Mojtaba Khamenei says there will be 'change' in Strait of Hormuz 'management'

Iran's supreme leader issued a statement implying that Tehran wanted to keep its nuclear program and perhaps impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude prices remain volatile.

DW has more.

Here is a selection of updates from or concerning the conflict between Iran, Israel and the US on April 30, 2026.

US military leaders to brief Trump on Iran military options: reports
According to the Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed US official, senior US military leaders will brief President Donald Trump later on Thursday on potential military action against Iran.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, will be one of the officers briefing Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also participate.

This follows similar reports in US media outlet Axios, which had reported that a briefing would take place concerning plans for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes.

Reuters said the official it contacted did not disclose the options that were to be discussed but did say the briefing was expected to be focused on actions that could compel Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Hegseth and Caine will be testifying before the Senate starting at 1500 GMT/UTC in a hearing likely to focus on the war in Iran that could take some time.

Reuters reported that the White House briefing was likely to follow this engagement.

9 killed in southern Lebanon, 2 of them children, Health Ministry says
Lebanon 's Health Ministry has reported that nine people were killed and 23 wounded in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

It said that the figures were preliminary.

Those killed included two children and five women, whereas those wounded included eight children and seven women.

Israel's military had also reported attacks on what it termed "Hezbollah terrorist organization infrastructure" in southern Lebanon on Thursday, without specifying where.

It later posted footage of what it portrayed as one of the strikes.

It wasn't clear whether the organizations were talking about the same or similar incidents.

Shortly after the ceasefire began late on April 16, Israel declared a so-called "Yellow Line," marking a strip of Lebanese territory just across the de facto border, where it continued operating and demolishing villages, calling the area a buffer zone.

Lebanese President Michael Aoun had said earlier, during a meeting with Red Cross workers, that Israeli violations of the shaky ceasefire — which has markedly reduced but not halted the fighting — were continuing with "daily" casualties.

European Central Bank holds interest rates steady but warns of war's impact on inflation
The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept all three of its key interest rates unchanged for the eurozone, with the benchmark deposit facility at 2.00%.

It said that while the economic situation looked broadly similar to its previous assessment at the end of March, already around a month after fighting in the Gulf erupted, "the upside risks to inflation and the downside risks to growth have intensified."
"The war in the Middle East has led to a sharp increase in energy prices, pushing up inflation and weighing on economic sentiment," the Frankfurt-based bank said .

"The implications of the war for medium-term inflation and economic activity will depend on the intensity and duration of the energy price shock and the scale of its indirect and second-round effects."
Higher energy prices have already pushed up inflation levels in the short term in the 21 countries using the euro single currency.

"The longer the war continues and the longer energy prices remain high, the stronger is the likely impact on broader inflation and the economy," the ECB said.

The bank said it would continue to monitor the situation closely and said it was not "pre-committing to a particular path."
World facing a 'major economic and energy challenge,' IEA head says
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has told a Paris climate conference that the world "is facing a major economic and energy challenge" amid the conflict in the Middle East .

"The oil markets and gas markets are going through big difficulties," Birol said at an event laying foundations for the UN COP31 climate summit in Turkey later this year.

"When I looked last time, the oil price was over $120, which is putting a lot of pressure on many countries.

In addition to oil and gas, fertilizers, which is very important for developing countries, petrochemicals, sulphur, they are all interrupted"
The head of the UNFCCC climate body, Simon Stiell, told the conference that the "fossil fuel cost crisis now has its foot on the throat of the global economy."
"From this tragedy, an immense irony is unfolding," Stiell said.

"Those who've fought to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels are inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom."
COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum similarly said that the world was facing "the biggest energy crisis in its history," and said "we now know clearly that the global economy must transform its economic paradigm."
Iran will protect nuclear program and change Strait of Hormuz management, Mojtaba Khamenei says
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a statement on state television, read aloud by a presenter, on the date when Iran celebrates Persian Gulf National Day.

"Today, two months after the largest military deployment and aggression by the world's bullies in the region, and the United States' disgraceful defeat in its plans, a new chapter is unfolding for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz ," Khamenei said.

He said that the future of the Persian Gulf region would be "one without the United States," saying that "outsiders" who come with greedy intentions had no place there "except at the bottom of its waters."
The statement from the comparatively new ayatollah, who took up the role following his father's death in US and Israeli airstrikes, appeared to again indicate Iran's intentions both to maintain a nuclear program and to impose some kind of new system, such as tolls, for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

He said that Iranians viewed technological capacities including nuclear and missile technologies "as national assets and will safeguard them just as they defend their land, sea and air borders."
Khamenei also said that Iran would "ensure the security" of the Persian Gulf and "eliminate the misuse of the waterway by hostile enemies."
"New legal frameworks and management of the Strait of Hormuz will bring comfort and progress to all nations of the region, and its economic benefits will bring joy to the people," he said, "even if the disbelievers oppose it."
Has Iran war harmed nuclear nonproliferation efforts?

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In depth — Why UAE's OPEC exit is a blow to Saudi Arabia
The United Arab Emirates announced earlier this week that it would be leaving the OPEC oil producers' organization.

Why will this put further strain on the oil cartel's already-waning influence on the global oil trade, and why is it a particular blow for fellow Gulf production powerhouse Saudi Arabia?

Read this analysis from Nik Martin on our business desk for the lowdown .

Merz says Iran 'must come to the negotiating table' and stop 'playing for time'
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for an end to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and said that "if the relevant conditions are met, Germany stands ready to contribute militarily to guarantee the freedom of maritime routes."
Merz was speaking amid a visit to a military training ground in Münster in Lower Saxony on Thursday with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.

He said that he had lobbied at a European Council meeting in Cyprus to "increase the sanctions pressure on Iran, because if Hormuz remains blocked, that has massive economic consequences for all of us."
"Our message therefore: Iran must come to the negotiating table, it must stop playing for time, it can no longer take the entire region and even the entire world hostage," Merz said.

"The nuclear program of Iran must come to an end.

There can be no more strikes against Israel or our partners in the region."
Dressed in military camouflage gear with a "Merz" nametag, the chancellor said his government was in close contact on these matters with allies, "also and particularly in Washington."
"We are doing this in a collective transatlantic interest.

We are doing it with mutual respect and a fair division of labor.

And in this, we are following a clear compass, particularly in these turbulent times: this compass stays pointed to a strong NATO and a reliable transatlantic partnership," Merz said.

The chancellor has entered damage limitation mode in recent days after comments of his about the US being "humiliated" by Iran over the back-and-forth on negotiations in Pakistan elicited President Donald Trump's ire in a series of social media posts, including one where he mulled reducing the US military footprint in Germany .

Lebanese President condemns Israeli ceasefire violations in meeting with Red Cross workers
Lebanon's President Michael Aoun has met with members of the Lebanese International Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) workers and condemned Israeli violations of the shaky ceasefire between the two sides , particularly in the south of the country.

"Pressure must be exerted on Israel to respect international laws and agreements, and to cease targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defense personnel and humanitarian, health, and relief organizations," Aoun said according to a post from the presidency online.

Aoun noted that 17 paramedics from the Lebanese ICRC had been killed, also saying that journalists had been targeted.

Hegseth faces second day of Armed Services Committee grilling, this time in the Senate
US Defense Secretary (and/or Secretary of War nowadays) Pete Hegseth faces another day of criticism or praise in Congress over his handling of the Iran war.

On Thursday, he will be grilled by Senators in a two-day House Armed Services Committee hearing, having faced members of the House the previous day.

The committee will hear a presentation on the Trump administration's 2027 military budget proposal that is seeking to boost defense spending to around $1.5 trillion (roughly €1.28 trillion), with increased spending in areas including drones, missile defense systems and warships.

The hearing is set to start at 11 a.m.

Eastern Time in the US, or 1500 GMT/UTC, roughly five hours from now.

Oil settles around $110 per barrel after short-lived spike overnight
Oil prices dipped in Thursday morning's trading after a short, sharp spike around midnight in Europe, just after Wednesday's close of trade on Wall Street.

Brent crude prices have spent most of the morning hovering just above $110 (roughly €102), having briefly cleared $120 earlier in the day.

West Texas Intermediate prices stood just below $110, meanwhile.

US military hails 'significant milestone' in 'highly effective' blockade
The US military's Central Command, responsible for operations in the region, issued a statement late on Wednesday saying its blockade against Iran was bearing fruit.

"Today, US forces achieved a significant milestone after successfully redirecting the 42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade," Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement published online.

He called this a "reflection of the outstanding work" from US troops to prevent maritime commerce from entering or exiting Iranian ports.

"Right now there are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can't sell," Cooper said.

"That's an estimated $6 billion-plus from which Iran's leadership cannot financially benefit."
He concluded that the blockade was "highly effective."
Iran's president says US naval blockade is 'doomed to fail'
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that the US naval blockade of Iran's ports would exacerbate disruptions in the Gulf and also not achieve its objectives.

"Any attempt to impose a maritime blockade or restrictions is contrary to international law...

and is doomed to fail," Pezeshkian said in a statement.

He also said that the measures would "not only fail to enhance regional security, but are in fact a source of tension and a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf."
The US declared the naval blockade on April 13, soon after the ceasefire that paused the more kinetic war with Iran.

The White House and the US military meanwhile argue that it is effective and is restricting Iran's oil trade.

Iran's military has largely shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a large chunk of global oil and gas exports, and has also threatened "to respond" further unless the US lifts the blockade, albeit without specifying how it might respond.

Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told state TV that the US would not "gain any results" from the blockade, saying that industry employees were working around the clock to "ensure that there is no problem in providing services."
US, Iran peace talks stall as Hormuz shipping backlog widens
Hello and thanks for joining us, here's a quick recap to get you up to speed this Thursday.

Thursday begins after a late evening spike in oil prices that pushed the price of Brent crude briefly past $120 (roughly €102) per barrel overnight, its highest levels since 2022 and the panic in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Iran 's rial also dipped to a record low against the US dollar as the war continues to buffet the national economy.

The Pentagon estimated that the war had cost the US in the region of $25 billion so far.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced hours of questions from lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee, striking a combative tone when facing critical comments, describing Democrats and "some Republicans" as "reckless, feckless and defeatist."
President Donald Trump , meanwhile, hailed productive phone calls with both India's Narendra Modi and Russia's Vladimir Putin, and also said he thought that the United Arab Emirates' decision to withdraw from the OPEC oil cartel was "great," predicting it would lead to lower gas and oil prices.

The ceasefire, meanwhile, continued to more or less hold, with another day passing without any hostilities of note besides the efforts to impede shipping in the Persian Gulf.