Live: First talks in decades conclude between Lebanon and Israel in US

Israeli air and artillery attacks struck 76 cities, towns and areas across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 21 people and injuring 29, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

The strikes began at dawn and affected multiple regions of the country, officials said.

The death toll in Lebanon has crossed 2,089 since the escalation began on 2 March 2026, as the new developments add to growing concerns about the impact of the Israeli war on civilians in Lebanon. 

US naval forces have forced eight oil tankers linked to Iran to turn back since Monday, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing officials.

The report said that the US ships contacted vessel crews via radio and instructed them to reverse course as part of efforts to restrict maritime traffic connected to Iranian ports.

All of the tankers complied with the orders and no boardings were required, the report said.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has called for a “strict crackdown on hoarding” after the government introduced new bans on stockpiling key medical supplies and petrochemical materials.

“I ask relevant ministries to strictly crack down on hoarding behaviour that disrupts the market order,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The measures cover items including syringes and needles, as well as raw materials such as ethylene, propylene and butadiene.

South Korea, which depends heavily on fuel imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, faces supply concerns linked to tensions in the region.

A close US ally, Seoul has appointed an envoy to engage directly with Tehran, as President Lee Jae Myung has voiced criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. 

China has pushed back against criticism from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with a spokesperson at the Chinese embassy blaming global fuel shortages on instability in the Middle East.

Liu Pengyu, speaking to Reuters, said “the tense situation in the Middle East” was driving disruptions and called for an immediate halt to military operations.

“The pressing task is to put an end to military operations at once and prevent the turmoil in the Middle East from further impacting the global economy,” Liu said.

Liu added that China has been working to de-escalate the conflict and would “continue playing a constructive role”.

His remarks come after President Xi Jinping outlined a four-point proposal aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region, emphasising “peaceful coexistence”, “national sovereignty” and “international rule of law”, along with coordination between security and development efforts.

US Central Command (Centcom) said a US-led blockade on Iranian ports is being enforced “impartially” against vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas of Iran.

Centcom said US Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets carrying out the operation.

“A typical destroyer has a crew of more than 300 Sailors that are highly trained in conducting offensive and defensive maritime operations,” Centcom said in a statement.

Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and several other countries have called for an “urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon”, warning of a worsening humanitarian and displacement crisis.

In a joint statement, the countries said civilians and infrastructure must be protected and welcomed a ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran, while stressing that violence in Lebanon must also stop.

“Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected from the effects of hostilities. Humanitarian personnel, who dedicate themselves to protecting and assisting the most vulnerable, must be respected and protected,” the statement said.

The countries also condemned attacks that have endangered aid workers and killed peacekeepers, saying such actions must end immediately.  

US President Donald Trump said the war on Iran could be nearing its end, telling Fox News that he sees the conflict as “very close to over”.

“I think it’s close to over, yeah,” Trump said in a clip aired by the broadcaster. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly," he said. 

He added that without US military action, Iran would have obtained a nuclear weapon, saying, “If they had a nuclear weapon, you would be calling everybody over there sir. And you don’t want to do that.”

However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has previously said it found no evidence that Iran was building a nuclear weapon. 

A US Navy destroyer has intercepted two oil tankers attempting to leave Iran, ordering them to turn around as part of a newly enforced maritime blockade, according to a US official cited by Reuters.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident occurred on Tuesday after the vessels departed from Chabahar Port and were contacted via radio by the warship.

The official added that the two tankers were among six merchant vessels referenced earlier by US Central Command, which said ships had complied with orders to “turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman”.

Central Command said no vessels have passed the blockade since it came into effect on Monday at 10 am in Washington (14:00 GMT), as the US tightens its effort to restrict Iranian oil flows. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States will prevent China from accessing Iranian oil, warning that Chinese tankers carrying such shipments could be blocked in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

“They’re not going to be able to get their oil. They can get oil. Not Iranian oil,” Bessent told reporters in Washington, adding that Beijing’s continued purchases make it an “unreliable global partner.”

Bessent said he has raised the issue with Chinese officials but declined to say whether tensions could affect President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing next month.

“I think the message for the visit is stability. We’ve had great stability in the relationship since last summer; that emanates from the top down,” he said, adding, “I think that communication is the key.”

US Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump is seeking to make a “grand bargain” that would reset ties if Tehran changes course.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Turning Point USA in Georgia, Vance said Washington had offered to normalise economic relations with Iran if it was “willing to act like a normal country,” while emphasising that Trump’s core policy remains preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“We have this ceasefire that’s in place, I think it’s six or seven days old, this ceasefire is holding,” Vance said.

“The president doesn’t want to make a small deal, he wants to make the grand bargain.” Vance added that he recognises “young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East,” urging them to stay engaged politically.

“I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue,” he said. “What I am saying is, don’t get disengaged… get more involved, make your voice heard even more.”

US Vice President JD Vance said there was a lot of mistrust between the United States and Iran which cannot be resolved overnight, but added that Tehran's negotiators were keen to make a deal. 

Vance said that he feels “very good about where we are” and that the “ceasefire is holding” in comments made on Tuesday.

The US and Iran met on Saturday in Pakistan for the highest-level peace talks since the US-allied Shah, intalled by a CIA-backed coup, was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution half a century ago.

Labour MPs voted on Tuesday to pass a law that would significantly restrict the right to protest, granting the UK police sweeping powers to criminalise sustained strike action. 

Recurring protests which might have no connection to each other could now be banned by police on the basis of “cumulative disruption” caused by past or future planned protests in the same “area”.

More than 45 civil society groups, including the Trade Union Congress and Greenpeace, joined together to oppose the draconian crackdown on fundamental freedoms of protest and assembly.

Several MPs also opposed the amendment, with Labour MP Andy McDonald tabling a motion which gained widespread cross-party support, but Labour's large parliamentary majority passed it through regardless.

Human Rights Watch previously reported that the UK’s anti-protest laws may be “in breach” of its international human rights obligations, with the potential to undermine the “fabric of democracy”, particularly with its move to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action, which the High Court deemed "unlawful".

Tonight Labour MPs voted to erode our right to protest, handing police sweeping powers that could criminalise sustained strike action as "cumulative disruption."

This is a direct escalation against the Palestine solidarity movement that has brought hundreds of thousands onto the…

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) April 14, 2026

The Trump administration on Tuesday hosted Lebanon and Israel's top diplomats in Washington for the first direct talks between the two sides in more than three decades. 

But a ceasefire was not on the agenda, and the main subject of concern, Hezbollah, had no representation, leaving Lebanese officials with little to no authority coming into the meeting. 

"I know some of you were shouting questions about a ceasefire," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters. 

"This is a lot more than just about that. This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah’s influence in this part of the world and the - not just the damage that it’s inflicted on Israel - [but] the damage that it’s inflicted on the Lebanese people."

The US designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997, but it remains the foremost military actor in Lebanon, and is represented in the country's parliament. Hezbollah was formed in 1982 to explicitly counter Israel's occupation and influence in Lebanon.

Read more: Ceasefire not included: Lebanon begins historic 'exploratory' talks with Israel

Hezbollah said that it launched a drone attack on Israeli military sites in the occupied Golan Heights late on Tuesday.

The group said it targeted an artillery position in Za-oura and battalion command headquarters in Odem, using a “squadron of drones”, according to a statement they released.

This comes as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US agreed that their first direct talks, held in Washington on Tuesday, were “productive” and indicated that more discussions would follow.

On Monday, Hezbollah's secretary general, Naim Qassem, called for the Washington meeting to be cancelled.

"We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity," he said. "These negotiations are futile and require a Lebanese agreement and consensus."

The global economy can still recover rapidly from the Iran war shock if the conflict ends in the next few weeks, but the situation will worsen if it continues through the summer, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

Georgieva affirmed that the IMF, World Bank and International Energy Agency are aiming to hold regular calls every two weeks to assess the disruption to global energy markets caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

She also reported that emergency financing is robust and reliable, with precautionary instruments in a “good place”.

The World Bank President, Ajay Banga, said the bank will increase funding for countries hardest hit by the war over the next 15 months.