14/04/2026 – 20:59Israeli ambassador hails ‘wonderful exchange’ following talks with Lebanon
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter hailed the “wonderful exchange” during direct peace talks with Lebanon in Washington on Tuesday, saying the two countries were “on the same side.”
“We enjoyed it together. We had a wonderful exchange of over two hours,” Leiter told reporters following the talks.
“We discovered today that we’re on the same side,” he said, adding: “We are both united in liberating Lebanon from (an) occupation power dominated by Iran called Hezbollah.”
14/04/2026 – 20:04Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington conclude
Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington have concluded, according to both Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency and the Israeli embassy in Washington.
The talks lasted about two hours.
14/04/2026 – 19:49Israel-Lebanon talks ‘won’t solve all the problems’, UN secretary general says
14/04/2026 – 19:46French government mulls cap on retail margins at gas stations
The French government is considering setting a cap on the margins retailers charge on fuels to end-consumers at gas stations, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry designed a mechanism setting a cap for pre-tax prices based on the difference between retail price and wholesale price over a five-day rolling average, the statement said.
14/04/2026 – 19:14Israel-Lebanon talks a ‘significant and symbolic step’, France 24’s Fraser Jackson says
The Washington hosted talks between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday offer a “significant and symbolic step for two countries that don’t even recognise each other”, France 24’s US correspondent Fraser Jackson said.
Israel is bringing several goals to the negotiating table including empowering the Lebanese state to regain sovereign control over its territory, disarming of Hezbollah and assurances that the Lebanese army assumes control of the country’s territory and weapons, and the establishment of a security buffer zone in southern Lebanon to prevent cross border attacks.
“It’s easier said than done, however, when Hezbollah operates independently and arguably holds more power than the Lebanese government”, Jackson said.
14/04/2026 – 18:35Rubio hosts Israeli, Lebanese envoys as talks begin in Washington
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosts the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington Tuesday for the first direct peace talks between the countries in decades. FRANCE 24’s Kethevane Gorjestani takes a look at the talks’ significance and what they might yield.
14/04/2026 – 18:31Saudi, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey FMs to hold talks amid Iran tensions
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey’s top diplomat this week in Turkey for talks on regional matters, a ministry source said on Tuesday.
“This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz,” said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. The top diplomats are due to hold talks on the margins of an annual diplomacy forum in southern Turkey that opens on Friday.
14/04/2026 – 18:18Six ships turned around on day one of Hormuz blockade, US military says
No ships have made it past a U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports and coastal areas, and six merchant ships have followed orders to turn back, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, on day one of the blockade ordered by US President Donald Trump after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down.
The U.S. military has said that the blockade, which started on Monday, would only apply to ships going to or from Iran, including all Iranian ports on the Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in the statement.
14/04/2026 – 17:59Hezbollah says targeted 13 north Israel towns as Lebanon-Israel talks start
Hezbollah on Tuesday said it targeted 13 northern Israeli towns with rockets shortly after the start of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington. In a statement, the group said it targeted Kiryat Shmona, Metula and 11 other towns “with simultaneous rocket salvos” at 6:15 pm (1515 GMT).
The Israeli military had warned it expected a rise in Hezbollah attacks as Washington hosted Israeli and Lebanese officials for their first direct talks in decades.
14/04/2026 – 17:56 Vance says progress made with Iran as sides weigh second round of talks
The United States made a lot of progress in talks with Iran, US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News on Monday, saying the ball was in Iran’s court when it came to whether a second round of talks would take place.
14/04/2026 – 17:54Trump says Iran talks could resume over next two days, NY Post reports
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran talks could resume in Pakistan over next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post.
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump was quoted as saying.
14/04/2026 – 17:35 ‘This is a process, not an event’, Rubio says, of Israel-Lebanon talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Tuesday for Israel and Lebanon to seize a “historic opportunity” for peace as the first direct talks in decades between the two countries got underway in Washington.
“This is a historic opportunity. We understand we’re working against decades of history and the complexities that have led us to this unique moment and the opportunity here,” Rubio said at the State Department as he welcomed the ambassadors of the two countries.
“The hope today is that we can outline a framework upon which a current and lasting peace can be developed,” he added.
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
14/04/2026 – 17:22Lebanon’s Aoun hopes Israel talks ‘beginning of the end’ of country’s suffering
Lebanon’s president expressed hope that direct talks on Tuesday in Washington with Israel would lead to an end of his country’s suffering after war erupted again between Israel and Hezbollah last month.
“I hope that the meeting in Washington… will mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and those in the south in particular,” President Joseph Aoun said in a statement, adding that “stability will not return to the south if Israel continues to occupy its lands”.
“The only solution lies in the Lebanese army re-deploying up to the internationally recognised border, and so being solely responsible for the security of the area and the safety of its residents, without the partnership of any other party,” Aoun added.
14/04/2026 – 17:2110,000 US forces deployed in blockade of Hormuz
The US blockade of Iranian ports involves more than 10,000 US military personnel, more than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, US Central Command said on Tuesday.
14/04/2026 – 17:10Rubio hosts Israeli, Lebanese envoys for first direct talks in decades
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday for the first direct peace talks between the countries in decades.
Rubio is mediating the talks between Israeli envoy Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s Nada Hamadeh Moawad, which began around 1500 GMT.
But pro-Iran Hezbollah – which is battling Israeli forces in southern Lebanon – called for the talks to be scrapped before they even began.
14/04/2026 – 17:09Israel military warns Hezbollah likely to increase attacks as talks begin
The Israeli military warned Tuesday it expected a rise in attacks by Hezbollah targeting the country’s north, as Washington hosted Israeli and Lebanese officials for their first direct talks in decades.
“Following a situational assessment, and as part of recent developments, an increase in fire from Lebanon is possible, likely targeting northern Israel,” the military said.
Israeli forces and Hezbollah are currently engaged in close-quarters fighting in southern Lebanon, after the group launched attacks on Israel in response to joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
14/04/2026 – 16:44Trump says Italy’s Meloni lacks ‘courage’ on Iran war
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addresses the Senate regarding the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region, in Rome, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched a stinging criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of his main European allies, over her unwillingness to join the Iran war.
“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
The interview was published the day after Meloni condemned as “unacceptable” Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV, after the pontiff’s repeated calls for an end to the war in the Middle East.
Trump told Corriere that it was she who was “unacceptable”, alleging she did not care if Iran had a nuclear weapon.
Trump said she did not want Italy to be involved in the war, which began with Israeli-US attacks on Iran, even though it gets much of its oil from the region.
Meloni, Italy’s far-right leader since October 2022, has been one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe and often seeks to act as a mediator between diverging US and European views.
14/04/2026 – 16:39Russian nuclear chief says 20 staff remain at Bushehr plant in Iran
The head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Tuesday only 20 of its staff remained at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, a day after the company said it had started a final stage of evacuations.
14/04/2026 – 16:2617 nations urge Israel, Lebanon to seize talks ‘opportunity’
Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including the UK and France, on Tuesday urged Israel and Lebanon to “seize this opportunity” ahead of talks between the two nations in Washington.
Britain’s foreign ministry posted the ministers’ joint statement saying “direct negotiations can pave the way to bring lasting security for Lebanon and Israel as well as the region”.
14/04/2026 – 15:34Countries need to diversify sources of energy to domestic supplies and renewables, IMF says