French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that a second French soldier died “of the consequences of his wounds” suffered in a weekend ambush against U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, which has denied responsibility.

-AFP

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that Israel does not have any “serious disagreements” with Lebanon, calling Hezbollah “the obstacle to peace and normalisation.”

A Hezbollah lawmaker, however, told AFP on Monday that the group might accept indirect talks mediated by the United States.

-AFP

A Lebanese journalist was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on a house in southern Lebanon where she had taken cover while reporting on the Israel-Hezbollah war. Her body was only retrieved from the rubble hours later, rescue workers said.

The daily Al-Akhbar newspaper says its reporter Amal Khalil was killed in the southern village of al-Tiri.

-Reuters

Snubbed by Iran and with no viable military options as the two-week ceasefire neared expiry, Donald Trump on Wednesday extended the truce while maintaining the blockade on Iranian ports to keep up the economic pressure. This is the second time in two weeks that he has taken a U-turn, suggesting that he is seeking a way out of the deadlock.

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U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan will leave office “immediately,” the Pentagon announced Wednesday, without explaining the sudden exit.

Mr. Phelan’s departure follows the removal of top U.S. Army officer general Randy George and two other senior officers earlier this month, at a time when the United States is locked in a war with Iran that still remains unresolved.

-AFP

The U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from ⁠their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday.

One of the vessels was the Iranian-flagged Deep Sea supertanker, which was part loaded with crude and last seen on its public tracking transponder off Malaysia’s coast a week ago, according to the sources and ship tracking data on ⁠the MarineTraffic platform.

The smaller Iranian-flagged Sevin, which had a maximum capacity of 1 million barrels and was carrying 65% of its load, was also intercepted. The vessel was last seen off Malaysia’s coast a month ‌ago, ship tracking data showed.

The Iranian-flagged supertanker Dorena was also intercepted, fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude, and last seen off the coast of southern India three days ago, according to the sources and ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.

-Reuters

Iran said on Wednesday it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the U.S. naval blockade remained in place, calling it a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire between the longtime foes.

“A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday.

“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”

-AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump has not set a deadline by which Iran must submit a peace proposal, the White House said on Wednesday.

“The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I’ve seen today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists.

-AFP

Many of the nine Indian-flagged LPG carriers evacuated from the Persian Gulf are drifting empty after unloading, even as India contracts with foreign vessels loading LPG at ports in Texas, U.S.

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US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely at the request of Pakistan to give Tehran’s leadership more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, even as Iranian forces fired on three ships and seized two of them in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

Trump’s dramatic announcement, welcomed by Pakistan’s top leadership, came just hours before the two-week ceasefire was set to expire.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran has not issued any official statement confirming its agreement to extend the ceasefire.

- PTI

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on ‌Wednesday that he extended sanctions relief ⁠on Russian and Iranian seaborne oil for ‌30 days because of requests from ‌countries that ‌are ⁠the most ⁠vulnerable to oil shortages from the closed Strait of Hormuz.

Mr. Bessent ‌told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that the ‌requests came from finance leaders of about 10 countries ⁠during last week’s International Monetary Fund and ‌World Bank meetings. The action reversed his earlier comments last week that he would ‌not renew expiring sanctions waivers.

Mr. Bessent said estimates that Iran has ⁠gained more than $14 billion ⁠from the relief are “a myth,” ‌but he did not provide an alternate figure.

He also said that both the United Arab Emirates and the ⁠U.S. would benefit from currency swap lines, and ‌other Gulf allies have requested similar ‌facilities.

Mr. Bessent did not ‌name ⁠the countries making ⁠such requests, but told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that ‌such facilities would help stabilise financial markets amid turmoil from the West Asia war. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that a ⁠U.S.-UAE swap line was under consideration.

“And swap ‌lines, whether it’s from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar ‌funding markets and to prevent the sale of the U.S. assets in ⁠a disorderly way,” Mr. Bessent said, “So, ⁠the swap line would both benefit ‌both the UAE and the U.S.”

- Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠has not ‌set ‌a ‌timeline ⁠for ⁠the extension of a ‌ceasefire with Iran, a ‌source briefed on ⁠the matter ‌said on Wednesday.

- Reuters

India welcomes the extension of the ceasefire by the United States with Iran, India’s Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said on Wednesday, expressing the hope that the conflict will end soon.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he was extending the ceasefire with Iran at the request of mediator Pakistan and said the move was aimed at giving Tehran’s fractured leadership time to come up with a unified proposal to end the seven-week war.

“India welcomes the extension of the ceasefire by the U.S. We believe that this fighting will come to an end shortly. All countries, including India, are working towards ensuring that the conflict is resolved,” Mr. Singh said at a programme in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh.

The minister said that concerns were being raised about possible challenges before the common people due to the West Asia situation, but assured that no such situation has arisen under the current government.

- AP

Iran on Wednesday said it has yet to decide whether to join a new round of talks with the U.S.

“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 Baghaei, said on 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,” Mr. Baghaei said.

- AP

Turkish Foreign ‌Minister Hakan Fidan discussed ⁠the latest developments in ‌talks between the United ‌States ‌and ⁠Iran ⁠in a call with his Pakistani counterpart ‌Ishaq Dar on Wednesday, a ‌Turkish diplomatic source said.

The two ministers ⁠also exchanged views ‌on efforts led by Pakistan and Turkiye ‌to reach a compromise between the ⁠sides, the source ⁠added.

- Reuters

Safe and sustainable passage through the Strait of Hormuz is what top shipping companies ‌require before the world sees much oil or cargo leave or enter the Gulf, two top sector executives said on Wednesday.

“Two weeks ⁠ago when the ceasefire, said to be temporary, came into the picture, we thought there was hope. But in reality, the agreement was not translated into the safety and passage (of the ‌vessels),” Jotaro Tamura, chief executive of Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime ‌Week conference.

MOL is one of the world’s largest shipping companies and the top ‌owner ⁠of oil and liquefied natural gas tankers.

“Questions about safety would ⁠remain even if the strait reopens,” Mr. Tamura added.

- Reuters

A second round of U.S.-Iran talks could take place within the next three days, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing unnamed Pakistani sources and President Donald Trump.

“It’s possible!” Mr. Trump reportedly told the Post by text message, when asked about sources in Pakistan, which mediated the first round of talks, saying that a second round was “expected in Islamabad within the next 36 to 72 hours.”

Mr. Trump on Tuesday extended a two-week truce in the war just as it was about to expire. A digital news outlet in Pakistan, News Post, reported the three-day time frame for more talks without a source or further details.

- AFP

Iran hanged a man on Wednesday convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, with two NGOs based outside the country saying he worked for the Iranian atomic energy organisation.

The execution of Mehdi Farid was the latest in a number of hangings of high-profile convicts in an accelerating trend that has alarmed rights groups.

“Mehdi Farid... was hanged this morning for extensive cooperation with the terrorist spy service Mossad after the case was examined and the final verdict was approved,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said, adding that he had been convicted of the capital offence of “corruption on earth”.

- AFP

Since the outbreak of war between Iran, Israel and the United States, colourful murals have sprung up across the capital Tehran and other major cities, rich in symbolism and themes of resistance and defiance.

Murals and banners have long been a defining feature of Iran’s urban landscape, particularly in Tehran, where such paintings in central squares mirror the state’s political messaging and foreign policy.

Since the 1979 revolution, which established the Islamic country, such imagery has served as a medium to reflect ideology and collective memory.

- AFP

An Iranian opposition leader criticised European countries on Wednesday for doing too little to halt executions in Iran, after Tehran carried out another ‌execution in what opponents say is a wartime crackdown on dissent.

The judiciary’s news outlet Mizan ⁠reported on Wednesday that a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information had been executed.

“The silence of ‌European Union leaders and member states in the face of this wave of political executions in ‌Iran is unjustifiable,” Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Paris-based National ‌Council ⁠of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of People’s ⁠Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), said in a speech at the European Parliament.

“Such silence not only emboldens the regime to continue executions, but also signals weakness, encouraging it ‌to persist in nuclear weapons development and terrorist meddling in the region,” she said.

- Reuters

Asian ship owners might begin to sail through the Strait of Hormuz soon amid a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, as they have a ‌higher risk tolerance and can manage paying tolls, unlike sanctions-complying Western firms, shipping executives said at the FT Commodities Global ⁠Summit on Wednesday.

Hundreds of tankers and other ships have been stuck inside the West Asia Gulf, unable to cross the strait since the end of February, hitting global oil ‌and liquefied gas supply in the world’s largest ever energy supply disruption.

Some tankers and cargo ships managed to escape the ‌Gulf last Saturday, but Iran quickly pulled the plug on the ‌move ⁠by firing shots and telling other vessels to return to ⁠the Gulf. At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in the strait on Wednesday.

- Reuters

Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two and firing on a third, global security monitors and the country’s Revolutionary Guards said, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the West Asia war.

British maritime security agency UKMTO said an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, while a ship off Iran was also fired upon.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said separately that their naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to Iranian waters.

It accused them of breaching its blockade of the route, imposed in the West Asia war that erupted on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

- AFP

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday while Europe’s main stock markets eased on uncertainty surrounding the prospect of resumed Mideast peace talks following an extension to the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Asian equities had a mixed trading day as investors wait for clarity, but broadly expect that both U.S. President Donald Trump and the authorities in Iran want to end a war that has sent oil and gas prices soaring.

“The ceasefire extension hasn’t done much to calm nerves given that worries remain about the impact of the energy squeeze on the global economy,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

“Shipments from West Asia are in limbo, and a resolution to the conflict remains elusive, and the price of Brent crude, the benchmark, reflects this,” Ms. Streeter said.

- AFP

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) said their naval forces had seized two container ships seeking to cross the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, directing them towards the Iranian coast. One of the “violating” vessels, Liberia-flagged Epaminodas, was headed to Gujarat’s Mundra Port, according to ship-tracking data.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the Guards said in a statement. “The two offending ships... were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.”

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Asian ship owners might begin to sail through the Strait of Hormuz soon amid a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, as they have a higher ‌risk tolerance and can manage paying tolls, unlike sanctions-complying Western firms, shipping executives said.

Hundreds of tankers and other ⁠ships have been stuck inside the West Asia Gulf, unable to cross the strait since the end of February, hitting global oil and liquefied ‌gas supply in the world’s largest ever energy supply disruption.

Some tankers and cargo ships managed to escape ‌the Gulf last Saturday, but Iran quickly pulled the plug ‌on ⁠the move by firing shots and telling other vessels ⁠to return to the Gulf. At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in the strait today.

-Reuters

China today denied again that a ship intercepted by the United States contained a “gift” from Beijing for Iran, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump made the accusation.

Mr. Trump had said that an Iranian-flagged ship seized by U.S. forces in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday contained “a gift from China”, which “wasn’t very nice”.

His comments came after former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley wrote on X that the ship was travelling from China to Iran and was linked to chemical shipments for missiles.

Responding to Mr. Haley’s accusations at a regular news briefing yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the ship was “a foreign container ship”, and that China opposed “any malicious association and speculation”.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s comments today, Mr. Guo said China had already stated its position.

-AFP

The United States blocked a plane carrying nearly $500 million in banknotes from delivering the cash to Iraq, U.S. media reported yesterday, piling pressure on Baghdad to fight Iran-backed militant groups.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has suspended cash shipments to Iraq and frozen funding for security programs following attacks on U.S. interests in the country by groups showing solidarity with Iran.

Iraq has long walked a tightrope between the competing influences of its allies, neighbouring Iran and the United States.

However, Iraqi leaders have struggled to maintain that delicate balance as war engulfs the West Asia

The U.S. State Department said this month it had summoned Iraq’s ambassador to Washington to express “strong condemnation” of attacks by pro-Iran groups on U.S. interests, “including the April 8 ambush of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad”.

-AFP

Drone strikes in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region today wounded three Iranian Kurdish rebels, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Tehran.

During the West Asia war, Iran has repeatedly struck Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts camps and bases belonging to several exiled rebel groups.

“Tehran launched an attack with four drones on bases” belonging to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), wounding three fighters, the exiled group said in a statement.

-AFP

NATO chief Mark Rutte said today the alliance would do “what’s necessary to defend” its members, including Turkiye, after intercepting four missiles fired from Iran and heading into Turkish airspace over the past weeks.

A member of the U.S.-led defence alliance, Turkiye, which borders Iran, has been largely spared the sort of retaliation from Tehran suffered by countries in West Asia before the ceasefire.

NATO forces had shot down ballistic missiles fired from Iran four times, prompting the alliance to deploy a new Patriot missile battery at Incirlik air base in southern Turkiye.

“Iran is spreading terror and chaos, and you feel this prominently here in Turkiye,” Mr. Rutte told journalists on a visit to Turkiye’s largest defence electronics company, Aselsan.

“In recent weeks, NATO has successfully intercepted ballistic missiles heading to Turkiye from Iran on four separate occasions,” he said.

-AFP

Israel’s Foreign Minister today urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, ahead of talks between the countries set to resume in Washington.

“Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington DC. I call on the government of Lebanon -- let’s work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory,” Gideon Saar said in a speech to diplomats at a function marking Israel’s 78th Independence Day.

“This cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative for ensuring a future of peace for you and for us.”

-AFP

At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in ‌the Strait of Hormuz today, maritime security sources and the United Kingdom ⁠Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

Iran has imposed restrictions on ships using the strait, first in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of ‌the country, and then in response to a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

A Liberia-flagged ‌container ship sustained damage to its bridge after ‌being ⁠hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades northeast ⁠of Oman.

The UKMTO said the master of the vessel reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat. The vessel, it said, was subsequently fired upon. ‌All crew members were safe, and there was no fire or environmental impact due to the incident.

-Reuters

Two ships came under attack today in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, complicating efforts to bring the United States and Iran together in Pakistan for talks to end the war.

This morning, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard attacked a container ship, damaging it but causing no injuries. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre did not immediately identify who shot at the second ship, but suspicion immediately fell on Iran.

In the second attack, a 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 two attacks came days after the US seized attacks in the Strait of Hormuz came 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 in the Indian Ocean.

-AP

China warned Today that the situation in the Middle East was at a “critical juncture” after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire to allow Iran more time to negotiate.

“The current regional situation stands at a critical juncture transitioning between war to peace; the paramount priority remains to make every effort to prevent a resumption of hostilities,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing.

-AFP

Inflation in the U.K. climbed in March after a sharp jump in prices at the pump in the wake of the disruption to energy supplies caused by the Iran war, official figures showed today.

The Office for National Statistics said the annual consumer price inflation rate increased to 3.3% from 3% the previous month. The rise was in line with market expectations.

Analysts said the increase has put paid to any expectations that the Bank of England would cut borrowing costs. Prior to the start of the war on February 28, there had been an expectation in financial markets that the bank would cut its main interest rate from 3.75% given that inflation was predicted to fall back toward its 2% target during the spring.

-AP

Iran fired on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz today, damaging the vessel and complicating efforts to bring the United States and Iran together in Pakistan for talks to end the war.

The morning attack by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, which had been due to expire today, to give Tehran time to come up with a “unified proposal” ahead of possible negotiations.

Iran has offered no formal acknowledgement of Mr. Trump’s ceasefire extension.

-AP

Iran’s agriculture minister said a U.S. naval blockade has had little impact on the country’s ability to supply basic goods and food, citing strong domestic production and alternative import routes.

“Despite the U.S. naval blockade, we have no problem in supplying basic goods and food because, due to the size of the country, it is possible to import from different borders,” Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri said on Tuesday (April 21, 2026).

“About 85% of agricultural products and basic goods are produced domestically, so the country’s food security is established,” he added, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The United States imposed a naval blockade on Iran’s ports and coasts on April 13, days after a ceasefire was announced that paused its war with Iran. 

Iran has strongly criticised the blockade, describing it as a violation of the ceasefire.

- AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran was “collapsing financially” over the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that the Islamic republic was “starving for cash.”

Mr. Trump posted earlier that Tehran said it supported the closure of the strait to “save face” under the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

- AFP

An Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday (April 22, 2026), causing damage but no casualties, the UKMTO British maritime security agency said.

“The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat... that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported,” the UKMTO said.

It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and all the crew was safe.

- AFP

Iran executed a man convicted ‌of spying for Israel’s ⁠intelligence service and passing sensitive information, ‌the judiciary’s news outlet ‌ Mizan reported ‌on ⁠Wednesday (April 22, 2026).

Mizan identified ⁠the man as Mehdi Farid, saying he ‌had held a position in a civil defence ‌unit within a sensitive organisation and had ⁠used his access to ‌gather and transmit information to Israel’s Mossad.

His death sentence was ‌upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out ⁠after legal procedures ⁠were completed, Mizan said.

- Reuters

An Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa region killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday (April 22, 2026), Lebanese state media reported, despite an ongoing truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

“One person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of an attack carried out by an enemy drone at dawn on the outskirts of Al-Jabur in West Bekaa,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

Hezbollah on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) said it had launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel in response to “blatant” Israeli ceasefire violations, which it said included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages”.

- AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted the Strait of Hormuz open in a Truth social post on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) “so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day”, which he said the Gulf nation would risk losing if it remains closed.

“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!,” Mr. Trump said in the post.

- AFP

In the backdrop of the ongoing West Asian conflict, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events; they are stark realities with direct implications for India’s security and economic stability.

Addressing the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security on day one of his three-day visit to the country, he also asserted that the world today is faced with new security threats, and the technological transformation has made the situation highly complex and intricately connected.

“For a developing country like India, which relies on the West Asian region for a significant share of its energy requirements, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, they are stark realities with direct implications for our security and economic stability,” Mr. Singh said.

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Iranian hard-liners rallied late on 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.

- AP

Oil prices turned lower on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) after ‌rising about $1 at the start of trade in Asia, with investors assessing the outlook for U.S.-Iran peace talks following the U.S. extension ⁠of a ceasefire.

Brent crude futures were down 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $98.27 a barrel at 12:39 a.m. GMT, after touching $99.38 earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate futures fell ‌28 cents, or 0.3%, to $89.39, after climbing as high as $90.71.

Both benchmark contracts rose about 3% on Tuesday (April 21, 2026).

- Reuters

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for extending the ceasefire with Iran, expressing hope that both sides would be able to “conclude a comprehensive peace deal” to end the conflict.

Pakistan had urged an extension of the truce due to uncertainty surrounding the second round of talks, which are still expected to be held later this week. Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) that the ceasefire was scheduled to end at 4:50 a.m. PST on April 22, 2026.

Following Mr. Trump’s announcement extending the ceasefire, Prime Minister Sharif thanked the U.S. President in a post on X.

Mr. Sharif said, “On my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, I sincerely thank President Trump for graciously accepting our request to extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course.” The Pakistan prime minister said that with the “trust and confidence reposed in (it), Pakistan shall continue its earnest efforts for a negotiated settlement of the conflict”.

- PTI

Hezbollah said it launched an attack on northern Israel on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of a 10-day ceasefire, the first such claim since the truce began.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel that it said was the source of artillery shelling towards a south Lebanese town.

It said the move came “in defence of Lebanon and its people and in response to the blatant” Israeli ceasefire violations, including “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages”.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) that the United States was indefinitely extending the Iran ceasefire — a day before it was to expire — as a new round of peace talks was on hold. The announcement appeared to ease fears that the fighting, which had shaken energy markets and the global economy, would promptly resume.

Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but the White House put on hold Vice President J.D. Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations.

Iran has not yet responded to Mr. Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire extension. Both countries have warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.

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