13/04/2026 – 04:06
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13/04/2026 – 03:33Trump says he doesn’t care if Iran comes back to talks
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.
13/04/2026 – 03:15Trump attacks Pope Leo after criticism of US immigration and foreign policy
US President Donald Trump issued a scathing attack on Pope Leo late on Sunday, calling him “weak” on crime and “terrible” for foreign policy after the religious leader criticised Trump’s foreign and immigration policies.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
13/04/2026 – 03:02Experts warn US blockade of Iran risks escalation and prolonged conflict
A US naval blockade of Iran is a major, open-ended military endeavour that could trigger fresh retaliation from Tehran and put tremendous strain on an already fragile ceasefire, experts say.
“Trump wants a quick fix. The reality is, this mission is difficult to execute alone and likely unsustainable over the medium to long term,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration now at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
13/04/2026 – 00:46Trump weighs renewed strikes in Iran
US President Donald Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing officials and people familiar with the matter.
13/04/2026 – 00:22Oil prices rise after US says it will block Iranian ports
Oil prices rose in early market trading on Sunday after the US said it would blockade Iranian ports beginning Monday.
The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7% to $102.29.
Brent crude has swung dramatically during the Iran war, rising from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. On Friday, ahead of the peace talks, Brent for June delivery fell 0.8% to $95.20 per barrel.
12/04/2026 – 23:57Iran said it was ‘inches away’ from deal with US in Islamabad
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran had been just “inches away” from a deal with Washington during weekend talks with the United States in Islamabad.
“Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war,” he said in a post on X.
But when “just inches away” from an agreement in Islamabad, “we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” he added.
12/04/2026 – 23:15US Central Command says Strait of Hormuz blockade to begin Monday
US Central Command said it will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT), after President Donald Trump said the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” CENTCOM wrote in a statement on social media.
12/04/2026 – 22:32’The war here continues’: Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon shows no sign of ending
FRANCE 24 spoke with Jad Shahrour, a journalist and spokesperson at the Samir Kassir Foundation, about the human toll of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Lebanon.
Watch the full interview by clicking on the player below.
12/04/2026 – 21:22Iran navy chief calls Trump threat to block Hormuz strait ‘ridiculous’
Iran’s navy chief Shahram Irani called US President Donald Trump’s threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz “ridiculous”.
“The brave men of the naval force of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran are monitoring and supervising all the movements of the aggressive American army in the region. The threats of the US president to blockade Iran at sea … are very ridiculous and funny,” he said, according to state TV.
12/04/2026 – 20:12Lebanon PM says he is working to achieve Israeli troop withdrawal
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that he was working to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war and to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
“We will continue to work to stop this war, to ensure the Israeli withdrawal from all our lands, the return of all the prisoners, to rebuild our destroyed villages and towns, and the safe return of the displaced,” Salam said in a speech on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.
“We are continuing our efforts … to negotiate to stop the war,” he added in the televised address ahead of planned talks on Tuesday in Washington between Lebanese, Israeli and US officials.
12/04/2026 – 20:00Israeli bombing kills at least 5 people, Lebanon says
Lebanese official media reported extensive Israeli strikes across the country’s south as the health ministry said at least five people were killed and the war’s overall toll rose to 2,055 dead.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israel attacks on around 30 locations in the country’s south on Sunday, with additional strikes on the adjacent West Beqaa area.
The health ministry said an Israeli strike on Qana killed five people, including three women, and wounded 25 others, while the NNA said the raid targeted “homes and infrastructure”.
The ministry raised the overall toll in Lebanon to 2,055 dead, including 165 children and 87 health workers, since war erupted on March 2.
12/04/2026 – 19:50Visiting troops in southern Lebanon, Netanyahu claims to have ‘thwarted’ Hezbollah invasion
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israeli forces had eliminated the threat of an invasion by Hezbollah militants during a visit to troops in southern Lebanon.
“The war continues, including within the security zone in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office, which showed him wearing a flak jacket and surrounded by masked soldiers.
“What we are seeing is that we have thwarted the threat of an invasion from Lebanon through this security zone,” he said, adding that he was accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than a million people across Lebanon, many of them from the country’s south, swathes of which are now under Israeli occupation.
12/04/2026 – 19:28In Pictures: People displaced by Israeli offensive shelter in Tyre high school
Displaced children play at an all-girls high school turned into a shelter for displaced people, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 12, 2026.
A disabled 80-year-old woman from the southern Qlaileh village rests in the shelter where she has lived with her daughters since the start of the war.
Children sit in the schoolyard.
Nadia Abou Khalil, 46, from the southern Qlaileh village, prays in a classroom.
A child sits alone in the schoolyard.
Photos by Louisa Gouliamaki, Reuters.
12/04/2026 – 19:03UN force in Lebanon says Israeli tank rammed its vehicles in south multiple times
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that an Israeli tank rammed peacekeeping vehicles in the country’s south.
“On two occasions today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers rammed UNIFIL vehicles with a Merkava tank, in one case causing significant damage,” the statement said, adding that the Israeli soldiers had blocked a road in south Lebanon’s Bayada “that is used to access UNIFIL positions”.
“Over the past week, Israeli soldiers have fired ‘warning shots’ in the area, striking and damaging clearly identifiable UNIFIL vehicles. In one case, a ‘warning shot’ landed a metre away from a peacekeeper who had dismounted his vehicle,” the statement added.
12/04/2026 – 18:56Iran’s Revolutionary Guards will view military vessels approaching strait as ceasefire breach
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the two-week US ceasefire and be dealt with harshly and decisively.
The strait is under the control and “smart management” of Iran’s navy, the Guards said in a statement reported by Iranian state media, adding it is “open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations”.
US President Donald Trump earlier announced a naval blockade on the critical waterway, which remains under Tehran’s de facto control.
12/04/2026 – 18:54Iran’s internet blackout continues into seventh week, NetBlocks reports
Digital monitor Netblocks said the internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities has lasted more than 1,032 hours as it continues into its seventh week.
Tens of millions of Iranians remain cut off from contact with friends and families living abroad, as well as access to independent sources of information and essential digital services.
“The human and economic impacts of the extended censorship measure continue to pile up, breaking global records for shutdowns in a connected society,” the group wrote on social media.
12/04/2026 – 18:48’This is largely a sop by the Israelis to direct anticipated pressure by President Trump’: Lebanon, Israel and US to hold talks Tuesday
As Israel continues to pound Lebanon, officials from both countries as well as the United States are due to hold direct talks in Washington on Tuesday – a move that Shiite group Hezbollah has rejected.
Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told FRANCE 24 that while the talks were a good sign, “we should keep our expectations very low”.
Watch the full interview by clicking on the player below.
12/04/2026 – 17:45Saudi Arabia summons Iraq envoy over drone threats from Iraqi territory
Saudi Arabia said it had summoned Iraq’s ambassador over what it described as threats targeting the kingdom and other Gulf states from drones launched from Iraqi territory.
The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that it had “emphasised the importance of Iraq dealing responsibly with these threats and attacks”.
12/04/2026 – 17:09Trump ‘looking to flip the tables on Iran’: What would a US naval blockade of Hormuz Strait look like?
A proposed US naval blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz appears to be an effort by Washington to exert control over the waterway once responsible for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
Tehran effectively blocked the strait after the US and Israel’s assault on Iran, causing a global fuel crisis expected to have wide-reaching economic effects.
FRANCE 24 correspondent Fraser Jackson breaks down what we know about US President Donald Trump’s announcement.