Live updates: Iran vows retaliation after U.S. seizes ship and says 'no decision' yet on new peace talks

01:51

Ahead of possible peace talks in Islamabad this week, Trump claims that Iran has agreed to let the U.S. remove its enriched uranium, but Iran is saying it won’t be transferred anywhere.

Meanwhile, the president dramatically shifted his tone over the weekend from praising Iran’s leadership to once up again ramping up threats, posting "No more Mr. Nice Guy" on social media. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the normal passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained in a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China advocates an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and insists on resolving conflicts in the Middle East through political and diplomatic channels, Xinhua cited Xi as saying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” to learn that an Israeli soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon after the country's miliary confirmed a photo depicting the act was authentic.

“I condemn the act in the strongest terms,” Netanyahu said in a post on X this morning. “We express regret for the incident and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world,” he added. 

A criminal probe is underway, Netanyahu said, and authorities will take “appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.”

The photo depicts an Israeli soldier using what appears to be a sledgehammer or axe to strike the face of a Jesus Christ statue, in what Reuters reported was the town of Debel on the border.

The IDF said in an earlier statement this kind of conduct was “wholly inconsistent” with the values expected of its troops.

02:16

A California woman was arrested at LAX and is accused of helping Iran sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons overseas. KNBC’s Keenan Willard reports.

Iran executed two men convicted of cooperating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and planning attacks inside the country, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported, a charge denied by the opposition group they were linked to.

Mizan said the two, identified as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi, were accused of belonging to a spy network linked to Mossad and had received training abroad, including in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

There have been a number of executions linked to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran over the last few weeks.

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of the PMOI, said on X that their only “crime was their commitment to freedom and the liberation of their people.”

They had been convicted on charges including “enmity against God” and cooperation with hostile groups, and their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court before being carried out, Mizan reported.

She said a number of PMOI members and other political prisoners remained on death row and called for international action to “halt the wave of executions.”

The Israeli military has confirmed a photo circulating online showing an Israeli soldier striking a Jesus statue in southern Lebanon is authentic, calling it inconsistent with its values.

“The IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,” the IDF said in a post on X last night, commenting on a photo that was originally shared by Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi. 

via X

The IDF said the incident is being further investigated, and appropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings. The Israeli military was also working to assist the community in restoring the statue to its place, it said.

“The IDF is operating to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and has no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols,” the statement added. 

The price of crude oil rose again today after the U.S. seizure of an Iranian ship in the Strait of Hormuz cast doubt on a possible peace process to end the war.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 5% to more than $95 per barrel, reversing much of the declines seen on Friday, while U.S. crude rose 6% to almost $89 per barrel.

Oil prices and stock futures began tumbling yesterday as tensions renewed in the strait, which carries a fifth of the world's oil supply as well as a large amount of liquid natural has and fertilizer.

00:33

Video released by the U.S. military shows what it said were Marines seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Arabian Sea after it “failed to comply with repeated warnings.”

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad this morning.

The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-U.S. relations and preparations for a second round of talks scheduled to take place in Islamabad this week, Naqvi’s office said.

The statement did not specify when the talks are expected to begin.

Naqvi briefed Baker on security arrangements, saying special measures had been taken to ensure the safety of visiting delegations.

“We have made comprehensive security arrangements for our distinguished guests,” Naqvi said in the statement.

Baker offered an appreciated for Pakistan’s role in easing regional tensions and efforts to facilitate dialogue.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters vowed to carry out “necessary action” against the U.S. after the seizure of the Iranian-flagged ship in the Arabian Sea yesterday but said it first had to ensure the safety of the crew and family members on board.

In comments carried by the semi-official Fars news agency, the spokesperson for the military command said Iran’s armed forces were ready for a “decisive response” to what it called “blatant aggression” by the U.S., but due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s personnel, they were “constrained in order to preserve their lives and security which were in danger at any moment.”

After ensuring the safety of the families and personnel, “the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will carry out the necessary action against the American terrorist army,” the spokesperson added, according to Fars. 

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called for a rational approach as the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington showed new strain after an Iranian ship was seized by the U.S. in the Gulf of Oman, saying war was not in anyone’s interest.

In comments carried by Iran’s official state news agency IRNA this morning, Pezeshkian said all rational and diplomatic channels must be used to reduce tensions while maintaining firmness against threats.

At the same time, mistrust of the enemy and vigilance in interactions are an undeniable necessity, he added, according to IRNA.

It comes as the two-week ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday, with no clarity about the future of the peace talks.

U.S. Central Command said there were six hours of repeated warnings from the U.S. forces before they moved to seize Iranian-flagged ship Touska in the Arabian Sea, which they said attempted to sail toward an Iranian port violating the U.S. naval blockade.

CENTCOM published a video of the intercept this morning, saying it showed U.S. Marines departing an amphibious assault ship by helicopter and transiting over the Arabian Sea to board and seize the vessel.

When the ship’s crew failed to comply with the warnings yesterday, the marines rappelled onto it after the vessel’s population was disabled by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, CENTCOM said. 

Iran has vowed to retaliate for the ship's seizure.

MarineTraffic data this morning showed that the ship was still in the Gulf of Oman, not moving for the past 7 hours.

Iran has no plans for another round of negotiations with the U.S., Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has said, accusing the U.S. of continuously violating the ceasefire.

"Regarding the next round of negotiations, there is no plan and no decision has been taken in this regard," Baghaei said at a news conference today.

The U.S.'s naval blockade and the seizure of an Iranian ship were a "clear contradiction between word and action," he said, which amplifies Iran's distrust in U.S. intentions.

President Trump said he was dispatching his negotiators to Pakistan today for new talks.