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Witkoff and Kushner headed to Pakistan for Iran talks, White House says
Iran requested an in-person assembly with the US authorities, in accordance with reporting from Fox News, as US officers put together a visit to Pakistan.
On Saturday morning, particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner might be touring to Pakistan for talks with the Iran’s international minister, the White House confirmed.
The two might be heading to Islamabad, the place Pakistan might be mediating talks with Iran.
“Everyone will be on standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary, but first, Steve and Jared will be going over there to report back to the president, the vice president and the rest of the team,” Leavitt mentioned on the Fox News present “America Reports.”
The Iranian international minister Abbas Araqchi is predicted in Islamabad on Friday to debate proposals for restarting peace talks with the US.
The White House additionally mentioned that they’ve “seen progress” from the Iranian aspect of the negotiations in latest days.
Key occasions
Closing abstract
Here are a number of the newest Middle East information to maintain you up to date as we head into the weekend:
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US and Iranian authorities representatives will meet in Pakistan on Saturday to proceed negotiations for a decision of the Middle East disaster. Iran’s international minister Abbas Araqchi will seemingly be current on the talks. For the US, particular envoy Steve Witkof and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner might be engaged within the talks in Islamabad. Even earlier than the assembly, there has already been some stress, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling shops Iran requested the Saturday talks and president Donald Trump telling Reuters that Iran plans to make a proposal that can fulfill US calls for. Iran strongly rejected these claims, in accordance with Iranian state media, including that Iran has made no request for talks with the US and has to this point fully rejected the US’s extreme calls for.
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International leaders are pushing for an additional resumption of talks to safe a fast and sustainable settlement to the disaster. Russia, the United Aram Emirates and Qatar all mentioned the Iran ceasefire settlement on Friday.
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The worldwide group continues to denounce the humanitarian crises stemming from the battle. European Council president Antonio Costa mentioned on Friday that the instant opening of the Strait of Hormuz with out restrictions is “vital” for the world. Also, a World Food Programme consultant right this moment mentioned that 45 million individuals will face meals insecurity and malnutrition if the Strait of Hormuz continues to be blocked.
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The German chancellor Friedrich Merz known as on different coalition nations to ease sanctions on Iran as a part of a ceasefire deal. Other EU leaders, together with the president of the European Commission, have distanced themselves from the German chancellor, saying the transfer is untimely.
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Indonesia as soon as once more condemned an Israeli assault in Lebanon that killed an Indonesian peacekeeper. The assault occurred in late March. Four of the Indonesian peacekeepers current had been killed, with the international ministry asserting the fourth died on Friday.
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The Israeli navy mentioned they killed six Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon on Friday throughout a conflict. This got here after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of making an attempt to “sabotage” efforts to achieve a peace cope with Lebanon.
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US defence secretary Pete Hegseth says transit is happening within the strait of Hormuz, however restricted and with danger. He says that is Iran’s fault for threatening vessels, together with cruise ships.
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Human Rights Watch has known as on Lebanon to affix the worldwide prison court docket, after Israeli forces killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zainab Faraj in an airstrike earlier this week.
Iraq’s prime minister ordered an investigation into two drones that had been launched from the nation and attacked two Kuwaiti northern border posts on Friday.
The drones precipitated some injury. There had been no casualties.
Iraq’s inside minister condemned the assault in a name together with his Kuwaiti counterpart.
Shah Meer Baloch
Iran has made no request for talks with the Americans and has to this point fully rejected US requests for negotiations as a consequence of their extreme calls for, Iran’s state media Tasnim News reported, rejecting the White House press secretary earlier remarks about Tehran’s request for talks.
Qatar discusses US-Iran ceasefire settlement in name with Trump – state media
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has been discussing the US-Iran ceasefire settlement in a telephone name with Donald Trump, the Qatari state information company reported.
Al Thani added Qatar would proceed coordinating with companions to assist mediation efforts led by Pakistan.
Russia’s international minister Sergei Lavrov and his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, known as for the resumption of talks to safe a fast, sustainable settlement to the Middle East disaster, the Russian international ministry mentioned.
A press release mentioned the ministers, in a phone name, “expressed their shared view on the need to resume negotiations in order to promptly reach agreements on a long-term, sustainable resolution of the crisis, taking into account the legitimate interests of all countries in the region”.
US poses new sanctions on Iran crypto, freezing $344m
The US authorities imposed new sanctions on Iranian cryptocurrency wallets, in accordance with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to the secretary, round $344 million in cryptocurrency was frozen.
Trump on Iran: ‘they’re making a proposal and we’ll should see’
US president Donald Trump informed Reuters that Iran plans to make a proposal aimed toward satisfying US calls for, as talks had been anticipated to renew in Pakistan.
“They’re making an offer and we’ll have to see,” Trump mentioned throughout a telephone interview.
Trump mentioned he didn’t know what the provide can be but.
When requested who the US was negotiating with, Trump mentioned: “I don’t want to say that, but we’re dealing with the people that are in charge now.”
Trump plans to ship particular envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to talks with Araqchi in Islamabad, and the pair will depart on Saturday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters on Friday.
The Iranian delegation that might be partaking in talks with the US authorities this weekend arrived in Pakistan, Reuters reviews.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner might be assembly with the Iranian authorities representatives on Saturday.
The Strait of Hormuz’s closure is resulting in a worsening disaster of meals insecurity and malnutrition in nations which are already struggling, a consultant from the World Food Programme informed CNN right this moment.
“It’s becoming like a crisis within a crisis. The markets are being inflated, the prices are affected and that will continue to send shockwaves across the globe,” mentioned Samer AbdelJaber, the World Food Programme’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.
AbdelJaber estimates 45 million individuals might be food-insecure if the disaster continues.
His feedback come as a coalition of nations launched a report on Friday, warning that meals insecurity and malnutrition ranges stay extraordinarily excessive. The crises are concentrated in ten nations, the report from the Global Network Against Food Crises mentioned.
The ten nations acknowledged within the report are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.
Witkoff and Kushner headed to Pakistan for Iran talks, White House says
Iran requested an in-person assembly with the US authorities, in accordance with reporting from Fox News, as US officers put together a visit to Pakistan.
On Saturday morning, particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner might be touring to Pakistan for talks with the Iran’s international minister, the White House confirmed.
The two might be heading to Islamabad, the place Pakistan might be mediating talks with Iran.
“Everyone will be on standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary, but first, Steve and Jared will be going over there to report back to the president, the vice president and the rest of the team,” Leavitt mentioned on the Fox News present “America Reports.”
The Iranian international minister Abbas Araqchi is predicted in Islamabad on Friday to debate proposals for restarting peace talks with the US.
The White House additionally mentioned that they’ve “seen progress” from the Iranian aspect of the negotiations in latest days.
The Israeli navy mentioned its forces killed six Hezbollah fighters in a southern Lebanese city on Friday throughout a conflict that included a firefight.
According to the navy, troops recognized six militants working within the city of Bint Jbeil, an space that noticed heavy combating earlier than a ceasefire was declared final week.
“Following the identification, an exchange of fire began between the terrorists and the soldiers, during which the soldiers eliminated two terrorists,” the navy mentioned.
“Subsequently, the soldiers struck the structure from which the terrorists had been operating. In the strike, the four remaining terrorists were eliminated.”
US president Donald Trump is sending particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for talks with the Iran’s international minister, CNN reported on Friday, citing two administration officers acquainted with the matter.
Vice-president JD Vance isn’t at the moment planning to attend however he might be on standby to journey to Islamabad if negotiations progress, CNN mentioned.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah on Friday of making an attempt to “sabotage” efforts to achieve a peace settlement with Lebanon.
“We have started a process to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it’s clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this,” he mentioned in his first remarks after a ceasefire with Lebanon was prolonged.
The feedback got here because the Israeli navy mentioned it struck Hezbollah targets in a south Lebanon village in response to a “ceasefire violation”, after earlier warning residents to evacuate the group.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck military structures in the area of Deir Aames, from which rockets were launched toward the town of Shtula in Israel yesterday,” it mentioned.
“The structures that were targeted were used by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to advance terrorist activities against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel,” it added.

Jennifer Rankin
EU leaders have distanced themselves from a name by the German chancellor Friedrich Merz for the bloc to ease sanctions on Iran as a part of a ceasefire deal.
Merz indicated that the EU was prepared to steadily ease sanctions on Iran if a complete settlement was reached.
“The easing of sanctions can be part of a process,” Merz mentioned following talks with EU leaders in Cyprus. As Reuters reported, he mentioned: “It is, so to speak, part of the contribution we can make to advance this process and, hopefully, lead to a lasting ceasefire.”
But the heads of the EU establishments mentioned such a transfer was untimely. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, informed reporters that sanctions aid “should be conditional on verification of de-escalation” but in addition “a change to the repression of [Iran’s] own people”.
She mentioned:
That was the explanation why we adopted the sanctions regime within the first place, the behaviour of the regime. We mustn’t neglect 17,000 younger individuals have been killed within the first month of this 12 months. So the explanation for that needs to be ended earlier than we are able to discuss lifting sanctions.
The distinction in tone was placing as von der Leyen, like Merz, is a German Christian Democrat, though she doesn’t characterize her nation within the fee. Other teams exterior Iran have estimated that as much as 33,000 or extra individuals had been killed within the latest crackdown by the regime, earlier than the US-Israeli airstrikes.
The EU at the moment has 263 senior Iranians and 53 organisations on its blacklist, together with the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the morality police, information companies and prisons. It additionally imposes a ban on the sale of apparatus or finance that could possibly be utilized by Iranian authorities to repress their individuals.
The EU additionally implements wide-ranging UN financial and monetary sanctions on Iran supposed to curb the regime’s nuclear programme. The European Council president António Costa mentioned it was “too early” to discuss lifting sanctions, including that “we don’t have a good experience with Iran”. He mentioned the Iranian regime had failed to influence the worldwide group they’d not develop a nuclear weapon, including:
And we can’t ignore the character of the regime, the violence of the regime in opposition to their individuals and the hundreds of individuals they killed very not too long ago.
The instant reopening of the strait of Hormuz with out restrictions is “vital” for the world, European Council president Antonio Costa mentioned Friday, after talks with regional leaders together with from Lebanon and Syria.
“The strait of Hormuz must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling, in full respect of international law and the principle of freedom of navigation. This is vital for the entire world,” Costa informed a information convention in Cyprus.
Iran’s international minister Abbas Araqchi will maintain bilateral talks throughout a short go to to Pakistan on Friday, two Pakistani sources conscious of the talks informed Reuters.
Araqchi will talk about his aspect of the proposal for talks with the United States over the Iran battle, which can then be conveyed to Washington, the sources mentioned.
Indonesia as soon as once more strongly condemned an Israeli assault in Lebanon that resulted within the dying of a fourth Indonesian peacekeeper, the international ministry mentioned on Friday.
The peacekeeper sustained extreme accidents as a consequence of an artillery explosion from an Israeli tank on 29 March and the ministry introduced on Friday that he has handed away. Three different Indonesian peacekeepers had additionally died as a result of assault.
Indonesia urged the UN to conduct an intensive, clear and accountable investigation into the deaths of its Unifil peacekeepers.
Interim abstract
Here’s a snapshot of the most recent Middle East information to carry you up to the mark.
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US defence secretary Pete Hegseth says transit is happening within the strait of Hormuz, however restricted and with danger. He says that is Iran’s fault for threatening vessels, together with cruise ships.
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Iran’s international minister set to journey to Pakistan, elevating hope for renewed talks to finish battle. Iran’s international minister Abbas Araqchi will start a visit on Friday that features visits to Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow, Iranian state media mentioned.
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Donald Trump has introduced {that a} ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon can be prolonged by three weeks. Trump, talking to reporters within the Oval Office alongside the individuals within the assembly, mentioned he hoped the 2 nations’ leaders would meet through the further three-week cessation of hostilities.
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A leaked Pentagon inside e-mail proposes that the US ought to reassess its assist for Britain’s declare to the Falkland Islands as a result of the UK didn’t do sufficient to help the American bombing of Iran. The UK responded by saying that sovereignty of the Falkland Islands stays with the UK.
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In the identical leaked e-mail, the US outlined different “retaliatory measures” it felt was appropriate as a consequence of what it deemed an absence of assist from Nato – together with suspending Spain from the alliance. It isn’t clear there’s any mechanism to droop nations from Nato.
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Human Rights Watch has known as on Lebanon to affix the worldwide prison court docket, after Israeli forces killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zainab Faraj in an airstrike earlier this week.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned on Friday that he had acquired profitable therapy for early-stage prostate most cancers, with out specifying when the therapy occurred.
After the publication of his annual medical report, he mentioned he’s “in excellent physical condition” after profitable surgical procedure for an enlarged benign prostate.
In his social media publish, he mentioned he selected to bear therapy as a result of “when I’m given information in time about a potential danger, I want to address it immediately”.
Treatment had “removed the problem and left no trace of it”, he added. Netanyahu mentioned that he had delayed the discharge of the medical report by two months to stop Iran from spreading “false propaganda in opposition to Israel“. In March, through the combating with Iran, rumours that circulated on social media and aired on Iranian state media claimed that Netanyahu had died.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/24/iran-war-live-updates-trump-hormuz-strait-israel-lebanon-truce
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