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London police investigating possibile Iranian proxy involvement in attacks against Jewish sites

Metropolitan police in London are investigating whether a series of arson attacks against Jewish sites were carried out by Iranian proxies.

Speaking outside Kenton united synagogue in north-west London, the site of the latest arson attack, deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national co-ordinator for counter terrorism, said: “The nature of the incidents has been similar – arson attacks targeting Israeli- and Jewish-linked premises in London.

“Most have been claimed online by the group Ashab al-Yamin (Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right).

“This same group has claimed several incidents over recent months at places of worship, business and financial institutions across Europe. These locations all appear to be linked to Jewish or Israeli interests.”

The Guardian’s Jamie Grierson has more.

Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister of Pakistan, spoke on Sunday with Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran.

The phone call included discussion on “the need for continued dialogue and engagement as essential to resolving the current issues as soon as possible for promoting the peace and stability in the region and beyond”, according to Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs.

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, is slated to have a phone call with Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, later today as well.

These phone conversations took place as Donald Trump confirmed that a US delegation would be in Islamabad on Monday for another round of peace talks regarding the conflict in Iran.

Iran foreign ministry: US blockade violates ceasefire and 'amounts to war crime'

The US blockade of Iran’s ports is a violation of the ceasefire agreement and is “both unlawful and criminal”, Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said Sunday.

“The United States’ so-called ‘blockade’ of Iran’s ports or coastline is not only a violation of Pakistani-mediated ceasefire but also both unlawful and criminal,” Baqaei posted on X.

Baqaei also said the blockade was in violation of the UN Charter and constitutes an act of aggression.

“Moreover, by deliberately inflicting collective punishment on the Iranian population, it amounts to war crime and crime against humanity,” Baqaei said.

JD Vance is not going to Islamabad, Trump says

ABC News had previously reported that Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, had said that JD Vance was going to lead the American delegation in Islamabad this week.

Donald Trump has since corrected that statement to say that the vice president would not be going to Pakistan. Trump said his representatives would be in Islamabad for peace talks on Monday night, but that Secret Service couldn’t arrange to accompany Vance there on such short notice.

“It’s only because of security,” Trump said. “JD’s great.”

Trump had earlier confirmed to Fox News and The New York Post that special enoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kusher, Trump’s son-in-law, would be going to Islamabad.

Trump says 'whole country is getting blown up' if Iran does not accept deal

Donald Trump told Fox News on Sunday that this was Iran’s “last chance” to agree to a peace deal.

“If Iran does not sign this deal, the whole country is getting blown up,” Trump said. The US president then reiterated his earlier point on Truth Social that the US would target bridges and power plants specifically if Iran does not sign this agreement.

The deal entails reopening the strait of Hormuz and making sure Iranians do not have enriched uranium.

Trump also made clear that he would not be “making the same mistake” that Barack Obama did with the 2015 agreement his administration made to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities. In exchange for the lifting of some sanctions, Obama had conceded that Iran could contiune enriching its uranium for 15 years, but only at the level of purity required for a civilian nuclear programme. The agreement also included limiting Iran’s stockpile of uranium to 300kg.

Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, calling the deal “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions” the US had ever entered into”.

Since then, Iran has grown its stockpile to 400.9kg of uranium enriched to 60% uranium-235 – a level that can be quickly enriched to weapons-grade – 90%.

Report: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to join American delegation in Islamabad

Donald Trump told The New York Post that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, will also be in Islamabad for the next round of peace talks with Iran.

JD Vance will be leading the delegation, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, told ABC News.

Trump: Iran says it closed Hormuz, but US blockade already closed it

In that same post on Truth Social, Donald Trump bragged that the US blockade had already blocked the strait of Hormuz.

“Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it. They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing,” Trump wrote.

Report: JD Vance to lead American delegation to Islamabad

JD Vance will lead the American delegration in Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, told ABC News.

Donald Trump on Sunday said his representatives were going to be in Islamabad on Monday night for more negotiations.

US going to Islamabad on Monday for Iran negotiations, Trump says

Donald Trump said on Truth Social that his representatives were going to be in Islamabad on Monday night for more negotiations.

“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” Trump wrote.

Trump: 'NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!'

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to declare Iran in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Trump said the US was offering a “very fair and reasonable deal” and if Iran did not take it, he promised to knock out “every single Power Plant” and “every single Bridge”.

“NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote. “They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years.”

Trump: Peace deal 'will happen. One way or another'

Donald Trump told ABC News on Sunday that though Iran has committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire, he still believes he can negotiate a peace deal.

“It will happen. One way or another. The nice way or the hard way. It’s going to happen. You can quote me,” Trump told journalist Jonathan Karl.

International flights to resume in Iran for first time since conflict began

International flights will resume in Iran on Monday, the country’s civil aviation department has said.

AFP reported a statement that had aired on state TV which said the Mashhad airport in the north-east of Iran would see flights arriving and departing tomorrow.

The statement said: “Permission to operate international passenger flights at Mashhad Airport has been issued, starting tomorrow.”

Iranian airports have been closed since the outbreak of war with Israel and the US on 28 February.

Iran's military turns around two tankers in strait of Hormuz, state-affiliated news agency reports

Two tankers were turned around by Iran’s military as they tried to pass through the strait of Hormuz, the country’s news agency Tasmin has reported.

Reuters reported that it came after the continuing US blockade on Iran.

The vessels, sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola, were forced to change course after what the report described as “unauthorised transit” through the strategic waterway.

Today so far

• Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Saturday that the recent talks with the US had made progress but gaps remained over nuclear issues and the strait of Hormuz. “We have had progress but there is still a big distance between us,” he told state media, referring to talks last weekend. “We made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.”

• Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian weighed in on Sunday about Donald Trump and efforts to quash Iranian nuclear capabilities. “Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian said.

• In more nuclear news, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press that contrary to Trump’s earlier claims, Iran will not hand over its enriched uranium to the US.

• In Lebanon, killing and destruction has continued despite a fragile ceasefire. An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon in an incident that severely wounded another soldiers and moderately injured four more, while another succombed on Saturday to injuries incured in another incident. Meanwhile, the state-run National News Agency is reporting that the Israeli military has demolished homes in the towns of Bayyada and Naqoura and have blocked roads leading to several towns. Lebanese state media also reported that Israeli forces on Saturday began demolishing homes in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and other border towns where Israeli troops are present.

• Earlier, a UN peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured in an attack that UN secretary-general António Guterres has strongly condemned. Both Emmanuel Macron, president of France, and the group known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon blamed Hezbollah, but the militant group has denied involvement.

• In Gaza, the Israeli military killed two Unicef-contracted truck drivers at a water point in the northern Gaza forcing the UN agency to suspend its operations in the area, Unicef said.

How the Iranian regime targets UK journalists

Iranian journalists working in London say they fear for their lives after a recent spate of threats and physical attacks, which they blame on a Tehran regime intent on silencing Persian-language news media such as BBC Persian and Iran International.

On Wednesday, the London offices of Iran International, a news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran, were the target of an attempted arson attack, with an “ignited container” thrown into the car park of a neighbouring building, according to the Metropolitan police.

Speaking after the attack, one journalist at Iran International says violence had become normalised to staff. “Our minds are ignoring these ugly things automatically.

“Today, our British staff said to us, ‘How brave you are, bravo!’ But to tell you the truth, what really happens is that we are fucked up. We’ve tricked our brains into normalising these threats and not fearing at all because otherwise we will need to go to the mental hospital.”

Tom Levitt, Deepa Parent and Maryam Foumani have the story:

Here are some more images coming out of Lebanon today of residents forced to traverse broken bridges and destroyed roads to return home during the temporary ceasefire:

Displaced people cross on foot over a destroyed bridge in Tayr Felsay village as they return to their homes during a temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on 19 April 2026. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

Displaced people cross on foot over a destroyed bridge in Tayr Felsay village as they return to their homes during a temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on 19 April 2026. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

Lebanese army soldiers set up a makeshift bridge for people to cross a river in Tayr Felsay, a village in southern Lebanon, on 19 April 2026. Photograph: Bilal Hussein/AP

Displaced people drive across a temporary bridge on their way home in Bedias, Lebanon on 19 April 2026. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock