4m agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 2:35pm
Trump says ‘Israel never talked me’ into Iran war
The US president has hit send on another post on Truth Social in the last little while, denying accusations he was convinced to go to war because of pressure from the Netanyahu government in Israel.
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran,” Donald Trump writes.
“The results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did.”
(Truth Social/@realdonaldtrump)
Mr Trump then attacks the media as “fake news”, accusing them of containing 90 per cent “lies and made stories”.
He then promises the “results in Iran will be amazing”.
“And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future!”
25m agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 2:13pm
UAE says it foiled Iran-linked ‘terrorist cell’ targeting national stability
The United Arab Emirates says it dismantled an Iran-linked “terrorist cell” plotting to undermine stability in the Gulf country.
The State Security Department said the cell’s members had been arrested and were found to have been working under fake business fronts, according to state news agency WAM.
WAM said that the cell members carried out recruitment and mobilisation operations, with the aim of gaining access to sensitive sites.
1h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 1:20pm
Strait of Hormuz shipping remains at virtual standstill, data shows
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
That latest data from Marine Traffic shows the build up of oil tankers (in red) and cargo ships (in green) in the Strait of Hormuz on April 20. (Source: Marine Traffic)
The oil products tanker Nero, which is under British sanctions for Russian oil activities, left the Gulf and was sailing through the Strait, according to satellite analysis from data analytics specialists SynMax and tracking data from the Kpler platform.
Two other ships – a chemical tanker and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker – sailed into the Gulf through the critical waterway separately.
The LPG tanker, Axon I, was under separate US sanctions for Iran trading activities.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 12:48pm
‘Money and prestige’ an obstacle when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program
One of the key sticking points between the US and Iran is Iran’s nuclear program.
But former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector Robert Kelley believes the money spent on that program will deter Iran from completely ceasing its nuclear operations.
“They have a face saving issue,” he tells ABC News Channel.
“They invested a lot of money, a lot of time… in the nuclear program
“So they’d like to leave the field with something to show.”
He adds a power reactor in Bushehr — and another under construction — could also complicate matters.
“Nobody’s going to touch those because the Russians have a huge stake in those plants continuing to operate,” he adds.
“There’s money and a lot of prestige involved there as well.”
(ABC News )
2h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 12:29pm
📷: The Middle East war, in pictures
Here are some of the latest photos across the Middle East, with the conflict now in its eight week.
In Lebanon, people are returning to their villages in southern Lebanon, after a 10-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was struck on Friday.
Here people are crossing a destroyed bridge in the Tayr Felsay village.
(AP: Bilal Hussein)
And in Beirut, where many displaced people had fled to, rmany buildings have been left destroyed.
A man stands surrounded by damaged buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. (Reuters: Marko Djurica)
2h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 12:09pm
US ambassador calls for ‘severe’ action against IDF soldier caught smashing crucifix
The international outrage against an IDF soldier caught on camera vandalising a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon has continued to grow.
Earlier, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be a criminal probe into the matter.
Now, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says the action “doesn’t properly represent the IDF, Israel, or the Israeli gov’t”.
“Swift, severe, & public consequences are needed,” Huckabee added on an X post.
The photo that emerged online over the weekend showed an Israeli soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross in a southern Lebanon village.
2h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 11:49am
Lebanon names ex-ambassador as head in ‘peace deal’ talks with Israel
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says planned talks with Israel aim to end “hostilities” and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he names ex-ambassador Simon Karam to lead a delegation.
“The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders with Israel,” Aoun said in a statement.
Aoun named former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Karam to head the negotiations, and said the talks will be “separate from any other negotiations”, in reference to US-Iran diplomacy to end the wider Middle East war.
3h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 11:29am
Scenes from a makeshift graveyard in southern Lebanon
A civil defence member mourns his colleague, who he says was killed by an Israeli strike while rescuing people, amid a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra)
A photo lies in the dirt of a Hezbollah fighter killed by an Israeli strike. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra)
The rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli strike just before the ceasefire in southern Lebanon. (Reuters: Zohra Bensemra)
4h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 10:16am
Russia not a mediator, but ready to assist: Kremlin
The Kremlin says it hopes Iran negotiations will continue in order to avoid negative consequences for the region and the global economy.
Moscow made the call while adding that it was not acting as a mediator — though ready to assist if needed.
“We can see that the situation in the Gulf remains fragile and unpredictable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“We hope that the negotiation process will continue and that we will be able to avoid a further escalation towards a military scenario.”
Reporting with Reuters
4h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 9:56am
Trump to consider obstacle Strait of Hormuz plays in peace talks
Good evening, I’ll be joining you for the latest on the Middle East war tonight.
And we’ve just heard that Donald Trump told Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir that he would consider Munir’s advice on the Strait of Hormuz blockade being a hurdle to peace talks with Iran.
Trump and Munir spoke by phone, a Pakistani security source said.
Pakistan has been playing the role of key mediator between the US and Israel.
Reporting with Reuters
5h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 9:36am
Moving enriched uranium to US ‘never raised as an option’, Iran says
As we reported earlier key sticking points in Iran and US peace talks include Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
In his press briefing earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the prospect of transferring enriched uranium to the US has never been raised.
“Regarding the issue of transferring enriched uranium, neither during this period of negotiations nor before has transferring it to the United States been discussed,” he said.
“It was never raised as an option for us.”
5h agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 9:15am
Iran raises death toll to 3,375 in war with Israel and US
Iran has issued a new death toll for its war with Israel and the United States, with its forensic chief saying at least 3,375 people have been killed.
The figure was provided by Abbas Masjedi, head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization, and reported by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other outlets.
Masjedi said only four of the dead remained unidentified.
He did not break down casualties between civilians and security forces, but said 2,875 of those killed were male and 496 were female.
According to Masjedi, 383 of the dead were children aged 18 and under.
The figures raise questions about whether security force members are included, particularly given the scale of bombardments targeting military bases and arsenals across the country.