SOURCE: BBC
The US is having discussions with Iran about a second round of ceasefire negotiations, but nothing has been scheduled yet, the BBC understands
It comes as a delegation from Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator, has arrived in Tehran – here’s the latest on talks aimed at ending the conflict
Earlier the Iranian military threatened shipping in the Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Oman if the US naval blockade continues
How real is Iran’s threat? – our security correspondent looks at how the country could affect shipping across the three seas
The US blockade of Iranian ports began on Monday, and the American military says no vessels made it through in the first 48 hours – BBC Verify analyses how many ships are crossing the Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump says China is “very happy” that “I am permanently opening” the strait, claiming he is doing it for them “and the world”
Edited by Emily Atkinson and Emily McGarvey, with reporting from BBC Persian and teams across the Middle East
Bessent says ‘Operation Economic Fury’ under way against Iranpublished at 17:5117:51
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says “Operation Economic Fury” is now under way, with the US putting financial pressure on Iran.
He says Iran made the mistake of bombing other nations in the Middle East, and those countries are now being “more transparent” about the Iranian funds in their banking systems.
The US has requested that those nations freeze the funds of the IRGC leadership, Bessent says.
He adds that countries are being cautioned against buying Iranian oil. If they have Iranian cash in their banks, the US will consider secondary sanctions.
“We remain very much engaged in these talks,” she says, and conversations are “productive and ongoing”.
On reports that there are in-person talks being planned, she says “those discussions are being had but nothing is official until you here it from us here at the White House”.
“We feel good about the prospects of a deal”, Leavitt says, adding that it’s “in the best interests of Iran” to meet Trump’s demands – which she says he’s made “very clear”.
If talks happen, they would “very likely” be in the same place they were last time – Islamabad – she says.
A briefing from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has just started.
Leavitt is joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and is expected to speak mainly about domestic issues (specifically taxes as 15 April is Tax Day in the US).
It’s likely, though, that reporters will get the opportunity to pose questions about the war in the Middle East, too.
We’re listening across and will bring you the key lines. You can also watch live at the top of the page.
As part of monitoring the US blockade of Iran, BBC Verify has identified a vessel in the Gulf which appears to be trying to hide its real identity, sometimes referred to as a “zombie ship”.
The ship, currently using its onboard tracker to identify itself as “Race”, cannot be what it claims to be, as that is the name if a vessel which was scrapped in 2023. Its last reported position was close to the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
This practice of trying to hide a real vessel’s identity by adopting the name of a decommissioned ship is one of the tactics which means we can’t rely on onboard trackers alone to identify shipping and follow movements in the region.
BBC Verify has seen evidence that many other vessels are turning off their trackers, having their signal jammed, or “spoofing” them to hide their location and suggest they’re elsewhere.
Details of how the US is enforcing the blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports are still unclear. BBC Verify has also tracked the US-sanctioned tanker Alicia, which sailed west across the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf today.
The vessel, which is falsely registered under the flag of Curaçao, is not publicly reporting any destination.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tells me at the IMF Spring Meetings that countries should start to economise on energy supplies.
She says this is due to the reality of physical shortages, especially in Asia of some petrochemical derivatives – obviously energy, but also helium, naphtha, urea – used for semiconductors – plastics and fertilisers.
She says it will still take weeks to turn around even if a ceasefire is agreed imminently, and perhaps longer given the damage to petrochemical facilities.
“What do we tell countries? Use measures that can economise energy? And I have seen some countries doing exactly that, putting in place incentives like make public transport free… We did it during Covid. I don’t see a reason why not do more of it now or switch to a less energy intensive activities over time.”
She also warned the world’s central banks not to rush raising interest rates to deal with inevitably higher inflation, as assumed in markets.
“What we tell central banks is: ‘If you have high credibility, signal that your objective is to protect price stability, but don’t rush wait to see how conditions would evolve if we are to move faster out of the war.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described the US-Israel war with Iran as a “mistake”, adding that she is “not convinced” it has made the world a safer place.
Reeves made the comments while speaking at an event hosted by the American news channel CNBC in Washington.
“The question is not whether you like or dislike the Iranian regime – I strongly dislike the Iranian regime – but how to achieve the change that you want to achieve”, she says.
“There was a diplomatic channel open, conversations, formal discussions were happening.”
She adds that it was a “mistake” to end those discussions “and to enter into conflict, because I’m not convinced that we are safer today than we were a few weeks ago”.
BBC joins paramedics on duty in Lebanon after Israeli strikes
Three successive Israeli attacks have killed at least three paramedics in southern Lebanon, including one featured in a BBC report this week, Lebanese officials say, accusing Israel of deliberately targeting health workers in the war.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, the first team of paramedics was attacked as it tried to rescue people from the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Mayfadoun, in the Nabatieh region. When a second then a third teams headed to the site, they too were attacked.
The victims included 43-year-old Fadel Serhan. Earlier this month, the BBC spent days with his team as it operated in a tent set up outside the Nabatieh’s Nabih Berri Hospital after their own station in Mayfadoun was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in the first days of the war.
The Israeli military has been approached for comment. Israel has frequently accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes, without provided evidence. Lebanon’s health minister has denied the claims.
The ministry says 91 health professionals have been killed and 208 other wounded in the war, with more than 120 Israeli attacks recorded on ambulances and medical facilities.
In a statement, the ministry said Wednesday’s attacks were a “flagrant crime”. “Paramedics have become direct targets, pursued relentlessly in a blatant violation that confirms a total disregard for all norms and principles established by international humanitarian law,” it said.
Human rights groups say some of Israel’s actions in Lebanon may constitute war crimes.
