Iranian minister mocks Trump negotiations – Live updates

The price of Brent crude oil – the international benchmark – hit $110 per barrel today, rising 2.4% following a 2.8% gain yesterday.

Meanwhile, the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, rose 2.1% to about $98 per barrel, following a 2.1% increase yesterday.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has openly mocked Donald Trump’s claims that he is winning the war in the Middle East.

He asked: ‘So then why did he ask for negotiations? Clearly, Iran is standing up to the largest superpower in the world, and they have not achieved a single one of their objectives.

‘That is why he is asking for negotiations, and we are now considering this option.’

Israel’s top diplomat on Tuesday said Israel was not seeking to take territory in Lebanon, as its military presses operations in the south against Iran-backed Hezbollah despite a ceasefire.

‘Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. Our presence in the areas by our northern border serves one purpose: protecting our citizens,’ Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a joint news conference with his Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric.

It comes as Israel’s military on Tuesday warned residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate and head northwards, saying it would respond to Hezbollah’s ‘violation of the ceasefire’ there.

The military ‘does not intend to harm you, and out of concern for your safety, you are required to evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area towards the Sidon District’, Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

‘Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities or their weapons is endangering their life,’ he added.

by Martin Robinson

Counter terror police are today investigating yet another arson attack in a predominantly Jewish area of London.

Detectives are probing an attempt to set fire to a memorial wall dedicated to the fallen victims of the Iranian regime, in Golders Green.

In the past month there has been firebombings of Jewish community ambulances and two synagogues in north-west London.

Police were called at 7.28pm on Monday and the investigation is now being led by Counter Terror Policing, Scotland Yard has said.

The memorial wall itself was not damaged – but has been sealed off.

The investigation into the incident is being led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, supported by officers from the North West Command Area.

It is not being treated as a terrorist incident and officers are keeping an open mind about the motive behind the attack, the Met said.

Saudi Arabia will host an exceptional meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became a front in the Iran war two months ago.

A Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on February 28.

The war has seen key energy infrastructure in all six GCC states damaged, with US-linked firms and other civilian infrastructure, as well as military installations, also targeted.

Attacks have subsided since the US and Iran entered a ceasefire on April 8, though Gulf capitals remain wary of resumed conflict, with US-Iran talks for a permanent deal to end the conflict so far inconclusive.

Qatar’s emir, Kuwait’s crown prince, Bahrain’s king and the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister arrived in Jeddah to attend the summit, Saudi state media reported.

It was unclear who would represent Oman, the remaining member of the GCC along with Saudi Arabia, which hosts the council’s headquarters.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives the Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah ahead of an exceptional meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council

UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said urgent efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Iran war are critical.

During a visit Tuesday to New Delhi, Baerbock warned the conflict is disrupting global supplies and deepening regional crises, with attacks and blockades in the Strait of Hormuz increasing oil and fertilizer prices worldwide.

‘Every effort to come to a ceasefire is highly needed,’ Baerbock said, adding that the escalation is diverting attention from humanitarian crises in Gaza.

‘It overshadows the devastating situation for the people in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is still heartbreaking.’

Iran has banned the export of steel products, airstrikes targeted the country’s steel industry in the war with Israel and the United States.

Fars news agency reported a directive from the Islamic republic’s customs authorities ‘regarding the prohibition of the export’ of steel products, effective from April 26.

Neil Wilson, a strategist at investment bank Saxo, wrote in a note that it is the ‘physical scarcity [of oil that] is driving prices rather than headlines over the war.’

He added: ‘Traders are increasingly watching what’s happening on the water (i.e. nothing) rather than trading the diplomatic stuff.’

A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry today said: ‘We believe it should have never been closed and it should be opened immediately regardless of other considerations going on in the region.’

Five people have today been sentenced to life in Bahrain for plotting ‘terrorist and hostile acts’ with Iran, which has bombarded the tiny Gulf state during the Middle East war.

‘The Public Prosecution affirms that the crime of communicating with hostile foreign entities against the Kingdom of Bahrain is considered one of the most serious crimes affecting national security,’ Bahrain’s public prosecution said in a statement on X.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said the Strait of Hormuz should not be used as a pressure card.

The spokesperson added that Qatar is continuing to support Pakistan’s role as mediator between the US and Iran: ‘We do not need to expand the circle of negotiations; we support Pakistani mediation.’

Iran has today announced it will temporarily allow businesses to access the internet with fewer restrictions.

Most Iranians have been unable to access the worldwide web for the last 60 days according to the internet observatory NetBlocks, with only a few citizens having access to expensive and advanced VPNs that circumvent the restrictions.

‘The Supreme National Security Council approved the “Internet Pro” scheme to preserve businesses during times of crisis,’ said government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani.

‘Once the situation is announced to be normal by relevant authorities, the situation of the internet will also change,’ she added, stressing that the government was receptive to people’s demands and believed in access to the internet as a civil right.

Authorities initially imposed an internet blackout from January 8 in response to nationwide anti-government protests, with connections gradually coming back to normal in February until a new blackout was initiated following the start of US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.

In normal times, access to the global internet remains heavily restricted via censorship of many websites, while authorities are increasingly relying on an intranet to provide connected services without relying on the worldwide web, notably for schools which are currently following an online curriculum.