US war latest: Trump warns Tehran ‘can’t blackmail us’ as gunboats ‘fire at tanker’ in Strait of Hormuz

Iran had warned the strait ‘will not remain open’ if the US blockade continued and has now moved to restrict it
Donald Trump was adamant that Iran would not “blackmail” the United States as Tehran said it was reimposing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Two tankers reported coming under fire in the channel on Saturday, as Iran declared it was closing the strait again due to the continued American presence in the area.

Trump played down the threat, saying Iran had “got a little cute” , after Iran’s supreme leader said his navy was ready to make the US “taste the bitterness of new defeats”.

"They wanted to close up the strait again, as they've been doing for years.

They can't blackmail us,” Trump said.

The US blockade on Iranian ports remains a point of major contention, with just days left before the two-week ceasefire agreement expires on Tuesday .

Trump insisted that “very good conversations” were ongoing, while Iran’s national security council said it was considering new proposals from the US, following mediation efforts by Pakistan in recent days.

Hezbollah refutes blame for killing of French soldier in Lebanon
A French soldier was killed and three others wounded while clearing a road in southern Lebanon in an attack that peacekeepers and French officials said was likely carried out by Hezbollah.

French President Emmanuel Macron identified the fallen soldier as Sergeant-Chef Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban.

“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron said, adding: “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and take their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”
UNIFIL said initial assessments indicated the fire came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it called "a deliberate attack."
Hezbollah denied it was responsible for the attack.

Where have talks to end the war been left?

Trump said the US was having "very good conversations" with Iran, even as Tehran closed the strait again on Saturday.

The reversal has left diplomacy uncertain, with just three days until the US-Iranian ceasefire is due to expire.

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no date had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.

State television also quoted the Supreme National Security Council as saying the US had put forward new proposals after talks mediated by Pakistan in recent days.

Tehran was considering them but had not yet responded, it said.

There was no immediate sign of direct talks taking place at the weekend, despite Trump saying on Friday that negotiations would take place.

In full: Tankers under fire as Iran closes Strait of Hormuz hours after reopening
Tankers in the Gulf came under fire on Saturday as Iran reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after declaring the vital waterway had reopened to commercial traffic.

At least two vessels reported being struck by gunfire as they tried to cross the strait, after Tehran said it would be shutting the strategic chokepoint in response to the continued US blockade on Iranian ports.

Hopes for diplomacy were dashed as Iran’s new supreme leader Mojataba Khamenei said the nation’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies, with the US-Iranian ceasefire set to expire within days.

Read the full story of today’s events here:
US preparing to board Iranian vessels, officials say
US officials have told the Wall Street Journal that the US military is preparing to board ‘Iran linked’ oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters within days.

US demands have stalled talks, Iranian minister says
Iran is not ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with US officials, a senior Iranian minister has said, citing Washington's refusal to abandon "maximalist" demands on key issues.

In an interview with the Associated Press on the margins of a diplomacy forum in Turkey, deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the US, rejecting claims by Donald Trump.

"I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States," Mr Khatibzadeh said.

"This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we're not going to accept things that are non-starters."
On Friday, Mr Trump said the US will go into Iran and "get all the nuclear dust", referring to the 970lb of enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites badly damaged by American military strikes last year.

Mr Khatibzadeh said there have been many exchanges of messages between the sides but accused the US of holding firm on demands Tehran deem to be excessive.

"We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position," he said.

Iran was seeking the finalisation of a "framework agreement" before moving to an in-person meeting, he added.

He would not go into specifics of the negotiations with the US or say which issues remain unresolved but called on Washington to address Tehran's concerns, including sanctions imposed on Iran.

"The other sides also should understand and address our main concerns, which are illegal unilateral sanctions that Americans have imposed on Iranians and this economic terrorism which has targeted Iranian people to suffocate them and make them to revolt against the political structure inside Iran," Mr Khatibzadeh said.

Iran’s supreme leader warns of ‘new bitter defeats’ for US and Israel
Iran 's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran's navy is ready to inflict " new bitter defeats " on the US and Israel .

Read out on state TV on Saturday (April 18), a newsreader quoted a statement attributed to Khamenei saying, "The army stood against the sinister plans of the United States, the remnants of the Pahlavi regime, and separatists who wanted a dismembered Iran, and created epic achievements."
At least two merchant vessels reported they were hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, maritime security and shipping sources said, shortly after Iran said it was once again tightening control of the waterway.

Trump: 'Iran got a little cute but they can't blackmail us'
Asked about developments in the Strait of Hormuz today, Donald Trump said: "we have very good conversations going on".

He added: "It's working out very well - they got a little cute as they have been doing for 47 years.”
The president continued: "They wanted to close up the strait again, as they've been doing for years, they can't blackmail us.

"We'll have some information by the end of the day.

We're talking to them, we're taking a tough stand."
Russia's state nuclear energy firm says ready to help with removal of enriched uranium from Iran
The head of ⁠Russia's state atomic energy company, Rosatom, ⁠Alexei ​Likhachev, ⁠said on Saturday ⁠that it ​is ⁠ready ‌to help with the ‌removal of enriched ‌uranium from ⁠Iran, and that the company is closely following the progress ‌of US-Iran ​talks
UN peacekeeper killed, three wounded in south Lebanon shooting, UNIFIL says
A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded after a UNIFIL patrol came ⁠under small-arms fire while clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh, the peacekeeping mission said on Saturday.

Two ⁠of the wounded ​peacekeepers ⁠were seriously injured, it said.

UNIFIL said initial assessments indicated the fire ⁠came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that ​an ⁠investigation had been launched ‌into what it described as "a deliberate attack."
France's President Emmanuel Macron said earlier a ‌French soldier serving with the United ‌Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had been killed in the attack and blamed Iran-backed armed ⁠group Hezbollah, urging Lebanese authorities to act against those responsible.

Lebanon's army condemned the shooting and said it had opened an investigation, while President Joseph Aoun offered condolences over the killing and ordered an immediate ‌probe.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also ​condemned the attack.

Voices inside Iran: Residents break internet blackout to describe life during ceasefire
On the 50th day of an internet blackout, Iranians under the surveillance of the IRGC for accessing the internet spoke at great risk to The Independent’s Maira Butt and Moha Tahery about their everyday lives amid a brutal crackdown, ongoing conflict and economic crisis.

Voices in Iran: Residents break internet blackout to describe life during ceasefire
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