Day 45 | US blockade of Iranian ports begin after Islamabad talks collapse

This live thread has ended. Follow our online coverage of day 46 of the war, as the US military blockade on Iranian ports takes effect after Islamabad talks collapse.

Read more: Day 46 | US military blockade on Iranian ports takes effect after Islamabad talks collapse

Bahrain’s army released Monday an updated toll of what it says are Iranian drones and missiles intercepted by its forces, showing it intercepted seven drones in the past 24 hours.

“Since the start of the sinful Iranian attacks, it has succeeded in intercepting and destroying 194 missiles and 523 drones that targeted the Kingdom of Bahrain,” a statement by the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) said on X.

تعلن القيادة العامة لقوة دفاع البحرين أن كافة أسلحتها ووحداتها في أعلى درجات الجاهزية وأهبة الاستعداد الدفاعي، وتؤكد أنه منذ بدء الاعتداءات الإيرانية الآثمة تمكنت من اعتراض وتدمير 194 صاروخا، و523 طائرة مسيرة، استهدفت مملكة البحرين.https://t.co/nyoU7GDuc7 pic.twitter.com/iWz4RM9YAp

— قوة دفاع البحرين (@BDF_Bahrain) April 13, 2026

A toll released yesterday by the BDF showed the toll at 516 drones.

تعلن القيادة العامة لقوة دفاع البحرين أن كافة أسلحتها ووحداتها في أعلى درجات الجاهزية وأهبة الاستعداد الدفاعي، وتؤكد أنه منذ بدء الاعتداءات الإيرانية الآثمة تمكنت من اعتراض وتدمير 194 صاروخا، و516 طائرة مسيرة، استهدفت مملكة البحرين.https://t.co/UB1GvShKQ3 pic.twitter.com/U4sh5H4yfM

— قوة دفاع البحرين (@BDF_Bahrain) April 12, 2026

 Iran has not issued a statement on the matter, although it denied that it still carried out attacks on Gulf countries earlier when the two-week ceasefire with the United States started.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to end fighting in southern Lebanon and engage in direct peace talks with the Lebanese government, a spokesman said.

Merz also expressed his "grave concern" about developments in the Palestinian territories in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu and demanded that there "must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank", the German government spokesman said.

The spokesman said Merz offered Germany's continuing support for efforts "to reach a diplomatic understanding between the United States and Iran" in the war launched by ‘Israel’ and the US on February 28.

Merz initially welcomed the US-‘Israeli’ attacks, but has shifted to alarm as the potential global economic fallout became more serious and Iranian retaliatory strikes against Gulf states threatened to turn the conflict into a regional war.

On Monday, Merz told Netanyahu that "Germany is prepared to contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz" -- but only following the "cessation of hostilities" and "provided the necessary conditions are met", according to the spokesman's summary of the conversation.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial waterway for about 20 percent of the world's oil supplies before the war -- has been largely halted by Iranian threats to strike tankers.

US President Donald Trump has declared a partial naval blockade of the strait after negotiations with Iran over the weekend broke down.

Hezbollah on Monday called for the cancellation of the talks scheduled for Tuesday between Lebanon and ‘Israel’, with its Secretary-General Naim Qassem describing such discussions as “futile.”

In a televised speech, Qassem said, “We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity. These negotiations are futile,” calling for “the cancellation of this negotiating meeting.”

The ambassadors of Lebanon and ‘Israel’ to the United States are set to meet on Tuesday under US sponsorship.

Qassem stressed the need for a “Lebanese agreement and consensus” before entering direct negotiations with ‘Israel’, warning that “no one has the right to take Lebanon down this path without internal consensus among its components, and this has not happened.”

Lebanese authorities say the talks primarily aim to reach a ceasefire in the war ongoing since March 2.

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set “two conditions”: “the disarmament of Hezbollah” and reaching a “real peace agreement.”

The war broke out after Hezbollah launched rockets toward ‘Israel’, in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Since then, ‘Israeli’ strikes have killed 2,089 people, according to the Health Ministry.

Qassem also said, “Our decision is resistance: we will not calm down, we will not stop, and we will not surrender. Let the battlefield speak.”

He added, “We will not surrender” and “we will remain in the field even to our last breath,” as Hezbollah fighters continue clashes with the ‘Israeli’ army advancing in border areas in southern Lebanon.

The United States Embassy in Amman, Jordan said Monday it is resuming limited American Citizen on-site consular services by appointment.

Earlier in March, the US Department of State ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Jordan, amid the heightened regional tensions from the ‘Israeli’-US war on Iran.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by U.S. Embassy Amman (@usembassyjordan)

April could shape up to be a tougher month than March for energy markets and the economy due to the Middle East war, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday.

While the month of March saw the delivery of cargo from the region "loaded well before the crisis started," Fatih Birol said, "during the month of April, nothing has been loaded."

"The longer the disruption is, the more severe the problem becomes," he told reporters after a meeting at the International Monetary Fund.

US President Donald Trump says he won't apologize to Pope Leo.

"I think he's very weak on crime and other things," he tells reporters at the White House.

US President Donald Trump says that Iran has called and wants to make a peace deal, after marathon talks in Pakistan ended at the weekend without any agreement.

"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," Trump tells reporters outside the Oval Office.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with ‘Israel’ in Washington the following day, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with ‘Israel’.

"We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity... We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting," Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since March 2, said in a televised address.

The Lebanese and ‘Israeli’ ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Pope Leo XIV says he has "no intention to debate" with Donald Trump, after the US president criticised him over his comments on the US-Iran war.

"I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel," the pope tells reporters aboard the papal plane as they headed to Algeria for the pontiff's first visit to Africa.

US President Donald Trump refused to apologize Monday for criticizing Pope Leo XIV, after the pontiff called for an end to violence in the Iran war.

"There's nothing to apologize for. He's wrong," Trump told reporters, a day after a social media post and comments slamming the US-born pope.

"Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran," said Trump, adding that Leo was "very weak on crime and other things."

US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iranian representatives had called to make a peace deal after talks in Pakistan ended at the weekend without agreement.

"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," Trump told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.

US President Donald Trump said 34 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, adding that it was the highest number since Iran choked off the waterway during the Middle East war.

"34 Ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began," Trump said on Truth Social on Monday. The figure could not be immediately corroborated.

As the dust settles on the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, the world is left dissecting a diplomatic failure. The high-stakes negotiations between the United States and Iran, aimed at ending the "2026 Iran War," ended without a deal.

While headlines focus on the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear enrichment, a more shadow-filled question lingers in the corridors of power: Is the West—specifically the United States—secretly paralyzed by the Yemeni wild card?

The optics are, at best, confusing. Since late March, the Houthis in Yemen have escalated their involvement, launching ballistic missiles at 'Israel' for the first time in this current conflict. Yet, despite the US-'Israeli' strikes pounding Iranian targets from the coast to the capital, the response toward Yemen has remained oddly surgical, almost hesitant.

The Myth of "No One Attacking Yemen"

To suggest Yemen is untouched is a stretch—the US has maintained unilateral sanctions and high-tech maritime interceptions. However, compared to the "heavy price" being extracted from Tehran, the Houthi infrastructure remains remarkably intact. This begs the question: Is the US afraid?

The fear isn’t of the Houthi military might in a traditional sense, but of the Bab al-Mandeb "Doomsday Button." 

A Dual-Chokehold Strategy

For decades, the Strait of Hormuz was seen as Iran’s only major pressure tool—the valve through which 20% of the world's oil flows. But 2026 has revealed a more sophisticated Iranian "Axis" strategy. By utilizing the Houthis as a proxy sovereign power over the Bab al-Mandeb, Tehran has effectively created a dual-chokehold on global trade.

• Hormuz: The energy jugular.
• Bab al-Mandeb: The commercial spine (12% of global trade).

The failure of the Islamabad talks reportedly hinged on Iran’s "10-point proposal," which demanded Iranian oversight of Hormuz. But the subtext was clear: even if a deal is reached on Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandeb remains a "separate" Yemeni issue. This allows Iran to play the role of the diplomat in Pakistan while its allies in Sana'a hold the Red Sea hostage.

Why the US is Hesitating

The US finds itself in a strategic trap. A full-scale kinetic campaign against Yemen to "reopen" the Red Sea would likely:

1. Trigger a total closure: The Houthis have already warned that "surprises" are coming. A total blockade of Bab al-Mandeb would force all global shipping around the Cape of Good Hope, sending inflation into a tailspin that no Western election-year government can afford.
2. Solidify the "Unified Fronts": As Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi noted last week, the coordination between Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen is no longer a theory—it is an operational reality.

The Islamabad Shadow

The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, left Islamabad because they could not "gain Iran's trust." But perhaps it is the other way around. The US cannot trust that a deal with Tehran actually secures the Red Sea.

The Houthis have successfully positioned themselves as an actor that can attack 'Israel' with relative impunity because the "cost" of a full Western intervention in Yemen is a global economic depression.

Is the US afraid of Yemen? Perhaps "afraid" is the wrong word. The US is calculatedly cautious. It knows that while it can win a battle in the mountains of Sana'a, it could lose the global economy in the waters of the Bab al-Mandeb. Until the West finds a way to decouple the Yemeni threat from the Iranian nuclear file, the "Gate of Grief" will remain the most powerful lever in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump removed an AI-generated image he posted on Truth Social on Monday.

The image, which prompted a lot of backlash, depicts Trump as Jesus Christ and was posted on Orthodox Easter (April 12)

The post comes amid heightened political tension linked to the Iran conflict and recent criticism directed at Pope Leo XIV.

The dispute with the pope came over his recent comments on the ongoing US military campaign against Iran and Trump’s immigration policy.

Eight ‘Israeli’ soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack today, the military said on Monday.

Two were moderately wounded, and six suffered light injuries.

The explosive-laden drone struck next to the troops during combat in southern Lebanese territory, the statement adds.

Watch ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz between April 8 and 12, following the start of the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

President Donald Trump said US forces would destroy any Iranian "fast attack ships" that approach the American naval blockade of Iranian ports that came into effect on Monday.

"Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that the rest of Iran's navy had been "completely obliterated."

The US military would be "using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea," the president said, referring to air strikes on alleged narcotics boats off the coast of Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that the Iranian navy has been destroyed, after his deadline for a naval blockade of the Islamic Republic has passed.

“Iran’s Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated - 158 ships,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, “fast attack ships,” because we did not consider them much of a threat.”

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal,” he added.

Trump announced earlier a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz after weekend peace talks with Tehran ended without an agreement.

The US military announced Sunday it will begin blockading all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, but will allow ships not coming or going to Iran to pass through the strait.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was "holding" and that efforts were underway to reach an agreement after weekend talks failed to do so.

"The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues," Sharif told a cabinet meeting in brief televised remarks.

 The Monday deadline set by US President Donald Trump for a naval blockade of Iranian ports has passed.

Trump announced a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz after weekend peace talks with Tehran ended without an agreement.

The US military announced Sunday it will begin blockading all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, but will allow ships not coming or going to Iran to pass through the strait.

Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghci, urged both the United States and Iran to “respond” to the ongoing mediation efforts.

“His Excellency…expressed…the necessity for all parties to respond to the ongoing mediation efforts, in a way that opens the door to addressing the roots of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to a sustainable agreement and preventing the resumption of escalation,” a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

“[He] also affirmed the necessity of opening maritime passages, ensuring freedom of navigation, and not using them as a bargaining chip or leverage,” the statement added.

The head of the UN maritime agency said Monday no country had a legal right to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a trade passage paralysed by the US-Iran war.

"In accordance to international law, no countries have the right to prohibit the right of innocent passage or the freedom of navigation through international straits that are used for international transit," the International Maritime Organization's Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez told a news conference.

The United States had threatened to begin a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday in and around the strait, which Iranian forces have been controlling access to since the war erupted with US and ‘Israeli’ strikes against Iran on February 28.

The US military’s Central Command (United States Central Command) has said vessels operating in parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz could be subject to interception under a declared blockade zone.

According to a note to seafarers seen by Reuters, the directive applies to all vessels regardless of flag.

The note stated that any vessel entering or leaving the designated area without authorisation would be “subject to interception, diversion and capture.”

It also clarified that the blockade would not restrict neutral transit through the Strait of Hormuz for non-Iranian destinations.

Hezbollah said it carried out rocket attacks targeting the settlement of Kiryat Shmona in northern ‘Israel’.

The group said the strike was conducted in multiple barrages.

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the current ceasefire could collapse “in a very short time,” underscoring concerns over a volatile security situation.

Speaking during a government meeting, Netanyahu compared the truce to “a coin” that could be flipped at any moment, according to reports by Hebrew media outlet Walla.

Hezbollah said it carried out a drone strike targeting a training base belonging to a paratrooper brigade in the settlement of Karmiel.

The group said the attack was conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles, without providing further details on damage or casualties.

The 'Israeli' Home Front Command reported that sirens were activated in the areas of Rosh HaNikra and north of Nahariya after a drone infiltration from Lebanon was detected.

Around 20,000 Indian sailors are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz under difficult humanitarian conditions, according to a senior union official cited by Associated Press.

The secretary-general of the National Union of Seafarers of India said the sailors are unable to leave the area amid ongoing regional tensions and maritime risks.

The official warned that those stranded are facing deteriorating living conditions, raising concerns over access to basic supplies and safety.

Former US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has condemned President Donald Trump after he shared an image portraying himself in a Christ-like form on Orthodox Easter.

The post, shared on Truth Social, comes amid heightened political tension linked to the Iran conflict and recent criticism directed at Pope Leo XIV.

In a post on X, Greene strongly denounced the image, writing: “It’s more than blasphemy. It’s an Antichrist spirit.”

She also accused Trump of attacking Pope Leo XIV and “replacing Jesus” through the imagery used in the post.

US President Donald Trump has posted a stylised, AI-generated image portraying himself in a Christ-like form on Truth Social, shortly after launching a direct personal attack on Pope Leo XIV.

The post comes amid an escalating public dispute between the White House and the Vatican over the Pope’s recent comments on the US military campaign involving Iran and immigration policy.

Earlier, Trump described Pope Leo XIV as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”, according to multiple reports, intensifying tensions between the two figures.

The criticism followed the Pope’s public remarks opposing the war in Iran and questioning aspects of US immigration enforcement.

Iran is continuing to experience a nationwide internet blackout that has now lasted 45 days, according to the internet monitoring group NetBlocks.

The group said international connectivity remains cut off, with access disrupted for more than 1,056 hours, leaving much of the country with severely limited or no access to the global internet.

Intense fighting has been reported in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, with accounts describing engagements involving multiple types of weapons.

The ‘Israeli’ army said its 98th Division, along with paratrooper, commando, and Givati Brigade units, has completed the encirclement of the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon and launched a ground assault.

The IOF said the operation is part of a wider ground push aimed at strengthening what it described as the forward defensive line in southern Lebanon.

The army claimed that more than 100 members of Hezbollah were killed in close-range and aerial engagements over the past week.

It also said that several sites described as militant infrastructure were destroyed and weapons were recovered during the operation.

Three human rights organisations, including Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, have filed an application in Australia’s Federal Court seeking to compel the defence minister to release documents related to arms export permits to ‘Israel’.

The case focuses on permits granted before 7 October 2023 that are still active, as well as broader arms export approvals not directly supplied to ‘Israel’, according to a joint statement from the organisations.

The groups said the requested documents are needed to assess whether the minister properly evaluated the risk that exported weapons or technology could be used to commit or facilitate serious human rights abuses, or violate Australia’s international obligations.

They argued that failure to properly assess such risks could form the basis for a legal challenge alleging ministerial error and potentially require a halt to exports.

The Federal Court application adds to growing legal and political scrutiny over arms export policies and their compliance with international humanitarian law obligations.

The ‘Israeli’ army has decided to establish 15 permanent military camps along the first line near villages on the Lebanese border, according to Channel 12 News.

The decision reportedly came after a visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to the northern command, where operational plans were discussed.

Channel 12 reported that the army has received instructions to maximise operational objectives in Lebanon if fighting is halted before the start of Washington-led negotiations.

The report also said that current operations are focused on the area of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, with military activity potentially continuing for up to a week.

The ‘Israeli’ Ministry of Health said 7,693 people have been injured since the start of the war, according to figures released on Monday.

The ministry added that 104 injured individuals are still receiving treatment in hospitals across ‘Israel’.

Rail traffic between major cities in Iran has resumed after damaged railway lines linking Tehran, Tabriz, and Mashhad were repaired, according to the state-run IRNA.

The restoration follows a suspension of rail services lasting approximately four to five days, during which repairs were carried out on key sections of the network.

IRNA reported that trains have begun operating again on the affected routes, restoring domestic connectivity between Iran’s capital and major northern and northeastern cities.

A drone intrusion was intercepted over the Upper Galilee in northern ‘Israel’ on Monday, according to a report by Channel 12 News.

Air raid sirens were activated in the town of Metula and nearby areas after the drone was detected approaching the border region.

Channel 12 reported that the drone was successfully intercepted before it could cause any reported damage or casualties.

'Israeli' airstrikes targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh and the town of Meifdoun, according to local reports.

President Donald Trump said Sunday he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.

"I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

Two 'Israeli' soldiers were moderately injured in a Hezbollah rocket attack in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the military says.

According to the IOF, the soldiers were injured by the shockwave from the rocket impact.

US oil prices surged 8% Sunday evening, shattering the $100-per-barrel mark after high-stakes negotiations between the U.S. and Iran ended without an agreement.

The collapse of the Islamabad summit effectively ended a fragile ceasefire, reigniting fears of a total energy blockade in the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials, that US President Donald Trump is considering limited strikes on Iran, with a broader bombing campaign also under review, while remaining open to a diplomatic solution and viewing a potential US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in talks.

Air raid sirens were activated in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas in northern 'Israel', authorities said.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X that Iran engaged the U.S. in “good faith” during high-level talks aimed at ending war, but faced “maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade” as the deal neared what he called the “Islamabad MoU,” adding: “Zero lessons earned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces will begin enforcing a blockade on all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, following a presidential proclamation.

The blockade will apply to vessels of all nations traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas, including those along the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

CENTCOM said freedom of navigation will not be restricted for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

Additional guidance will be issued to commercial mariners through a formal notice before the blockade begins. Mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating near the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.

For coverage of the previous day, visit the link below.

Read more: Day 44 | US-Iran talks in Islamabad end with no agreement