Dubai, Apr 15 (AP) UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details.
US Bishops' chairman on doctrine defends Pope Leo
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The chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine is defending Pope Leo XIV's comments on the church's “just war” doctrine.
The statement doesn't directly refer to the Iran war, President Trump or Vice President Vance. But it cites “recent public comments” regarding church teachings on war and peace. It comes after Trump blasted the pope on social media.
Vance, a Catholic convert, said Leo should be “careful” addressing such matters.
Bishop James Massa said the Catholic Church has long taught that “a nation can only legitimately take up the sword in self-defence, once all peace efforts have failed”.
That, said Massa, is the basis of Pope Leo's comment that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war”.
The pope is “not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ”, Massa said.
UN allocates $12M for Iran aid
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UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said USD 12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran.
“Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X.
House Speaker Johnson defended Trump, Vance's swipes at Pope Leo
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“If you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response,” the Republican leader said at the Capitol. “The pope's received some of that.”
Johnson insisted he's not one to criticise clerics or religious leaders, but he leaned into what he called the just war doctrine when it comes to the US military action against Iran. “The stakes are so high,” he said.
“I don't want to engage in a theological debate with the pope,” he said. “These are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate.”
Johnson a day earlier at the Capitol said that he had asked Trump to take down a social media post that was interpreted as the president depicting himself as Jesus.
Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon
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An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
No ships made it past US naval blockade, military says
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US Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past US naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran's coastal area.
US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years
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The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter.
The Iranians rejected the US plan laid out during last weekend's talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the negotiations.
The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran's negotiators earlier this week.
The White House and the vice president's office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals.
The US and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times.
Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump admin on Iran
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Attending a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level US official to testify before Congress since US and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran.
Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration's decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran.
“Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz.
Asked several times about Trump's threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results.
“They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.
3 different teams of paramedics were struck, Lebanese health ministry says
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The attacks in southern Lebanon killed three paramedics, wounded six others and left a fourth medic missing in the town of Mayfadoun, the health ministry said.
The ministry said Israel struck the first team of paramedics on Wednesday as it was heading to rescue wounded people, killing one paramedic. Another medical worker on that initial mission remains “missing,” the ministry said, without elaborating.
Israel struck the second team as it rushed to rescue the first, wounding three more paramedics.
In the third and final rescue attempt, Israel again hit ambulances heading to the site, killing two paramedics and wounding three more.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.
Lebanon's health ministry denounced Israel's attacks as “a flagrant crime” and warned that “paramedics have become direct targets, pursued relentlessly in a blatant violation (of)... international humanitarian law”. (AP) SCY
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