Middle East War

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A 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon goes into effect

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war.

https://apnews.com/article/us-iran-war-lebanon-israel-talks-pakistan-hormuz-16-april-2026-297a8d2bb94add26e503a4ef3a5d1151?

Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire starting at 5 pm ET yesterday, which may aid efforts to extend the fragile US-Iran truce. The Israel-Lebanon deal calls for US-mediated talks toward longer-term peace. The neighboring nations have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948. Amid the Iran war, fighting has intensified between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group widely seen as stronger than the national military. Hezbollah declined to engage in direct talks with Israel, so the Lebanese government negotiated the truce on its behalf, as in a 2024 ceasefire. Israel says it will not remove ground troops stationed in southern Lebanon, a move Hezbollah says could upend the ceasefire (see map). Meanwhile, Pakistan is seeking to host another round of US-Iran peace talks before that ceasefire expires April 22. The truce has held so far despite a US naval blockade of Iranian ports aimed at applying economic pressure to the regime.

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Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz, but threatens to close it again as the US maintains its blockade

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but questions lingered Saturday about how much freedom ships actually had to transit the waterway as Tehran maintained its grip on the who got through and threatened to close it again if the U.S. kept in place its blockade of Iranian ships and ports.

https://apnews.com/article/us-iran-war-lebanon-israel-talks-pakistan-hormuz-17-april-2026-4bd5a29af608ecbd72356559b3c55d67?

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Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz, but Trump says blockade on Iranian ships and ports will stay in force

Iran said Friday it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but Trump said the American blockade on Iranian ships and ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program. Trump initially celebrated the Iranian announcement, posting on social media that the strait was “fully open and ready for full passage.” But minutes later, he posted that the U.S. Navy’s blockade would continue “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.” Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Oil prices fall sharply and Wall Street rallies toward a record as Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz The Supreme Court hands a win to oil and gas companies fighting environmental lawsuits in Louisiana Air Canada will suspend flights to JFK for nearly 5 months as jet fuel costs surge  Federal officials order flight cuts at Chicago O’Hare to reduce airport delays  China urges travelers to avoid Seattle airport after 20 scholars were denied entry to the US  About 15 Latin American deportees from the US arrive in Congo France’s foreign minister says 85-year-old widow detained by ICE returns home County prosecutor charges ICE agent with assault for pointing gun at people on Minneapolis highway  FACT FOCUS: Trump says drug trafficking by sea is down 98.2%. The numbers don’t show that US sanctions sons of Nicaragua’s leaders and officials in the country’s gold industry  US urges nations to back ‘trade over aid’ plan as UN warns against privatizing assistance  Sen. Warren calls for greater transparency into Federal Reserve nominee’s financial holdings  Washington steps up scrutiny of prediction markets California attorney who tried to help overturn 2020 election loses law license Trump administration restores funding to Manhattan Second Avenue subway project after NY sues  Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji apologizes for the ‘harmful’ social media posts she made as a teen

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Iran says strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ but sounds warning on US blockade

Iran says strait could close again if US blockade continues, but Trump says it will remain in place until ‘transaction’ with Tehran is complete

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/strait-of-hormuz-now-open-to-commercial-vessels

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US Navy seizes an Iranian-flagged ship near Strait of Hormuz and Tehran vows swift response

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires.

https://apnews.com/article/us-iran-war-israel-hormuz-19-april-2026-0a637f98d588930f195f61cffe07d4f3?

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China wins by watching

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping has spent the Iran war doing what he does best — patiently exploiting America's distraction and discord, Axios' Jim VandeHei writes in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: The conflict allowed China to bolster its diplomatic leverage, clean-energy muscle and intelligence on the U.S. military — all without firing a shot or spending a dollar. The implications touch supply chains, energy procurement, geopolitical risk, and the race for superior AI and weaponry. Even with progress toward a framework for peace between the U.S. and Iran, significant disruptions continue in the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic damage is done. 🪖 The military impact is the part that should scare the hell out of Pentagon planners: The U.S. committed roughly 80% of its JASSM-ER stealth cruise missile inventory to the Iran fight, pulling stockpiles from the Pacific to feed it. The conflict significantly depleted U.S. supplies of Tomahawk and Patriot missiles, THAAD interceptors and drones. Beijing got a free masterclass in modern American warfighting: how we use AI to target, how we rotate carrier groups, how cheap Iranian drones drain our most expensive interceptors. For Chinese war planners gaming out a Taiwan invasion, it's better than any simulation. 🛢️ On energy, China emerges a huge winner of the ongoing Hormuz shockwaves: When oil and gas supplies get weaponized, import-dependent countries accelerate renewables. China owns over 70% of global solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle supply chains. The longer Hormuz stays disrupted, the deeper the world's dependency gets. The war was the stress test that Beijing's energy strategy was designed for. 💼 The diplomatic optics couldn't have been better for the Chinese: While Trump was threatening to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Ages," Beijing was quietly helping Pakistan bring both sides to the table in Islamabad — while capitals from Riyadh to Jakarta are weighing which superpower to align with. As Ian Bremmer points out, America's allies saw the U.S. pull missile defense assets from South Korea, leave allies in Asia without Patriot coverage, and shift naval power from the Pacific to the Gulf. The message received in Seoul, Tokyo, Canberra and Taipei: American security commitments have an asterisk. 🦾 China's AI push got a clear boost from the war's financial consequences: The Gulf's massive AI buildout — billions from Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia and others — faces indefinite geopolitical risk after Iranian strikes on AI-related targets across the region. 🧲 The rare earths piece, out of sight for most Americans, might be Beijing's biggest asset right now: There's currently no heavy rare-earth separation capacity in the U.S. at meaningful scale. China controls roughly 70% of rare-earth mining and 90% of separation and magnet manufacturing. New Pentagon procurement rules banning Chinese-sourced rare earths take effect in 2027 — but domestic alternatives won't be ready for years. The weapons the U.S. fired in Iran — Tomahawks, JDAMs, Predator drones — all require rare earths for their precision guidance systems. The bottom line: The country that may have gained the most from the Iran war never fired a shot. Share this column ... Axios' Dave Lawler and Shane Savitsky contributed. Smart deeper dive: Ian Bremmer, "How the Iran war made China stronger."

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Trump says US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran President Donald Trump said that U.S. negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, lifting hopes of extending a ceasefire set to expire this week even as Washington and Tehran remain locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. The prospect of talks on the horizon, which Iran did not immediately confirm, came as ships remain unable to transit the critical waterway amid threats from Iran and a U.S. blockade on ships heading to and from Iranian ports. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: Trump says talks will resume as standoff escalates over Strait of Hormuz What consumers can do as the Iran war impacts the cost and availability of flights Families in Iran struggle with school closures even as the airstrikes have stopped

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US Seizes Iranian Ship

The US says it has seized an Iranian ship in the Strait of Hormuz—an almost 900-foot cargo vessel that allegedly refused the US' warnings to stop. The claim comes days before the countries' two-week ceasefire expires Wednesday. See US footage of the ship here. The US says it has turned away more than 20 ships in the strait, part of its weeklong naval blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports. Control over the strait, through which 20% of the world's oil typically passes, has been a primary sticking point in US-Iran negotiations. Average gas prices in the US may not fall below $3 per gallon again until next year, the US energy secretary has warned. See a live map of ships in the strait here. Meanwhile, US negotiators head to Islamabad, Pakistan, today to resume peace talks. Iran has not confirmed it will send representatives as of this writing, though reports suggest Iran's delegation will arrive tomorrow.

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💥 U.S. seizes Iranian ship

The USS Spruance intercepts the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska yesterday in the north Arabian Sea. Photo: U.S. Central Command Intel from Barak Ravid: Iran is coy about showing up for a new round of peace talks because officials fear the negotiations are a trap by the U.S. — cover for a sneak attack. Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the U.S. delegation for meetings in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The ceasefire ends tomorrow night. On Day 51 of the war, the president said on Truth Social that American forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it tried to bypass a U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman. It's the first time the U.S. Navy fired upon and seized a ship, named the Touska, since the blockade went into effect a week ago, Axios' Rebecca Falconer notes. Via Truth Social Trump wrote: "The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel." U.S. Central Command said the USS Spruance fired "several rounds from the destroyer's 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska's engine room." Iran's military accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire agreement and of "maritime piracy" and vowed to "soon respond" to the incident. 🎥 WATCH: Video from the Pentagon ...

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Doubts over talks between Iran and US after violence flares in Strait of Hormuz Over the weekend, the U.S. attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires on Wednesday. Read more.

What to know: Pakistan has intensified diplomatic contacts with both Washington and Tehran over the past 24 hours with the goal of resuming the talks on Tuesday as planned, according to two Pakistani officials.     U.S. President Donald Trump has said American negotiators would head to the Pakistani capital on Monday, but it was not immediately clear whether those plans would now change. Iran has not officially commented on possible talks, but Iranian state media, citing anonymous sources, issued brief reports suggesting that they would not happen.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: US seizure of Iranian ship near Strait of Hormuz casts doubt on fresh ceasefire talks    WATCH: Video of US seizing Iranian-flagged ship   US and allied forces kick off combat drills with Philippines despite Washington’s focus on Iran   Los Angeles woman arrested on Iranian arms trafficking charge

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Distrust, dishonesty cloud Iran talks

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Getty Images President Trump said over the weekend that an Iran deal would be signed by today, and he said this morning that Vice President Vance was on his way to Islamabad. But Vance was still in Washington, waiting for a signal from Tehran before leaving — a sign of the deep uncertainty over what comes next, Axios' Marc Caputo, Dave Lawler and Barak Ravid report. The big picture: Trump wants the war to end now, on his terms. But the ceasefire ends tomorrow, and Iran still controls the vital Strait of Hormuz. An administration official tells Axios that Trump is "over it. He wants it done. He doesn't like Iran holding [its control of the strait] over the Middle East. He doesn't like them holding this over our heads. He doesn't want to fight anymore. But he will if he feels he has to." 🚢 Just hours after Iran's foreign minister said Friday that Hormuz was open, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired on tankers trying to cross it, citing Trump's blockade. U.S. officials saw that as evidence of a rift between Iranian political officials and the IRGC. 🇮🇷 Another senior Trump administration official tells Axios: "What happened is the Iranian team went back, and the IRGC and those kinds of people said, 'Oh, no, no! You don't speak for us.'" "Now they have a real divide over there between these factions, and we're not sure who's going to win it. We hope the team we negotiated with will." 🤔 Trump has added to the confusion with threats, optimism and dishonesty. While his negotiators were offering $20 billion in frozen funds for Iran's uranium stockpile and discussing a pause on enrichment, Trump told reporters that Iran agreed to give up on both — no money necessary. When talks got rocky, he made a series of contradictory statements about who on his team would go to Pakistan. Amid his proclamations that a deal was close, Trump peppered in threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure. 🪟 There's still a window for a deal, at least to extend the ceasefire. But Trump and his team are now discussing what a renewed military campaign would look like. Go deeper.

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✈️ Deadline dash to Islamabad

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Brandon Bell and U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Intel from Axios' Barak Ravid: Vice President Vance is expected to depart for Islamabad for talks with Iran over a potential deal to end the war. Vance will arrive in Pakistan with the ceasefire on the verge of expiring. President Trump has threatened to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants if a deal can't be reached. While a full-scale deal on such a tight timeline would be difficult, Trump could also agree to extend the deadline if there are signs of progress. 👀 Behind the scenes: The White House spent all yesterday waiting for a signal from Tehran that it would send its negotiating team to Islamabad. A knowledgeable source said the Iranians were stalling amid apparent pressure from the Revolutionary Guards on the negotiators to hold a firmer line: no talks without an end to the U.S. blockade. The Iranian team waited for a green light from the supreme leader. It came last night, according to the source.

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Iran-US talks speculation grows With the 14-day ceasefire set to expire Wednesday, Pakistan is laying the groundwork for a second round of talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad, even as Iranian state television says that no delegation has visited so far. Read more.

Why this matters: On Monday Trump whipsawed in telephone interviews and social media posts between measured optimism that a deal could soon be reached and warning that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the ceasefire deadline.   Meanwhile Iran insisted it would not take part until Trump dialed back his demands. Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, accused the United States of wanting Iran to surrender and added that on the contrary, Iran has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: Doubt surrounds Iran-US talks as ceasefire is set to expire   Driven by the pressures of war, Iran gives its field commanders more power over militias in Iraq    A long-shuttered Iraq-Syria border crossing reopens for the first time in more than a decade    Iranian extradited to US to face 2014 smuggling indictment over export of military sonar gear

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Trump says US is extending ceasefire while awaiting proposal from Iran

https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-04-21-2026?

Hidden cost of war

Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US‑Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region, prompting warnings of an impending environmental catastrophe. Satellite images offer a stark look at the destruction.

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Trump, Vance frustrated

Security personnel wait yesterday outside Islamabad's five-star Serena Hotel, the venue for peace talks. Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images Latest from Barak Ravid: President Trump is giving Iran's warring factions a short window to unify behind a coherent counteroffer — or the ceasefire he extended yesterday ends, three U.S. officials tell Axios. "Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their shit together," a U.S. source briefed on the matter told Axios. "It is not going to be open-ended." Why it matters: Trump's negotiators believe a deal to end the war and address what's left of Iran's nuclear program is still achievable. But they also worry they may not have anyone in Tehran empowered to say yes. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is barely communicating. The IRGC generals now in control of the country and Iran's civilian negotiators are openly at odds over strategy. "We saw that there is an absolute fracture inside Iran between the negotiators and the military — with neither side having access to the supreme leader, who is not responsive," a U.S. official said. 🔎 Behind the scenes: U.S. officials first began to see the divisions after the first round of Islamabad talks, when it became clear IRGC commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and his deputies had rejected much of what Iran's own negotiators had discussed. The split broke into the open last Friday. When Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC refused to implement it — and began publicly attacking him. ⏱️ The last 48 hours have been extremely frustrating for the White House — particularly for Vice President Vance, who had his suitcases packed for Islamabad to lead a second round of peace talks. Instead, he found himself waiting for the IRGC generals now in control of Iran to let parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Araghchi travel to Pakistan to meet him. Yesterday afternoon, Trump huddled with his national security team: Vance, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, senior adviser Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other top officials. Going in, some of Trump's own advisers didn't know which way he was leaning: a massive strike on Iran's energy infrastructure, or more time for diplomacy. He chose the latter. Keep reading.

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Attacks in Strait of Hormuz complicate diplomatic efforts to end Iran war Iran opened fire on multiple ships in the strait Wednesday. Iranian state television reported that some ships were in the Revolutionary Guard’s custody and being taken to Iran. Read more.

Why this matters: The seizures represent an escalation by Iran’s leaders, who appear poised to drive a harder bargain with American negotiators after two other rounds of talks with the Trump administration ended in open warfare. Before the attacks, President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran, giving Tehran time to come up with a “unified proposal” ahead of possible negotiations. But the new attacks complicate efforts to resume talks between Tehran and Washington.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US forces board a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon says    Iranians have long sought work and relative stability in Turkey. The war could force some to return   Trump orders US military to ‘shoot and kill’ Iranian small boats choking Strait of Hormuz President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said Thursday, a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic through the channel. Trump’s post on social media came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up a standoff with Tehran over the strait through which 20% of all crude oil and natural gas traded passes. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump likes a naval blockade. But Iran presents big differences from Venezuela and Cuba China's quiet role in Middle East peace talks gains attention Pope urges US and Iran to return to peace talks, condemns capital punishment

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Trump says Lebanon and Israel agree to extend Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire by 3 weeks

Washington (AP) — President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-us-talks-ceasefire-washington-e7f26e207fc7543fe1f25a5318ff9ce3?

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💥 Hormuz mine snarl

Screenshot: Truth Social Axios' Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo give a lens into a key Iran war development that could set the global economy back for months: The U.S. and Iran are escalating their military standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, hardening the world's largest oil supply disruption into something closer to permanent. A second round of IRGC mine-laying this week, first reported by Axios, has drawn a "shoot and kill" order from President Trump and complicated any near-term path to reopening the waterway. Trump said last night that a pause in hostilities between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks. 🖼️ The big picture: Even if peace talks suddenly resume amid Trump's ceasefire, the Pentagon told House lawmakers this week it could take up to six months to clear the mines, according to The Washington Post (gift link).

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Iran war

With the Iran war approaching the eight-week mark, President Donald Trump declined on Thursday to give a timeline for resolving the conflict, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “Don’t rush me.” Meanwhile, US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz in the event the current ceasefire with Iran falls apart, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Read more

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Talks stumble as Iran’s top diplomat leaves Pakistan and Trump says he told envoys not to go

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The latest ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran appeared to fail Saturday before they began, as Tehran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump soon afterward said he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.

https://apnews.com/article/us-iran-war-hormuz-israel-pakistan-ceasefire-april-25-2026-7e52d208e7b517c615fc178280ca57d0?

Iran’s foreign minister returns to Pakistan as Islamabad races to save negotiations with US

Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Islamabad again on Sunday as Pakistan’s political and military leadership scrambled to reignite ceasefire talks between Tehran and Washington. Two Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the efforts, did not say when the Americans might return to the region to follow up on historic face-to-face talks earlier this month. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

US says it’s hunting for explosive mines in latest push to open the Strait of Hormuz

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🇦🇪 Scoop: Israel sent "Iron Dome" system and troops to UAE

Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with troops to operate it early in the war with Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios' Barak Ravid.

• Why it matters: The military, security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has reached new heights during the war.

Since the war began, Iran has targeted the UAE more than any other country in the region. The unprecedented Iron Dome deployment was not previously made public.

🚪 Behind the scenes: After massive attacks the UAE suffered, the country sought assistance from allies.

• This was the first time Israel had sent an Iron Dome battery to another country, and the UAE was the first country outside of the U.S. and Israel in which the system was used, a senior Israeli official said.

Share this story.

Screenshot via Truth Social

Trump canceled the trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad due to Iran's position in peace negotiations, he told Axios' Barak Ravid, who was at a youth soccer game when the president called.

• "I see no point of sending them on an 18-hour flight in the current situation [of the negotiations]. It's too long. We can do it just as well by telephone," Trump said.

Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran earlier this week, but diplomatic efforts haven't made any progress in recent days.

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👀 Scoop: Trump's Iran huddle

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Intel from Axios' Barak Ravid: President Trump is expected to hold a Situation Room meeting on Iran today with his top national security and foreign policy team, according to three U.S. officials. A source said Trump's team will discuss the stalemate in the negotiations and potential next steps. 🚢 The latest: Iran gave the U.S. a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, according to a U.S. official and two sources with knowledge. The talks are at a stalemate — and Iran's leadership is divided over what nuclear concessions should be on the table. The Iranian proposal would bypass that issue en route to a faster deal. Keep reading.

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Iran offers to end chokehold on Strait of Hormuz and asks US to end blockade, officials say The new offer, which doesn’t address Iran’s nuclear program, comes as the country’s foreign minister made a visit to Russia he said was an opportunity to consult with Moscow regarding the war against Israel and the United States. Read more.

Why this matters: Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His trip over the weekend has included two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. Araghchi’s visit comes as the standoff in the strait persists, keeping oil prices high and as Pakistan has been struggling to revive stalled talks between the two sides.   The new proposal, passed to the United States by Pakistan, likely won’t be supported by President Donald Trump, who wants to end Iran’s atomic program as part of an overall deal to reopen the strait and make the ceasefire permanent.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: Oil prices rise over stalled US-Iran talks    Palestinian authorities call local elections in a Gaza community and the West Bank a success    With goals of Iran war unfulfilled, Netanyahu’s government faces unhappy public as elections loom   Tired and worried, seafarers have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for weeks For about eight weeks, Indian Capt. Rahul Dhar and his crew have been stranded on their tanker in the Persian Gulf, sometimes watching drones and missiles explode as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut while the Iran war dragged on. The crew’s morale, he said, is holding as they carry on with their routines, but the strain is beginning to show. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Despite a new proposal from Iran, ceasefire negotiations with US are in flux How a surgeon kept a Sudan hospital functioning on the front line of the country’s war

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Iran’s economy has been battered. Its leaders still think Trump will blink first Over more than five weeks of bombardment, U.S. and Israeli strikes hit thousands of factories. The damage is reverberating across Iran’s economy, threatening increasing waves of layoffs, even as Iranians face skyrocketing prices. Read more.

Why this matters: It could get worse as the U.S. blockades Iranian ports, choking off many imports and oil exports that bring in billions of dollars. Iran’s leaders say they will only reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the blockade is lifted and the war ends. They are betting that an economy built to be self-reliant under decades of international sanctions can endure the pain longer than President Donald Trump. Economic woes sparked the mass protests that were crushed before the war and could again push Iranians into the streets.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: US appears cold to Iranian proposal to end the war without nuclear deal    US and Iran clash over Tehran’s nuclear program as review of atomic treaty begins at UN

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⚡ Scoop: Trump's Iran war options

Intel from Axios Middle East expert Barak Ravid that's moving the oil market:

President Trump is slated to receive a briefing on new plans for potential military action in Iran today from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.

• Why it matters: The briefing signals Trump is weighing major combat operations — to try to break the negotiating logjam or to deliver a final blow before ending the war.

👀 Behind the scenes: CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran (likely including infrastructure targets) in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three knowledgeable sources said.

• Another plan expected to be shared with Trump focuses on taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping. Such an operation could include ground forces, one source said.
• Another previously discussed option is a special forces operation to secure Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

🪖 State of play: Trump told Barak yesterday that he saw the naval blockade on Iran as "somewhat more effective than the bombing."

• Two sources said Trump sees the blockade as his primary leverage. But he would consider military action if Iran won't cave.