Trump says Iran ‘collapsing financially’ over Hormuz closure
Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa kills one despite truce, state media reports
An Israeli strike on Lebanon’s Bekaa region killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, despite an ongoing truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“One person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of an attack carried out by an enemy drone at dawn, on the outskirts of Al-Jabur in West Bekaa,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Hezbollah on Tuesday said it had launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel in response to “blatant” Israeli ceasefire violations, which it said included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages”.
Vessel reports Iranian gunboat attack near Oman, crew safe, UKMTO says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday that it had received a report of an incident 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, where the master of a container ship reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat.
The vessel was subsequently fired upon, sustaining heavy damage to its bridge, though no fires or environmental impact were reported and all crew members were safe.
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel, Mizan reports
Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Wednesday.
Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Farid, saying he had held a position in a civil defence unit within a sensitive organisation and had used his access to gather and transmit information to Israel’s Mossad.
His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out after legal procedures were completed, Mizan said.
US blocks Iraq’s dollar shipments to squeeze Iran-backed militias, WSJ reports
US President Donald Trump’s administration has suspended US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with its military, increasing pressure on Baghdad to dismantle powerful Iranian-backed militias, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing Iraqi and US officials.
Trump says US will extend ceasefire but continue its blockade of Iranian ports
The president said he’s extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request as he waits for a “unified proposal” from the Islamic Republic, but that the US military will continue its blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump added that “he’s directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
The president made the move even as the White House has put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s expected trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks as Tehran, at least for time being, is balking at further talks.
UN chief calls US announcement ‘an important step toward de-escalation’
Secretary-General António Guterres said the US announcement that it is extending the ceasefire will create “critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States,” according to his spokesperson.
“We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday.
The secretary-general “fully supports” Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate US-Iran talks and hopes its efforts “will contribute to creating conditions conducive to a comprehensive and durable resolution to the conflict,” Dujarric said.
UAE thanks Trump for currency swap mention
The United Arab Emirates thanked Trump early Wednesday over his mention of a possible currency swap with their country as uncertainty remains over the Iran war.
A statement issued by the UAE’s Embassy in Washington appeared aimed at signaling the country remained financially secure after Trump’s comment.
“Any suggestion that the UAE requires external financial backing misreads the facts,” it said. “The UAE is one of the world’s most financially resilient economies, underpinned by more than $2 trillion in sovereign investment assets; more than $300 billion in foreign currency reserves held by the UAE’s central bank; and a banking sector with approximately $1.5 trillion in deposits.”
The UAE is an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Trump offers combative social media post as ceasefire indefinitely extended
Trump offered a combative social media post Tuesday night after indefinitely extending a ceasefire in the Iran war after talks in Islamabad failed to materialize.
Writing on his Truth Social website, Trump contended that “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open” so they can sell their crude oil.
Trump said if he allowed that to happen, there “can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”
It’s unclear what the next step forward is to resume talks in Pakistan’s capital.
Iran holds rallies including a ballistic missile launcher
Iranian hard-liners rallied late Tuesday night as possible talks in Islamabad with the United States broke down, with members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard apparently bringing a ballistic missile on a mobile launcher to one event.
Footage aired by Iranian state TV showed men carrying Kalashnikov-style assault rifles riding atop a missile that resembled a Qadr ballistic missile in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Such Qadr missiles can release individual bomblets known as cluster munitions, which Iran used widely when attacking Israel during the war.
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