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China offers $200,000 emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran after school attack.
Iran says death toll of US-Israeli strikes reaches 1,230.
Iran's IRGC official says will burn any ship trying to pass through Strait of Horm.
Diplomatic optimism gained ground on Thursday as mediators stepped up shuttle diplomacy to defuse Middle East tensions and arrange new negotiations between the United States and Iran after nearly seven weeks of war. Yet deep mistrust persisted, with Tehran issuing a stark warning to shut down Red Sea trade if Washington fails to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran and the US and were weighing a return to Pakistan for further talks as early as next weekend, media reported, after last week's negotiations ended without a breakthrough. A high-level Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to deliver a US message to Iranian leaders, Iran's Press TV reported.
With the ceasefire set to expire next Tuesday, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that Munir — who mediated the last round of talks — aimed to "narrow gaps" between the two sides. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received Munir and reaffirmed Tehran's commitment to "promote peace and stability in the region".
But no dates have been finalized for the next round, and consultations continue to agree on a mutually acceptable schedule, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three core sticking points that derailed last weekend's direct talks — Iran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and wartime compensation claims, according to multiple diplomatic sources.
Separately on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif traveled to Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour that also includes Qatar and Turkiye, under a "double-pronged strategy", Al Jazeera reported.
"Pakistan wants to hold everyone together without upsetting any party," said retired Pakistani military official Tughral Yamin.
"It wants to play a role in the evolving security architecture by assuring that their overtures are not against anyone's threat perceptions."
The diplomatic push was given a lift by optimistic remarks by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said on Wednesday that Tehran supports "constructive dialogue" with the US, but will not be "forced into submission".
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also struck a positive tone, saying future talks were likely to again be held in Islamabad. However, she added that "at this moment" there had been no extension of the current ceasefire with Iran.
The fragile ceasefire hung in the balance as Washington pressed ahead with the port blockade to ramp up pressure on Tehran. The US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's oil industry on Wednesday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowing to target "regime elites" and escalate economic pressure.
In a sharp retaliatory warning, Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran's joint military command, threatened to halt regional trade if the US does not lift the blockade.
"Unless Washington relents, Iran's armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Red Sea," he said.
Regional stock markets have rallied sharply in recent days amid hopes of a quick end to the fighting, with Wall Street indexes hitting record highs on Wednesday as crude oil prices stabilized.
"While there are hopes for de-escalation, many investors remain skeptical, given that US-Iran talks have repeatedly broken down even after appearing to make progress," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb 28, has killed more than 3,000 people in Iran and triggered retaliatory strikes on US targets in Gulf states. It has also reignited Israel-Hezbollah clashes in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have killed over 2,000 people since March 2.
War damage to Iran's economy has reached $270 billion in 40 days, equivalent to roughly $3,000 per person, according to official figures, with losses expected to grow as trade disruptions deepen under the US blockade of Iranian ports, Press TV reported on Wednesday. Iran's central bank has warned that rebuilding the economy could take more than a decade.
In another, tentative, positive sign, the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Education announced regular in-person classes will resume across all nurseries, kindergartens, public and private schools from Monday.
The Foreign Ministry on Thursday stressed China's firm opposition to illegal unilateral sanctions in response to the United States' threats to impose sanctions on countries purchasing Iranian oil.
On Wednesday, Washington said it believes China would not stop purchasing Iranian oil and it would sanction buyers of Iranian oil.
"China has consistently opposed illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and have not been authorized by the United Nations Security Council," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a daily news conference in Beijing.
zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
The United States is reportedly sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days to pressure Iran into a deal, despite US President Donald Trump claiming the war with Tehran is "close to over".
"I think it's close to over … I view it as very close to being over," Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday and said he thinks Iran wants to "make a deal very badly". He hinted at a possible second round of talks between the two countries in Pakistan in the coming days.
The Washington Post reported the new military deployment, but it did not say how many troops would be sent and it is yet to be confirmed publicly by the US government.
While Iran has not confirmed further talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan released a statement on Wednesday saying that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkiye from April 15 to 18.
The statement said the visits "will be in the bilateral context" to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation, regional peace, and security.
Sharif's visit to Turkiye includes his participation in the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other key leaders.
At a UN briefing Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the indication they have was that it was highly probable the US-Iran talks would restart, following his phone call with the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Guterres expressed his "enormous admiration" for Pakistan and the initiative it has assumed to bring peace to the Middle East.
Currently, the US has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the US Central Command said the US Navy's guided-missile destroyers are among the assets executing a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports, and that the blockade is being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or leaving the coastal areas in Iran.
In a statement, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said a blockade of Iranian ports has been "fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East".
But on Tuesday, at least two vessels transited through the strait en route to Iranian ports after altering their Automatic Identification System, or AIS, destination data, following a US blockade on ships entering and leaving Iran, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency, citing the maritime intelligence provider Lloyd's List.
The two Iran-flagged container ships that previously indicated sailing to the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas changed their AIS messages to the more general designation of "PG Ports", meaning "Persian Gulf Ports". They were able to continue their journey toward Bandar Abbas on Tuesday.
'Reckless misstep'
Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, called the US naval blockade "a reckless misstep meant possibly for a dignified exit and face-saving".
"It's meant to gain credibility by creating this mentality that things are imposed by force and thereby justifying deployment of ammunition, rhetoric, loss of lives, and costs on US taxpayers," said Moghadam.
Meanwhile, as parties hammer out the potential date and venue for the next US-Iran talks, several countries issued a joint statement on Lebanon.
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and Switzerland said they remained "deeply concerned" over the humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in the country.
Israel and Lebanon are currently holding direct talks at the ambassadorial level at the US State Department in Washington.
French President Emmanuel Macron and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer will cohost a video-conference with international leaders on Friday, aiming to chart a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The office of the French president said it would lead talks on a "multilateral and purely defensive mission" to restore freedom of navigation in the strait when security conditions allow.
The statement said "nonbelligerent" countries willing to contribute to the mission would take part, though names of other participating countries were not specified.
A spokesperson for the UK prime minister's office said: "The summit will advance work toward a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends."
In a social media post, Starmer said Britain had convened "more than 40 nations who share our aim to restore freedom of navigation".
"The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply damaging. Getting global shipping moving is vital to easing cost-of-living pressures," Starmer said.
Earlier in the week, Macron said on X that the initiative would aim to establish a "peaceful multinational mission" to secure maritime routes through the strategic waterway, stressing it will be "strictly defensive" and separate from the parties to the conflict. He said the mission would be deployed "as soon as circumstances permit".
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday that "several dozen countries" had already taken part in "preparatory work led in particular by the chiefs of staff to define the framework for such a mission". "It is a matter of coordinating with the coastal states," he added.
The announcement came after US President Donald Trump said a blockade on Iranian ports would take effect on Monday.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran have set off a region-wide war that has choked traffic through the strait, a vital artery for global oil and gas.
The US announcement of a naval blockade came after weekend talks between Washington and Tehran in Pakistan, aiming to end the war that began on Feb 28, collapsed.
The United Nations maritime agency's chief said on Monday that no nation has the legal right to close the Strait of Hormuz.
"In accordance with international law, no country has the right to prohibit the right of innocent passage or the freedom of navigation through international straits that are used for international transit," Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, head of the International Maritime Organization, told a news conference.
"De-escalation is what is going to start helping us address the crisis and bring shipping back to the way that we used to operate," he added.
Europe's unease with the war being waged on Iran by the United States and Israel became clearer this week, when Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni cited "the current situation" in the Middle East as the reason why her nation was suspending a military pact with Tel Aviv.
The move by a prime minister who has been seen in the past as a strong European supporter of Israel and of US President Donald Trump was the latest in a series of steps made by European leaders wanting to distance themselves from the conflict.
Meloni told reporters on Tuesday her government had "decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation".
The agreement, which began in 2003, facilitated the sharing of military equipment and research and had been renewed every five years. But after Israel's conflict in Gaza and its recent attacks on Iran and Lebanon, human rights lawyers had urged Rome not to renew the arrangement for legal and ethical reasons.
The relationship between Italy and Israel has also been negatively impacted by Israel Defense Forces f iring warning shots in the direction of an Italian peacekeeping convoy near Beirut, Lebanon earlier this month, which Meloni described as "completely unacceptable" and that prompted Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to summon Israel's ambassador for a dressing-down.
Ties between the two countries also suffered when Israel stopped Italian religious leaders from the Catholic Church from holding a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, to mark the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday. Meloni said the intervention amounted to "an offense to religious freedom".
She also criticized Trump recently for attacking Pope Leo XIV, after the pontiff spoke out against the war in Iran.
Meloni, like many other European leaders, has said repeatedly that Italian forces will not participate in attacks on Iran, or help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which prompted Trump to say he was "shocked at her".
"I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," he said in an interview with Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday. "She's unacceptable because she doesn't mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance."
He went on to say Meloni "doesn't help us with NATO" and "doesn't want to help get rid of a nuclear-weaponed Iran".
"Very sad … She's much different than I thought," he added.
Trump has been infuriated with European leaders in general over their lack of participation in US and Israeli attacks on Iran and has called the NATO alliance a "paper tiger", even though the alliance is mandated to be defensive, not offensive, in nature.
The United States is reportedly going to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days in its latest attempt to pressure Iran into a deal, despite US President Donald Trump predicting that the war with Tehran is "close to over".
"I think it's close to over … I view it as very close to being over," Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday, and said that he thinks Iran wants to "make a deal very badly". He hinted at a possible second round of talks between the two countries in Pakistan in the coming days.
The Washington Post reported the new military deployment, but it did not state how many troops would be sent and this news is yet to be confirmed by the US government.
While Iran has yet to confirm or comment on more talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan released a statement on Wednesday saying that Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif would be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye from Wednesday to Saturday.
The statement said the visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar "will be in the bilateral context" to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation, regional peace and security.
Sharif's visit to Turkiye includes his participation in the Fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders.
During his news briefing at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the indication is that it was highly probable the US-Iran talks would restart, following his phone call with the deputy prime minister of Pakistan.
Guterres expressed his "enormous admiration" for Pakistan and the initiative it has taken to bring peace to the Middle East.
Currently, a US-imposed blockade is in force in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, the US Central Command said that US Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets conducting a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports, and the blockade is being enforced impartially against the vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas in Iran.
In a statement, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said that a blockade of Iranian ports has been "fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East".
But on Tuesday, at least two vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Iranian ports after altering their Automatic Identification System destination data, following the US blockade of ships entering and leaving Iran, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency, citing the British shipping media Lloyd's List.
The two Iran-flagged container ships, which previously indicated that they were sailing to the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, changed their AIS messages to the more general designation of "PG Ports", meaning "Persian Gulf ports". They were able to continue their journey toward Bandar Abbas on Tuesday.
Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, called the US naval blockade "a reckless misstep meant possibly for a dignified exit and face-saving".
"It's meant to gain credibility by creating this mentality that things are imposed by force and thereby justifying deployment of ammunition, rhetoric, loss of lives, and costs on US taxpayers," said Moghadam.
Meanwhile, as parties hammer out the potential date and venue for the next US-Iran talks, several countries issued a joint statement on Lebanon.
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone and Switzerland said that they continued to be "deeply concerned" by the humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in the country.
Israel and Lebanon are currently holding direct talks at the ambassador level at the US State Department in Washington.
Contact the writers at jan@chinadaily.com.cn
WASHINGTON -- US and Iranian officials have reached an "in principle agreement" to extend the ceasefire to allow more time for diplomatic efforts, US media reported Wednesday.
TEHRAN -- A US-sanctioned Iranian supertanker openly entered Iranian waters after passing through international waters and the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday.
The supertanker, with a 2-million-barrel capacity, defied US sanctions by keeping its tracking system on and reached its destination without interference, said the report.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he wasn't thinking about extending the ceasefire with Iran.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said he didn't think it would be necessary to extend the truce.
Claiming that there are "amazing two days ahead," Trump said that he prefers a deal to end the war so that Iran could begin the rebuilding process.
"They (Iran) really do have a different regime now," he said. "We took out the radicals."
Earlier in the day, Trump told FOX News that the war against Iran is "very close" to completion, and that Iran wants to make a deal "very badly."
A two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on Wednesday, followed by lengthy talks between the Iranian and US delegations in Islamabad, which failed to lead to an agreement.
WASHINGTON - The US military said on Tuesday that US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea in less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented.
"In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea," US Central Command Commander Brad Cooper said in a post on social media X.
Eight oil tankers have obeyed direction from US forces to reverse courses since the start of the blockade on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
US President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday following failed talks between Washington and Tehran in Islamabad over the weekend.
WASHINGTON - US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday he will push for a "grand bargain" with Iran as he is expected to lead potential fresh in-person US-Iran talks which US President Donald Trump has said could happen this week in Pakistan.
All parties across the negotiation table in Islamabad "wanted to make a deal" in spite of decades of deep "mistrust" between the two countries, Vance said at an event in the southern US state of Georgia. He led the 21-hour talks with the Iranians in Pakistan on Saturday.
Trump "doesn't want to make like a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain," Vance told the audience, adding that Trump's policy is that Iran "doesn't have a nuclear weapon."
Along with the vice president, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are also expected to attend any possible second meeting, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
"Future talks are under discussion, but nothing has been scheduled at this time," a US official told CNN.
Trump told The New York Post earlier on Tuesday that another round of US-Iran talks "could be happening over next two days" in Pakistan.
"Something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump said of the talks in a phone interview.
Trump said Monday that the sticking point in talks with Iran "was over nuclear" and a priority for the United States is to retrieve Iran's enriched uranium.
Washington has proposed a 20-year suspension of Iran's nuclear activities, and Tehran has countered with a proposal to suspend its nuclear program for up to five years during their first round of talks, The New York Times reported on Monday.
2 ships from Iranian ports pass Strait of Hormuz despite US blockade -- report
ISLAMABAD - US and Iranian negotiating teams could return here later this week for further talks, Reuters quoted multiple sources as saying on Tuesday, after the two sides ended their latest round without a breakthrough.
US officials told the Associated Press that Islamabad and Geneva have been considered as possible venues for the new round of US-Iran negotiations.
Disputes over Iran's nuclear program persist, with Washington pressing Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment and give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran is seeking the release of frozen funds and broader sanctions relief.
Meanwhile, the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and US President Donald Trump warned that US forces would "eliminate" any Iranian vessel approaching the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye are working to revive negotiations before the current ceasefire expires, according to reports.
"We are not in a complete deadlock. The door is not closed yet. Both sides are bargaining. It's a bazaar," a regional source told Axios, a US online media outlet.
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday expressed optimism about the resumption of negotiations between Iran and the United States, saying a new round of dialogue is expected soon after recent talks held in Islamabad.
Talking to local media, the minister said there were still chances for the dialogue process to continue, describing the overall atmosphere following the discussions as positive and reassuring.
The minister noted that no negative signals had emerged from the negotiations so far.
Asif reiterated that Pakistan, along with other countries, continues to support diplomatic efforts and has urged both sides to uphold the ceasefire and pursue a negotiated settlement.
"Only positive developments are emerging," said Asif, expressing hope that future rounds of talks could lead to a meaningful outcome.
TEHRAN- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has blamed the US maximalist demands and naval blockade threats for the two countries' failure to reach an agreement in their recent peace talks in Pakistan.
He made the remarks in a post on X early Monday, stressing that Tehran and Washington were only "inches away" from reaching an agreement in their negotiations in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Saturday on easing tensions in the Middle East.
"In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war. But when just inches away from 'Islamabad MoU,' we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade," Araghchi said.
"Zero lessons earned. Good will beget good will. Enmity begets enmity," he added.
In reaction to the talks' failure, US President Donald Trump said in a Sunday post on Truth Social that the US Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Navy Commander Shahram Irani on Sunday described Trump's threat of imposing a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz as "very ridiculous and laughable," the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
He added Iran's naval forces are monitoring all movements by the US army in the region.
Also on Sunday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said in a statement that any military vessels that intend to approach the Strait of Hormuz under any title or pretext will be considered a ceasefire violation and will be dealt with severely.
ISLAMABAD - After peace talks between the United States and Iran concluded in Islamabad without an agreement, regional mediators are racing to secure a second round of negotiations within days to prevent the collapse of a fragile, two-week ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing officials familiar with the matter.
The major sticking points include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without collecting transit fees, the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and Tehran's demand for the release of roughly $27 billion in frozen revenues.
Pakistani authorities, who hosted the initial session, are in active consultation with both Washington and Tehran to revive the talks before the ceasefire lapses. Despite the lack of a breakthrough, the Pakistani side remains cautiously optimistic about the prospects of continued engagement.
The primary objective is to "wrap it up before the deadline" - set for April 22 - to avert a return to open hostilities, a senior Pakistani source was quoted as saying.
TEHRAN - Iran's military said Monday that US restrictions on vessels in international waters are "illegal and constitute piracy."
"The restrictions imposed by criminal America on maritime navigation and transit in international waters are illegal and constitute piracy," said a statement issued by Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified command of the Iranian armed forces.
Iran will decisively implement a permanent mechanism to control the Strait of Hormuz following US threats, the statement said.
No port in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman will be safe if Iran's ports are threatened, it added.
Iran's military warns that no Gulf ports will be safe if its own threatened: report
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump is looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz "as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks," The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Citing officials and people familiar with the situation, the report said that limited strikes are among the options that Trump was considering on Sunday, hours after negotiations with Iran collapsed in Pakistan.
Officials said that "a full-fledged bombing campaign" was less likely given the prospect of further destabilizing the region and "the president's aversion to prolonged military conflicts."
Trump could also seek a more temporary blockade "while he pressures allies to take responsibility for a prolonged military escort mission through the strait in the future," the report added.
Earlier in the day, Trump announced that the US Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said in a statement on Sunday that US forces will begin implementing a blockade of "all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports" on Monday at 10 am Eastern Time.
WASHINGTON -- US forces will begin implementing a blockade of "all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports" on Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, US Central Command said in a statement Sunday.
The blockade, in accordance with US President Donald Trump's proclamation, will be enforced "impartially" against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, according to the statement, which was posted on social media platform X.
US Central Command forces "will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports," it added.
The statement came a few hours after Trump announced on Truth Social that the US Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that the United States and allied countries would deploy minesweepers to the strait to clear sea mines and secure shipping lanes.
After Trump's statement on Strait of Hormuz naval blockade, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Command warned Sunday that any "wrong move" in the Strait of Hormuz would trap its enemies in "deadly whirlpools."
