Key Points to Remember
Negotiations for peace between Iran and the United States have “made progress” but “a final agreement is still far away,” said Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday, who represented Iran in recent talks.
Iran announced on Saturday that it will resume “strict control” of the Strait of Hormuz, following its temporary reopening to commercial traffic, due to the continued blockade of Iranian ports by the US Navy.
A French soldier was killed and three others, including two seriously, were wounded in an attack on UN peacekeepers, announced President Emmanuel Macron, specifying that “everything indicates that the responsibility lies with Hezbollah.” The Iran-backed group denies being behind the attack.
Announced on Thursday, April 16 by the US President, a ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon at 9pm UTC that same evening, after a day of violent exchanges between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which lasted until the last minute. The Lebanese army, however, stated on Friday morning that Israel had violated the ceasefire, particularly by intermittently shelling several villages in southern Lebanon.
