Iran live updates: Tehran has 'no plans' for new round of talks, spokesperson says

The two-week ceasefire announced earlier this month will expire on April 22.

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Last updated: Monday, April 20, 2026 6:07PM GMT
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President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.

After initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan failed to reach a peace deal, Trump announced Sunday, April 19, that U.S. negotiators would head back to Islamabad Monday for a new round.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance would accompany special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, to Islamabad for the talks.

Iran's continuing blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and their alleged refusal to abandon their nuclear program remain key sticking points in negotiations, according to Trump.

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Apr 19, 2026, 1:57 AM GMT

Container targeted by Iranian projectile damaged

A container ship reported being struck by an "unknown projectile" causing damage in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation said in a warning Saturday.

The projectile struck the cargo ship 25 nautical miles northeast of Oman causing "damage to some of the containers, no fires or environment impact reported," the warning said.

Earlier the UKMTO reported a tanker was fired upon by two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps "gun boats."

It comes after a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces, said "The Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state."

-ABC News' Othon Leyva Jr.

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Apr 18, 2026, 12:45 PM GMT

Iran 'courageously defending' itself, Khamenei says in statement

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a statement on Saturday that his country was "now courageously defending the land, water, and flag that belong to it."

Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since the beginning of the war, said in the statement that Iran in fighting against the U.S. and Israel was "battling against the two leading armies of disbelief and Arrogance."

"And the Islamic Army has exposed those armies' weakness and abjectness to the world," the statement said. "In the same way that its drones strike the US and the Zionist murderers like lightning, its valiant navy is also ready to inflict new bitter defeats on its enemies."

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Apr 18, 2026, 12:45 PM GMT

Iranian gun boats fire on tanker off Oman's coast, UKMTO says

Two Iranian boats approached and fired on a tanker off Oman's coast on Saturday morning, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations organization said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ships were said to have approached a tanker about 20 nautical miles off the northeastern coast of Oman, according to the UKMTO, a maritime security monitoring group.

"The Master of the Tanker reports being approached by 2 IRGC gun boats, no VHF challenge that then fires upon the tanker," UKMTO said, describing a typical emergency vessel-to-vessel radio communication or "challenge."

The tanker and its crew were reported safe, UKTMO said, adding that an authorities were investigating.

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Apr 18, 2026, 10:40 AM GMT

Strait of Hormuz returns to 'previous state,' Iranian State TV reports

The Strait of Hormuz "has returned to its previous state," Iranian state TV reported on Saturday, quoting a spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces.

The spokesperson said Tehran had previously allowed the managed passage of a limited number of oil tankers and commercial vessels "in good faith" following recent negotiations, Iran state TV IRIB reported.

The spokesperson accused the United States of failing to uphold its commitments and continuing "piracy and maritime robbery under the so-called blockade."

"As a result, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state," the spokesperson reportedly said, adding that the strategic waterway is now under "strict management and control" by Iran's military.