Iran war updates: Pakistani army chief in Tehran in bid to restart US talks

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We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a quick recap of the main developments today:

• US President Donald Trump has said the world must brace for an “amazing two days” as the war with Iran is close to over, while a White House spokesperson later expressed optimism on the possible resumption of talks with Iran in Pakistan in the coming days.
• A Pakistani delegation has arrived in Tehran carrying a message from Washington to discuss the possibility of a second round of talks with the US.
• Sources have told Al Jazeera that a major breakthrough has been achieved on Iran’s nuclear front and that Pakistani officials were hopeful that an agreement was in the making.
• US senators have voted against a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop ⁠the US-Israel war on Iran until hostilities are authorised by Congress.
• Israel has continued attacks on Lebanon, including a “triple-tap” strike in the southern town of Mayfadoun that killed four paramedics and injured six others.
• Hezbollah officials have slammed talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, calling them “shameful”.

Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, says that “Israel continues to defy international law” through a series of systematic violations across the region.

Writing on X, Rosas stated that these violations included “genocide in Gaza, escalating violence and illegal settlements in the West Bank, apartheid and occupation, and attacks and mass displacement in Lebanon”.

She warned that “any military cooperation with Israel risks complicity in international crimes.” Specifically addressing Rome, she argued that the “Italian government must act, starting by supporting the suspension of the EU‑Israel Association Agreement, as demanded by over one million Europeans.”

Rosas concluded by emphasising that “words are no longer enough” and insisted that states “take decisive action to stop Israel’s genocide and systematic human rights violations”.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said that “the Iranian team is coming for sure, yes,” to play in the US despite the ongoing war.

It comes four days after we reported that FIFA had turned down Iran’s request to relocate its World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico, citing logistical impediments.

Speaking at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum, Infantino said it is important that Iran participates in the World Cup. “We hope that by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. As I said, that would definitely help. But Iran has to come. Of course, they represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”

The US is co-hosting the upcoming World Cup with Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play two group-stage games in Inglewood, California, and one in Seattle.

The Lebanese armed group claims that its fighters carried out 39 military operations over the past 24 hours, targeting various Israeli settlements, troop concentrations, military vehicles and close-range clashes along the southern border and in northern Israel.

Iran’s ISNA news agency reports that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned of the consequences of US “provocative actions” in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz during a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Araghchi stated that US positioning in these vital waterways would lead to a more “complicated situation” in the region, emphasising that such movements posed a direct threat to regional stability.

In response, and according to the Isna report, the Chinese Foreign Minister praised the “resilience” of the Iranian people during the conflict.

Wang Yi reaffirmed Beijing’s readiness to assist in advancing diplomatic efforts and bringing a definitive end to the hostilities, the report added.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, has said that the United States rejected its proposal that Russia take up all of Iran’s ‌enriched uranium out of the country in its bid to help resolve the hostilities in the Middle East.

Russia first proposed last June that it take control of Iran’s uranium stock, but no action was taken. According to Reuters, Russia issued the proposal again this week.

“Russia was prepared to accept Iran’s enriched uranium on its territory,” state news agency RIA said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Indian television channel India Today.

“This would be a good decision. But unfortunately, the American side rejected this proposal.”

“Although President Putin is ready to return to this initiative, should it be needed by the countries concerned. Perhaps in this context, there is merit in recalling the very beginning of the story in the Gulf,” the spokesperson told India Today.

The United States has threatened to sanction buyers of Iranian oil and said it believed China would pause such purchases as Washington enforces a maritime blockade on Iran.

“We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House.

The US maritime blockade on Iran began on Monday as its war on Iran entered its seventh week. China previously bought more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil.

“We believe [that with] this blockade … there will be a pause of Chinese buying,” Bessent said.

The US Treasury has also written to two Chinese banks and “told them that if we can prove that there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions”, he added.

The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says that Lebanon’s Tebnine Government Hospital, one of the busiest trauma management facilities in the south, is facing severe operational strain after being damaged by two consecutive strikes nearby on April 12 and 14.

The WHO chief reported that 11 workers were injured in the incidents. He noted that the emergency department, including critical equipment such as “ventilators, monitors, stretchers and trolleys”, sustained significant damage, alongside the pharmacy and outpatient clinics. While hospital services continued to function, Tedros confirmed that WHO was “supporting urgent emergency maintenance based on priority needs”.

The statement highlighted a grim trend, noting that since the start of the conflict, WHO had recorded “133 attacks on health care with 88 deaths and 206 injuries”.

Tedros detailed that 15 hospitals and seven primary healthcare centres had been damaged, while five hospitals and 56 primary healthcare centres were forced to close.

He also reiterated his “call for the immediate protection of health care facilities, health workers, ambulances, and patients”.

Earlier today, Israeli attacks killed at least four paramedics in southern Lebanon’s Mayfadoun, in what officials described as “triple-tap” strikes on ambulances.

The USS Spruance, an Aegis guided missile destroyer, has forced an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel to return to Iran, the US Central Command says.

It was the 10th such ship forced to retreat by US forces since the blockade began, which is now stretching into its third day.

“Yesterday, an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel tried to evade the U.S. blockade after leaving Bandar Abbas, exiting the Strait of Hormuz, and transiting along the Iranian coastline. The guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) successfully redirected the vessel, which is heading back to Iran,” US Central Command said in a statement posted on X.

“Ten vessels have now been turned around and ZERO ships have broken through since the start of the U.S. blockade on Monday.”

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that Iran will conduct a formal evaluation to determine whether it will participate in the next round of negotiations with the United States after a scheduled high-level meeting between Iranian officials and a Pakistani delegation led by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday.

Tasnim quoted an anonymous “informed” source, who noted that while the ceasefire in Lebanon was viewed as a “positive signal” for Iran’s decision-making process, any further progress remained dependent on US conduct.

The source emphasised that Washington was required to adhere to a “logical framework” for the talks and warned against obstructing the diplomatic path through excessive demands or the violation of commitments made prior to the ceasefire.

Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli troops to enhance operations in southern Lebanon and said that negotiations and talks with Washington would still ensure that the Israeli position is taken into consideration vis-a-vis the war in Iran.

It was a short message, and it seemed he was directing it to a domestic audience, to which he had promised a regime change in Iran. Now, as talks about a ceasefire continue, he finds himself in a difficult position, and that’s why he needs to show strength and defiance when it comes to the battle in southern Lebanon.

He wants to reassure the public that they are still interested in keeping land to maintain the security of the people in northern Israel.

Netanyahu will face elections towards the end of this year, and because he has not been able to achieve his goals [in Iran] yet, he is likely to want to show force inside of Lebanon as a way to keep his population’s support.