Iranian lawmakers have unveiled plans to introduce a new legal and operational framework to regulate maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, including restrictions on ships carrying military cargo to countries deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

MP Alireza Abbasi said the proposed legislation would set new transit rules and impose fees on vessels using the waterway.

Lawmakers are awaiting the start of formal parliamentary sessions to advance the bill.

Separately, Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on his X account that Tehran has developed a “professional mechanism” to manage shipping along a designated route in the Strait.

He stressed that the system, which will be unveiled soon, is designed to safeguard Iran’s national sovereignty while ensuring international trade security.

“In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit,” Azizi added, emphasising that the route will remain closed to ships from hostile countries, including those he referred to as operators of the so-called “freedom project.”

Fees will be collected for specialised services provided under the mechanism, he said.

Ali Nikzad, Iran’s deputy parliament speaker, said earlier this month that Iran would never yield its inherent rights in the Strait.

He added that the new legislation would create a legal regime aligned with both the Islamic Republic’s interests and international law, while protecting the rights of neighbouring countries.

The draft law explicitly prohibits ships belonging to Israel and restricts passage for other hostile nations, including the United States.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Bagher Qalibaf has praised the nation’s 70-day resistance against the US aggression as a driving force behind what he described as an unprecedented global transformation, signalling the emergence of a new multipolar order.

“The world stands at the cusp of a new order,” Qalibaf said, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping in his remarks.

He added that “the transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and I emphasise that the Iranian nation’s 70-day resistance has accelerated this transformation.”

Qalibaf concluded by asserting that “the future belongs to the Global South,” highlighting Iran’s role in shaping a more balanced international system.

The speaker emphasised that Iran’s resilience over the past 70 days — through unity, determination, and revolutionary resolve — has thwarted attempts at aggression and intimidation by the US, Israel, and their regional allies.

According to Qalibaf, this resistance has exposed the fragility of the US-led unipolar world order and accelerated its decline.

Iran’s defiance, he said, has not only protected national sovereignty but also served as a model for nations across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, inspiring a shift away from Western dominance.

Unity, self-reliance, and alignment with the “axis of resistance” can foster a fairer and more equitable international system, he added.

US President Donald Trump has said that Iran may have a vested interest in reaching an agreement as diplomatic efforts over its nuclear programme and the region’s escalating conflict remain unresolved.

In a telephone interview with French broadcaster BFMTV, Trump said it was unclear whether a deal would be reached in the near term.

“I have no idea. If they don’t, they’re going to have a very bad time. They have an interest in reaching an agreement,” Trump told the BFMTV correspondent from the United States.

Reports suggest that Trump is expected to make a decision in the coming hours on whether to resume strikes against Iran, as negotiations aimed at ending hostilities and addressing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions have yet to yield concrete results.

Regional tensions have been high since February 28, when the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iranian targets, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against Israel and US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire brokered through Pakistani mediation took effect on April 8, but subsequent talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting resolution.

Trump later extended the truce indefinitely while maintaining a blockade on vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports via the strategic waterway.

A senior United States congressman has written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, expressing gratitude for Pakistan’s role in facilitating ongoing peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Jack Bergman, co-chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, said in the letter that Pakistan’s partnership had been indispensable to the effort, state-run PTV reported.

Bergman said Pakistan’s willingness to leverage its unique position to bring the two parties to the negotiating table was a demonstration of true statesmanship. He added that the US-Pakistan relationship is of enduring strategic importance.

The congressman said the White House and the US Congress had publicly acknowledged Pakistan’s constructive and distinctive diplomatic role. He said he fully echoed those sentiments.

Bergman also said President Donald Trump had achieved what previous administrations had not been able to accomplish.

Addressing both the prime minister and the Field Marshal, Bergman said they had his deep and lasting gratitude. He added that he looked forward to visiting Pakistan soon to further strengthen bilateral ties in person.

Pakistan’s interior minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday “to facilitate” the peace talks between Iran and the United States that have stalled despite a fragile ceasefire, Iranian media reported.

“Mohsin Naqvi arrived today in the Islamic Republic of Iran on an official two-day visit as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to facilitate talks and promote regional peace,” the Tasnim News Agency reported.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni received Naqvi, whose visit to Tehran comes days after that of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

In April, Field Marshal Munir, along with a Pakistani delegation including Naqvi, paid a three-day visit to Tehran, where he met Iranian civil and military leadership as part of Islamabad’s mediation efforts to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

During his stay, he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran and Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Commander Major General Ali Abdollahi.

Field Marshal Munir had also held separate meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf, who were part of the delegation that held direct talks with a US delegation in Islamabad last month.

In today’s meeting with Naqvi, Momeni appreciated Field Marshal Munir’s efforts to help resolve tensions with the US, Iranian media reported.

Islamabad has been actively mediating in the peace talks between Iran and the US, and last month hosted a high-stakes meeting between delegations from both sides.

A ceasefire that began on April 8 has largely halted the fighting that erupted when US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on February 28.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Tehran had received messages from Washington indicating that President Donald Trump’s administration was willing to continue negotiations.

Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that Washington should accept Tehran’s proposal for peace or face “failure” after Trump rejected an Iranian counteroffer and warned the ceasefire was on “life support”.

“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another,” Ghalibaf said, in a social media post.

Israel launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite the extension of the truce between the two countries.

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah, but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.

And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on at least five villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometres from the border.

At the same time, it reported a new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital, Beirut.

On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend a ceasefire, which began on April 17 but has been marred by numerous violations, by another 45 days.

Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for South Lebanese villages ahead of strikes.

Over this period, their geographical scope has expanded to include areas north of the Litani River and further from the border.

The Israeli military also struck at least one town that was not included in the warning, near the southern city of Nabatieh.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and its forces are occupying territory near the border.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, regularly claims attacks on northern Israel and against the Israeli military in southern Lebanon.

‘What kind of a truce is this?’

Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel has also reported the deaths of 19 soldiers in southern Lebanon since fighting with Hezbollah erupted.

The latest strikes come after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held negotiations in Washington – following the first direct talks in decades last month between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.

They agreed to extend the ceasefire.

Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and claimed an attack against Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Khiam on Saturday.

The group justified their action by accusing Israel of ceasefire violations and “attacks that targeted villages in southern Lebanon”.

On Friday, an Israeli strike hit a centre of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee in the southern town of Harouf, authorities said.

Six people were killed, including three paramedics, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Displaced residents from southern Lebanon say the truce is not being implemented.

“This is not a truce as long as Israeli attacks continue against the south and its people, with deaths, injuries, and destruction,” said Ali Salameh, 60, from a school in Beirut where he has been displaced since the start of the war on March 2.

Others said they backed Hezbollah to keep fighting Israel in retaliation for its attacks.

“What kind of truce is this when they have just threatened villages and people are being displaced? Where is the state? We stand only with the resistance,” said Nawal Mezhir, also displaced from the south.

‘Lasting stability’

Lebanon’s negotiating delegation in Washington on Friday nonetheless welcomed the truce’s 45-day extension and the creation of a US-facilitated security track, saying they “provide critical breathing space for our citizens, reinforce state institutions, and advance a political pathway toward lasting stability”.

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, Israel struck the southern city of Tyre.

An AFP correspondent saw significant destruction at the targeted site near the coastal city’s ancient ruins.

“They destroyed the entire neighbourhood,” said Ibrahim Kahwaji, a tailor who was wounded in the leg.

“They are emptying the south of its population… it’s a real occupation. We want a solution.”

Iranian state television said on Saturday that European countries were in talks with Tehran over transit for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Following the passage of ships from East Asian countries, notably China, Japan and Pakistan, we received information today indicating that Europeans have also begun negotiations with the Revolutionary Guards navy” to get permission to pass, state television reported, without specifying which countries.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.

Its grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant leverage, while the United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.

In peacetime, the route accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.

Iran has in recent days allowed passage for dozens of ships including from China “after an agreement on Iran’s strait management protocols,” the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, said in a statement.

Since the war broke out, Iran has repeatedly said that maritime traffic through the strait would “not return to its pre-war status” and last month said it has received the first revenue from tolls it imposed on the waterway.

On Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, said Iran “has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic” through the strait, adding that it will be “unveiled soon”.

“In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it,” he noted, adding that “the necessary fees will be collected for specialised services”.

“This route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called ‘freedom project’,” he said, referring to a temporary US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the strait.

Fresh US and Israeli strikes on Iran could resume as early as next week, with both countries ramping up preparations, a report said on Saturday.

Quoting The New York Times, Israeli media reported that these are the most intensive preparations since last month’s ceasefire, as Washington and Tel Aviv weigh options for renewed attacks on Iran.

US officials say one scenario under consideration involves deploying commandos on the ground to recover nuclear material buried under rubble.

Military experts warn that such an operation could result in multiple casualties, requiring thousands of support troops to secure the area and potentially confront Iranian forces.

Troops could also be tasked with seizing Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub in the Persian Gulf, officials add.

Another option under review involves intensified air strikes targeting Iranian military and infrastructure sites.

Israel, in coordination with the US, launched its campaign against Iran to weaken Tehran’s military capabilities, reduce threats from its nuclear and missile programmes, and create conditions for political change, according to statements from Israeli military leaders.

However, last month’s ceasefire has left these objectives unfulfilled.

For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has sold the American public a singular vision of himself: the master dealmaker, the lone wolf capable of bending the global order to his will, the man who could fix in hours what career diplomats had failed to resolve in decades. It was compelling theatre, and millions bought the ticket.

But 2026 has been a brutal season of reckoning. Since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has not simply faced political headwinds — he has been dismantled by his own courts, outmanoeuvred by foreign adversaries, and humbled by the very metrics he swore to own. Nowhere is that gap between promise and reality more visible than in the burning waters of the Persian Gulf.

Iran: A war without a finish line

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran, targeting its nuclear programme, ballistic missile infrastructure, and senior government leadership — including the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Trump promised swift, decisive victory. The world held its breath.

After more than five weeks of fighting, a ceasefire was brokered on April 7-8. It has held only partially and precariously ever since.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas once flowed freely, remains effectively closed. The US has imposed a counter-blockade on ships seeking to use Iranian ports, producing a dual blockade that has sent fuel prices surging and rattled global energy markets. At least 17 merchant ships have been damaged in the crisis, two captured, and 12 seafarers killed or missing. Iran’s leadership, far from being removed, has reconstituted itself under Khamenei’s appointed successor.

The administration’s stated objectives, regime change, destruction of Iran’s missile programme, and control of the Strait of Hormuz, remain unfulfilled. The conflict has shifted to a grinding game of brinkmanship, with no clear exit in sight. France and the United Kingdom have proposed an international defensive mission for the Strait, but only once a sustainable ceasefire is agreed. That agreement has not come.

Trump wanted to be remembered as the president who reshaped the Middle East through strength. He risks being remembered instead as the president who started a war without a defined endpoint, shook the global energy order, and handed Iran the role of aggrieved party on the world stage.

Ukraine: The 24-hour promise that became an open wound

Before he had even returned to the Oval Office, Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. He said it with the confidence of a man who had never been seriously contradicted. That was then.

The reality in 2026 is more complicated, and in its own way, more damning, than simple failure. Negotiations have lurched forward and backwards across months and continents, from Miami to Paris to Geneva to Abu Dhabi. A 28-point US peace framework proposed that Ukraine cede territory it had not yet lost. A European counter-proposal pushed back. Ceasefires were announced and then immediately violated, with both sides blaming the other.

As recently as May 9, Trump announced a three-day ceasefire agreed to by both Russia and Ukraine for the Victory Day period, calling it potentially the “beginning of the end” of the war. But on the very same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that US mediation efforts had not led to a “fruitful outcome” and had “stagnated” — a candid admission that cut directly across his president’s optimism.

Analysts have noted that Vladimir Putin has been deliberately stalling negotiations, calculating that he can consolidate territorial gains through either a negotiated settlement or continued battlefield pressure. The 24-hour promise is now in its second year. The war grinds on. And the credibility of the United States as an honest broker has been eroded by the very erratic nature of the diplomacy meant to restore it.

The tariff king with no legal throne

Trump opened his second term with characteristic aggression on the economic front as well. Sweeping tariffs on China, the European Union, India, Canada, and Brazil, the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a legal manoeuvre his administration presented as both bold and bulletproof.

It was neither.

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark 6-3 decision that IEEPA does not authorise the President to impose tariffs, effectively declaring Trump’s entire trade war architecture unconstitutional. The Court was unambiguous: the power to tax imports is a congressional prerogative under Article I of the Constitution, not a presidential one. More than $160 billion in tariffs had been illegally collected, with potential refunds now owed to importers across the country.

The administration responded by announcing replacement tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and launching a series of Section 301 investigations to lay the groundwork for further measures. It was a legal retreat dressed as a tactical pivot, and the world noticed the difference. For a president who built his political identity around dominance and deal-making, this was not a strategic retreat. It was a constitutional rebuke.

The prize he could not buy

And then there is the matter of the Nobel Peace Prize, a pursuit that, more than any policy failure, lays bare the psychology driving all the others.

Trump has coveted the prize openly and repeatedly, appearing to believe that enough pressure on Oslo might eventually yield the result he craved. It did not. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its 2025 prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who gifted her medal to Trump when the pair met in Washington. The gesture did little to soothe his grievance. Days later, Trump sent an extraordinary text message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, making clear the snub still stung.

In the message, which he circulated widely among world leaders, Trump declared that he no longer feels bound “to think purely of Peace” because the Nobel Committee had not honoured him. He linked this grievance directly to his escalating campaign to seize Greenland, asserting that “the world is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland” — a demand directed at a fellow NATO ally.

The message was met with condemnation across Europe. Norwegian experts noted that Trump was fundamentally mistaken in his belief that the Norwegian government controls the prize, which is awarded by an entirely independent committee. But the factual error mattered less than what the message revealed: a sitting president openly conditioning his commitment to global stability on the receipt of a personal honour, then using its absence to justify territorial aggression against an ally.

It reframes everything. The Iran war was launched without an exit strategy. The Ukraine peace plan was built on shifting sand. The tariffs were imposed without a legal foundation. Each begins to look less like a policy failure and more like the inevitable output of a leader who has always valued the appearance of winning over the substance of governing.

The reckoning

There is a pattern running through each of these episodes: a preference for performance over preparation, and for the announcement over the outcome. Tariffs imposed without legal grounding. Peace initiatives launched without a diplomatic architecture. A war started without a defined endpoint. A Nobel campaign waged as though prestige could be demanded rather than earned.

The portrait that emerges is not of a grand strategist, but of a tactician whose greatest skill has always been the projection of certainty, and whose second term has been a sustained encounter with the limits of that projection. The courts have ruled against him. The peace he promised Ukraine remains elusive. The war he started carries no finish line. And his own words have confirmed what critics long suspected: that for this president, global stability has always been, at least in part, a means to personal validation.

The deals he promised have not closed. The wins he guaranteed have not materialised. And the world, watching carefully, has begun to draw its own conclusions.

The writer is a seasoned journalist covering the economy and international affairs.

Two dramatic incidents in the waters around the Strait of Hormuz have deepened maritime security concerns in the region, as a vessel was reportedly seized near the UAE coast and an Indian-flagged cargo ship sank off Oman within 24 hours of each other.

Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said on Thursday that unidentified individuals boarded a vessel anchored near the UAE coast and took control of it, directing it towards Iranian waters. No details were released about the ship’s ownership or the identity of those who seized it.

BBC, citing British maritime risk management firm Vanguard, identified the vessel as the Hui Chuan, a Honduras-flagged ship that was reportedly taken into custody by Iranian military personnel.

Ship tracking data indicated the vessel last shared its location approximately 70 kilometres north-east of the UAE port of Fujairah, after which all contact was lost following a security officer’s report that Iranian personnel had boarded the ship.

Vanguard added that the Hui Chuan had been operating as a floating armoury, a vessel carrying stockpiled weapons from which maritime security personnel can draw arms and return them as needed for protection against piracy.

Tracking data showed the ship had been positioned near the north-eastern coasts of Oman and the UAE for approximately one month.

Honduras has not issued any official statement regarding the vessel’s disappearance.

A day before the seizure, an Indian-flagged cargo ship named Haji Ali sank near the coast of Oman.

Indian authorities confirmed the vessel was carrying livestock from Somalia to the UAE city of Sharjah when a fire broke out, causing it to sink. All 14 Indian crew members on board were rescued safely by the Omani Coast Guard.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the targeting of commercial vessels, calling it unacceptable and warning against any action that endangers civilian crew or disrupts freedom of navigation.

However, the statement neither identified the cause of the sinking nor held any party responsible.

No group has claimed responsibility for either incident, leaving both cases shrouded in mystery.

British maritime risk firm Vanguard has suggested the Indian vessel may have been struck by a drone or missile attack, though no official confirmation has been issued.

The incidents occurred while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in India attending the BRICS summit.

During the meeting, Araghchi reiterated Iran’s position that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial shipping, provided vessels cooperate with the Iranian Navy.

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime trade routes, carried roughly 20 percent of global daily oil and gas shipments before the outbreak of the current conflict.

Ongoing hostilities and blockades have already disrupted global energy supplies and placed sustained pressure on international markets.

The waterway also featured in talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where both leaders agreed the strait must remain open for the free flow of global energy, according to the White House.

The United Arab Emirates rejected “attempts to justify Iranian terrorist attacks” on Friday after Tehran accused the wealthy Gulf state of playing an active role in the Middle East war.

Minister of State Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar “affirmed the UAE’s categorical rejection of Iranian claims and attempts to justify Iranian terrorist attacks targeting the UAE” and other nations, a foreign ministry statement said.

The statement followed Thursday’s BRICS meeting in New Delhi, during which Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Telegram post: “The UAE is an active partner in this aggression, and there is no doubt about it.”

In a statement carried by the Iranian state news agency IRNA, Araghchi said he “advised the representative of the UAE that the Zionist regime (Israel) and the United States cannot guarantee their security” and that Abu Dhabi had “seen the consequences of the presence of American bases” on its soil.

The UAE has been “subjected to repeated and unjustified Iranian terrorist attacks”, including about 3,000 attacks by ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, its statement said.

“The UAE reserves all its sovereign, legal, diplomatic, and military rights to confront any threat, claim, or hostile act,” Marar was quoted as saying.

“The UAE does not seek protection from anyone and is capable of deterring aggression,” he added.

“It reserves its full and legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity to ensure the protection of its citizens, residents, and visitors.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said he would advise his children against living or studying in the United ​States at the moment, citing a rapidly changing social climate ‌and limited opportunities even for the highly educated.

The remarks highlight tensions between the United States and its European allies under President Donald Trump, with disputes over ​trade, the wars in Ukraine and now Iran putting the ​NATO alliance under strain.

Merz last month said the United ⁠States was being humiliated in the Iran war, angering Trump. Days later, Washington ​announced a partial troop withdrawal from Germany and tariff hikes on European Union ​cars, a sector where Germany is strong.

Speaking to a young audience at a Catholic convention in Wuerzburg, Merz said people were too prone to think in “disaster ​mode” about the state of the world and urged Germans to ​feel more optimistic about their own country’s potential.

“I firmly believe that there are ‌few ⁠countries in the world that offer such great opportunities, especially for young people, as Germany,” he said.

“I wouldn’t recommend that my children go to the US today, get their education there, and work ​there, simply because a ​social climate ⁠has suddenly developed there,” said Merz, a 70-year-old father of three.

“Today, the best-educated people in America have ​great difficulty finding a job.”

Merz took office in ​2025 as ⁠a self-professed transatlanticist but has since criticised Germany’s most powerful ally. Trump, in turn, said Merz should focus on fixing his own “broken country”.

“I ⁠am ​a great admirer of America,” Merz told ​his audience. “My admiration isn’t growing at the moment,” he said to laughter and applause.

The naval forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are allowing more ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television said on Friday, after Tehran blocked the waterway following US-Israeli strikes.

Since the outbreak of war on February 28, Iran has largely blocked shipping through the strait, while days later the United States imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports to pressure Tehran.

“More vessels can now pass through the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” or IRGC, a state TV reporter said from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

“This indicates that many countries have accepted the new legal protocols that Iran and the IRGC naval forces have established in this region and in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The report came a day after state TV said more than 30 ships were allowed by the Guards to pass through the key trade route.

The Strait of Hormuz in peacetime accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.

Iran’s grip over the waterway and the rival US blockade of Iranian ports have unsettled global markets despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

Iran’s control over the strait remains one of the key sticking points in negotiations with the United States, which have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.

Iranian lawmakers have also discussed proposals for tighter control over the strait, including levying charges on any passing ships.

Last month, Iranian deputy speaker of parliament Hamidreza Hajibabaei said Tehran had received its first revenues from tolls imposed on vessels crossing the strait.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday he had “received messages” from the United States saying it is willing to continue talks, and that he was open to any support, including from China.

“We received messages again from the Americans saying that they are willing to continue the talks and continue the interaction,” Araghchi told reporters in the Indian capital.

Araghchi spoke a day after US President Donald Trump said Xi Jinping had offered China’s help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that the Chinese leader had also pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

“We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China,” Araghchi said, speaking after he attended a meeting of the BRICS bloc of nations in New Delhi.

“We have very good relations with China, we are strategic partners to each other, and we know that the Chinese have a good intention, so anything that can be done by them to help diplomacy would be welcomed by the Islamic Republic,” he added.

China said it had been working to help end the conflict since it began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

“There is no point in continuing this conflict, which should not have happened in the first place,” China’s foreign ministry told AFP.

“To find an early way to resolve the situation is in the interest of not only the US and Iran, but also regional countries and the rest of the world.”

Pakistan has been the key mediator so far between the United States and Iran, but a first round of talks in Islamabad in April failed to reach any agreements.

“The mediation process by Pakistan has not failed yet, but it is on a very difficult course, mostly because of the Americans’ behaviour and the mistrust which exists between us,” Araghchi said.

US President Donald Trump ​said on Friday ‌he discussed Iran with Chinese President ​Xi Jinping ​and that they do ⁠not want ​Iran to have ​nuclear weapons and “want the straits open”.

The two leaders ​met at ​the walled-off Zhongnanhai complex ‌in ⁠Beijing as Trump wraps up his state visit ​to China.

“We’ve ​settled ⁠a lot of different ​problems that ​other ⁠people wouldn’t have been able to ⁠solve,” ​Trump ​said.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said President Xi Jinping had offered China’s help to open the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel.

“He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Trump told the “Hannity” show on Fox News, after the two leaders met in Beijing.

“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,’” Trump added.

Iran hosted a World Cup departure rally attended by thousands of fans in Tehran’s Enqelab Square on Wednesday night, even though concerns remain about the team getting into the United States and ​competing at the tournament.

The players, who will continue their preparations at a training camp in ‌Turkiye next week, were cheered by the crowd as they made patriotic statements from a stage, and the kit they will wear at the June 11 to July 19 tournament was unveiled.

“This is the best send-off in the last four ​World Cup campaigns,” Iranian FA (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj told state TV.

“The players are with the people, ​and the crowd stands with the country’s dignity, honour, and strength. Whatever the ⁠result, may Iran’s flag be raised there and defended.”

Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in ​question since the US and Israel started the regional war by launching air strikes on the Islamic Republic in ​late February.

Taj was refused entry to co-host nation Canada for the FIFA Congress two weeks ago because of his connection to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), triggering fears there may be issues for some of the Iranian delegation getting into ​the US.

As in Canada, the IRGC is classified as a “terrorist entity” in the US, and Secretary of ​State Marco Rubio has said no one with ties to the organisation would be admitted to the country.

Iran has placed ‌responsibility ⁠for getting the players and team officials into the US, where Team Melli are scheduled to play all three World Cup group matches, firmly in the hands of tournament organisers FIFA.

“Nothing has arrived yet regarding the visas. We hope it will definitely be handled within this timeframe,” Hedayat Mombeini, the FFIRI secretary-general, told ​state TV at the rally ​on Wednesday.

“FIFA has made ⁠promises, and hopefully those promises will lead to results, and the players will receive their visas on time.”

Reports that some Iraqi players had been refused US ​visas, which were quickly refuted by the White House and Iraq Football Association on ​Wednesday, further ⁠fuelled Iranian concerns.

“I just heard that news as well,” Mombeini added.

“I hope FIFA steps in … we have always believed sport should be separate from politics. So in my view, FIFA has a duty to step in and ⁠make sure ​entry for all members of all World Cup teams is ​facilitated.”

Iran will play Gambia in a World Cup warm-up in Antalya on May 29, and Mombeini said the FFIRI was in the ​process of arranging another friendly for the training camp in Turkiye.

India’s foreign ministry condemned an attack of an Indian-flagged ship off Oman as “unacceptable” on Thursday, with maritime security monitors reporting the cargo vessel had sunk.

New Delhi did not give further details on the attack on Wednesday, and the fate of the unnamed ship, nor who it believes was responsible.

“The attack on an Indian-flagged ship off the coast of Oman yesterday is unacceptable, and we deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“All Indian crew on board are safe, and we thank the Omani authorities for rescuing them,” it added, without giving further details.

Maritime security firm Vanguard named the cargo vessel with 14 crew as the MSV Haji Ali, and said it had reports that it had sunk off the coast of Limah, Oman — just south of the Strait of Hormuz — after an explosion.

Vanguard said it was reported to be transporting livestock from Berbera in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, when there was a “suspected explosion believed to have been caused by a drone or missile strike”.

It said a “fire reportedly broke out onboard, forcing the crew to abandon ship before the vessel sank”.

India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for further information about the vessel.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG shipments in peacetime – since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28.

The United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

Disruptions around Gulf shipping routes and the Strait of Hormuz continue to drive volatility in oil and gas markets, increasing pressure on energy-importing economies, including India.

“India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided,” New Delhi added.

India is hosting talks with foreign ministers from the BRICS bloc on Thursday, including Iran’s Abbas Araghchi.

Araghchi, speaking in New Delhi, made no mention of the attack, but insisted that the Strait of Hormuz “is open for all” commercial vessels who “cooperate” with its navy.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday accused the United Arab Emirates of playing an active role in the US-Israeli war against his country.

“The UAE is an active partner in this aggression, and there is no doubt about it,” Araghchi said in a Telegram post while attending a BRICS summit in India.

Araghchi also referred to what Israel has described as a “secret” meeting in the UAE during the war between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan — a visit Abu Dhabi has denied took place.

“I must say that the UAE was directly involved in the act of aggression against my country. When this aggression began, they even refused to condemn it,” Araghchi said.

“It also became clear that they participated in these attacks and may have even acted directly against us,” he added.

Relations between Iran and the UAE have been strained since February 28 when US-Israeli attacks triggered Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel and US allies in the Gulf, including the UAE.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.

Iran has repeatedly accused Gulf states of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their territory.

Gulf nations have repeatedly denied the accusations, saying even before the conflict that they would not allow their territory or airspace to be used to attack Iran.

Iranian state television has featured analysts alleging UAE involvement in the attacks on Iran.

The UAE earlier this month blamed Iran for a drone strike at an energy installation in its eastern emirate of Fujairah, a claim Iran denied.

Iranian media reported on Thursday that naval forces had allowed a group of Chinese ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the night before.

Iran has largely blocked shipping through the strait since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28.

In peacetime, the route accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.

“Following a decision by the Islamic Republic, a number of Chinese vessels have been allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian-managed transit protocols,” the Tasnim news agency said.

It added that the passage, which was requested by Beijing, began on Wednesday evening after “an understanding on Iranian management protocols”.

Fars news agency also carried a similar report, while Iranian state television said “more than 30 ships” had been allowed to pass, although it was not clear if they were all Chinese.

Iran’s grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant leverage, while the United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The passage of ships comes with US President Donald Trump visiting China, where he met counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday for talks that included the Iran war.

Iran’s foreign minister urged BRICS nations on Thursday to condemn what he called violations of ‌international law by the United States and Israel, including “their illegal aggression against Iran”.

His remarks at a two-day meeting in New Delhi underscore divisions within the expanded BRICS bloc, as the US-Israeli war in Iran casts a shadow over the gathering of foreign ministers.

The group now includes regional rivals Iran and ​the United Arab Emirates, complicating efforts to forge a unified position on the conflict.

Abbas Araqchi criticised Washington, describing the war ​as “illegal expansionism and warmongering,” and said Iran remained open to diplomacy while being ready to defend itself “with ⁠all available means.”

“Iran therefore calls upon BRICS member states and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations ​of international law by the United States and Israel,” he said.

The conflict, which began on February 28, has heightened geopolitical tensions and ​sparked a global energy crisis.

Iran’s stance could make it difficult for BRICS — which operates by consensus — to agree on a joint statement, given the UAE’s presence on the opposing side.

Iran has launched numerous attacks on the UAE and other neighbouring countries.

The grouping, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, was expanded ​to include South Africa in 2011, and more recently admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.

The expansion has boosted its global ​weight but also increased internal divergences on geopolitical issues. India holds the BRICS chair for 2026.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a ‌critical artery ⁠that handles roughly a fifth of global oil shipments — has triggered one of the biggest supply disruptions in recent history.

The curbs on tanker traffic have pushed crude prices sharply higher, fuelling fears of renewed inflation, tighter financial conditions and a potential global economic slowdown, particularly for energy-importing economies such as India.

Separately, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that an Indian-flagged ship had been attacked off the coast of ​Oman on Wednesday and all ​crew on board were safe.

“The ⁠attack … is unacceptable and we deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted.”

In his opening remarks, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar struck a cautious tone, avoiding direct criticism ​while stressing the importance of stability.

He said unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the ​Strait of Hormuz ⁠and the Red Sea, were vital for global economic well-being.

“The conflict in West Asia merits particular attention,” Jaishankar said, without naming specific countries.

He also flagged concerns over the growing use of unilateral sanctions, a longstanding point of contention among BRICS members.

“There is an increasing resort to unilateral ⁠coercive measures ​and sanctions inconsistent with international law and the UN Charter,” he said.

“Such measures ​disproportionately affect developing countries. These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy.”

Jaishankar added that emerging economies expect BRICS to play a “constructive and stabilising role” ​at a time of rising geopolitical fragmentation and economic uncertainty.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sharply criticised the United Arab Emirates for hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid ongoing US-Israel military operations targeting Iran.

Araghchi made the remarks in a post on X, following Netanyahu’s revelation of the visit, which came after the unprovoked attacks launched on February 28.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the trip.

“Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran’s security services long ago conveyed to our leadership,” Araghchi wrote.

“Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable. Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account.”

A source familiar with the meeting told Reuters that Netanyahu and Mohamed bin Zayed met on March 26 in Al Ain in a session that lasted several hours.

The disclosures follow reports of increased Israeli-Emirati coordination during the US-Israel campaign. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE carried out a series of “covert” attacks against Iran during the hostilities.

The United Arab Emirates has rejected claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a “secret visit” to the Gulf nation during the recent US-Israel military campaign against Iran.

In a statement carried by the state news agency WAM on Wednesday night, the UAE emphasised that its relations with Israel are publicly established under the Abraham Accords and are “not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements.”

“Any claims regarding undisclosed visits or arrangements are baseless unless issued by the relevant official authorities in the UAE,” the statement added.

The denial came hours after Netanyahu’s office issued a social media post claiming he had met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a so-called “secret visit” amid the bombing campaign against Iran.

The statement hailed the meeting as a “historic breakthrough” in bilateral ties but did not disclose the exact date of the visit.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denounced Kuwait’s detention of four Iranian nationals aboard a small vessel in the Persian Gulf, calling for their immediate release.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Araghchi described the interception and arrests as illegal, accusing Kuwait of attempting to sow discord in a region already strained by US-Israeli actions against Iran.

Authorities in Kuwait said that four people linked to the IRGC were arrested on May 3 after attempting to infiltrate the island by fishing boat to carry out “hostile acts”.

Two others escaped, and one Kuwaiti security officer was wounded, the Kuna news agency said.

The suspects reportedly confessed to being affiliated with the IRGC.

The Iranian minister said the incident occurred near an island in the Persian Gulf where US forces are stationed to conduct operations against Iran.

“In a clear attempt to sow discord, Kuwait has unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained four of our citizens in the Persian Gulf. This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran,” Araghchi wrote.

Kuwaiti territory has previously served as a staging ground for US military operations against Iran, particularly during the February-April conflict that ended with a ceasefire.

Iran has retaliated against US forces in Kuwait during the conflict, reportedly causing significant losses, including fatalities.

Araghchi further urged Kuwait to remove US forces from its territory to avoid future Iranian reprisals.

He emphasised that Iran reserves the right to respond to the latest detention if the four Iranian nationals are not released promptly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “secret” meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran, his office said on Wednesday.

“During Operation ‘Lion’s Roar’, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” his office said in a statement.

Wednesday’s announcement comes a day after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that Israel had sent its Iron Dome air defence systems and personnel to operate them to the UAE during the war with Iran.

While stopping short of confirming Huckabee’s comments, Netanyahu’s office said the visit “marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates”.

Iran targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, which was sparked by US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic at the end of February.

Despite a ceasefire that came into effect last month, the UAE has since reported multiple missile and drone attacks from Iran.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a top US ally in the region and among the Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.