Middle East war live: US delegation will travel to Islamabad Monday for Iran negotiations
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Trump sending US team to Pakistan for Iran talks
US President Donald Trump said US negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran, raising hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday even as Washington and Tehran remain in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
There is currently no decision by Iran to send a negotiating delegation to Pakistan “as long as there is a naval blockade”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Douglas Herbert, FRANCE 24’s international affairs commentator, tells us more.
📷 In pictures: Buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire
A man inspects his car damaged in a previous Israeli air strike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on April 19, 2026. © Bilal Hussein, AP
Mohammed Ameen walks on the rubble of a building destroyed in a previous Israeli air strike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on April 19, 2026. © Bilal Hussein, AP
Mahmoud Ghadboun retrieves some of his belongings from a building destroyed in a previous Israeli air strike, during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on April 19, 2026. © Bilal Hussein, AP
Um Ali retrieves some of her belongings from a building destroyed in a previous Israeli air strike, during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on April 19, 2026. © Bilal Hussein, AP
US energy chief says gas prices could stay above $3 per gallon until next year
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he believes gas prices have peaked but predicted that they may stay above $3 per gallon until next year.
Gas below $3 a gallon “could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year. But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down”, he told CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “Certainly with the resolution of this conflict, you’ll see prices go down.”
Lebanese army restores road, bridge damaged by Israeli strikes
Lebanon’s military said it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country’s south, as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel.
In a statement, the military said it “fully reopened” a road linking the city of Nabatieh with the Khardali area, and had “partially reopened the Burj Rahal-Tyre bridge”.
“Work is also underway to rehabilitate the Tayr Falsay-Tyre bridge … following damage caused by the Israeli aggression,” the army added.
White House says Vance will lead US delegation to Iran talks in Pakistan
US Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation for talks with Iran in Pakistan, a White House official said, after President Donald Trump indicated Vance would not make the trip.
Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the talks, a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity when asked about the makeup of the delegation after Trump’s comments.
IDF continues destruction of southern Lebanon villages despite ceasefire
The Israeli military is continuing the systematic destruction of villages in southern Lebanon despite the current ceasefire, according to Haaretz.
Military commanders told the Israeli newspaper that civilian homes, public buildings as well as schools are being demolished as part of a broader policy to “clear the area”.
Haaretz reported that dozens of heavy machinery vehicles have been brought into the area in recent weeks, with some employees compensated based on the number of structures destroyed.
Kuwait detained US-Kuwaiti journalist over war posts, CPJ says
Kuwaiti authorities have detained US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin who has not been seen for six weeks, a media watchdog said, during a wider crackdown by Gulf nations on people for filming or posting footage during the Iran war.
Shihab-Eldin, a 41-year-old journalist who was visiting family in Kuwait, has not posted online or been seen in public since March 2, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said.
CPJ said he had been charged with spreading false information, harming national security and misusing his mobile phone.
Iran currently has no decision to send a negotiating delegation to Pakistan, Tasnim reports
There is currently no decision by Iran to send a negotiating delegation to Pakistan “as long as there is a naval blockade”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
UK police investigating if arson attacks on London Jewish sites work of Iranian proxies
British police said they are investigating whether a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London are the work of Iranian proxies. The Metropolitan Police force says counterterror officers are probing the attacks on synagogues and other sites linked to the Jewish community, as well as an attack on a Persian-language media company.
No one has been injured in the blazes, the latest of which caused minor damage to a north London synagogue on Saturday night.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said the attacks had been claimed online by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
“We are aware of public reporting that suggests this group may have links to Iran. As you would expect, we will continue to explore that question as our investigation evolves,” she said.
Tui Cruises says two ships passed the Strait of Hormuz
Tui Cruises said that its Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement posted on its website, the company said it had obtained approvals from relevant authorities, under careful consideration of the security situation.
It said the ships would now proceed swiftly to the Mediterranean Sea. It did not immediately respond to requests for further details.
Israel-Lebanon, US-Iran dynamics closely tied, analyst says
In the midst of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, new rounds of talks are due to take place in Washington to determine whether the truce can be extended.
However, for Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, ceasefires in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, are often “meant to be broken”.
He also notes growing frustration from Donald Trump over Israeli military activity, and argues that the Israel-Lebanon and US-Iran dynamics are closely interconnected.
Vance not going to Pakistan for Iran-US talks, says Trump to ABC News
Vice President JD Vance will not lead the US delegation for new talks with Iran in Pakistan, President Donald Trump told ABC News, citing security concerns – despite top officials suggesting Vance would make the trip.
Earlier in the day, both the US envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright had indicated that Vance would lead the round of negotiations in Islamabad from Monday.
“It’s only because of security,” Trump told ABC News of the reason Vance is not making the trip. “JD’s great.”
Iran asserts leverage in Hormuz ahead of new round of talks
Iran has partially reopened the Strait of Hormuz, but only under strict authorisation and designated routes, as tensions with the US continue.
While Pakistan tries to organise new talks, Iranian officials insist sanctions must be lifted and reject US demands to end nuclear activities, even as both sides maintain pressure through military and economic threats.
Pakistan tightens security in Islamabad ahead of US-Iran talks
Security in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was stepped up visibly ahead of peace talks between the US and Iran in the coming days.
Authorities earlier announced road closures and traffic restrictions across the city, as well as in neighbouring Rawalpindi.
“Citizens are earnestly requested to cooperate with the security agencies,” a city official posted on X.
Israel says to use ‘full force’ in Lebanon despite truce if soldiers face threat
Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli military had been instructed to use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the ongoing ceasefire – should Israeli troops face any threat.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat,” Katz said at a function in the occupied West Bank.
He said that the military had also been ordered “to remove the houses in the (frontline) villages near the border that served in every respect as Hezbollah terror outposts and threatened Israeli communities,” Katz added.
Israel’s double game between negotiations with Lebanon and occupation in the south
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon was reached following a first round of talks in Washington.
Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, analyses Israel’s strategy in Lebanon, which he describes as oscillating between negotiations and continued presence in the south.
He notes that Israel repeatedly states its intention to push out Hezbollah, as a justification for expanding control and establishing a buffer zone up to the Litani River. He also analyses the latest developments between Iran and the US. Watch below.
France’s Macron to meet with Lebanon’s PM in Paris on Tuesday
French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, the Elysee said, as a fragile 10-day truce holds between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The visit highlights Macron’s commitment to seeing “full and complete respect for the ceasefire in Lebanon” as well as France’s support for Lebanon’s “territorial integrity”, the president’s office said on Sunday.
The announcement of the visit came a day after France blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for the death of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon.
Iran FM says US naval blockade ‘violation’ of ceasefire
Iran’s foreign ministry said that the US naval blockade on Iranian ports is a violation of the ceasefire as well as an “unlawful and criminal” act.
“The United States’ so-called ‘blockade’ of Iran’s ports or coastline is not only a violation of Pakistani-mediated ceasefire but also both unlawful and criminal,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a post on X, just as US President Donald Trump also accused Iran of ceasefire violations by firing on ships.
“Moreover, by deliberately inflicting collective punishment on the Iranian population, it amounts to war crime and crime against humanity,” Baqaei added.
Trump says US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran
US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan, “tomorrow night” for Iran negotiations.
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single power plant, and every single bridge, in Iran,” Trump wrote.
Trump again threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructures if no deal is reached.