Free Republic

CAIRO (AP) — The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalated again Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.The strait is closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as cooperation with the enemy” and be targeted.New attacks on the strait,...

•Iran's security council says it is "determined" to control the Strait of Hormuz until the end of the war, and calls the continuing US blockade on Iranian ports a "breach of the ceasefire"•The key shipping channel was reopened by Iran on Friday but has now been closed again - here's how the situation has evolved•Donald Trump says "very good conversations" are under way with Iran but the US won't be "blackmailed" over the strait•A tanker and a container ship have both reported attacks off the coast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations says

As stocks soared this week and oil prices dropped amid an apparent cooling of tensions between the United States and Iran, it may have left the impression that the energy shock that rattled the world would quickly fade, along with the risk of sending the global economy into recession.The optimism may have been short-lived. On Saturday, Iran’s military announced it would reimpose restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, throwing the critical waterway’s status into doubt.The uncertainty highlights that beneath that surface, a starkly different reality is unfolding. It is defined by disrupted supply lines and damaged infrastructure, sparking increased concern...

s the Trump administration weighs a second round of U.S.-Iran talks, the failure of negotiations in Pakistan is fueling concern about whether its envoys can deliver a deal. Former diplomats tell TIME that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who led the Iran negotiations with Vice President JD Vance, lack the expertise and diplomatic experience needed to secure an agreement. That, they warn, risks prolonging the war and further destabilizing the global economy. “Iran and the U.S. under Kushner and Witkoff? Failure. They get an F in diplomacy,” said Aaron David Miller, a former US State Department Middle East negotiator who...

A section of central London has been closed off, with emergency services in “biohazard suits” seen investigating after an Iran-linked group claimed to have used drones to deliver “radioactive and carcinogenic materials” into the Israeli embassy. Specialist officers combed Kensington Gardens, onto which the Israeli embassy backs, on Friday over “discarded items” found in the park overnight that came as an Iran-linked group claimed it had launched an attack. The park was closed to the public with “hazardous” signs hung on the shut iron gates, and officers from the Metropolitan Police Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) response team in...

President Donald Trump embarks on a much-anticipated trip to China next month to meet with President Xi Jinping, as the first year-plus of the Trump presidency has redefined global economic affairs and foreign policy.Trump and Xi are set to meet in Beijing on May 14-15. Over the past 15 months, Trump has reasserted the United States’ role on the global stage, whether it be through economic policy, diplomacy, or military operations. In turn, the developments have certainly redefined the U.S.-China relationship.“President Trump has undoubtedly restored American strength on the world stage – showing the entire world that the days of...

The U.S. military is preparing in coming days to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters, according to U.S. officials, expanding its naval crackdown beyond the Middle East.

Iran rowed back on its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass the waterway on Saturday. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state...

President Donald Trump on Friday posted about making Lebanon great again amid the country’s ceasefire deal with Israel. “Again! This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” Trump’s TRUTH Social post said. "I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin' Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE," the president wrote in a TRUTH Social post. Both nations met earlier this week in D.C. for peace talks, which were mediated by...

Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News on Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything," and will work with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium. He said the two sides are meeting this weekend and the U.S. would continue its military blockade...

US forces have so far directed 21 ships to turn around since the blockade began this week, the US Central Command posted on X overnight, accompanied by an image of an American guided-missile destroyer patrolling the Arabian Sea. Trump also mocked Western allies over plans to deploy a British and French-led naval taskforce to patrol the Strait of Hormuz. Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said on Friday they would send warships to help secure the key shipping route, which carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil. But the US president dismissed the effort in a post on X,...

Iran is planning to execute four more protesters in an attempt to quell further uprisings while the Islamic nation is in talks with the U.S. The four people, Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad, and Kourosh Zamaninejad were arrested in January and sentenced to death earlier this week. Bita Hemmati is the first woman to be publicly executed for her ties to the anti-regime protests. A reporter asked President Trump about these executions, and this was his response. A pretty amazing response from President Trump to this reporter question:REPORTER: Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first...

It's not a done deal but the situation in Iran appears to be heading for an off-ramp just as the situation in Cuba might be gearing up. Here's what we know at the moment. First, U.S. officials quietly visited Cuba last Friday to directly make the case for reform.The meeting last Friday itself marks a diplomatic breakthrough because it's the first time a U.S. government plane has touched down since President Obama visited a decade ago in an effort for rapprochement...A senior State Department official told Axios that multiple meetings took place but would not name the participants, except for...

The Speaker of Iran's Parliament has declared the opening of the Strait of Hormuz null and void. In a tweet posted on X, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused President Trump of violating the deal opening the Strait of Hormuz and said the Strait is now closed."With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open."Meanwhile, CENTCOM said today they will continue the blockade until Trump tells them not to. https://t.co/1zFz6q3MVt— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 17, 2026"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open."Meanwhile, CENTCOM said today they will continue the blockade...

The Trump administration on Friday renewed a waiver allowing countries ‌to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on. The move is part of the administration's effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the ​U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global energy shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative ⁠supplies to reach markets. "As negotiations (with Iran) accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,"...

MANILA: The United States and the Philippines have announced plans for a 4,000-acre “Economic Security Zone” in Luzon (ESZ), a new industrial hub meant to strengthen supply chains for critical goods and deepen allied manufacturing ties, according to a US State Department fact sheet and a post by Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg. The project, about 1,618.7 hectares (16,187,000 square metres, about 16.187 square km) is being described as the first “AI-native investment acceleration hub” under "Pax Silica", a US-led initiative aimed at building secure supply chains among partner countries. Officials said the site is intended to help secure...

President Donald Trump on April 16 defended his criticism of Pope Leo XIV’s stance on the Iran war, saying he has a right to disagree with the Holy Father and that a meeting is not necessary to resolve their differences. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he has “no disagreement with the fact the pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.”“I want him to preach the Gospel. I’m all about the Gospel,” Trump said of Pope Leo at another point. “But I also know you...

Iran insisted its uranium was “not going anywhere” despite Donald Trump claiming a deal had been struck for the US to remove the nuclear material.The US president told Reuters that he would work with the Iranian leadership to extract the radioactive element from the country at a “nice leisurely pace” before taking it back to America.But Iran’s foreign ministry rejected Mr Trump’s claim, insisting that no such deal existed.“Iran’s enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere,” Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said.Tehran officials also denied Mr Trump’s suggestion that the Islamic Republic had agreed...

A number of tankers and cargo ships did try to exit the strait Friday via the route designated by Iran around Larak Island but they suddenly turned back, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler. “They’ve clearly not been given approval to pass through,” Smith said. Commercial ships must follow a route designated by Tehran and coordinate with its military, a source close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told Tasnim News. Ships are not allowed to pass if they or their cargoes are linked to hostile nations, according to the Tasnim report. It is “unclear whether there’s...

The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf, said Friday that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz again amid the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, contradicting President Trump, who said the strait was “open for business” earlier in the day. His remarks came as Trump was on stage delivering a speech in Arizona at a Turning Point USA event. “With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Qalibaf wrote in a post on social platform X, adding that passage through the strait will be “conducted based on the ‘designated route’ and with Iranian authorization.”...