What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire in Iran indefinitely amid an impasse over his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iranian state television reported Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had seized two ships – identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas – after three vessels were attacked in the strait.
- Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said reopening the strait was impossible while the US naval blockade remained, labelling it a “flagrant breach of the ceasefire”.
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On the eve of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Beirut would seek an extension of the 10-day, US-mediated ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday.
US blockade a ‘flagrant breach of ceasefire’: Iranian negotiator
Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said a full ceasefire only made sense if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports was lifted.
Reopening the strait was impossible with such a “flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
“You did not achieve your goals through military aggression, and you will not achieve them by bullying either. The only way is recognising the Iranian people’s rights,” he said in his first response to Trump’s ceasefire extension.
Reuters
Iran says it has seized two ships in Strait of Hormuz
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway after Trump said the US would indefinitely extend the ceasefire that had been due to expire, while Washington awaits a new proposal from Tehran.
Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were being escorted to Iran. The ships’ owners could not be immediately reached for comment. The US had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre also reported the attacks, saying a Revolutionary Guard gunboat opened fire on a container ship and “caused heavy damage to the bridge.”
A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though the vessel was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported.
AP
What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire in Iran indefinitely amid an impasse over his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iranian state television reported Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had seized two ships – identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas – after three vessels were attacked in the strait.
- Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said reopening the strait was impossible while the US naval blockade remained, labelling it a “flagrant breach of the ceasefire”.
-
On the eve of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Beirut would seek an extension of the 10-day, US-mediated ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
