Trump tells JD Vance to find a way out of Iran war: Live updates

If you’re just joining our coverage of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, here are the latest developments:

• Donald Trump is sending JD Vance to lead the US delegation at talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. He will be joined by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
• Iran, meanwhile, has already sent its delegation over, which is being led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
• Trump accused Iran of reneging on its promise to open the Strait of Hormuz, writing on Truth Social yesterday: ‘That is not the agreement we have!’
• Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, demanded in a written statement ‘blood money’ from the US and Israel after denouncing them as ‘criminal aggressors.’
• Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, said earlier today that the IDF is in ‘a state of war’, adding that his forces are not in a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

JD Vance is set to travel to Pakistan to lead talks with Iran and find a solution to the end of the Middle East crisis.

He will be joined by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Both Witkoff and Kushner took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling US concerns about Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East before Mr Trump and Israel launched the February 28 war against Iran.

Little is known about how the talks might play out, as the White House has provided scant details on the format and the points set to be raised.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has called on the nation’s citizens to ‘be constantly vigilant’ in order to avenge Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The country’s new leader has not been seen in public since war broke out on February 28, but this new message appeared on his social media today.

In the statement, he said a ‘firm determination to avenge’ his father would remain 40 days after his assassination, despite the end of the ‘official mourning period’ for his killing.

The 56-year-old wrote: ‘Dear nation, although official mourning period for the martyrdom of your great leader has come to an end… there remains a firm determination to avenge him and all the martyrs… and we will be constantly vigilant to realise this.’

Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is on lockdown as US and Iranian delegations prepare to meet tomorrow for crucial peace talks.

Local authorities have blocked roads using shipping containers and barbed wire, and deployed armed security forces across the city.

The delegations are expected to be hosted at the Serena Hotel. For now, the area within a two-mile radius of the building has been sealed off to the public.

Hiking trails on the verdant hills overlooking the capital are also closed.

Pakistani mediators haven’t disclosed much information about the high-stakes negotiations, citing security concerns and the need to let officials from Tehran and Washington drive the talks.

Less than 24 hour before discussions are expected to begin, the world knows very little about how they will conclude.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says reopening the Strait of Hormuz is vital to strengthening a ‘fragile’ ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Speaking Friday as he left Qatar after a three-day visit to the Gulf, Starmer said leaders in the region were adamant that ‘there can’t be tolling or restrictions’ on commercial shipping through the waterway, which has effectively been shut by Iran.

Starmer said he told US President Donald Trump in a call on Thursday that ending the conflict ‘has to involve’ Iran’s Gulf neighbors, who ‘have very strong views on the Strait of Hormuz’.

Britain is involved with other countries in military planning to ensure security in the strait, if the ceasefire turns into a longer peace.

Keir Starmer has said that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will ‘define us for a generation.’

Speaking at the end of his three-day trip to the Gulf, he said: ‘This conflict is going to define us for a generation and we must respond, and we will respond, with strength.’

A hardline Iranian cleric has said that while the nation’s Supreme Leader approved a ceasefire, he warned forces that fighting would inevitably continue.

Ultra-conservative cleric Seyyed Ahmad Alamolhoda reportedly said: ‘[Mojtaba Khamenei] allowed the Supreme National Security Council to accept a ceasefire, but also told fighters it is false and the enemy will not adhere to it.’

He added: ‘The Supreme National Security Council also announced it would accept a ceasefire to counter the US plot, but it ultimately became clear that the ceasefire itself was false and the enemy does not abide by one.’

Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the UK must rejoin the EU if the US leaves NATO.

Trump, a fierce critic of the defence bloc, has been left unimpressed by fellow members and their refusal to get involved in his war with Iran.

He has reportedly threatened to pull away from it if the pact does not support his Middle East war.

The Ukrainian leader said that in order to bolster Europe’s defence against Russia, the UK ought to reset relations with the continent.

Zelensky said: ‘If the United States truly thinks about withdrawing from NATO, then European security will be based solely on the European Union.

But not in its current form. I think that the EU is in a situation where it needs more countries. The UK, Ukraine, Türkiye, and Norway

‘These are four strong countries, which are part of Europe. Together, the UK, Ukraine, and Türkiye have armies that are stronger than Russia’s army. Without Ukraine and Türkiye, Europe can’t match Russia.

‘With the four countries on board you can wrest control of the seas, have secure skies and the largest land forces.’

An official in the Lebanese president’s office has told the BBC that will only take part in negotiations with Israel if, and only if, there is a ceasefire in place.

Details for the meeting have not been set. Direct talks are unusual, with both sides preferring to communicate via intermediaries.

Keir Starmer said today that he discussed military capabilities and the logistics of moving vessels though the Strait of Hormuz when he spoke to US President Donald Trump a day earlier.

‘We’ve been pulling together a coalition of countries … working on a political, diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and … the logistics of actually moving vessels through the Strait,’ Starmer said during his visit to the Middle East.

‘That was the focus of the discussion last night – reflection on what I’ve been discussing here, but also that focus on a practical plan in relation to navigation through the Strait.’

Keir Starmer has admitted that European allies need to do more for NATO, following Trump’s criticism and threats towards the defence bloc.

He said NATO is ‘the single most effective military alliance the world has ever known’, adding that the UK would remain ‘strong supporters’ of the organisation.

But he admitted: ‘Do we Europeans need to do more? Yes, I’ve been making that argument for the best part of two years, to our European partners as much as anybody else.

‘We continue to make that case and we will make that case.’

Starmer added: ‘[NATO] is in America’s interests, it’s in European interests. Nato is a defensive alliance, which for decades has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have been.

‘So we’re strong supporters of NATO. We’ll always be strong supporters of NATO.’