AJ
Iran war ceasefire recap from the seventh day, which includes looking at the results of the US blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, what officials discussed in various phone calls, press conferences or interviews, along with other major reports published in the past 24 hours.
Strait of Hormuz Blockade:
Saudi Arabia was pressing the US to drop its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and return to the negotiating table, fearing President Donald Trump’s move to close it off could lead Iran to escalate and disrupt other important shipping routes, Arab sources told the Wall Street Journal, adding the Saudis warned a blockade of Iranian ports could lead to the closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait by Ansarullah (Yemeni-Houthis).
President Trump’s blockade around the Strait of Hormuz had begun to take effect as the early morning came, however, despite at least 16 warships in the area of responsibility of US Central Command according to the AP, none of them were in the Persian Gulf, making it more difficult to actually block the Iranian ports which were located along the Persian Gulf coastline.
The first Iranian ship following Trump’s warning and blockade began to enter international waters, according to reports from Iran Arabic, Stating that the ship began its journey after the blockade had taken effect and was heading down the navigational waterways during a shut down before entering international waters.
Sanctioned Chinese-linked oil tanker ‘Rich Starry’ passed through the Strait of Hormuz as dawn broke, despite the US blockade, according to shipping data, reported Reuters, noting that it is reported to have carried around 250,000 barrels of methanol and is the first to transit and exit the Gulf since the blockade began.
Two Iranian vessels had begun to cross the Strait of Hormuz too, despite Trump’s blockade, reported Kpler.
US-sanctioned oil tanker the ‘Elpis,’ sailing under the Comoros flag, traversed the Strait of Hormuz after setting sail from the Port of Hormuz, according to Fars News Agency citing Marine Traffic shipping data, noting the tanker had been sanctioned last year for its links to Iran, but had since changed its name.
UKMTO received a report of an incident on 07 April 26, 112 nautical miles southeast of Ras Al Hadd, Oman, stating a Master of a Bulk Carrier reported to authorities that his vessel had been struck by two unidentified projectiles resulting in an on-board fire, adding that a Pakistan Naval vessel rendered assistance and the incident was brought under control.
Despite reports to the contrary, a US official told CNN that the United States Navy was not escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but was informing merchant vessels not linked to Iranian ports that it is safe to transit and encouraging them to proceed.
By Tuesday evening, the first Iranian ships that had been passing the Strait were beginning to approach the approximate location of US forces, at which point they were being ordered to turn around, reported Bloomberg, noting that vessels would be able to transit through the strait but wouldn’t make it past the Gulf of Oman.
During the first 24 hours of the blockade, US Central Command reported that no ships made it past the blockade, reported the WSJ, stating 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, noting that more than 10,000 Sailors, Marines and Airmen along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft were executing the mission: “The blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering and departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” Central Command clarified.
Iranian-linked vessels that are seized under the US blockade are being directed to temporary holding areas in the Arabian Sea or Indian Ocean until a permanent solution is worked out, two US officials told the Wall Street Journal, saying that at the same time, the US was actively identifying vessels for possible seizure, as several tankers were already turned away near the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade began.
European countries are still developing a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following the war by forming a broad international defensive mission, according to the WSJ, stating that the mission would be led by France and the UK, which would include mine-clearing and other defensive naval deployments but would likely exclude countries directly involved in the conflict such as the US, Israel and Iran, to make the mission more acceptable.
The White House noted that tankers were avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and heading directly to the USA: “As of yesterday [Monday], 167 crude tankers had declared US destinations, with 103 empty vessels heading to American ports to load US crude. Of those, 54 were Very Large Crude Carriers, each capable of carrying approximately 2 million barrels. Many had recently unloaded elsewhere and were now steaming to the Gulf of America, including 20 empty tankers under European flags and 20 under Asian flags.” According to the White house, the United States today ‘produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined and more natural gas than Russia, Iran, and China combined – securing its role as the undisputed global leader.’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with President Trump about the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz, stressing the importance of keeping the waterway open and secure, stated Bloomberg who confirmed the call with the White House, adding that India has already been buying Russian and Indian crude to ease an energy crunch caused by the conflict, and two sanctioned supertankers carrying Iranian oil have anchored off Iranian ports.
Reports from Reuters confirmed the US would not renew the 30-day waiver of sanctions of Iranian oil at sea, which expires on April 19, as part of its efforts to impose maximum pressure on Iran, noting that the waiver had allowed around 140 million barrels of oil to be sold on the global market to relieve pressure due to supply constraints caused by the conflict, and Reuters noted that the Russian waiver also expired on Saturday and hadn’t been renewed.
Future Talks?:
Negotiations could resume in Islamabad or Geneva this Thursday for a second round, a US official told AP, stating it was unclear whether the same delegations from either side would be present, or whether there would be less formal talks taking place this time.
Reuters also said that negotiating teams could return to Pakistan later this week to resume talks, citing Pakistani and Iranian officials, with one source involved saying a proposal had been sent to both sides to reconvene in Islamabad, though no date was set and a return could happen as soon as the end of the week. However, an Iranian diplomatic source told IRNA that no agreement had been reached to hold a second round of talks, but did confirm communication with Pakistan on diplomatic efforts were ongoing.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the US had united with Israel defining that removal of enriched material from Iran was a prerequisite for ending the war.
During talks in Islamabad, the US proposed a 20-year halt to Iran’s uranium enrichment, but Iran was only willing to accept up to five years, an offer President Trump rejected, according to NYT, stating that Washington also pushed for Iran to remove its highly enriched uranium, which Tehran insisted remain in the country, offering instead to dilute it so it couldn’t be used for weapons.
Vice President JD Vance spoke with Fox News about the talks, saying that things didn’t go wrong, but they just didn’t go right, noting that a lot of progress had been made, but the big question from here was whether the Iranians would accept the critical things the US needed to see in order for things to get done.
Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey will hold a meeting to discuss the Middle East in the near future, reported the AFP citing Turkish diplomatic sources.
President Trump spoke to NYP while accepting a Door Dash at the White House saying that something could be happening over the next couple of days, noting the US would rather be inclined to return to Pakistan, stating that they already had something to do with the talks so it made sense, adding that the Pakistani Field Marshal was doing a fantastic job, making it more likely Islamabad will be the place for future talks.
Fox News’ Bill Hemmer said soon after that he’d just got off the phone with a senior Trump administration official who confirmed a lot was happening today or tomorrow, confirming that the US had all the ingredients of a deal, but it wasn’t there yet, while also stating the blockade had Iran really fearful that it could choke their economy.
Pakistan was reported to be seeking a second round of talks between the US and Iran as early as this week, three Pakistani officials told the New York Times, but it remained unclear whether the next round would involve senior political figures or shift to lower-level technical discussions focused on resolving key agreements, and Al Jazeera stated a Pakistani Foreign Ministry Source had offered to host the second round of negotiations.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a second round of negotiations, reported CNN, adding that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were also expected to participate.
Other News:
Hilary Clinton told MS Now that it was shocking nobody had told President Trump that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz: “Every war game I was ever involved in, that was the first thing we assumed Iran would do,” she said, adding that the USA were now in a situation where ‘we are essentially weak, where we essentially have lost the leverage and initiative that we had.’ Clinton also said: “I know from personal experience how Netanyahu has tried to get every American President to agree to have an open-ended war with Iran – I had many, many long, hours-long conversations, with him and his war cabinet about this and refusing to go along with a very inchoate desire to do something to Iran with no real end state that could be described sufficiently.”
Following the suspension of automatic renewals of defence agreements with Israeli companies, which was reported by Reuters, along with messages of solidarity to the Pope after Trump’s social media attacks, the US President told Corriere della Sera the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni didn’t care: “She’s actually the one unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has nuclear weapons – Iran could blow up Italy in two minutes!” Israel’s Foreign Ministry also commented, saying: “We do not have a security agreement with Italy, we have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that had no real substance, so this will not harm Israel’s security.”
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said gas prices below $3 per gallon in America by summer was now ‘an aggressive time frame,’ noting it could take longer for prices to recover due to the Iran War: “Trump knew going into this if you disrupt the flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz in the short term, you’re going to push up energy prices,’ he said during talks at Semafor.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu held consultations with security officials in Tel Aviv on Sunday to assess the possibility of resuming fighting with Iran, with one source familiar to the meeting telling WaPo that Israel ‘must be prepared for any development.’
The pause on sanctions for Iranian oil is expected to generate at least $1 billion in additional revenue for Iran, as it can sell oil at higher prices amid tight supply caused by the blockade, WaPo reported, stating the sanction pause was set to expire on Sunday, and the US was facing pressure from Asian allies to extend it, as they rely on Iranian oil while other shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted, but Fox News stated that President Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was now going to cost Iran $400 million every day ($13 billion a month).
President Trump took to Truth Social half hour before lunch (evening Gulf time) stating that Europe was desperate for Energy, yet the UK refused to open up North Sea Oil, one of the greatest oil fields in the world, stating that Aberdeen should be booming, but instead Norway sold its North Sea Oil to the UK at double price, making a fortune at the expense of the UK, which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, and should drill more, while putting out no more ‘windmills!’
Iranian UN Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani called on countries he said supported the US and Israeli war effort, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan, to pay compensation, arguing they violated international law and must ‘pay full compensation for the damages caused to the Islamic Public of Iran,’ including both material and moral losses.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar needed to ride the Israeli fear bandwagon on Tuesday, saying that for years, the Iranian regime had been allowed to build up its proxy forces on Israel’s border, stating that the country learned its lesson after October 7: “We will not allow the Iranian regime to implement its evil plan, we will not allow the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear weapons, and we will not allow it to choke us through its terror proxy states.” with the statement coming hours after Israel had failed to persuade the world Iran was going to pre-emptively launch a strike towards Israel while also being proven wrong with their propaganda yet again.
New Mossad Chief David Barnea said that the mission had not yet been completed: “We did not think this mission would be completed immediately as the fighting subsided, but we most certainly planned for our campaign to continue and manifest itself even in the period following the strikes in Tehran, and our commitment will be fulfilled only when this extremist regime is replaced.”
The US Treasury Department took to X saying that they were moving aggressively with ‘Economic Fury’, maintaining maximum pressure on Iran, putting financial institutions on notice that the department was leveraging the full range of available tools and authorities, while it was prepared to also deploy secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that continued to support Iran’s activities: “The short-term authorisation permitting the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea is set to expire in a few days and will not be renewed,” the department also confirmed.
According to NBC News, the US Treasury has claimed that Iran processed around $9 billion in illicit transactions in 2024 using front companies located mainly in Hong Kong and UAE, so Washington sent several letters out to governments on Tuesday, including China, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Oman, warning that banks in their jurisdictions enabled the activity, urging them to identify and halt Iranian-linked financial flows. The Treasury also warned it could take enforcement action, including sanctions on foreign banks, penalties for violations, and possible stricter oversight of transactions through the US financial system, stressing the need to ‘finally disable Iran’s ability to support terrorism, threaten the region and global markets, and seek to continue its nuclear and ballistic missile program.’
More than 7,600 Israelis were treated in hospital since the start of the war stated Tasnim News, quoting the Middle East Eye, noting that Israeli Ministry of Health announced around 7,656 people had been admitted since the beginning of the clashes, indicating the extensive human dimension of the war.
European Council President António Costa started a two-day tour of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Tuesday, expressing full solidarity with Gulf partners in the face of ‘Iran’s indiscriminate, unjustifiable and unlawful attacks,’ stating that the EU was a reliable partner and ready to contribute, while calling for a comprehensive strategy for lasting peace in the Middle East through negotiation and diplomacy.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump between Monday and Tuesday, calling for the resumption of negotiations that broke down in Islamabad and a ceasefire to be respected by all, including Lebanon, urging the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without controls or tolls, and stated France and the UK would host a videoconference this Friday in Paris with non-belligerent countries ready to contribute to a multilateral defensive mission to restore freedom of navigation once security conditions allowed.
China’s Foreign Ministry warned it would respond firmly if the United States imposed tariffs based on ‘fabricated allegations’ at the weekend in the American media that Beijing was providing military aid to Iran, as reported in AJ News.
Russia’s Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Dedov told TASS that the United States still hasn’t learned that the language of force doesn’t work with Iran, condemning the attacks on Iran and pointed to the Tehran-Moscow strategic treaty, adding that Iran was defending its rights, and that Washington claimed Tehran should not have nuclear weapons while ignoring Iran’s repeated statements that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney held a call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the evolving situation in the Middle East, with both leaders stressing the need for de-escalation, a sustained ceasefire, and secure access through the Strait of Hormuz, while also discussing expanding trade and future investment talks.
Developments in Iraq on Tuesday:
Kurdistan Region’s Counter Terrorism Directorate reported two drones launched from Iran toward Erbil were intercepted and destroyed by coalition fighter jets on Tuesday, as locals captured images of what appeared to be French Mirage fighters flying low over the skies of Iraq: “One of the drones bore the message ‘in memory of my martyr leader, Sayyid Ali Khamenei,’ they stated, adding that in another attack, a drone struck the Sourdash Camp in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to reports, the drone that targeted the Iranian-Kurdish opposition bases in the town of Koya near Degalla in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq landed in an open area and the smoke was filmed by locals.
The Iraqi Federal Police Command said an individual behind the Telegram Channel ‘Sabereen News,’ which has over 1 million subscribers, is due to be prosecuted after the suspect is accused of attempting to blackmail an Iraqi Lieutenant Colonel.
A reward of up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, was issued by the US State Department, noting that the Iranian-backed group was responsible for the alleged attacks on US diplomatic facilities in Iraq, the alleged kidnapping of US citizens and the alleged killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.
