Day 42 | US-Iran truce on edge

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Read more: Day 43 | US-Iran truce on edge as talks to begin in Pakistan on Saturday

A high-level Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has arrived in Islamabad, according to Iranian media reports.

The visit comes ahead of planned direct negotiations with the United States, as part of efforts to reinforce a ceasefire and ease rising regional tensions.

The talks were arranged at the initiative of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been leading diplomatic efforts to bring the sides together.

Sharif said earlier that Iranian officials would participate in the discussions scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad, despite the lack of formal confirmation from Tehran at the time.

The meetings are expected to focus on stabilizing the ceasefire and preventing further escalation across the region.

A rocket fell in the northern 'Israeli' city of Kiryat Shmona on Friday without air raid sirens being activated, according to initial reports.

The incident occurred shortly before reports of the impact emerged, raising questions over early warning systems in the area.

No immediate information was available on casualties or damage.

Later, sirens were heard in Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, and Upper Galilee in northern ‘Israel’.

"Never to humiliation!" chant Iranian worshippers ahead of Friday prayers at the Imam Khomeini shrine in Tehran, amid a fragile truce in the war with the United States and 'Israel'.

US President Donald Trump issued a sharply worded message to Iran, saying the country’s leadership remains in a position to negotiate amid escalating tensions.

In remarks posted publicly, Trump said: “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate,” referring to Iranian officials and ongoing diplomatic efforts.

He added that Iran “does not seem to realize they have no cards,” arguing that its leverage is limited to what he described as short-term pressure through international waterways.

Trump also claimed Iran’s use of maritime routes amounted to “extortion of the world,” while insisting that negotiations remain the only viable path forward.

The comments come as Washington continues diplomatic and military pressure on Tehran alongside ongoing regional instability and ceasefire efforts involving multiple international actors.

The government of Azerbaijan has rejected circulating social media claims alleging that missiles were launched from its territory toward Gulf countries, describing the reports as completely false and baseless.

In a statement, Azerbaijani authorities said such narratives spreading across social media platforms amid regional tensions are aimed at misleading public opinion and creating false perceptions.

“These claims are either deliberately provocative or stem from irresponsible and unfounded reporting,” the statement said, adding that modern monitoring systems in the region can clearly identify the origin and trajectory of aerial objects.

The statement emphasized that countries in the region, including Gulf states, possess advanced radar and surveillance systems capable of accurately tracking missile or aerial launch paths.

Azerbaijan reaffirmed its commitment to international law, respect for state sovereignty, and regional stability, urging the public to rely only on verified and official sources.

Authorities also called on media outlets and social media users to exercise responsibility and professionalism when sharing information, warning against the spread of unverified reports during periods of heightened regional tensions.

Donald Trump said the United States will determine within the next 24 hours whether talks with Tehran have a chance of success, in remarks published by the New York Post.

Trump stressed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a non-negotiable condition in any ceasefire agreement.

He also issued a warning over military readiness, saying US naval vessels are being equipped with “the best ammunition and weapons” in preparation for potential strikes if negotiations fail.

“We are rearming our ships with even better weapons than before when we destroyed them,” he said, adding that US forces remain prepared for a forceful response.

Trump expressed skepticism about Iran’s intentions, accusing negotiators of inconsistency between private and public statements on nuclear policy.

“They say one thing to the American delegation and another to the press,” he said, noting contradictions over uranium enrichment and nuclear commitments.

His comments come amid heightened tensions and fragile diplomatic efforts involving Iran and regional powers.

A series of 'Israeli' strikes across multiple areas in Lebanon has left at least 37 people dead since the morning, according to local reports.

In Jbaa, six people were killed. In Nabatieh, 17 deaths were reported, marking the highest toll among the affected areas.

One person was killed in Ansar in the Bekaa region, while five were killed in Ain Baal, including three children.

Additional casualties were reported elsewhere. One person was killed in Al-Sharqiya, two in Al-Samaiyeh in Deir Qanoun Ras Al-Ain, and two in Sahmar in Western Bekaa. Two more people were killed in Al-Mari in Hasbaya, along with one death in Jebchit.

The figures indicate a rising toll across southern and eastern Lebanon as 'Israel' continues to hit multiple locations.

Lebanese authorities have not yet issued a unified official casualty count, and the situation remains fluid amid ongoing developments on the ground.

Air raid sirens continued to sound across 'Israel’s' Upper and Western Galilee on Friday amid a fresh escalation along the northern border.

The alerts followed reports of a rocket salvo and a drone launch from Lebanon toward northern 'Israel.'

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said its armed forces intercepted and dealt with seven hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace over the past 24 hours.

In a statement issued by official spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, the ministry said the drones were handled in line with established procedures.

The ministry added that what it described as Iranian aggression targeted several vital facilities affiliated with the National Guard, resulting in injuries among personnel. Those injured are receiving treatment and are in stable condition, according to the statement.

It also reported significant material damage from the strikes.

Separately, the Land Force Engineering’s Inspection and Disposal Group handled 14 reports during the same period, following standard procedures.

The ministry stressed that members of the armed forces continue to carry out their duties with high morale and discipline, reaffirming their readiness to protect the country’s security and stability.

'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Spain’s representatives would be removed from a coordination center in Kiryat Gat, escalating a growing diplomatic dispute.

In a statement, Netanyahu said “Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us,” accusing Spain of defaming 'Israeli' soldiers and “standing against Israel.”

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said its forces remain on maximum alert, stressing readiness to respond to any escalation amid ongoing regional tensions.

In a statement, the command said it was acting “in compliance with the message of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution,” reaffirming that troops are fully prepared, with “hands on the trigger.”

The headquarters warned that leaders in the United States and ‘Israel’ have no right to threaten the Iranian people or what it described as the “Islamic resistance front,” which it claimed remains undefeated.

The statement also addressed US President Donald Trump and 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it would be better for them to “review their defeat” rather than issue threats against Iran, its armed forces, and allied groups in the region.

The command also warned that if attacks by the “enemy” on Hezbollah and the Lebanese people continue, particularly in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Iran would deliver a “painful response.”

US Vice President JD Vance said Friday he hoped for a "positive" outcome as he departed Washington for US-Iran peace talks being held in Pakistan.

"We're going to try to have a positive negotiation," he told reporters before take-off from Joint Base Andrews. "If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive."

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday called on the Lebanese government to stop giving "free concessions" to 'Israel', with the two governments due to begin negotiations in Washington next week.

"We will not accept a return to the previous situation, and we call on officials to stop offering free concessions," Qassem said in a written message broadcast on the party's Al-Manar TV, in which he also denounced the "bloody criminality on Wednesday," when 'Israeli' strikes killed more than 300 people in Lebanon.

'Israeli' army radio reported that five rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the Upper Galilee region in northern 'Israel'.

Air raid sirens were activated in Kiryat Shmona and several towns in the Upper Galilee region for the fifth time since this morning.

French energy giant TotalEnergies said on Friday it had shut down a major refinery on the eastern Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia after it was damaged during the Middle East war.

The Saudi energy ministry said on Thursday that "multiple attacks" had recently taken place on its oil and gas sites, including the Satorp refinery, a joint venture owned by TotalEnergies and the Saudi state-owned Aramco group. No details on production impacts were disclosed.

Pakistan is due to host talks between Iran and the United States in a bid to turn a fragile two-week ceasefire into a lasting end to a war that has roiled global energy markets.

Here are five things to know about the Islamabad talks:

- The war behind the talks -

On February 28, the US and 'Israel' launched deadly coordinated strikes that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei and struck Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure. More than 3,000 people were killed in Iran in five weeks, according to Iranian media and US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Tehran responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and gas passes, sending energy prices soaring and disrupting trade worldwide.

On April 8, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. The ceasefire is expected to expire April 22.

- Pakistan's unlikely starring role -

Pakistan's value as a mediator rests on an unusually broad diplomatic network.

Iran was the first country to recognise Pakistan following independence in 1947, with the two neighbours sharing a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border and deep historical, cultural and religious ties. Pakistan is also home to over 20 million Shia Muslims: the second-largest such population in the world after Iran.

Islamabad has cultivated strong ties with Washington, Riyadh and Beijing.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Beijing at the end of March for talks with Wang Yi, who backed Islamabad's mediation efforts as "in keeping with the common interests of all parties".

Trump himself told AFP that China helped bring Iran to the negotiating table, an account backed by Pakistani officials.

"On ceasefire night, hopes were fading, but China stepped in and convinced Iran to agree to a preliminary ceasefire," a senior Pakistani official familiar with the negotiations told AFP on condition of anonymity.

- What's on the table? -

The gap between the two sides remains vast.

Washington's reported 15-point proposal centres on Iran's enriched uranium and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has countered with a 10-point plan demanding control over the strait, a toll for vessels crossing the strait, an end to all regional military operations and the lifting of all sanctions.

Lebanon is also a major sticking point. 'Israel' continued its strikes in the country targeting Hezbollah, after the ceasefire came into force, with 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's assertion that the truce included Lebanon.

US Vice President JD Vance appeared to take a softer tone, saying there may have been a "legitimate misunderstanding" from Iran that Lebanon would be included.

Iranian sources have also told Iranian media that Tehran won't attend the talks unless a ceasefire is in place in Lebanon

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on X that Israel's strikes on Lebanon rendered the negotiations "meaningless".

Iran has also long refused to concede to Washington's demands on its nuclear programme.

- Who are the negotiators? -

Vance will lead the American team, joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

It marks the most senior US engagement with Iran since Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal. Witkoff held multiple rounds of Oman-mediated talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before the war cut the process short.

Iran has not officially announced the composition of its delegation.

- Islamabad on lockdown -

The talks are being held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

The government has kept its cards close to its chest without confirming the venue, but the Serena Hotel, located next to the foreign ministry in the capital's high-security Red Zone, asked its guests to clear out on Wednesday.

The same day, authorities in the capital announced a two-day public holiday on Thursday and Friday.

The talks themselves are expected to be indirect: the two delegations sitting in separate rooms with Pakistani officials shuttling proposals between them, mirroring the format used in earlier Oman-mediated rounds.

Outside, the streets of Islamabad are flooded with armed security personnel in military fatigues, traffic diversions and police checkpoints. The capital, already a quiet city, was even quieter on Friday.

The World Food Programme warned that Lebanon is facing a severe food security crisis as war-related disruptions strain supply chains, while escalating violence continues with 'Israeli' strikes across Lebanon.

'Israeli' army radio reported that Hezbollah has launched around 15 rockets since midnight.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets toward the settlement of Kiryat Shmona in response to what it described as 'Israeli' violations of the ceasefire, while 'Israeli' authorities reported that a rocket struck a home in the northern border community of Misgav Am earlier today.

Stocks rose Friday as investors remained optimistic about the US-Iran ceasefire ahead of planned weekend talks.

Equity markets in Tokyo and Seoul led gains across Asia as investors tracked gains on Wall Street.

But oil prices extended Thursday's gains -- Brent added 0.6 percent and West Texas Intermediate 0.8 percent -- as the key Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed. Both main contracts remain around $100 a barrel.

Worries that Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon could shatter the peace process added to crude-buying sentiment.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif denounced ‘Israel’ on Thursday, calling the country “evil and a curse for humanity” and a “cancerous state” while accusing it of committing genocide in Lebanon, even as US-Iran peace talks are set to begin in Islamabad this weekend.

In a post on X, Asif wrote: “Israel is evil and a curse for humanity, while peace talks are underway in Islamabad, genocide is being committed in Lebanon. Innocent citizens are being killed by Israel, first Gaza, then Iran and now Lebanon, bloodletting continues unabated.”

He added: “I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews burn in hell.”

The remarks, which drew immediate backlash from ‘Israel’, come as Pakistan — which has no diplomatic relations with ‘Israel’ and maintains a staunch pro-Palestinian stance — plays a high-profile role mediating indirect talks between Washington and Tehran to solidify a two-week ceasefire announced earlier this week.

‘Israel’s’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office labeled Asif’s comments “outrageous,” describing them as a direct call for the annihilation of the Jewish state.

The controversy unfolds against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East following weeks of direct conflict involving ‘Israel’, Iran, Hezbollah, and the United States.

The US and Iran agreed earlier this to a two-week ceasefire, mediated by Pakistan, after intense hostilities that included ‘Israeli’-US strikes on Iranian targets and Iranian retaliation across the region, including threats to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has insisted the truce covers Lebanon; the US and ‘Israel’ maintain it does not.

Formal talks between US and Iranian delegations are scheduled to begin in Islamabad as early as Friday or Saturday, with Pakistan’s Sharif hosting.

Hours after the ceasefire announcement, ‘Israel’ launched one of its largest air campaigns against Lebanon since the broader conflict intensified.

Reports indicate over 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in a single day of strikes on Wednesday.

‘Israel’ has vowed to continue strikes against Hezbollah, stating there is “no ceasefire in Lebanon.” Hezbollah has responded with rocket fire into ‘Israel’.

Japan plans to release a further 20 days' worth of oil reserves as early as next month, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed Friday.

"To ensure the stable supply of crude oil, we will release starting in early May the equivalent of roughly 20 days' worth (of oil) from the national reserves," she said at a meeting held in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump said that he was “very optimistic” that a peace deal with Iran can be reached through the negotiations set to take place in Pakistan.

In statements to NBC News, Trump said that Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable”.

“They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”

“If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful,” Trump added.

Trump also asked Netanyahu in a phone call on Wednesday to “scale back” the strikes on Lebanon to ensure that the peace talks yield a result, after Tehran threatened and insisted that stopping the attacks on Hezbollah is part of its deal with the US. 

“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump said to NBC News.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Iran of doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil through the Strait of Hormuz and of breaching the truce agreement.

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“That is not the agreement we have!”

The ‘Israeli’ military, in a statement cited by Hebrew media, said that one missile was fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon towards south ‘Israel’s’ ashdod, and was intercepted.

Hebrew media said there were no reports of injuries.

Sirens were also activated in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area in central ‘Israel’ due to the fear of falling fragments from the interception.

This is one of the deepest attacks carried out by Hezbollah since the start of the current round of fighting.

Iran told Pakistan it does not intend to attend the truce talks with the United States in Islamabad until a ceasefire is reached in Lebanon, according to an “informed source” cited by Fars News Agency.

“Iran has no plans to attend peace talks with the American side in Islamabad until a ceasefire is established in Lebanon,” the source cited by the agency said.

Several media reports said earlier that an Iranian delegation had already arrived in Islamabad to begin negotiations with the US delegation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday denied that it launched any missiles since the start of the ceasefire with the United States.

The statement, released by the IRGC and cited by Fars News Agency, comes amid reports about drone and missile attacks targeting Gulf countries.

“We would like to inform you that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not launched any missiles at any country during the ceasefire hours until now,” said the statement.

“If these reports published by the media are true, it is undoubtedly the work of the Zionist enemy or the United States,” it added.

Hebrew media reported that Hezbollah launched a missile salvo aimed at central ‘Israel’

It said one targeting Tel Aviv was intercepted, and another one “fell in an open area”.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Iran against imposing a toll for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran agreed to reopen the crucial route as part of a two-week ceasefire.

“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

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Read more: Day 41 | US-Iran truce hangs in balance