US-Israel-Iran War Ceasefire News Highlights: Iran FM Abbas Araqchi arrives in Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin

A top Russian lawmaker has said that the US was “clearly unprepared” militarily for a war on Iran, because it relied on the “misguided belief” that force could quickly achieve results.

Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the information policy commission of Russia’s Federation Council, told the TASS news agency the US approach could have been influenced by its experience in Venezuela.

Araghchi visits are the most important engagements by Iranian officials in the past 24 hours, and appear to be part of a wider diplomatic initiative that Iranians are pursuing in the region, starting from Islamabad to Muscat and then to Islamabad again.

After these stops, Araghchi will visit Russia. The wider message here is that Iran is focusing on consolidating their presence here in the region and their coordination between the regional partners.

Brent crude futures climbed $2.22, or 2.11 percent, to $107.55 a barrel by 22:02 GMT.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $2.02, or 2.14 percent, to reach $96.42 a barrel.

Prices increased as stalled Iran-US peace negotiations and limited shipments through the Strait of Hormuz continued to tighten global supplies.

Iran’s IRNA news agency reports that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

The news agency cited the Iranian ambassador to Moscow regarding the details of the upcoming meeting.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also take part in discussions focusing on the current state of negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Israeli military says the fighters included a commander who had infiltrated Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.

It said the others were a Hamas platoon commander, who “led numerous attacks” against Israeli forces in Gaza, and the third was an operative in the group’s military intelligence unit.

The statement did not specify where or when the men were killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Donald Trump says the US Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz.

The vital sea route for Gulf oil is closed to most ships, putting a strain on the global economy.

Experts say sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran.

Any future claims that the US cleared the waterway – where 20% of the world’s oil typically passes – might fail to convince commercial freighters and their insurers that it’s finally safe.

“There’s only so much the US can do to give that confidence back to commercial shipping,” said Emma Salisbury, a scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s National Security Program.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) says a Navy helicopter is escorting an intercepted ship affiliated with the Iranian “shadow fleet” back to Iran.

“M/V Sevan was among 19 ‘shadow fleet’ vessels sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury for activities related to transporting billions of dollars worth of Iranian energy, oil and gas products, including propane and butane, to foreign markets,” CENTCOM said in a statement released on X.

“Sevan was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a US Navy helicopter from guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91), and the merchant vessel is currently complying with US military direction to turn back to Iran under escort,” the statement added.

Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by US officials to Pakistan for talks on the Iran war on Saturday, shortly after Tehran's delegation had left Islamabad.

The US president said special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be wasting "too much time", adding that if Iran wanted to talk "all they have to do is call".

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi held talks with mediator Pakistan, saying afterwards he had shared Iran's position on ending the war but was yet to see whether the US was "truly serious about diplomacy".

US negotiators are scheduled to leave for Pakistan on Saturday, but Iran said its officials did not plan to meet the Americans to discuss ending the war that has killed thousands and roiled global markets.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are due to depart on Saturday morning for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the White House said.

In this photo released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center left, meets with Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, center right, and Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, third left, upon his arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (Photo: AP)

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that an unexploded GBU “bunker buster” bomb, dropped during US-Israeli attacks and buried 13 metres (42 feet) beneath a residential area in Yazd province, has been successfully neutralised and removed.

Yazd deputy provincial governor for security told the news outlet that the bomb struck a residential area during the war but failed to detonate and was lodged deep underground.

Lloyd’s List is reporting that there are still at least 43 container ships from the world’s 10 biggest container shipping companies stranded in the Middle East Gulf.

Top carriers have all suspended their services in the region since the war on Iran began in late February, “causing significant delays and rising costs for global trade”, according to Lloyd’s List, a shipping industry journal.

Some ships belonging to CMA CGM, Cosco, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC were able to “evacuate … safely”, Lloyd’s List added, “although two MSC vessels were seized by Iranian authorities”.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Pakistan and the White House says it is sending US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad on Sunday because the Iranians wanted to talk "in person".

A different message has emerged from Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei, who says Araghchi would be meeting only "Pakistani high-level officials".

"No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan," he said.

US President Donald Trump earlier said officials were negotiating "with the people who are in charge now" in Iran.

He said Iran is "making an offer and we'll have to see", but he didn't yet know what the offer was.

Tight security is in place across Islamabad, with major roads closed and public transport suspended as Pakistan prepares to host a second round of US–Iran peace talks.

International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, has warned that ticket prices are set to rise as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the war with Iran drives oil prices higher.

In a statement released on Friday, the group explained that the situation in the Middle East will necessitate an increase in flight costs to account for more expensive jet fuel.

According to United Kingdom media reports, airlines typically utilise “hedging” – the practice of purchasing a portion of their fuel in advance at fixed rates – to shield themselves from market volatility.

The Trump administration said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on an independent "teapot" refinery in China for buying billions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil, as Washington and Tehran head into another round of peace talks over the weekend.

The Treasury Department targeted Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, which it said is one ⁠of Iran's ​largest customers of crude oil and petroleum products. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said it also imposed sanctions on about 40 shipping companies and vessels that operate as part of Iran's shadow fleet.

Shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi touched down in Pakistan, his government made it clear that there would be no direct negotiations with American government representatives during this visit.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that "No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US." Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations.

Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its "ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression." The White House said earlier Friday that its envoys would meet Araghchi.

The USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, the US military says, bringing the number of the massive US warships operating in the region to three.

The carrier was sailing “in the Indian Ocean in the US Central Command area of responsibility, April 23”, the military command responsible for the Middle East said in a post on X that included an image of the ship with its deck packed with warplanes.

The Kuwaiti government has announced that the country’s two airlines, Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways, will resume flights from Sunday.

The Centre for Government Communication listed resumed flights to more than a dozen international destinations in a post on social media.

The announcement comes after Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said it would reopen Kuwait international airport on Thursday “after a temporary and precautionary suspension of air traffic since February 28”.

Disruptions to fuel and fertiliser caused by the war could see more than 30 million people pushed back into poverty in the coming months, UN development chief Alexander De Croo has said.

“Even if the war would stop tomorrow, those effects, you already have them, and they will be pushing back more than 30 million people into poverty,” the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) told the Reuters news agency.

“Food insecurity will be at its peak level in a few months – and there is not much that you can do about it,” he added.

Companies have paid out up to $4m for last-minute passage of their vessels through the Panama Canal in recent weeks to cope with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reports, citing canal authorities.

The canal usually charges a flat rate for passage. But companies without a booking can pay extra in an auction to avoid waiting for several days to transit through the waterway.