Issued on: 20/04/2026 - 01:16Modified: 21/04/2026 - 07:34
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday blamed both the US and Iran for the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and called for a “return to calm”. A US delegation is set to travel to Islamabad later today for peace negotiations with Iran while Tehran has yet to confirm its attendance. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
UN Security Council condemns killing of French peacekeeper in Lebanon
The UN Security Council on Monday condemned the recent killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon, whose death France has blamed on Hezbollah.
The Frenchman was killed and three others wounded when their unit was ambushed on Saturday as it headed to a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost cut off from the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack...(and) reaffirmed their full support for UNIFIL" a statement from the UN body said.
Vance to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for Iran talks, Axios reports
US Vice President JD Vance will travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for Iran talks, Axios reported Monday citing US sources.
Iranian extradited to US to face 2014 smuggling indictment over export of military sonar gear
An Iranian citizen who was indicted more than a decade ago on charges that he shipped military sonar equipment from the US to Iran in violation of American trade sanctions has been extradited to Seattle, the Justice Department said Monday.
Reza Dindar, 44, was indicted in 2014 on charges that include conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering. He was arrested last July in Panama at the request of US authorities and flown to Seattle last Thursday, the DOJ said. It's unclear where Dindar had been in the intervening years or why he had not been arrested sooner.
Dindar made an initial appearance in US District Court in the afternoon, and his arraignment was set for May 1. One of his attorneys, Farhad Alavi, told The Associated Press on Monday that he had no comment.
UK to accelerate clean energy drive amid Mideast war
Britain's government on Tuesday unveiled plans to accelerate its clean energy drive after oil and gas prices soared in the wake of the US-Iran war.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will use a speech later in the day to expand on the proposed measures, which include "driving forward plans to massively expand renewables" on government land.
Placing solar panels and wind turbines on industrial and railway sites could power about five million homes, the Labour government said in a statement.
It proposes to also "speed up clean, homegrown power" via a further overhaul of "planning, land access and grid connection processes".
US, Iran warn ready for war as talks in limbo
The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.
The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which was visibly preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.
But Tehran's cleric-run government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.
"By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit," said Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks two weeks ago in Pakistan
US crude futures fall as investors reassess US-Iran risks ahead of ceasefire deadline
US crude futures fell nearly 2% in early Asian trade on Tuesday as investors reassessed supply risk, with uncertainty over US–Iran peace talks persisting ahead of a key ceasefire deadline.
US West Texas Intermediate was at $88.05 a barrel, down $1.56, or 1.74% by 2211 GMT, following a 6.9% gain in the previous session.
Iraqi Shi’ite leaders pick Bassem al-Badry as PM nominee, sources say
The leaders of Iraq's main Shi'ite Muslim political blocs picked government official Bassem al-Badry as their nominee for the post of prime minister in a meeting on Monday, two Iraqi Shi'ite officials said, though no official announcement was made.
Two other Iraqis familiar with Monday's meeting of 12 key Shi'ite leaders who make up the Coordination Framework disputed that Badry had been picked during the meeting, saying talks were ongoing.
Another meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, Iraqi state media reported.
Iran does not accept negotiations with the US under threats, top negotiator says
Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Monday that Tehran does not accept negotiations with the US under threats.
He said in a post on X that US President Donald Trump was seeking to turn the negotiating table into a "table of surrender."
📸 In pictures: US veterans protest against the war in Iran in Washington
US veterans, military family members, and supporters occupy the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill calling upon the Trump administration to end the war on Iran on April 20, 2026 in Washington DC. © Leigh Vogel, Getty Images via AFP
US veterans, military family members, and supporters occupy the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill calling upon the Trump administration to end the war on Iran on April 20, 2026 in Washington DC. © Kevin Lamarque, Reuters
A demonstrator holds flowers in her hand as she is detained during a protest against the Iran war by Veterans from the group About Face and members of military families in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on April 20, 2026. © Kevin Lamarque, Reuters
US to hold new talks between Israel, Lebanon on Thursday, US official says
The US on Thursday will hold new talks between Israel and Lebanon aimed at encouraging an agreement, a US official told AFP, after the start of a shaky US-brokered ceasefire.
"We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
US low-cost airlines seek temporary tax relief to address soaring fuel costs
The CEOs of major low-cost airlines are set to meet Tuesday with US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as they urge Congress to provide temporary tax relief to partially offset the soaring cost of jet fuel sparked by the war with Iran.
A group representing Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Allegiant Air, Sun Country and Avelo last week wrote leaders in Congress asking lawmakers to pass legislation to suspend the 7.5 percent federal excise tax on airline tickets and $5.30 per segment tax. Waiving the fees would offset about one-third of the incremental cost of higher jet fuel, said the Association of Value Airlines.
Israel confirms its soldier destroyed Jesus statue in Lebanon
The Israeli military confirmed a viral photo of one of its soldiers smashing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon is authentic and said it has launched an investigation into the incident.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "stunned and saddened" and that disciplinary action would follow. The statue's defacing also triggered outrage in the US, particularly amongst right-wing voices.
FRANCE 24’s Vedika Bahl goes through what we know in Truth or Fake.
'Trump has boxed himself into a corner', expert says as fate of Iran peace talks uncertain
Speaking with FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin, Rosemary Kelanic, Director of the Middle East programme at the think tank Defense Priorities, says that US President Donald Trump "has boxed himself into a corner".
What exit strategy? Trump, Iranians send mixed signals as truce deadline looms
A container ship seized in the Gulf, a ceasefire deadline that's running out fast and plenty of bargaining table brinkmanship between the US and Iran. With the price of oil back on the rise, de-escalation would certainly offer relief to US President Donald Trump's constitutents.
So what's the plan of a US president who’s proved impulsive – at times threatening civilizational erasure, at others floating the idea of splitting the profits with Iran on a Strait of Hormuz toll for tankers?
Iran says 'no decision' on joining new talks, with US delegation set to depart
Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the US, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan.
The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region came as US President Donald Trump suggested he could resume attacks should the current temporary ceasefire – now in its final days – lapse.
FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah reports from Tehran.
US 'continued violations of ceasefire' an obstacle to continuation of diplomatic process, Iran tells Pakistan
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that the US "continued violations of the ceasefire" are a major obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process, an Iranian foreign ministry statement said.
Araqchi told Dar in a phone call that Iran, while taking all aspects of the matter into account, will decide on how to proceed further.
Trump says will not lift Hormuz blockade until deal with Iran made
US President Donald Trump said the US would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran had agreed a peace deal to end the war.
"THE BLOCKADE, which we will not take off until there is a 'DEAL,' is absolutely destroying Iran," Trump said on social media. "They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run."
Traffic has again seized up in the Strait of Hormuz as both Tehran and Washington impose separate blockades.
Pakistan confident Iran will attend US talks, senior Pakistani government source says
Pakistan is confident it can get Iran to attend talks with the US, a senior Pakistani government official told Reuters.
"We have received a positive signal from Iran. Things are fluid but we are trying that they should be here when we start the talks tomorrow or a day after," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source added Pakistan is actively engaged with Tehran and Washington as US President Donald Trump's ceasefire deadline looms.
Lebanon says 2,387 people killed in 6 weeks of Israel war
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,387 people since the war with Hezbollah erupted six weeks ago, a Lebanese government body said in a new toll.
The disaster risk management unit added that 7,602 people had been wounded over the same period.
Since a 10-day ceasefire went into force on Friday, authorities and rescuers have been recovering bodies under the rubble of buildings in areas that were subjected to heavy Israeli strikes.
Yesterday's key developments:
• US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that US Marines took custody of a vessel that tried to get past the American blockade on Iranian ports.
• French shipping company CMA CGM confirmed that one of its ships was “fired upon with warning shots” on Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the crew was safe.
• US negotiators are set to meet in Pakistan on Monday for talks, but Iran has not yet confirmed whether it will participate.
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