Dubai, Apr 22 (AP) The next steps to resume US-Iran talks remained unclear Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced the US was extending its ceasefire in the war at Pakistan's request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged the ceasefire extension in comments reported Wednesday by Iranian state television, though did not specifically say Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.
Both countries have warned they were prepared to resume fighting if a deal isn't reached.
Trump said Tuesday night in a social media post that “Iran doesn't want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open” so they can sell their crude oil, after earlier saying that the US military would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports.
Meanwhile, Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon traded some fire Tuesday, despite expected talks in Washington this week after a 10-day ceasefire went into effect last Friday.
Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
Here is the latest:
EU energy chief warns war could hit prices for years to come
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The European Union's top energy official is warning that the massive energy crisis sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran is set to hit prices for months, even years, to come.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Wednesday that “this is this is not a short-term, small increase in prices. This is a crisis that is probably as serious as the 1973 and the 2022 crises combined”.
Jørgensen says the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros (USD 600 million) each day and that “we are looking into some very difficult months, or maybe even years” ahead. “Even in a best-case scenario, it's still bad,” he told reporters.
Iran acknowledges ceasefire extension
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Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged the ceasefire extension in comments reported Wednesday by Iranian state television.
Baghaei did not specifically say Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.
“Diplomacy is a tool for securing national interests and security, and whenever we reach the conclusion that the necessary and reasonable conditions exist to use this tool to achieve national interests and to consolidate the achievements of the Iranian nation in thwarting the enemies' malicious objectives, we will take action,” he reportedly said.
2 of 8 Iranian women whose release Donald Trump called for are already out on bail, rights centre says
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The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said an emergency doctor, Golnar Naraqi, and an Iranian citizen of the Bahai faith, Venus Hossein Nejad, have been out on bail since late March.
The two women were arrested separately during the January anti-government protests. The protests across Iran were met with a bloody crackdown that left thousands killed and arrested.
In a social media post Tuesday, US President Donald Trump reposted a photo of six women and two teen girls that a conservative activist said are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.
Iran's judiciary swiftly responded, saying some of the women have already been released without naming them. It said none of them face the death sentence. Internet restrictions have limited the flow of information out of Iran.
Rights groups say at least two of the other women still in detention are facing charges that carry the death sentence. There have been multiple executions during the war against alleged spies and protesters, mostly accused of links to Israel.
Revolutionary Guard attacks a third ship in the Strait of Hormuz
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Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.
Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating.
The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.
Iranian state TV says 2 vessels attacked by Revolutionary Guard are in the force's custody
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Two ships earlier attacked Wednesday by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now are in the force's custody and are being taken to Iran, Iranian state television reported.
It identified the vessels as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas. The ship's owners could not be immediately reached for comment.
The seizures represent an Iranian escalation after the US earlier seized two Iranian vessels as ceasefire talks were due to take place in Islamabad.
The Guard said in a statement the ships “allegedly operated without authorisation, repeatedly violated regulations, manipulated navigational aid systems and sought to covertly exit the Strait of Hormuz, endangering maritime security”.
The strait had been considered an international waterway open to all before the war, even though it sits in Iranian and Omani territorial waters.
Israel urges Lebanon to cooperate in order to dismantle Iran-backed Hezbollah
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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah ahead of negotiations in Washington on Thursday.
The meeting follows a similar gathering last week in Washington, and is the first time in decades the two countries are speaking directly.
“We don't have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes that can be solved,” Saar said during Independence Day remarks to Israel's diplomatic corps.
“The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” he said, adding that Lebanon could have “a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation”.
Israel's military has currently established a buffer zone stretching around 10 kilometres into southern Lebanon to remove the threat of short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles toward northern Israel.
Pakistani analyst says Trump likely views Iran port blockade as more effective than force
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An independent Islamabad-based analyst, Syed Mohammad Ali, says President Donald Trump has apparently concluded that a blockade of Iranian ports is a more effective way to pressure Iran's already fragile economy than the continued use of force.
“As far as Trump's war strategy is concerned, this blockade appears to be less expensive and more effective,” he said Wednesday.
Ali said prospects for a second round of talks between the United States and Iran have not faded, as Pakistan, with support from regional countries, continues efforts to prevent the collapse of negotiations.
He said securing an extension of the ceasefire for an indefinite period from Trump is an achievement for Pakistan.
China says it's imperative' to prevent conflict from reigniting
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China said after the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire that it is “imperative” to keep the conflict from reigniting.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that the current situation in the Middle East is at “a critical stage”.
He said China “is ready” to work with the international community to maintain peace, following four principles President Xi Jinping proposed a few days earlier, including peaceful coexistence and adherence to international law.
“It's imperative to prevent the recurrence of the conflict with utmost efforts,” he said.
Iranian diplomat says country won't negotiate under threat
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The United States must end its blockade on Iran as a prerequisite for any further ceasefire talks in Islamabad, an Iranian diplomat said Wednesday.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, told The Associated Press that communications with Pakistani mediators are underway “to implement Iran's conditions”.
“We won't negotiate under threat,” he said. “We won't go to Islamabad before the lifting of the blockade.”
He accused the US of using the ceasefire to build up more forces for a possible resumption of military action against the Islamic Republic.
“Behind the scenes, they say something, but in public, they say and do something else,” he said.
Pakistan focuses on keeping talks alive
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Pakistan's top political and military leadership has worked to prevent talks from collapsing and to persuade the US to extend the ceasefire over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.
Two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that authorities will keep security arrangements in place in Islamabad in case US and Iranian delegations ultimately arrive.
Pakistan is also still waiting to hear from Tehran on when it will send a delegation for a second round, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
In Islamabad, police and troops remained on alert along key roads, manning checkpoints.
Residents were forced to take longer routes as authorities restricted access to parts of the city.
“We have not received any instructions to remove these barricades,” said police officer Mohammad Aslam as he directed commuters to turn back and use alternative routes.
Pakistan's top diplomat meets British high commissioner in Islamabad
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Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met British High Commissioner Jane Marriott on Wednesday in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss the evolving regional situation.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Dar underscored Pakistan's ongoing efforts to facilitate diplomatic engagement and stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Marriott appreciated Pakistan's facilitative role in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table, the ministry said. (AP) PY
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The Latest Uncertainty shrouds possible US-Iran talks after Trump extends ceasefire
PTI
Updated: April 22, 2026 17:13 IST
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
