The Central American nation’s foreign ministry wrote in a statement that the boat, owned by the Italian company MSC Francesca, was “forcibly taken” into Iranian waters on Wednesday, and it accused Iran of violating international law. It wasn’t immediately clear if the boat remained in Iranian custody.

The seizure “represents a serious attack on maritime security and constitutes an unnecessary escalation,” it wrote.

Panama has one of the largest ship registries, with around 16% of the world’s ships flying under the country’s flag, according to 2024 data from Panamanian authorities.

The Pentagon told lawmakers this week it will likely take six months to clear the mines set in the strait, according to a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

Officials from the Department of Defense delivered the information during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

The session left more questions than answers as lawmakers probed for information about the cost of the war against Iran, the strategy and objectives, the person said. The lawmakers also raised questions that have still gone unanswered about the strike on a school compound during the early days of the war.

The U.S. Senate rejected the resolution 46-51 on Wednesday as Republicans in Congress have largely backed Trump’s military efforts.

It was the fifth time this year that the Senate voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. The resolution would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

“The longer Trump waits to extricate the U.S. from this war, the deeper the hole gets and the harder it will be for him to get out,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

Republicans have been reluctant to criticize Trump or the war, even as they say they want it to end quickly.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that most Republicans believe “that the president is correct in making sure Iran can’t threaten the world with a nuclear weapon.”

At least five people, including three children, were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza on Wednesday night, according to Shifa hospital, where the bodies were taken.

Local health authorities said the group of people was targeted by a drone while they were in a street in Beit Lahiya, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 780 people since the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was put in place six months ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.

Overall, the health ministry says 72,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

The U.S. stock market rallied to more records Wednesday after GE Vernova, Boston Scientific and other big companies joined the parade, reporting fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. But caution still hung over Wall Street, and oil prices rose on uncertainty about what would happen in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 jumped 1% and topped its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 340 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after jumping 1.6%.

Strong performances have helped the S&P 500 power higher, and the index recorded its 13th gain in its last 16 days.

Still, another rise in oil prices helped keep enthusiasm in check on Wall Street. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 3.5% to $101.91.

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The body of a Lebanese journalist killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon on Wednesday has been pulled from under the rubble hours after the attac k.

The daily Al-Akhbar newspaper confirmed that its reporter, Amal Khalil, was killed in the strike on the southern village of al-Tiri.

Information Minister Paul Morcos also confirmed Khalil’s death.

Khalil had been covering the Israel-Hezbollah war since it started in October 2023 and had been reporting from different parts of southern Lebanon on the hostilities.

Earlier on Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, called on the international community to immediately pressure the Israeli army to allow the rescue of Khalil.

However, it was unclear whether it would ultimately take part.

“The Ministry of Youth and Sports made an announcement about the full preparedness of our national soccer team for presence in the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., by the order of the minister,” Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohejerani told Iran’s state TV on Wednesday.

“They informed that the necessary arrangements that these dear ones need for the team’s proud and successful participation, [have been made],” Mohejerani added.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump hasn’t set a deadline for receiving a proposal from the Iranians.

“Ultimately, the timeline would be dictated by the commander in chief,” she said.

Trump announced a ceasefire extension on Tuesday.

Iran taking control of two ships is not a violation of the truce terms because “these were not U.S. or Israeli ships, these were two international vessels,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Channel.

She said Iran’s navy has been decimated and that the ships in question “were taken by speedy gun boats,” meaning that Iran is acting “like a bunch of pirates.”

Leavitt said Trump’s blockade remains in place “on ships coming to and from Iranian ports” and that the seizure by Iranian forces “is piracy that we are seeing on display.”

The group added in a statement that the two attacks targeting soldiers and vehicles in the village of Qantara on Wednesday evening were in retaliation for alleged Israeli violations of the 10-day ceasefire that took effect Friday.

The strikes marked the group’s third attack on Wednesday. Israel did not immediately comment on the latest attacks but has previously accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire.

The ministry said two Israeli strikes on al-Tiri in southern Lebanon killed two people. The journalist Amal Khalil and her colleague took cover in a house, which the ministry said was targeted in the second strike. When rescuers arrived, they were able to recover the two bodies and one injured journalist. But the Israeli military fired live ammunition at the ambulance, preventing the team from completing the search for Khalil, the ministry said. Lebanon’s National News Agency showed pictures of the damage to the ambulance.

Khalil’s condition is not clear. She is a prominent journalist with the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.

Israel’s military alleged the individuals in the village violated the ceasefire, posing a risk to the troops’ safety. It denied that it prevented rescue teams from reaching the area or that it targets journalists.

“A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime/naval blockade and taking the world’s economy hostage, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted,” Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Wednesday.

“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” Qalibaf added. “The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.”

Lebanese officials and Reporters Without Borders said a journalist was missing following an Israeli strike near the southern village of al-Tiri on Wednesday, while another journalist was wounded.

The Israeli military said it struck a vehicle and a structure in the area after identifying what it described as militants posing an immediate threat near the border.

The military said it was aware of reports that journalists were injured but did not confirm them and denied preventing rescue teams from reaching the area.

The details of the incident are under review, it added.

The president said he has been informed that four of the women will be “released immediately,” while four others will be sentenced to one month each in prison.

“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request … and terminated the planned execution,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

He said the women protesters were expected to be executed Wednesday.

Rights groups that monitor Iran had said two of the women were already released on bail in March, and two others were known to face charges that carry the death sentences. They had been arrested during the January anti-government protests.

Trump re-posted a photo of the women, including two teen girls, on Tuesday on social media, which a conservative activist noted are facing prosecution in Iran.

The Iranian judiciary responded promptly, denying that any of them were on the verge of execution, saying some were already released.

Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, on Wednesday condemned attacks on shipping after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, seizing two and taking them to Iran. Earlier, Trump said the United States would continue to blockade Iranian ports.

“The attacks on and seizures of commercial ships are unacceptable,” Dominguez said, urging an immediate halt and the release of vessels and crews. He warned that the situation remains “extremely volatile” and questioned why companies risk seafarers’ lives.

Nearly 20,000 seafarers remain at sea after seven weeks, uncertain when they can return home, he added.

An analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets says it recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the U.S. imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The firm, Vortexa, says it identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements of such vessels between April 13 and Monday.

Six of those outbound movements were “confirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels,” it said in an email to The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.

Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, called on the international community on Wednesday to immediately pressure the Israeli army into allowing the rescue of journalist Amal Khalil, who works for the daily Al-Akhbar.

RSF added that Khalil is currently trapped near the southern Lebanese village of al-Tiri following an Israeli airstrike close to her vehicle.

“Her life is in danger right now! Continued Israeli airstrikes are preventing rescuers from reaching her,” RSF said.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called on the Lebanese Red Cross to work on the rescue of Khalil, along with another journalist, Zeinab Faraj, who was wit h her.

Aoun requested the Lebanese Red Cross to coordinate with the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers “to carry out the rescue operation in the shortest possible time.”

The management company of a container ship that was fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday says the Liberian-registered Epaminondas was “approached and fired upon by a manned gunboat” while transiting the strait about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Oman.

The Technomar company said all crew were “safe and accounted for” and no injuries were reported, but that preliminary inspections indicated the ship’s bridge had been damaged.

“Technomar remains in close contact with the crew and relevant authorities. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our crew as we work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure their continued safety and investigate the incident,” the company said. It did not provide further details, but said more information would be released “when there are material developments.”

Sadri Haghshenas spends her days selling borek — a layered, savory pastry — at a shop in Istanbul, but her mind is on her daughter in Tehran.

The family had to send her home to Iran after they ran into difficulties renewing her visa, despite fears that a shaky ceasefire could soon collapse.

For years, short-term residency permits have allowed tens of thousands of Iranians to pursue economic opportunities and enjoy relative stability in neighboring Turkey. But it’s a precarious situation, and the war has raised the stakes.

“I swear, I cry every day,” Haghshenas said, raising her hands from behind the counter of the pastry shop. “There is no life in my country, there is no life here, what shall I do?”

Turkey hasn’t seen an influx of refugees, as most Iranians have sought safety within their country. Many who’ve crossed the land border were transiting to other countries where they have citizenship or residency.

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The strike targeted a vehicle in the town of Tayri on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

No further details on the identities of the victims were immediately available.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

The strike comes despite a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday. Since then, several Israeli strikes have been reported, while Hezbollah has claimed a couple of attacks since Tuesday.

On Saturday, a U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon came under attack with small arms fire leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted that the soldier, who was repatriated Tuesday from Lebanon “where he had been seriously wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning from his injuries.”

Hezbollah had denied is was behind the attack.

“We entered the negotiations in good faith and with seriousness, but the negotiating party (the United States) has shown disregard and lack of good faith,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, said Wednesday, according to Iran’s State TV.

A second round of negotiations, expected in Pakistan’s capital later this week, has not yet been confirmed. On Tuesday, President Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, leaving the next steps for resuming talks unclear.

“Iran has not yet decided whether it will participate in the new round of peace negotiations with the United States scheduled for later this week,” Baqaei said.

GE Vernova, Boston Scientific and Boeing are leading the U.S. stock market toward another record after joining the list of companies reporting fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected.

But caution is still hanging over Wall Street on Wednesday, and oil prices are also rising on uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and was on track to top its all-time high set Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 360 points and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly topped $100.

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Talking about the repercussions of the Iran war, the head of the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that “we are facing the biggest energy crisis in the history.”

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin that what ”we lost in the this war is much bigger than all the crises put together in terms of oil and gas. Plus, plus, there are vital commodities that we are losing — petrochemicals, fertilizers, helium, sulfur.”

However, Birol also pointed out that “there will be a major response to this crisis as well” and that “it is now the job of the governments to design their energy policies in terms of industrial sector, while keeping the competitiveness of the existing industries, preparing the next steps for the tomorrow’s industries.”

He said he also expects that “there will be a similar response in all parts of the economy, car manufacturing industry, electric industry and in the industry sector.”

“And this is a wonderful opportunity,” he added.

The Israeli military said it intercepted around 40 Israeli civilians that attempted to enter Syria on Wednesday afternoon. The military said the civilians gathered at the border and then were able to infiltrate several hundred meters into the Israeli-military controlled buffer zone in Syria before being returned to Israel and taken into police custody.

The Israeli media identified the infiltrators as part of the right-wing group “Pioneers of Bashan,” which calls for establishing Jewish settlements in Lebanon and Syria.

The group added in a statement that its attack on the post in the southern village of Bayada on Wednesday came in retaliation for Israeli violations of the 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah is violating the ceasefire adding that the Iran-backed group launched “a hostile aircraft” toward Israeli soldiers operating in the area of southern Lebanon.

The military said the aircraft was intercepted by Israel’s air force and did not cross into Israel.

It might be hard to imagine the Iran was weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings aren’t immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained.

Like many soft toysthe creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said.

“I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?”

It’s not just toys. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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President Joseph Aoun’s comments on Wednesday came a day before a second meeting is scheduled to take place in Washington between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors.

Aoun said in comments released by his office that preparations are ongoing for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

He said the aim of the future talks is to “fully” stop Israeli attacks, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, deployment of Lebanese troops along the border and beginning the reconstruction process.

Aoun said the support to Lebanon that was promised by U.S. President Donald Trump and other countries “provided us with an opportunity that we must not miss, as it may not come again.”

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war was halted by a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday.

A semiofficial news agency close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard again raised the idea Wednesday that Gulf Arab states remained vulnerable to having their undersea data cables being cut in the Strait of Hormuz.

The report by the Tasnim news agency suggested that “simultaneous damage to several major cables — whether through accidents or deliberate action — could trigger severe outages across the Persian Gulf.”

Multiple cables run through the strait. Already, the region has faced outages after undersea cables were cut multiple times in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels had threatened cables in the past.

With uncertainty over whether the ceasefire lasts, residents of Tehran say they are anxious about what comes next.

“Last night my family all stayed awake, waiting for the clock to show 3:30 a.m. and see who really has the upper hand,” said Reza Tehrani, a 34-year-old resident of Tehran.

Tehrani said Trump is making a series of false claims, including that Iran will give up its enriched uranium. “It’s obvious that he will eventually take his warships back and nothing will happen. We will win, rest assured,” he said.

One resident voiced frustration with the uncertainty.

“We should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace or the war is going to continue?” said Tehran resident Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59. “The way things currently are, one doesn’t know what to do.”

The European Union’s top energy official is warning that the massive energy crisis sparked by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is set to hit prices for months, even years, to come.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said Wednesday that “this is not a short-term, small increase in prices. This is a crisis that is probably as serious as the 1973 and the 2022 crises combined.”

Jørgensen says the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day and that “we are looking into some very difficult months, or maybe even years” ahead. “Even in a best-case scenario, it’s still bad,” he told reporters.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged the ceasefire extension in comments reported Wednesday by Iranian state television.

Baghaei did not specifically say Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.

“Diplomacy is a tool for securing national interests and security, and whenever we reach the conclusion that the necessary and reasonable conditions exist to use this tool to achieve national interests and to consolidate the achievements of the Iranian nation in thwarting the enemies’ malicious objectives, we will take action,” he reportedly said.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said an emergency doctor, Golnar Naraqi, and an Iranian citizen of the Bahai faith, Venus Hossein Nejad, have been out on bail since late March.

The two women were arrested separately during the January anti-government protests. The protests across Iran were met with a bloody crackdown that left thousands killed and arrested.

In a social media post Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump re-posted a photo of six women and two teen girls that a conservative activist said are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.

Iran’s judiciary swiftly responded, saying some of the women have already been released without naming them. It said none of them face the death sentence. Internet restrictions have limited the flow of information out of Iran.

Rights groups say at least two of the other women still in detention are facing charges that carry the death sentence. There have been multiple executions during the war against alleged spies and protesters, mostly accused of links to Israel.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.

Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating.

The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.

Two ships earlier attacked Wednesday by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now are in the force’s custody and are being taken to Iran, Iranian state television reported.

It identified the vessels as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas. The ship’s owners could not be immediately reached for comment.

The seizures represent an Iranian escalation after the U.S. earlier seized two Iranian vessels as ceasefire talks were due to take place in Islamabad.

The Guard said in a statement the ships “allegedly operated without authorization, repeatedly violated regulations, manipulated navigational aid systems and sought to covertly exit the Strait of Hormuz, endangering maritime security.”

The strait had been considered an international waterway open to all before the war, even though it sits in Iranian and Omani territorial waters.

Israeli Foreign Minister G ideon Saar called on Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah ahead of negotiations in Washington on Thursday.

The meeting follows a similar gathering last week in Washington, and is the first time in decades the two countries are speaking directly.

“We don’t have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes that can be solved,” Saar said during Independence Day remarks to Israel’s ambassadors and diplomatic corps.

“The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” he said, adding that Lebanon could have “a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”

Israel’s military has currently established a buffer zone stretching around 10 kilometers (6 miles) into southern Lebanon to remove the threat of short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles towards northern Israel.

An independent Islamabad-based analyst, Syed Mohammad Ali, says U.S. President Donald Trump has apparently concluded that a blockade of Iranian ports is a more effective way to pressure Iran’s already fragile economy than the continued use of force.

“As far as Trump’s war strategy is concerned, this blockade appears to be less expensive and more effective,” he said Wednesday.

Ali said prospects for a second round of talks between the United States and Iran have not yet faded, as Pakistan, with support from regional countries, continues efforts to prevent the collapse of negotiations in order to preserve peace in the region.

He said securing an extension of the ceasefire for an indefinite period from Trump is an achievement for Pakistan.

China said after the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire that it is “imperative” to keep the conflict from reigniting.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that the current situation in the Middle East is at “a critical stage.” He said China “is ready” to work with the international community to maintain peace, following four principles President Xi Jinping proposed a few days earlier, including peaceful coexistence and adherence to international law.

“It’s imperative to prevent the recurrence of the conflict with utmost efforts,” he said.

The United States must end its blockade on Iran as a prerequisite for any further ceasefire talks in Islamabad, an Iranian diplomat said Wednesday.

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, told The Associated Press that communications with Pakistani mediators are underway “to implement Iran’s conditions.”

“We won’t negotiate under threat,” he said. “We won’t go to Islamabad before the lifting of the blockade.”

He accused the U.S. of using the ceasefire to build up more forces for a possible resumption of military action against the Islamic Republic.

“Behind the scenes, they say something, but in public, they say and do something else,” he said.

Pakistan’s top political and military leadership has worked to prevent talks from collapsing and to persuade the U.S. to extend the ceasefire over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.

Two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that authorities will keep security arrangements in place in Islamabad in case U.S. and Iranian delegations ultimately arrive.

Pakistan is also still waiting to hear from Tehran on when it will send a delegation for a second round, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

In Islamabad, police and troops remained on alert along key roads, manning checkpoints.

Residents were forced to take longer routes as authorities restricted access to parts of the city.

“We have not received any instructions to remove these barricades,” said police officer Mohammad Aslam as he directed commuters to turn back and use alternative routes.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met British High Commissioner Jane Marriott on Wednesday in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss the evolving regional situation.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Dar underscored Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to facilitate diplomatic engagement and stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Marriott appreciated Pakistan’s facilitative role in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table, the ministry said.

A second ship came under attack Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, just a short time after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a container ship.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center did not immediately identify who shot at the second ship.

However, suspicion immediately fell on Iran, whose paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier opened fire on the container ship.

In the second attack, the cargo ship said it had been fired upon and was stopped in the water.

It said there was no reported damage to the vessel.

The attacks come days after the U.S. seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend, and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran’s oil trade Tuesday in the Indian Ocean.

Hard-line supporters of Iran’s government held rallies across the country late Tuesday that included the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard bringing missiles and their launchers into public places for the first time since the ceasefire in the war with Israel and the United States.

The scale of the demonstrations served as a sign of defiance to Israel and the U.S., which devoted a lot of their airstrike campaign to decimating Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal.

Iranian state media showed pictures, videos and wrote about missile demonstrations in Ahvaz, Arak, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Kerman, Tabriz, Tehran, Qom and Zanjan.

The missiles included the Faheh, the Kheibar Shekan, the Khorramshahr-4 and the Qadr.

Some of those include the cluster munitions used repeatedly against Israel during the war as a means to get around the country’s air defenses.

In a post on X Tuesday evening, Scott Bessent said the blockade of Iranian ports “directly targets the regime’s primary revenue lifelines” by constraining maritime trade.

“Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in,” Bessent said.

Kharg Island is considered the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass.

In line with previous statements about economic pressure effortsBessent also said Iranian funds would remain frozen and any person or vessel facilitating the flow of funds to Iran would risk U.S. sanctions.

Iranian hard-liners rallied late Tuesday night as possible talks in Islamabad with the United States broke down, with members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard apparently bringing a ballistic missile on a mobile launcher to one event.

Footage aired by Iranian state TV showed men carrying Kalashnikov-style assault rifles riding atop a missile that resembled a Qadr ballistic missile in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

Such Qadr missiles can release individual bomblets known as cluster munitions, which Iran used widely when attacking Israel during the war.

The United Arab Emirates thanked Trump early Wednesday over his mention of a possible currency swap with their country as uncertainty remains over the Iran war.

A statement issued by the UAE’s Embassy in Washington appeared aimed at signaling the country remained financially secure after Trump’s comment.

“Any suggestion that the UAE requires external financial backing misreads the facts,” it said. “The UAE is one of the world’s most financially resilient economies, underpinned by more than $2 trillion in sovereign investment assets; more than $300 billion in foreign currency reserves held by the UAE’s central bank; and a banking sector with approximately $1.5 trillion in deposits.”

The UAE is an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

While able to export some oil through a pipeline to the Gulf of Oman, the continued chaos around the Strait of Hormuz has cut off a lot of its oil from reaching the market.

The war also has affected businesses in Dubai and the country’s long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad.

Trump offered a combative social media post Tuesday night after indefinitely extending a ceasefire in the Iran war after talks in Islamabad failed to materialize.

Writing on his Truth Social website, Trump contended that “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open” so they can sell their crude oil.

Trump said if he allowed that to happen, there “can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”

It’s unclear what the next step forward is to resume talks in Pakistan’s capital.

Starting Monday evening across the country, Israelis marked Memorial Day – the commemoration of fallen soldiers and victims of nationalistic attacks that immediately precedes Independence Day. They did so with fragile ceasefires holding on three fronts – the wars against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran.

A woman wrapped in a large flag stood still in the middle of light rail tracks on an empty Jerusalem street, observing a nationwide moment of silence. Children played on old tanks as families posed for snapshots at the Armored Corps memorial site in Latrun, where intense battles were fought in the 1948 war over Israel’s establishment.

Soldiers and families somberly placed flowers and flags on rows of stone-marked graves at military cemeteries in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Visitors paused to read about the lives of hundreds of revelers who were killed and abducted in the Oct. 7, 2 023, Hamas attack at the site of the Nova music festival.

Secretary-General António Guterres said the U.S. announcement will create “critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States,” according to his spokesman.

“We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday.

The secretary-general “fully supports” Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate U.S.-Iran talks and hopes its efforts “will contribute to creating conditions conducive to a comprehensive and durable resolution to the conflict,” Dujarric said.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters late Tuesday that the effort to end the war between Tehran and Washington is a “complex process” and that it’s important to allow “continuity” for that process to play out.

“I think it’s very important that an opportunity for peace is given,” he said.

Grossi, who is currently running to become the next U.N. secretary-general, also warned both sides that any peace deal must include the IAEA from the start to enforce oversight over Iran’s nuclear program.

Otherwise, he added, “you will have an illusion of an agreement.”

U.S.-Israeli bombardment eliminated Iran’s supreme leader and much of the nation’s top echelons, but the Islamic Republic’s leadership didn’t fall apart. Negotiations to end the war offer it a new test.

For decades, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei managed several powerful factions, bringing to heel those who challenged his authority.

It’s now unclear who wields that kind of authority over the civilian figures and powerful generals from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who appear to be in charge.

They have found unity — for now — by taking a tough line. But disagreements over how much to concede in negotiations with the U.S. could reveal fault lines as Pakistani mediators try to host a new round of talks.

After Israeli strikes killed Khamenei the first day of the warhis son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded him.
But doubts persist over the younger Khamenei’s role after reports he was wounded in the strikes. He has not appeared in public since.

At the center of power now is a politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council, which includes Iran’s top civilian and military officials.

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The White House said in a statement that in light of the president’s announcement that he was extending the ceasefire and awaiting a proposal from Iran, Vance and the U.S. negotiating delegation would not be traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday.

The White House did not offer any additional updates on the possibility of in-person meetings.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked the U.S. president for extending the ceasefire with Iran, saying it would allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to proceed.

In a post on X, Sharif said he was expressing gratitude “on my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir” for Trump’s “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s request to extend the ceasefire.

Sharif said he hoped both sides would continue observing the ceasefire and reach a comprehensive peace deal during the second round of talks scheduled in Islamabad, aimed at securing a permanent end to the conflict.

The S&P 500 erased an early rise to fall 0.6% after the U.S. vice president called off his trip to Pakistan for negotiations with Iran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 293 points, or 0.6%, after erasing an earlier gain of 400 points, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%. Less than 10 minutes after the U.S. stock market finished trading for the day, Trump said he would extend the ceasefire to give Iran time to submit a proposal to end the war.

Oil prices also wavered before Trump announced the extension, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude went from less than $95 to roughly $100 during the day. It settled at $98.48, up 3.1%.

The moves were mostly more modest than the vicious swings that rocked Wall Street earlier in the war.

The president, in his social media post, also alluded to reported divisions within the Islamic Republic, saying they have come “not unexpectedly.”

Trump has repeatedly said over the course of the ceasefire that began on April 8 that his team is dealing with Iranian officials who want to make a deal, while acknowledging his decision to kill several top leaders has come with some complications.

“We’ve taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational,” Trump said earlier Tuesday during an interview on CNBC.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. sent a letter Tuesday asking for the world body and the Security Council to issue a “firm and unequivocal” condemnation of the U.S. decision Sunday to attack and seize an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.

“This constitutes a grave breach of international law, a clear violation of the ceasefire, and an act of aggression marked by the hallmarks of piracy,” the mission posted on X. “Such reckless conduct directly endangers international navigation and undermines maritime safety and security.”

Washington had said the ship tried to evade the U.S. naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.

The president said he’s extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request as he waits for a “unified proposal” from the Islamic Republic, but that the U.S. military will continue its blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump added that “he’s directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

The president made the move even as the White House has put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s expected trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks as Tehran, at least for the time being, is balking at further talks.

The president grabbed the microphone and began emphatically belting out the song “Libre,” Spanish for “free,” alongside two other performers as an audience — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu — clapped along.

It’s a popular Spanish song written by Nino Bravo.

The screens behind him on stage featured the “Sol de Mayo,” or “Sun of May” from the Argentine flag next to the Israeli flag bearing the Star of David. The event was to commemorate the start of Israel’s 78th independence day.

The president’s approval rating on the economy has slumped over the past month as the Iran war drives prices higher, according to a new AP-NORC poll, with even Republicans showing less faith in his leadership.

The findings from The A ssociated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.

Trump’s approval rating on the economy dropped to 30% in April from 38% in a March AP-NORC poll. A similarly low share of U.S. adults, 32%, approve of the president’s leadership on Iran, which is unchanged since last month.

The poll was conducted April 16-20, during which time the Strait of Hormuz was reopened by Iran, then closed againan example of the whiplash that has characterized the conflict.

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The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said in a statement Tuesday it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces for the first time since a 10-day truce took effect Friday “in response to the blatant and documented violations” by Israel, which it said include “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages in southern Lebanon.”

Israeli officials have said they intend to maintain a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and the Israeli military has issued maps of an area it calls a “forward defense line,” which extends several miles into Lebanon, containing dozens of villages whose residents have not been allowed to return.

Gen. Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief for the Revolutionary Guard, said in comments on Iranian media that it would be a mistake to carry out “aggression” against Iran. He also said the region’s oil facilities would be harmed if neighboring countries allow the U.S. to carry out attacks.

“If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” he said.

The U.S. has bases and troops in several countries across the region.

As news came that the U.S. delegation was pausing its travel to Islamabad, Iran’s top diplomat posted on X saying that American forces boarding an Iranian oil tanker earlier Tuesday was an act of war.

“Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post. “Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying.”

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tuesday that as soon as Washington ends the blockade, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place in Islamabad.”

He called the U.S. naval blockade a violation of the ceasefire, and reiterated that lifting it is a condition for new negotiations to take place. The United States has not publicly indicated that it will lift the blockade.

The U.S. started the war against Iran, Iravani said, and if they want to return to the negotiating table “and find a political solution, they will find us ready.”

“If they want to go to the war, in this case also Iran is ready for that,” he told a small group of reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

When asked how hopeful he is he about the possibility of new negotiations, the ambassador replied: “We should give the chance — we hope.”

A U.S. official said the Vance trip to Islamabad for potential talks had been called off and put on hold, but cautioned that Trump could change his mind at any minute.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for consultations about how to proceed.

The official declined to predict what would happen if the current ceasefire expires without another meeting Islamabad but noted that Trump retains options short of restarting airstrikes

State TV quoted the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency denying Trump’s claims that the women are facing execution. It said some have already been released, while others face charges that — if upheld by the courts — would ultimately result in prison sentences rather than execution.

It didn’t name which women were allegedly released.

Human rights centers have reported that at least two of the women were facing charges that carry a death sentence.

Two officials say Pakistani leaders were engaged in intensive mediation efforts late Tuesday to ensure the second round of ceasefire talks takes place.

The officials said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and the prime minister’s national security adviser were involved in the push.

Despite a delay by Iran in sending its delegation to Islamabad, “overall optimism endures among decision makers in Pakistan,” the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Bita Hemmati was sentenced to death in Tehran after taking part in the protests, according to the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Mahboubeh Shabani was arrested in the city of Mashhad during the protests. She’s charged with “enmity of God,” which carries the death sentence, according to human rights monitor Hengaw.

Diana Taher Abadi and Ghazal Ghalandari are both 16, and were arrested separately in Karaj, west of Tehran, and Yasuj in southwestern Iran during the protests, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Venus Hossein Nejad, from the Bahai faith, was arrested in January from her workplace in southeast Iran. She was forced to confess on state TV and was accused with others of organizing protests and being members of a “satanic network and under the influence of Israel,” the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said.

Golnar Naraqi, a 37-year-old emergency physician, was arrested in Tehran during the protests, according to a state-affiliated newspaper.

Two women were identified by Iranian social media as Ensieh Nejati and Panah Movahhedi Salamat. There was no immediate confirmed reports about their whereabouts.

The army said the rockets were fired at Israeli soldiers positioned in southern Lebanon and that it responded by striking the launcher.

This appears to be the first time Hezbollah fired on Israeli troops since a ceasefire took effect Friday, although the Iran-backed group said it detonated explosives Sunday targeting an Israeli convoy i nside Lebanon.

“The launches constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the army said.

Israel has left thousands of troops inside Lebanon during the 10-day truce.

The army says it also intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon before it crossed into Israeli territory.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

The president reposted a photo of six women and two teen girls on social media Tuesday morning that a conservative activist noted are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.

“I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm!” Trump posted. “Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”

Five of those in the photo flagged by Trump were arrested during widespread anti-government protests earlier this year, according to human rights groups.

One of the women, from Iran’s minority Bahai faith, is accused of being part of a network described as “satanic and under the influence of Israel.”

Iranian media sites identified two others in Trump’s posting but did not offer details on why they were detained.

Esmail Baghaei told state TV late Tuesday that Iran was upset about what he called mixed messages from the Americans.

“It is not out of indecisiveness, it is because we are facing contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart,” he said.

As part of Trump’s push to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion in the 2027 budget, the Pentagon wants to triple spending on drones and related technology to more than $74 billion and invest over $30 billion into more critical munitions.

That includes missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

Military officials said the spending blueprint was developed ahead of the conflict in the Middle East. They also did not discuss how much they will request in additional funds for the war.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

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The Israeli military posted a photo on social media of the replacement crucifix, which appeared smaller but more ornate than the original statue that a soldier was photographed destroying in southern Lebanon. Israel says two soldiers involved in the episode will be held for a month in military detention.

Tuesday’s post on X said troops worked with the community in the Lebanese village of Debel to coordinate the replacement, which includes a metallic-sheened Jesus figure and four paintings of saints, one on each arm of the cross.

Christians are estimated to make up around a third of Lebanon’s population of roughly 5.5 million people. Thousands of Christians were displaced from their homes in the country’s south during the war.

“Today we also reach the political agreement to widen our sanctions regime, to also target those responsible for breaches to freedom of navigation,” said the 27-nation European Union’s
foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after the Tuesday gathering in Luxembourg.

“Freedom of navigation is non-negotiable. Daily U-turns where the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the strait must remain free of charge,” she said, referring to Iran’s charging for safe passage on the Strait of Hormuz.

Kallas said the EU’s maritime security mission would be “the quickest way” to ensure safe transit in the Persian Gulf after peace is settled.

Even if the U.S.-Iran ceasefire holds and the current war ends, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said “there is no doubt that further rounds of fighting are coming, as it is merely a truce within a continuous conflict with the enemy.”

In a televised speech Tuesday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that escalation in the region is “possibly high” as the “fragile” ceasefire is nearing an end.

A Houthi missile attack on Israel last month raised concern that Iran’s ally in Yemen may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes, as it did during the war in Gaza.

At least 10 seafarers have been killed and several more severely injured in a series of attacks on commercial vessels around the Persian Gulf since the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, according to the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for regulating global shipping.

IMO spokesperson Natasha Brown said the agency has confirmed 25 attacks on commercial shipping since Feb. 28. Hundreds of ships have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since.

“Around 20,000 civilian seafarers remain aboard vessels in the Persian Gulf, facing dwindling supplies, fatigue and severe psychological stress,” Brown added.

Following an extraordinary council session in March, the IMO said it is working with “relevant states on the development of a safe passage framework” to evacuate stranded crews, while coordinating access to supplies.

U.S. military officials said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s budget calls for spending more than $30 billion to buy more critical munitions, including missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

The supplies under the most strain are the Patriot air defense systems and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors. The THAAD system is designed for defeating medium-range ballistic missiles, while the Patriot system is for taking down short-range ballistic missiles and crewed aircraft.

The $30 billion budget item will also purchase long-range Precision Strike Missiles and Mid-Range Capability missile systems that are used by the U.S. Army.

The $1.5 trillion budget proposal detailed Tuesday by defense officials would allocate nearly $54 billion for military drones and related technology, as well as $21 billion for weapons systems designed to take down enemy drones.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

“Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield,” Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of defense, comptroller, told reporters during a budget briefing at the Pentagon.

“This budget is the largest investment in drone warfare and counter-drone technology in U.S. history.”

Israel’s military sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing the crucifix in southern Leba non.

“The soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” said a military statement, using the acronym for the Israeli military.

The disciplinary measures come after the photo of the incident attracted worldwide attention and condemnations from Christian religious leaders. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have also denounced the incident.

The military said that six other soldiers who stood by without intervening would be summoned for conversations with higher-ups and that military protocol for dealing with religious buildings and artifacts were re-emphasized to troops in the area.

After U.S.-Israeli bombardment eliminated Iran’s supreme leader and much of its top echelons, the Islamic Republic’s leadership didn’t fall apart — but negotiations to end the war offer a new test.

For decades, the supreme leader successfully managed several powerful factions, bringing to heel those who challenged his authority while listening to rival opinions. It’s now unclear who wields that kind of authority over the collection of civilian figures and powerful generals from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who appear to be in charge.

They have found unity — for now — by taking a tough line. But disagreements over how much to concede in negotiations with the United States could reveal fault lines, as Pakistani mediators try to host a new round of talks this week.

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When Trump suggested he backs the possibility of a currency swap with the United Arab Emirates, it’s a sign that he is looking to help stabilize that country’s economy in the wake of the disruptions caused by the Iran War.

In a currency swap, a foreign country’s currency is used as collateral for a loan in U.S. dollars. That would enable the UAE to engage in dollar transactions that are at the core of global commerce.

The swap doesn’t necessarily involve transferring tax dollars and can even generate a profit.

The U.S. has engaged in currency swaps in the past with many European countries, Japan, and the Trump administration last year opened a credit line for Argentina.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Tuesday, urging that Washington and Iran extend the ceasefire and pursue diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement, it said Ishaq Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability.”

Baker, in response, conveyed Washington’s appreciation for Pakistan’s constructive role in supporting regional peace and facilitating dialogue, the statement said.

The United Arab Emirates, an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula that’s home to Dubai, became wealthy from its oil deposits. It pegs its currency, the dirham, to the U.S. dollar.

While it has been able to send some of its oil out via a pipeline to the Gulf of Oman, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has squeezed the country’s oil exports.

The UAE has an estimated $2.5 trillion in savings and sovereign wealth funds, but may be seeking the swap to “bolster investor confidence in the UAE’s financial position if the war were to drag on,” said Jason Tuvey, an analyst at Capital Economics.

Trump confirmed in his CNBC interview that he’s considering a request from the United Arab Emirates Central bank for a currency swap to help secure dollar liquidity for the oil-rich economy that’s been rattled by the Iran conflict.

The president expressed surprise that the nation needs assistance, but made clear he was open to the prospect of making the move to help meet his ally’s concerns.

“I mean I’m surprised because they are really rich,” Trump said. He added, “You know, they’re very good for this country. So, yeah, if I could help them, I would.”

Trump was responding to a question during a live telephone interview Tuesday on CNBC, a business news network.

Asked if he would continue the ceasefire if there’s progress in the next round of Iran talks, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.” He said Iran “had a choice” and “they have to negotiate.”

But it remained unclear when the ceasefire actually expires. Tuesday night was the deadline when the pause was announced two weeks ago, but Trump told Bloomberg News the ceasefire will expire Wednesday night.