had instructed his administration to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran as the ceasefire remains in place amid stalled talks.
"The ongoing stalemate in US-Iran negotiations makes any near-term normalization of flows through Hormuz increasingly unlikely," said Linh Tran, an analyst with online trading platform XS.com. "The market is no longer simply pricing in risk, but rather a prolonged period of supply disruption."
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed on social media that Iran wants the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, Trump also claimed that Iran has said it was in a "state of collapse." However, it remained unclear how Trump got the message from Iran.
RIYADH -- The first in-person meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders since the recent US-Israel-Iran war kicked off in Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah on Tuesday, Saudi media Al Arabiya News reported.
The exceptional meeting aims to enhance Gulf integration and coordination to contain the fallout from the war, and ensure that any crisis solutions serve the interests of the GCC and bolster regional security and stability, Al Arabiya reported.
Hopes for diplomatic rapprochement between the United States and Iran faded further, as face-to-face talks to end their two-month conflict remain deadlocked, with both sides firmly clinging to their respective preconditions.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif via phone on Saturday night that Tehran will never accept "imposed negotiations" conducted under military threats and a maritime blockade, according to an official Iranian statement. He said Washington should first remove "operational obstacles" to clear the way for a new round of substantive talks.
The deadlock deepened over the weekend as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped up weekend consultations with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders, while US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned Islamabad visit by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, delivering setbacks to fledgling peace efforts.
Araghchi described his one-day working visit to Pakistan as "very fruitful".
"I shared Iran's position on a viable framework to secure a permanent end to the conflict. It remains to be seen whether the US demonstrates genuine diplomatic sincerity," he said on social media.
On Sunday, Araghchi traveled to Oman, a key regional mediator that has facilitated past US-Iran dialogue across the Strait of Hormuz. In Muscat, he held talks with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, with the two sides discussing regional developments, ongoing mediation initiatives and joint efforts to deescalate tensions, Oman News Agency reported. Araghchi was scheduled to return to Islamabad before heading to Russia.
Islamabad authorities, meanwhile, have rolled back stringent security restrictions imposed amid days of heightened alert ahead of the stalled US-Iran negotiations.
Trump, who was safely evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday following an on-site shooting incident, said the episode would not weaken his resolve in the Iran conflict, while adding there appeared to be no direct link between the violence and the conflict.
Trump earlier canceled his envoys' trip, arguing the proposed journey involved excessive travel and expense for what he called an insufficient Iranian offer. After the pullout, Iran "offered a lot, but not enough", he said, indicating the ball was now in Iran's court.
"If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!" Trump wrote on social media.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier said the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side and that Vice-President JD Vance, who led an unsuccessful first round of talks in Islamabad this month, was ready to travel to Pakistan again.
Mark Pfeifle, a former senior national security adviser to former US president George W. Bush, told Al Jazeera that Trump's last-minute trip cancellation marked a retreat from diplomatic engagement and a return to Washington's longstanding "pressure campaign".
"The US seeks to cripple Iran through economic coercion, while Iran leverages its control over the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the West," he said. "The two sides are locked in a protracted standoff, each testing the other's endurance to see which side concedes first."
The conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on Feb 28.
Iran has since struck Israel and US targets in neighboring Gulf states. Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,496 people in Lebanon, where new fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah broke out in March.
Regional tensions have escalated further since Saturday, as another fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was shaken with cross-border exchanges of fire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to launch intensified strikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
The Israeli military dropped warning leaflets over Lebanon's Tyre district on Sunday, alerting local residents to incoming large-scale military operations in southern Lebanon.
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WASHINGTON - US military forces continue to enforce "US sanctions and fully implement the blockade against ships entering or departing Iranian ports," US Central Command said on social media Saturday.
In a post on X, the US Central Command said that 37 vessels have been redirected since the start of the blockade, noting a merchant vessel named Sevan, intercepted in the Arabian Sea earlier Saturday by the US forces, is currently "complying with US military direction to turn back to Iran under escort."
US President Donald Trump announced on April 12 that the US Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. His decision came after the first round of US-Iranian talks on April 11 and 12 in Islamabad, Pakistan, failed to produce a peace deal.
In response to Trump's announcement, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that "any threat against the security of the Strait of Hormuz will have large-scale consequences for global trade."
On Saturday, Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, reiterated its pledge to react if the United States continues its "blockade, banditry and piracy" in the West Asia region.
Trump announced earlier Saturday that he has canceled the trip of US representatives going to Islamabad this weekend for talks with the Iranian side.
TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is expected to visit Pakistan again after the end of his trip to Oman and before traveling to Russia, the semi-official Mehr News Agency said on Saturday, citing a plan announced by Iran's Foreign Ministry.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump announced on social media Saturday that he just canceled the trip of US representatives going to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranian side.
"Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their 'leadership.' Nobody knows who is in charge, including them," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The US president also claimed that "we have all the cards, they have none," adding that "if they want to talk, all they have to do is call."
Earlier Saturday, Trump told Fox News that he had canceled his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff's planned trip to Pakistan.
In the interview, Trump claimed that it's not worth the US delegation making the 18-hour flight to Pakistan when the US holds all the cards in the conflict with Iran.
"We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing,'" Trump said.
Witkoff and Kushner were supposed to travel to Pakistan this weekend for the second round of US-Iran negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has concluded talks with Pakistan's leadership and left Islamabad, a Pakistani source told Xinhua on Saturday.
"Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value," Araghchi said in a post on social media platform X. "Shared Iran's position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran."
"Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy," the foreign minister added.
Islamabad's district administration on Saturday allowed all types of public and goods transport to enter the federal capital after easing heightened security measures imposed earlier this week amid expectations of a second round of Iran-US peace talks.
ISLAMABAD -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has concluded talks with Pakistan's leadership and left Islamabad, a Pakistani source told Xinhua on Saturday.
According to the plan, Araghchi will travel to Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Iranian delegation says any end to war must be on Tehran's terms, not Washington's: sources
ISLAMABAD -- An Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Friday, Pakistani government sources told Xinhua.
Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night with a small delegation, according to the government sources.
Following important discussions with the Pakistani mediation team, sources said that a second round of Islamabad peace talks between the United States and Iran is expected.
US logistics and security teams are already present in Islamabad to facilitate the negotiation process, said the sources.
WASHINGTON -- The US Department of War said Thursday that its forces had intercepted an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean.
The vessel, named "Majestic X," was reportedly transporting oil from Iran.
"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the department said on X.
Amid the US-Iran ceasefire being unilaterally extended on Washington's terms and ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed the United States for the latest stalemate in negotiations, prolonging global anxiety and volatility.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always welcomed and continues to welcome dialogue and agreement," said Pezeshkian in a post on X late on April 22.
"Bad faith, siege, and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiation. The world is witnessing your hypocritical, empty talk and the contradiction between your claims and your actions," he added.
However, the White House pointed to a lack of unified response from the Iranian side, saying it is US President Donald Trump who will "ultimately dictate" how long the extension of a ceasefire will last.
"We see a lot of different messaging and rhetoric coming out of Iran — and I would caution you against taking anything they say at face value. What they say publicly is much different than what they concede to the US and our negotiating team privately," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on April 22.
Leavitt said that the US maintains control over the situation and leverage over the Iranian regime.
"Not only have they been significantly weakened and obliterated militarily, but they are losing economically and financially every single moment that passes with this blockade. So the president is going to continue to lead the free world, to run the United States of America as we await the Iranian response," she added.
Iran's parliament and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) are jointly reviewing a proposed plan to assert sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Mehr News agency reported on April 23.
Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said both the legislative body and SNSC are examining proposals on the strategic waterway.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X that a complete ceasefire "only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world's economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted".
He said that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire.
"They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation," said Ghalibaf.
On April 23, the Islamic Republic News Agency and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting published the first footage showing the IRGC navy seizing a violating container ship in the Strait of Hormuz since the Trump administration said Iran no longer had a navy.
The IRGC said it seized two foreign vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and opened fire on a third for violating its restrictions on shipping transiting the waterway.
Haji Babaei, Iran's second deputy speaker of parliament, also said the first revenue from tolls collected on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz had been deposited into Iran's Central Bank, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command said that US forces have directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of Washington's blockade against Iran.
It noted that a majority of the vessels have complied with US directions and that most of the vessels asked to turn around have been oil tankers.
The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon assessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high.
International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said the world had lost 13 million barrels of oil supply per day amid the war.
Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump did not view Iran's seizure of two European ships by force near the Strait of Hormuz as a breach of the extended US ceasefire with Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
"These were not US ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels," she said on Fox News.
"These two ships were taken by speedy gunboats. Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. They don't have control over the strait. This is piracy that we are seeing on display," Leavitt said.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier Wednesday that it had seized two vessels "allegedly operating without proper authorization, repeatedly violating regulations, and manipulating navigation systems."
The IRGC also targeted a Greek-owned ship named Euphoria on Wednesday, a third "violating ship" attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now stranded on Iran's shores, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported.
WASHINGTON - US defense officials briefed lawmakers this week on an intelligence assessment that it could take six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines deployed by the Iranian military, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Furthermore, any such operation is unlikely to be carried out until the US-Israeli war with Iran comes to an end, members of the House Armed Services Committee were told on Tuesday, according to the report. This means gasoline and oil prices could remain elevated through the US midterm elections.
Iran may have emplaced 20 or more mines in and around the strait. Some were floated remotely using GPS technology, which has made it difficult for US forces to detect the mines as they are deployed, a senior defense official told lawmakers. Others are believed to have been laid by Iranian forces using small boats.
The disclosure was made in a classified briefing for lawmakers, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell acknowledged in a statement, while criticizing the related reports as "inaccurate."
"As we said in March, one assessment does not mean the assessment is plausible, and a six month closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an impossibility and completely unacceptable to the (Defense) Secretary," Parnell said, without specifying how long it could take.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Wednesday there is "no time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war with Iran.
TEHRAN -- Iran has not yet made a definitive decision on whether to participate in the second round of peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, due to the US contradictory behavior, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
US expert teams for negotiations with Iran reach Islamabad: Pakistani sources.
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan is still awaiting Iran's formal confirmation of its delegation for the Islamabad peace talks, the country's Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Tarar said Pakistan, acting as a mediator, remains in constant contact with Tehran and continues to pursue diplomacy and dialogue. He said Iran's decision to attend the talks before the two-week ceasefire deadline is critical.
He added that Pakistan has made sincere efforts to persuade the Iranian leadership to join the second round of talks, and these efforts continue.
WASHINGTON -- The US Department of War said Tuesday that its forces had boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude.
Ship-tracking data showed the vessel located in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
"Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani" in the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, the Pentagon said on social media platform X.
"International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels," it further said.
"As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran, anywhere they operate," the Pentagon said.
The incident came after US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US forces have intercepted and taken custody of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named Touska, which was trying to bypass its naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran has attacked US military ships in retaliation for the US seizure of its vessel, according to latest news reports.
Earlier, Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned that it will "soon respond" to the US "armed maritime piracy," according to Iran's Press TV.
