Iran-US War Ceasefire Highlights: Trump says reviewing 14-point plan; Israel pounds Lebanon

A convoy of 70 Iraqi crude oil tankers has passed through the al-Yarubiyah border crossing into Syria, marking the first such shipment via that route in 14 years.

According to Syria’s SANA news agency, the convoy is bound for the Baniyas refinery on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Feras Rustum, a Syrian official at the al-Yarubiyah crossing, said that “the re-opening of the crossing after 14 years is a strategic move to boost the economic ties between Iraq and Syria”. He added that the decision to reopen the crossing will “facilitate commercial and energy shipments more effectively” and “lead to a long-term partnership between the two countries”.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been told about the concept of a deal with Iran, but was waiting for the exact wording, while warning there was still the possibility of restarting strikes on the country if Tehran misbehaves.

A senior Iranian official said on Saturday that an Iranian proposal so far rejected by Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran's nuclear program for later.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that the Israeli army has carried out air strikes on the towns of Adshit and Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Yohmor al-Shaqif was also subjected to artillery shelling, the NNA said.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer says banning some pro-Palestinian marches could be justified amid pressure to act after a spate of anti-Semitic incidents, including the stabbing of two men this week in Golders Green, a north London suburb with a large Jewish community.

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer whose wife is of Jewish origin, said many Jewish people feel affected by the “repeat nature” of the protests, adding that while he defends peaceful protest, chants like ‘globalise the intifada’ are “completely off limits” and require tougher action.

Noting that the intifada refers to Palestinian uprisings against Israel in 1987, 1993 and the early 2000s, he said he wants stronger policing of language used in marches and that some protests should be stopped altogether.

Police in London and Manchester said in December they would arrest anyone chanting ‘globalise the intifada’, which Starmer said the Jewish community views as “very, very dangerous”.

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah says its fighters launched several attacks on Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory on Friday.

According to a statement, the group targeted multiple gatherings of Israeli soldiers and vehicles across several front-line towns in southern Lebanon, including artillery strikes on troops in the vicinity of the Moussa Abbas complex in Bint Jbeil and the village of Hula, as well as a drone attack on soldiers in al-Bayyadah using a diving explosive drone.

President Trump continues to insist that his strategy of squeezing Iran financially is going to work.

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, he claims, is costing the Iranians millions of dollars.

He also insists that ongoing sanctions against individuals and entities within Iran are having an economic effect.

He seems convinced that the pressure he is putting on Iran will bring Tehran to the table to discuss a deal on his terms.

The UN’s telecoms agency has condemned Iran’s attacks on telecommunications infrastructure in the Middle East since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February, saying that it is monitoring the impacts, the AFP news agency is reporting.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, joined by Jordan, have demanded actions at the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) over attacks targeting communications in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

The union’s governing body, the ITU Council, adopted their draft resolution on Friday “by consensus”, an ITU spokeswoman told AFP.

US Central Command, which is responsible for the war on Iran, says it has blocked 45 vessels attempting to breach its blockade of Iran’s ports.

“US forces continue to patrol international waters and enforce the ongoing naval blockade against Iran. As of now, 45 commercial vessels have been directed to turn around or return to port to ensure compliance,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

The US imposed its blockade of Iranian ports on April 13.

President Donald Trump said he considers it “treasonous” for people to say that the United States is not “winning” the war with Iran, despite notifying Congress earlier that the hostilities have “terminated.”

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war, while Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changes its approach.

Trump's comments indicated the deadlock over the two-month-old war is likely to persist, even as he looks to end a conflict that remains deeply unpopular among Americans.

Meanwhile, US relations with its traditional allies were further strained over Iran on Friday, as the United States announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany. Trump had threatened a drawdown over differences with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday the Iranians were humiliating the United States ⁠and that ​the Americans lacked an exit strategy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told his Iranian counterpart that Russia is ready to provide any assistance to end the war against Iran and establish peace in the region, Fars News Agency reported.

The statement was made during a telephone conversation between the two foreign ministers.

Hezbollah continues to demonstrate that it is ready to fight. While a ceasefire is ongoing, both Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange fire. On Friday, Hezbollah announced that it carried out nine different operations targeting Israeli troops, some of them inside Lebanese territory, and other military operations across the Blue Line into northern Israel.

Israel is concerned about these attacks, and that is why it says it is continuing to carry out military operations in Lebanon, including air strikes, artillery strikes and demolitions in the areas it occupies.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah’s biggest and strongest political ally, responded on Friday to a statement released by the US Embassy in Beirut calling for talks between the Lebanese president, the Israeli prime minister and President Trump in Washington. Berri said there was no reason to go forward with those kinds of talks as long as Lebanon was still under fire. He dismissed the current ceasefire as irrelevant, saying Israel had actually increased its attacks on Lebanon.

Iran’s top leadership is reportedly seeking the removal of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over his alignment with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief stance in nuclear talks with the United States.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf believe that Araghchi has acted more as an aide to Guard Corps’ Commander-in-Chief, Ahmad Vahidi, than as a cabinet minister, Iran International reported.

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Major Japanese trading houses on Friday said they expected higher fiscal year profits as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran keeps commodity prices high, ⁠while domestic ​utilities warned of losses as procurement costs spike.

Japan, one of the world's most vulnerable countries to energy import disruptions, has stepped up diplomatic efforts and pledged billions of yen in public support - from subsidies to a currency intervention - as it tries to cushion economic ​shock from ​the war and the closure of the Strait ⁠of Hormuz.

Marubeni Chief Executive Masayuki Omoto said the crisis in the Middle East poses more upside than downside risks to the company's earnings ‌thanks to higher commodity prices. For the current fiscal year, the firm expects a net profit of 580 billion yen ($3.7 billion), which would be a record.

US media outlets are reporting that the US president’s upcoming visit to China may play a role in his decision-making regarding the Iran war.

An unnamed White House official told NBC that the trip is among the factors being considered by Trump as he weighs his options in Iran.

The China visit, which is now scheduled for May 14 and 15 after being delayed by the US towards the start of the war, is a “priority” which the White House really does not want to postpone again, the official told NBC.

The New York Times is also reporting that the twin blockades on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s ports are complicating matters in advance of the “high-stakes” China visit.

US Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said during a CNN interview that he has the “impression from some of the briefings”, as well as from other sources, that “an imminent military strike is very much on the table”.

He added that this prospect was “deeply disturbing” because it could “well involve American sons and daughters in harm’s way” and lead to “potential massive casualties”.