Live updates: U.S. blockade of Iran's ports comes into effect; Trump says he doesn't care about new talks
This version of Live Updates Us Blockade Iran Ports Trump Hormuz Peace Talks Ceasefire Rcna331473 - World News | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Iran's armed forces accused the U.S. of "piracy" ahead of the planned blockade, which comes after marathon weekend talks ended without a peace deal.
What to know
- IRAN BLOCKADE: The U.S. military blockade of all of Iran's ports and coastal areas came into effect at 10 a.m. ET. According to the U.S. military, it will allow ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz if traveling between non-Iranian ports. President Donald Trump had said earlier the U.S. Navy would prevent ships from passing through the key waterway.
- TEHRAN BLASTS ‘PIRACY’: Iran's armed forces accused the U.S. of "piracy" and said the country's ports are "either for everyone or for no one."
- OIL PRICES SURGE: The price of oil climbed overnight to well above $100 a barrel and stocks fell as traffic through the strait, a crucial global trade route, was at an effective standstill.
- CEASEFIRE ‘HOLDING’ AFTER TALKS FAIL: Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is "holding well" but said "I don't care" whether Iran returns to the negotiating table after weekend talks ended without a peace deal.
- POPE FEUD: Pope Leo XIV vowed to keep speaking out and said he had no fear of the Trump administration after the president assailed the first American pontiff as "weak" and "terrible" following his Iran war criticism.
- DEATH TOLL: Iran’s forensic chief said more than 3,000 people had been killed in the country since U.S.-Israeli strikes began Feb. 28. More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, 32 have been killed in Gulf states and 23 people have died in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, and two more died of noncombat causes.
- INSIGHTS AND ANALYSIS: Get exclusive analysis and insight into the Middle East conflict by becoming an NBC News subscriber.
Trump threatens to destroy Iranian ships if they 'come anywhere close' to planned blockade
In a post on Truth Social, Trump threatened to destroy Iranian ships if they "come anywhere close" to his planned U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier today, the president announced his plan to block all ships from passing through the strait. U.S. Central Command clarified later that it would allow traffic on the key waterway traveling between non-Iranian ports.
China urges U.S. and Iran to 'avoid a resumption of hostilities'
During a briefing today, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun encouraged the U.S. and Iran to "avoid a resumption of hostilities" and resolve their dispute through political and diplomatic means.
At the same time, U.S. intelligence reporting suggests that China is planning to provide new air defense weaponry to Iran in coming weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
When asked about Trump's threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on China if they provide military equipment to Iran, Jiakun said: "There are no winners in a tariff war."
E.U. fuel bill $25B higher due to Iran war, says Von der Leyen
The European Union's fuel bill has risen by more than $25 billion since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said today.
“Our bill for fossil fuel imports has increased by over 22 billion euros — 44 days, 22 billion euros,” she said, adding that “the disruption of energy supplies will continue for some time to come.”
Von der Leyen also advised E.U. governments to start coordinating the way they use oil and natural gas stocks, proposing restrictions to ease state aid rules while the crisis lasts.
Red Cross 'gravely concerned' by attacks on medical workers in Lebanon
The International Committee of the Red Cross said today that it was deeply concerned by attacks on medical workers in Lebanon, following a strike on a Lebanese Red Cross center in the south of the country today.
“The loss of those who dedicate their lives to saving others is gravely concerning, given the impact on the civilians who depend on their help,” said Agnes Dhur, head of delegation of the ICRC in Lebanon.
“Saving lives must never cost a life," she added. "Humanitarian and medical personnel must be protected. They must be allowed to reach and help the wounded and return unharmed.”
Also today ahead of talks between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli forces launched an effort to seize from Iran-backed Hezbollah a key town in southern Lebanon. More than 1 million Lebanese have been displaced during the current war.
U.S.-Iran ceasefire could be extended, Turkey says
The ongoing U.S.-Iran ceasefire could be extended for 45-60 days to allow for negotiations to continue, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said today,
The current ceasefire, declared at the eleventh hour last week, is set to run until next Monday. Turkey has played a role as a mediator in talks.
“If the parties make good progress, an additional ceasefire could be introduced — lasting 45 to 60 days — so that negotiations can continue,” Fidan said in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency.
Fidan warned that Israel remained "a factor" that could disrupt negotiations, and that the issue of uranium enrichment could also be a sticking point.
But, he added, "hopefully, with the support of mediators and other countries, we will try to overcome this as well.”
Thousands of crew members stuck in Strait of Hormuz, union warns
Thousands of crew members stuck on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are running short of basic supplies, a labor union warned today.
Nearly 20,000 Indian crew members were stranded in the region, Milind Kandalgaonkar, general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, said in a letter to India’s national shipping board.
“Many of these seafarers are reportedly facing acute shortages of food, potable water, and essential medical supplies,” he wrote, while urging authorities to protect seafarers' welfare and prepare evacuation plans if needed.
Netanyahu says Israel supports blockade, enrichment 'central issue' in talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Vice President JD Vance told him that negotiations in Pakistan failed because Iran refused to stop enriching uranium.
Vance said the breakdown in negotiations came from the American side, "which could not tolerate Iran’s blatant violation of the terms for entering negotiations," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.
"The agreement was to stop the fire, and the Iranians were supposed to immediately open the straits," he added. "They did not do so, and the Americans could not accept that."
He added that Vance "made it clear that the central issue for President Trump and the United States is the removal of all enriched material and ensuring that there is no further enrichment for years to come – possibly for decades – meaning no enrichment inside Iran. This is their main focus, and of course it is important to us as well."
Netanyahu also said Israel supported the planned U.S. naval blockade and denied claims of a rift between the allies, saying the "exact opposite is true."
11 ships in the Strait of Hormuz hours ahead of Trump's blockade threat
Thirty-one vessels in total have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic. Of those, six were recorded as carrying general cargo, oil, chemical products, or liquefied petroleum gas.
As of 7.32 a.m. E.T today, there were 11 vessels in the waterway, three of them under the Iranian flag. Six of the vessels were oil or chemical tankers and three were cargo ships. As with most of the vessels crossing the strait since yesterday, the majority were recorded as not carrying anything, but four were either partially laden or their load condition was unknown.
Although Trump had threatened to block all ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM clarified later that it would allow traffic on the key waterway traveling between non-Iranian ports.
Iran-flagged vessels seen moving around Kharg Island oil hub, satellite imagery and tracking data show
A newly released satellite image and tracking data appear to show two Iranian vessels going to and from Kharg Island, suggesting possible loading of oil or goods.
An NBC News analysis using MarineTraffic data identified all five vessels near the country’s crucial oil export hub in the image from Copernicus, the European Union’s satellite image service.
Satellite images appear to show vessels going to and from Kharg Island. Copernicus Sentinel
Four of the five vessels are sailing under the flag of Iran, according to Marine Traffic. The one moored at the island’s dock is a passenger ship under the flag of Cuba, the ship-tracking website shows.
The two Iran-flagged ships shown on the west side of the island were seen sailing between the waters and the island’s harbors on Marine Traffic since Saturday.
What to know about Trump’s Iran blockade and the Strait of Hormuz
The announcement of the blockade sent the price of crude oil soaring above $100 and stocks falling.
It also raised questions around why the U.S. would cut off a trade route it had been trying to force open, how the blockade would work and what it could mean for countries across the world.
No stability in Middle East while Lebanon 'in flames,' E.U. chief says
There can be no stability in the Middle East "while Lebanon is in flames," Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, said today.
Speaking to reports in Brussels after a meeting about the situation in the Middle East, Von der Leyen called for an end to hostilities in Lebanon, saying "security is indivisible."
She also said the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz "is greatly damaging," and that "the restoration of the freedom of navigation is of paramount importance."
Maritime expert says blockade would stress test rules governing Strait of Hormuz
The coming days could be a stress test for the Strait of Hormuz and for the rules that are supposed to govern it, according to Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University.
It remains unclear, he added, how the U.S. would track, intercept and board vessels moving from Iranian ports through the strait.
Any U.S. or Iranian attempt to choke off the waterway would run counter to the principle of freedom of navigation, said Mercogliano, who has testified before the U.S. Senate on commercial shipping and written for the U.S. Naval Institute.
“We are challenging the concept of freedom of the seas,” Mercogliano said on his “What’s Going on With Shipping?” podcast, which has more than 600,000 followers on YouTube.
Iran war fallout could push more than 30 million into poverty worldwide, U.N. says
More than 32 million people around the world could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout of the Iran war, according to a United Nations Development Programme report.
The world was facing a "triple shock," the report said, with energy, food and economic growth all impacted by the conflict and developing nations set to be hit hardest.
"War is development in reverse," said Alexander De Croo, UNDP administrator and former prime minister of Belgium.
"Conflict can undo in weeks what countries have built over years,” he wrote in the report. "The crisis forces impossible trade-offs between stabilizing prices today and funding health, education, and jobs tomorrow."
Iran calls Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade threat a ‘bluff’
Iran has dismissed Trump’s latest threats to blockade the Strait of Hormuz as a “bluff,” urging him to “respect the Iranian people,” according to a statement carried by the semi-official Iranian Student News Agency.
“If you want conditions to improve, respect the Iranian people, accept your defeat and do not seek at the negotiating table what you failed to achieve in war,” Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s national security commission, said in response to Trump’s comments.
“We may reveal other cards that we have not yet used in the game,” he added.
IDF signals confidence in taking Hezbollah stronghold
The IDF is confident that it will take full control of the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil in the coming days, according to an Israeli military official.
Lebanon is defined as the main operational front at this stage, the official said, adding that only a "small number of terrorists" remain in Bint Jbeil, a municpality in southern Lebanon close to Israel's borders.
Regarding Iran, the official said the IDF maintains a "high level of alert and readiness for any developments."
Macron says France, Britain to organize conference on reopening Strait of Hormuz
French President Emmanuel Macron said France and the United Kingdom will organize a conference of like-minded countries to support what he described as a “peaceful multinational mission” aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In an X post, Macron said discussions would also address Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the situation in Lebanon.
“France stands ready to play its full part, as it has consistently sought to do since the very first day of the conflict,” he added.
Asian countries urge the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in a statement released today.
“We call for the restoration of the safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
It added that the bloc hopes dialogue and diplomacy among all parties will lead to peace in the region. The region is hugely dependent on fuel imports and has already felt the effects of the waterway's effective closure.
Americans will soon be ‘nostalgic for $4 gas,’ Iranian Parliament speaker says
Americans will soon be “nostalgic for $4 gas,” Iran’s Parliament speaker said last night, ahead of the U.S. blockade
A gas station located in front of an oil refinery in Wilmington, Calif., on Saturday. Etienne Laurent / AFP via Getty Images
“Enjoy the current pump figures,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X. “With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
Oil prices surged overnight.
China urges U.S. and Iran to avoid ‘resumption of hostilities’ after talks fail
China said today it hopes the United States and Iran will avoid a “resumption of hostilities” despite negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend ending without a deal.
“China hopes that the relevant parties will abide by the temporary ceasefire arrangement, remain committed to resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means, avoid a resumption of hostilities, and create conditions for the early restoration of peace and stability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular briefing today.
He added that the launch of talks between the two sides was a step in the right direction toward achieving peace in the region.
Pope Leo tells NBC News he has 'no fear' after Trump criticism of his peace message
Pope Leo XIV has told NBC News that he will stick to his message of peace as he pushed back on Trump's criticism.
Pope Leo boards his plane at Rome's Fiumicino Aairport today. Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images
Speaking aboard the papal plane this morning, the pontiff said "I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do."
He added: "We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the gospel, as a peacemaker."
The pope is embarking on an 11-day tour of four African countries.
IDF says close to capturing key Hezbollah stronghold as Lebanon fighting continues
The Israeli military said its troops were surrounding the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, a key Hezbollah stronghold.
In a statement, the military said that "over the past week, troops from the 98th Division have surrounded Hezbollah military infrastructure and begun targeted ground operations in the Bint Jbeil area."
It said Israeli troops had killed 100 Hezbollah fighters and destroyed dozens of what it described as “terrorist infrastructure sites.”
“The IDF will continue to act forcefully against Hezbollah and will not allow harm to come to the citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement said.
The ongoing Israeli assault on Lebanon has threatened the Iran ceasefire.
British PM Starmer says U.K. won't join blockade
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today that his country is "not supporting a blockade" of Iran's ports.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Starmer said he was focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, because “that’s the way we get energy prices down as quickly as possible.”
A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, pictured yesterday. Reuters
"It is, in my view, vital that we get the strait open and fully open, and that’s where we’ve put all of our efforts in the last few and we’ll continue to do so,” he said.
Iran's armed forces accuse U.S. of 'piracy'
Iran's armed forces have accused the U.S. of "piracy" over the planned blockade and said that the security of its ports "is either for everyone or for no one."
Iran will implement a “permanent mechanism” to control the strait due to continued U.S. threats, a spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said in a statement carried by the semi-official Iranian Student News Agency.
“The criminal actions of America in restricting maritime transit in international waters are illegal and constitute piracy,” the statement said.
"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran clearly and firmly declare that security of ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for no one."
It added that if the security of Iran's ports "is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman will remain safe."
Trump: ‘I don’t care’ whether Iran returns to negotiating table
Trump said late last night he isn’t pressing Iran for another round of talks after the weekend’s peace negotiations ended without a resolution.
Speaking on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after he got off Air Force One, Trump was asked how long he might wait for Iran to commit to a possible second round of talks.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”
Trump suggested negotiations to end the war aren’t crucial, listing what he characterized as key victories.
“Their military is gone,” he said. “Their missiles are largely depleted. The manufacturing capability for missiles and drones is largely defeated.”
Trump assails Pope Leo as ‘weak’ and ‘terrible’ after pontiff’s Iran war criticism
Trump sharply criticized Pope Leo XIV in remarks to reporters and on social media yesterday, calling the first American leader of the Catholic Church “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” Trump added.
The pope last week criticized Trump’s public threats to “wipe out” Iranian civilization, saying “attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law” and urging people to contact leaders and members of Congress to call for peace. He has urged Trump to end the war with Iran, and he lamented in his Easter message last week that the world is “becoming indifferent” to violence.
