Iran's parliament speaker, who led peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, said Sunday that his country would not give in to threats after US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"If they fight, we will fight, and if they come forward with logic, we will deal with logic. We will not bow to any threats, let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told reporters after returning to Tehran from Islamabad, several Iranian news agencies reported.

The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which John Brennan invoked, deals with presidential succession and disability.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry summoned the Iraqi ambassador to deliver a formal complaint, state media reported Sunday, saying the protest concerned attacks launched from the country. 

The ministry "stressed the kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of attacks originating from Iraqi territory against the kingdom and the Gulf states", the Saudi Press Agency said in a post on social media that included a photo of a meeting between the ambassador and a Saudi envoy.

The collapse of the US-Iran talks comes at a fragile moment as a two-week ceasefire brokered earlier this month is now under renewed strain with just nine days left

Iran War Latest News: "Enemy To Be Trapped In Deadly Vortex": Iran's Retort After Trump Blockade

On Sunday, after 21 hours of talks in Islamabad produced no agreement with Iran, US Vice-President JD Vance invoked the phrase on Donald Trump's behalf.

President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened China with "staggering" new tariffs on its goods entering the United States if Beijing provides military assistance to Iran during the Middle East war.

"If we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is a staggering -- that's a staggering amount," Trump told Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."

The US leader is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, after delaying an earlier summit because of the war against Iran.

The head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, which sits under the country's judiciary, said on Sunday that 3,375 people in Iran had been killed in the war with the United States and Israel.

"During the recent imposed war, the bodies of 3,375 martyrs were identified by the Legal Medicine Organization using scientific and specialised methods," said Abbas Masjedi, state news agency IRNA reported.

He said the toll included 2,875 males and 496 females, without specifying if they were adults or children, according to the agency.

Donald Trump claimed the Iranians want money and nuclear weapons, but the US armed forces are "locked and loaded" to finish "the little that is left of Iran".

Oman's foreign minister on Sunday called for more talks between Iran and the US and for the ceasefire to be extended, hours after negotiations failed to reach a deal during a high-stakes meeting in Pakistan. 

"I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue," Badr al-Busaidi wrote in a post on X. 

"Success may require everyone to make painful concessions, but this is nothing as compared to the pain of failure and war."

Iran rubbished the CENTCOM version, with the Islamic nation's military spokesperson saying "the initiative for the passage and movement of any vessel is in the hands of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran"

 In Big Escalation, US Says Will Block Strait Of Hormuz After Iran Talks Fail

"We Will Finish The Little That Is Left Of Iran," Trump Warns As Talks Fail

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday that he was ready to help mediate efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin emphasised his readiness to further facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict, and to mediate efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.

The entire US negotiating team has left the failed Iran talks in Islamabad, a US official said Sunday, leaving nobody in the Pakistani capital to pursue back-channel discussions.

During a refuelling stop in Germany's Ramstein Air Base for Air Force 2, carrying Vice President JD Vance back from negotiations on ending the Middle East war, a US official told reporters that no team members stayed behind in Islamabad, including chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Speculation had risen that one or both of Trump's envoys might stay behind to pursue further discussions, after the marathon talks failed to produce any substantive progress over the conflict with Iran.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the people of Lebanon on Sunday, saying there was a "moral obligation" to protect them while calling on warring parties to seek peace.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last month as Israel pursues the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with Lebanese authorities reporting more than 2,000 people been killed in Israeli strikes.

"I am closer than ever, in these days of sorrow, fear, and unconquerable hope in God, to the beloved Lebanese people," the pope told the crowd at St Peter's Square following his Regina Coeli prayer.

"The principle of humanity, inscribed in the conscience of every person and recognised in international law, entails the moral obligation to protect the civilian population from the atrocious effects of war," he said.

Over the course of the last two weeks, while the United States and Israel exchanged missiles, barbs and attempts to reach a peace deal, the Israeli military carried out the systematic demolition of entire villages in southern Lebanon.

UK government minister Wes Streeting on Sunday said it was "disappointing" that negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad had stalled, adding that US President Donald Trump's earlier social media comments had been "incendiary".

"It's obviously disappointing that we haven't yet seen a breakthrough in negotiations and an end to this war in Iran that is a sustainable one," Streeting told Sky News.

"As ever in diplomacy, you're failing, until you succeed. So while these talks may not have ended in success, that doesn't mean there isn't merit in continuing to try," the health minister added.

Streeting also criticised Trump's rhetoric during the crisis.

"Over the course of the past week, President Trump has said some pretty bold... incendiary, provocative, outrageous things on social media," he said.  

"I don't think it's controversial to say posting on social media a threat to end the Iranian civilisation, really... (is) quite extraordinary," he added.

Iran and the United States failed to strike a deal Sunday to end the war in the Middle East, but there was no immediate return to hostilities and the region clung to hope that a fragile truce would hold.   

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after the talks -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution -- and warned that Washington had made Tehran its "final and best offer" for a deal.

"We leave here with a very simple proposal," he said. "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his negotiating team "put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations".

Iran's Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf laid out Iran's position following a 21-hour round of negotiations, underlining Tehran's deep-seated mistrust in the US shaped by past conflicts.

Ghalibaf said that before the negotiations began, he made it clear Iran approached the talks with good faith and political will, but stressed that the experiences of two previous wars have left Iran with no trust in the opposing side.

He noted that members of the Iranian delegation, including Minaab168, put forward forward-looking initiatives during the talks. However, he said the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations. "Now it's time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not," he said.

۳/ ما هر آینه، دیپلماسی اقتدار را روش دیگری در کنار مبارزهٔ نظامی برای احقاق حقوق ملت ایران می‌دانیم و لحظه‌ای از تلاش برای تثبیت دستاوردهای چهل روز دفاع ملی ایرانیان دست نخواهیم کشید.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 12, 2026

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said on Sunday that its key east-west oil pipeline and other facilities had been restored following attacks by Iran on infrastructure across the Gulf.

"Energy facilities and the east-west pipeline damaged by attacks have recovered and regained their operational capacity, enhancing the reliability of supplies," the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an energy ministry statement.

It added that the attacks had led to a "loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day of pumping capacity through the east-west pipeline" and work was underway to restore full production capacity at the kingdom's Khurais oil field.

US President Donald Trump has shared an article suggesting that the option of enforcing a naval blockade was available in context of Iran as peace talks ended in a stalemate in Islamabad after differences of opinion arose between the two parties on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear capacities.

The US President shared the article in a post on Truth Social on Sunday. The article posted by outlet Just the News cited experts who said that Trump could "out-blockade" Iran's hold over the strait of Hormuz and recalled US military ops in Venezuela earlier this year as an example where with a naval blockade impacted the country's economy.

The piece noted how the USS Gerald Ford carrier, which led the Venezuelan blockade is now in the Persian Gulf and has joined the USS Abraham Lincoln and other major naval assets.

US: No progress was made during 21 hours of peace talks with Iran in Islamabad, JD Vance said while calling the outcome "bad news" that is worse for Iran than for the United States.Vance said the US entered the talks in good faith and was flexible, but could not secure a clear and affirmative commitment from Iran that it would not seek or develop nuclear weapons in the future, which he described as the core US demand.

Iran: The talks failed because of what it described as "unreasonable" American demands, despite Iran negotiating intensively to protect its national interests. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said the Iranian delegation put forward multiple initiatives but progress was blocked by the US side, forcing the talks to end without results.

Pakistan: Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar insisted thatboth sides must uphold a ceasefire agreement. "Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come," he said in a brief statement broadcast by state media.

Pakistan's foreign minister insisted Washington and Tehran must uphold a ceasefire agreement, after marathon talks between the two sides to end the war in the Middle East ended without an agreement.

"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," said Ishaq Dar, whose government hosted the talks and acted as a mediator. 

"Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come," he said in a brief statement broadcast by state media.

US Vice President JD Vance departed from Pakistan, soon after saying that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement.

Vance boarded Air Force Two at 7.08 am local time and waved to Pakistani officials from the top of the stairs. During his press briefing, he credited Pakistan with attempting to bring together and hold fruitful talks with an objective to end the war.

#WATCH | US-Iran Peace Talks | Pakistan: US Vice President JD Vance leaves from Islamabad after the US and Iran failed to reach an agreement.
In a press conference, the US Vice President said, "...The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. I think that is bad news… pic.twitter.com/h4HfeNcSDp

— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2026

Trump said that regardless of the outcome of the talks, the US has won. "We totally defeated that country. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't. From the standpoint of America, I don't care," he said. He went on to say that the US has defeated Tehran "militarily".

.@POTUS on reports that China is preparing to ship weapons to Iran: "If China does that, China is gonna have big problems." pic.twitter.com/nzBJXgeIMc

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 11, 2026

A meeting would be held between Lebanon and Israel on Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and the potential start of negotiations between the neighbours.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing since March 2, two days after the start of the Iran war, following rocket fire by the Lebanese armed group at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Since then, Israel has killed at least 2,020 people in Lebanon, including 248 women, 165 children and 85 medical and emergency personnel, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Vice President JD Vance gives an update in Pakistan:
"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon." pic.twitter.com/il4THN5DwV

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 12, 2026

Here is what US Vice President JD Vance said during a presser after talks with Iran in Islamabad:

An India-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, Jag Vikram, has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such transit by an Indian vessel since a temporary two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran was announced.

Ship tracking data showed the tanker moved through the strategic waterway between Friday night and Saturday morning and was located in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait on Saturday afternoon, proceeding eastwards.

The vessel movement was also confirmed by a government statement giving an update on developments in West Asia. "The vessel is carrying approximately 20,400 tonnes of LPG cargo with 24 seafarers onboard. It is expected to arrive at Mumbai on April 15, 2026." Jag Vikram is the ninth Indian vessel to exit the Persian Gulf since early March, while about 15 India-flagged ships remain in the region, awaiting passage.

JD Vance said he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".

"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance told reporters after 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

US Vice President JD Vance has said no headway was made during 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in Pakistan, even as a ceasefire in the Middle East hangs by a thread.

Vance said during a press briefing, "They have chosen not to accept our terms. The President (Donald Trump) said we have to come in good faith and try to make a deal. Unfortunately, there was no headway."

The Israel Defence Force has been instructed to reduce strikes in Lebanon in the coming days, with an emphasis on the capital Beirut, reports Israeli media.

A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance held historic face-to-face talks with top Iranian negotiators in Pakistan on Saturday to reach a peace agreement to end the war in West Asia that has paralysed global energy markets and disrupted trade.

-PTI

US CENTCOM says two Navy destroyers transited Hormuz, starting operations to clear Iran-laid sea mines and ensure safe passage for global maritime trade.

A group of 312 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India through Armenia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.

The fresh batch was brought back home a week after 345 Indian fishermen were evacuated from Iran.

-PTI

Direct negotiations between the United States and Iran have officially commenced in Islamabad to find a lasting solution to the West Asia conflict, Pakistan's state media and a government official said.

"After Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate meetings with delegations from the United States and Iran, formal round of direct negotiations between Iran and the United States has officially begun on Saturday evening," a senior official of the Shehbaz administration told PTI.

-PTI

Ship tracking data showed the tanker moved through the strategic waterway between Friday night and Saturday morning and was located in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait on Saturday afternoon, proceeding eastwards.

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif hosts working dinner for both delegates. The second round of US-Iran talks expected to end at 10 pm PST.

Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States had started "clearing out" the strategic waterway.

-AFP

"Iran's demands were conveyed to the Pakistani side based on the same ten-point proposal package. It was important for us to express our country's views without any ambiguity. Lebanon was part of ceasefire... Pakistani mediator has made it clear this was our demand", Esmaeil Baqaei spokesperson for Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

After separate meetings with Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, US-Iran peace talks begin in Islamabad.

An Iranian delegation met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday, state TV reported, ahead of talks with the United States aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.

Confirming the sit-down, Iran's state broadcaster added that "arrangements for the Iran-US will be defined at the conclusion of this meeting".

The Saudi finance minister was in Islamabad on Saturday in a show of "economic support", a source familiar with the matter told AFP, days after Pakistan said it would return billions in loans to Riyadh's ally-turned-rival the UAE.

Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan had met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a day earlier, according to the premier's office, which said Islamabad was committed to expanding cooperation "in trade, investment, and economic development".

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif meets US Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad as peace talks "commence"

JD Vance was assisted by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. 

Shehbaz Sharif was assisted by Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Sen. Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.

An Iranian delegation met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday, state TV reported, ahead of talks with the United States aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.

US Vice President JD Vance will also meet Sharif before the two nations - US and Iran - hold a direct talk at 4 pm.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday reiterated his Iran-backed group's rejection of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, a day after Lebanon's president said such talks would take place next week in Washington.

The move is "a blatant violation of the (national) pact, the constitution and Lebanese laws... and it exacerbates domestic divisions at a time when Lebanon most needs solidarity and internal unity to face Israel's aggression", Fadlallah said in a statement.

(AFP)

A senior Iranian source said on Saturday the U.S. had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets that were held in Qatar and other foreign banks, welcoming the move as a sign of "seriousness" in reaching a deal with Washington in talks in Islamabad.

The United States has not made any public comments on the issue of unfreezing assets.

The source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that unfreezing the assets was "directly linked to ensuring safe passage through Strait of Hormuz", which is expected to be a key issue in the talks.

(Reuters)

Iran wants acknowledgment of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, where it aims to collect transit fees and control access in what would amount to a huge shift in regional power. The US wants it opened for oil tankers and other traffic without any limitations, including tolls.

Iran is expected to demand compensation for all damage during the six-week war.

Iran wants to be allowed to enrich uranium, which Washington has ruled out and President Donald Trump has insisted is non-negotiable.

Iran had insisted that the formal peace talks could only begin after Washington gives a commitment on a ceasefire in Lebanon and lifting sanctions on Tehran. The Lebanon ceasefire demand has a point of contention.

Iran wants the US to unblock Iranian assets and end sanctions that have crippled its economy for years. Washington has indicated that it is open to significant sanctions relief but only in exchange for concessions from Iran on its nuclear and missile programmes.

Iran delegation led by Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meets Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ahead of negotiations with US in Islamabad.

On November 4, 1979, student activists demanding the extradition of Iran's deposed monarch -- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was undergoing medical treatment in the US -- take staff hostage at the US embassy in Tehran.

The move comes seven months after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Some 52 hostages are held for 444 days.

In April 1980, Washington breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes restrictions on commerce and travel. Nine months later, the last hostages are released.

Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

Khamenei's face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader's compound in central Tehran and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, all three sources said.

The 56-year-old is nonetheless recovering from his wounds and remains mentally sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is engaged in decision-making on major issues including the war and negotiations with Washington, two of them said.

Iran is unable to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping due to its self-inflicted problem: It cannot locate all the mines it laid in the waterway to block the passage amid war, the New York Times reported, citing US officials. This is likely to make their peace talks with the US in Islamabad fraught with risk - given Donald Trump's warning to Tehran to quickly reopen the chokepoint that carries around a fifth of the world's oil supply and allow more traffic to pass through it.

Iran had used small boats to mine Hormuz last month - soon after the US and Israel carried out joint airstrikes across Iran over stalled nuclear talks, and claims that Tehran had resumed its nuclear activities. However, it is not clear whether Iran recorded the mines' placements, the report said.

According to the report, some mines, whose placements were recorded by Iran, had been placed in a way that allowed them to drift or move - making it difficult to locate them.

The Iranian authorities mined the strait "haphazardly", US officials said, reported NYT.

They were with @mb_ghalibaf & @araghchi on the flight, they are in the negotiations, Children of Minab are always with us. pic.twitter.com/zqPuaD0UM7

— Iran Embassy SA (@IraninSA) April 11, 2026

Fresh Israeli air strikes in Nabatieh in south Lebanon kills three.

No air strikes have been reported from Beirut in the last 48 hours. Clashes and bombing are limited to South Lebanon.

Arrival of the US Delegation for Islamabad Talks pic.twitter.com/Hai19EZm4I

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 11, 2026

Pakistan's foreign minister on Saturday called for the United States and Iran to "engage constructively" at talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the Middle East war, after both delegations arrived in the Pakistani capital.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar "expressed the hope that parties would engage constructively, and reiterated Pakistan's desire to continue facilitating the parties towards reaching lasting and durable solution to the conflict", said a foreign ministry statement.

(AFP)

Senior Pakistani journalist Mateen Haidar joins NDTV's Shiv Aroor from the venue in Islamabad where the US-Iran ceasefire talks are to be held.

Senior Pakistani journalist Mateen Haidar (@haider_mateen) joins NDTV's @ShivAroor from the venue in Islamabad where the US-Iran ceasefire talks are to be held pic.twitter.com/EKGvxinn92

— NDTV (@ndtv) April 11, 2026

🔴#BREAKING | US delegation escorted by Pakistan F16s as JD Vance and team land in Pakistan for ceasefire talks
NDTV's @AdityaRajKaul joins @ShivAroor with more details pic.twitter.com/i8B5fkSrPV

— NDTV (@ndtv) April 11, 2026

Reports suggest Vance was handpicked to lead the talks to fulfil a wish from Tehran. For a section of Iran's leadership, Vance appeared to be an acceptable face for the talks. Several of them quietly sought him to be part of the negotiations, news agency Reuters said.

Citing sources, it reported that in Iran, Vance is seen as one of the most anti-war faces in President Donald Trump's inner circles, and that has led Tehran to believe that he is the most likely figure to negotiate with among Trump's representatives.

Iran’s negotiating team met with Pakistan’s Army Chief last night, according to a Tasnim correspondent in Islamabad.
A meeting between the Iranian delegation and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled for 1 PM today.#Iran #Pakistan #Ceasefire #Talks #Islamabad

— Consulate General of the I.R. Iran in Mumbai (@IRANinMumbai) April 11, 2026

Watch #IndiaAscends with @GaurieD | Pak-Afghan Conflict: China 'Brokers' Peace | Decoding China's 'Calculated' Diplomacy pic.twitter.com/d3AE8igNJN

— NDTV (@ndtv) April 11, 2026

A US government plane carrying top US officials landed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday for peace talks with Iran, two Pakistani sources told Reuters. US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance.

Digital monitor Netblocks said Iran's internet blackout has lasted more than one thousand hours, in an X post on Sunday. 

While Iran's domestic intranet remains operational -- supporting local messaging apps, banking platforms and other services  -- access to the global internet has been severely restricted since early February.

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said shortly after arriving in Pakistan's capital that previous experiences negotiating with the United States had led to a lack of trust. 

"We have good intentions but we do not trust," Iranian state media quoted him as saying.

"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises," he added.

(AFP)

US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, CNN reported late on Friday, citing three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.

The network said there are indications that Beijing is working to route the shipments through third countries to mask their origin.

Beijing is preparing to transfer shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs, CNN said, citing sources it did not name.

(Reuters)

The Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, will hold talks in Washington on Tuesday, Israeli and Lebanese officials said, amid the conflicting accounts on what those talks would cover.

Lebanon's presidency said the two had held a phone call on Friday and agreed to discuss announcing a ceasefire and setting a start date for bilateral talks under US mediation. But Israel's embassy in Washington said the talks would constitute the start of "formal peace negotiations" and that Israel had refused to discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah.    

Israeli attacks continued across southern Lebanon on Friday. One strike on a government building in the city of Nabatieh killed 13 members of Lebanon's state security forces, President Joseph Aoun said in a statement.

Hezbollah said in a statement on its Telegram channel that it fired rocket salvos at northern Israeli towns in response.

The US has no backup plan if the talks with Iran fail, President Donald Trump has said, as high-level delegations from the two sides meet today in Islamabad to discuss ending the war in the Middle East. The warning came in response to a question on if Washington has a Plan B ready in case the US-Iran negotiations collapse or Tehran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"You don't need a backup plan. Their military is defeated. We have integrated everything. They have very few missiles. They have very few manufacturing capabilities. We have hit them very hard. Our military is amazing; the job they have done," the US President told reporters this morning.

An Iranian delegation landed in Islamabad in the wee hours of Saturday for talks with the US, as the world keeps its fingers crossed for an agreement to end the conflict between the two sides.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while announcing a two-week ceasefire on Wednesday, had said that the US and Iran would hold talks in Islamabad, tagging the presidents of the US and Iran in his statement on X.

US Vice President JD Vance's flight reaches Ujbekistan airspace.

Blood-soaked school bags, shoes, white flowers, and pictures of the Minab victims accompanied an Iranian delegation led by Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Pakistan for peace talks with the United States. The relics of the war sat in the front row of the flight to Islamabad, echoing the human cost of the conflict in the Middle East.

It was a war JD Vance never wanted. Now the US vice president has been tasked with ending it.

Vance heads to Pakistan this week with orders from President Donald Trump to turn the shaky Iran ceasefire into a lasting peace deal.

For the 41-year-old Vance, who has kept a notably low profile during the Middle East conflict, it will be one of the biggest moments of his career.

But the man widely regarded as a leading contender in the 2028 US presidential election will face huge challenges too when talks begin Saturday in Islamabad.

"I cannot think of a case where the vice president ran formal negotiations like this," Aaron Wolf Mannes, a lecturer at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and an expert on the American vice presidency's role in foreign policy, told AFP.

"This is high risk, high reward."

Pope Leo XIV amplified his condemnation of the US-Israeli war with Iran on Friday, saying that “God does not bless any conflict” and certainly doesn't side with those who drop bombs.

God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient…

— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) April 10, 2026

🔊PR No.9️⃣8️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣

Arrival of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Islamabad Talks pic.twitter.com/wanC34wBKK

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 10, 2026

"The preconditions have been accepted," Iran Embassy in South Africa shared on social media hours before US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad.

The preconditions have been accepted.

— Iran Embassy SA (@IraninSA) April 10, 2026

Arrival of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Islamabad Talks pic.twitter.com/aJYU9cx5t2

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 10, 2026

The two-week ceasefire that enabled the negotiations to take place is still in effect, but its stability remains uncertain. Israel's intense strikes on Hezbollah and ongoing disputes about whether Lebanon should be part of the agreement continue to threaten the process.

The Trump administration has developed its own 15-point framework, but the details remain undisclosed. The package reportedly calls for Iran to renounce nuclear weapons, surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, accept limits on its military capabilities, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

For the laughter of all the children,
Silenced by the death cult...
Never forgotten. pic.twitter.com/Ngumh6KUSK

— Iran Embassy in Sierra Leone (@IRANinSalone) April 11, 2026

The Iranian delegation named as "Minab 168".
That is a hammer in our hands.

— Iran Embassy in Zimbabwe (@IRANinZIMBABWE) April 10, 2026

Iranian officials arrived in Pakistan on Friday for peace talks with the United States as Tehran insisted on a truce in Lebanon and unfreezing of its assets for the negotiations to go ahead.

US President Donald Trump vowed meanwhile to have the Strait of Hormuz open "with or without" Iran's cooperation and said his top priority at the Islamabad talks was to ensure the Islamic republic cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Trump has dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan to meet with the Iranians in a bid to reach a peace deal in the Middle East war following a two-week ceasefire that was agreed on Tuesday.

(AFP)

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shared a picture from his flight to Islamabad where negotiation talks will be held with US. The picture shows bload soaked schools bags, shoes placed on the seats with pictures of children killed in US-Israel strike.

همراهان من در این پرواز#Minab168 pic.twitter.com/xvXmDlSDiF

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 10, 2026