This live blog follows updates for Day 53 of the US-Israel war on Iran. For a recap of Day 52, go here.
- The United States maintains a blockade on Iran, pressuring for a deal
- Iran warns it prepares new military actions if conflict resumes soon
- A fragile ceasefire nears expiration as negotiations continue with uncertainty
- Israel and Lebanon engage in talks while hostilities and casualties persist
- Global powers urge diplomacy as tensions disrupt oil routes and regional stability
Oil down after another surge
Published: April 20, 2026 | 4:51 GMT | by AFP
Hanging onto the hope of resumed negotiations in Pakistan, oil prices fell Tuesday after soaring the previous day following the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship by the United States and the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
At around 0300 GMT, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, was down 1.2% at $88.50 and Brent crude from the North Sea, the global benchmark, was down 0.4% at $95.12 a barrel.
Trump says recovering Iran uranium 'will be a long and difficult process'
Published: April 21, 2026 | 3:57 GMT | by AFP
US President Donald Trump said late Monday the United States obtaining uranium from Iran would be "long" and "difficult" in the aftermath of last year's US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites.
"Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process."
The US leader regularly uses the term "nuclear dust" to refer to Iran's stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to make an atomic bomb. But he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left from US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year.
Trump says new Iran deal will be 'far better' than 2015 JCPOA
Published: April 20, 2026 | 22:13 GMT | by AFP
US President Donald Trump said that the agreement currently under negotiation with Tehran will prove superior to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The deal that we are making with Iran will be far better than the JCPOA,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, referring to the original pact as one of the "worst" agreements ever made regarding US security.
UNSC condemns killing of French peacekeeper in Lebanon
Published: April 21, 2026 | 01:28 GMT | by AFP
The UN Security Council condemned the recent killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon, whose death France has blamed on Hezbollah.
The Frenchman was killed and three others wounded when their unit was ambushed on Saturday as it headed to a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost cut off from the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack...(and) reaffirmed their full support for UNIFIL" a statement from the UN body said.
Iran to show 'new cards on battlefield' if war resumes: parliament speaker
Published: April 20, 2026 | 22:34 GMT | by AFP
Iran's parliament speaker warned that Tehran had "new cards" if war resumes with the United States and Israel, ahead of the expiration of a two-week ceasefire.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," Ghalibaf, Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, wrote on X.
Lebanon says 2,387 killed in Israel war
Published: April 20, 2026 | 21:13 GMT | by AFP
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,387 people since the war with Hezbollah erupted six weeks ago, a Lebanese government body said in a new toll.
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