The President of the United States also threatened to destroy new Iranian infrastructure in case of a failure of negotiations in Islamabad, in a message published on Sunday.
What you need to know
Donald Trump continues to blow hot and cold with Iran. The American president again accused the Iranian regime of violating the ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, in a message published on his social network Truth Social on Sunday, April 19. But in the same message, Donald Trump announced sending an American delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan, to restart talks between Washington and Tehran. The head of state wrote that he was offering Iran a “reasonable agreement” and that if Iran refused, “the United States will destroy all power plants and bridges in Iran.” The composition of the delegation sent by Washington is already known, but Iran has not yet confirmed its participation in these new talks, according to Iranian media. Follow our live updates.
- Emmanuel Macron will receive the Prime Minister of Lebanon on Tuesday. “This visit [by Nawaf Salam] will be an opportunity for the head of state to reiterate his commitment to the full respect of the ceasefire in Lebanon, France’s support for the country’s territorial integrity and actions taken by the Lebanese government to ensure the full and complete sovereignty of the country and the monopoly of arms,” underlined the Elysée. The visit of the Lebanese Prime Minister also comes after the death of a French peacekeeper in an ambush attributed to Hezbollah on Saturday, which also left three injured.
- Iran denounces the American naval blockade, “an illegal and criminal act.” “By deliberately inflicting collective punishment on the Iranian population,” the naval blockade imposed by Washington on Iran “is equivalent to a war crime and a crime against humanity,” as well as a violation of the ceasefire,” declared the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esma’il Baghaei.
- Israel will use “all its strength” in Lebanon in case of a threat against its soldiers. Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, declared on Sunday that the army had received instructions to use “all its strength” in Lebanon, despite the ongoing ceasefire, if Israeli troops were faced with “any threat.” During an event in the occupied West Bank, he also added that the army had received orders to “destroy the houses in villages near the border that served, in every way, as advanced terrorist posts of Hezbollah and endangered Israeli communities,” referring to the pro-Iranian movement.
- Tehran confirms “progress in negotiations.” “We have made progress in negotiations, but there are still many divergences and some fundamental issues remain pending,” reported powerful President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday. However, a final peace agreement is “still far away,” he said. He affirmed that his country only accepted the two-week ceasefire because Washington asked for it.
- The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, nevertheless. Iran has once again locked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the continued blockade of its ports by the United States, three days before the expiration of the ceasefire between the two countries. Saturday, shortly after Tehran regained “strict control” of this strategic maritime corridor, at least three commercial ships trying to cross the strait were fired upon.
