WASHINGTON: Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States had started &quot;clearing out&quot; the strategic waterway. The US Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the strait with no issues reported, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing three US officials. The operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran, US media outlet Axios said. &quot;We&#39;re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it &quot;a favor&quot; to countries such as China, Japan and France that &quot;don&#39;t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.&quot; He insisted that Iran is &quot;LOSING BIG!&quot; in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait &ndash; through which a fifth of the world&#39;s crude passes &ndash; still pose a threat. &quot;The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may &#39;bunk&#39; into one of their sea mines,&quot; Trump wrote. US officials did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comments about the reports. The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the shaky ceasefire put in place earlier this week. Senior Iranian and American officials began negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday, in a bid to bring to an end a conflict that has plunged the Middle East into violence and sent shockwaves through the world economy. In an earlier post, Trump said that empty tankers were headed to the United States from around the world to purchase oil, without providing details.

A view of the vessels passing through Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 08, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

Two US warships transited the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump said the United States began clearing the vital waterway amid Iran conflict, while negotiations started in Pakistan Saturday.

US warships transit Strait of Hormuz: media

BANGKOK: The head of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva warned on Thursday that the global economy is facing a new test of resilience due to escalating conflict in the Middle East.&nbsp; <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">&quot;This week global resilience is tested yet again by the new conflict in the Middle East,&quot; Georgieva said during a livestream of the &quot;Asia in 2050&quot; conference in Bangkok. <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">&quot;This conflict, if proven to be more prolonged, has obvious potential to affect global energy prices, market sentiment, growth and inflation, and place new demands on the shoulders of policymakers everywhere,&quot; she added.&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" id="isPasted">The United States and Israel began launching strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader and sparking a wave of retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The conflict in the resource-rich region has sent global oil prices soaring, and markets have been thrown into turmoil.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;We are in a world of more frequent, more unexpected shocks and we have been warning our membership for quite some time that uncertainty is now the new normal,&quot; Georgieva said on Thursday.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;We are potentially in a prolonged period of flux.&quot;<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Energy security was &quot;at stake&quot; for most of Asia, she told the conference in Thailand&#39;s capital, noting the markets have fluctuated &quot;like a roller coaster over the last couple of days&quot;.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;So the sooner we see the end of calamity, the better for the whole world.&quot;

Business

'This week global resilience is tested yet again by the new conflict in the Middle East,' Georgieva says during a livestream of the 'Asia in 2050' conference in Bangkok.

Global economic resilience 'tested yet again' by Mideast war: IMF chief

GENEVA: Iran and the United States began fresh talks in Geneva on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-warns-iran-of-consequences-of-not-making-a-deal" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">warned of consequences</a>&nbsp;should Tehran fail to strike a deal. Mediated by Oman, the discussions are aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washington&#39;s &quot;more realistic&quot; position on its nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a reported crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear program. &quot;I don&#39;t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,&quot; he told reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the talks. A previous attempt at diplomacy collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. &quot;A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one,&quot; foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency. Iranian state TV reported on Tuesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iranian-fm-araghchi-in-geneva-for-second-round-of-us-talks" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">indirect talks</a>&nbsp;had begun with the two sides exchanging messages through Omani mediators. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in Geneva to discuss his country&#39;s position &quot;regarding nuclear issues and sanctions relief&quot;. He also stressed Tehran&#39;s &quot;seriousness in using result-oriented diplomacy to secure the legitimate interests and rights of the Iranian people&quot; and preserve peace in the region, according to a ministry statement. Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed, including Tehran&#39;s ballistic missiles program and support for armed groups in the region. War games Iran&#39;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began a series of war games on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz to prepare for &quot;potential security and military threats&quot;, Iranian state TV said. Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a strategic route for oil and liquefied natural gas, as both sides ramp up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-says-ready-for-nuclear-compromise-if-us-lifts-sanctions" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">pressure</a>. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday: &quot;We&#39;re hopeful there&#39;s a deal.&quot; &quot;The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things.&quot; Araghchi, meanwhile, said on X that he too had come to &quot;Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal&quot;, but added there would be no &quot;submission before threats&quot;. The foreign minister also met in Geneva on Monday with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, &quot;for deep technical discussion&quot;. The West fears Iran&#39;s nuclear program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies. Regime change? Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday. On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the &quot;best thing that could happen&quot;, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure. The first carrier dispatched to the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln, was positioned about 700 kilometers from the Iranian coast as of Sunday, new satellite images showed. Iran&#39;s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifted sanctions that have crippled the country&#39;s economy. The purchasing power of Iranians has been steadily eroded in recent months amid rising prices and a sharp depreciation in the currency. &quot;If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,&quot; Takht-Ravanchi said. Meanwhile, Iran&#39;s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-aircraft-carrier-located-near-iran-as-washington-increases-military-pressure" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">US warship</a>&nbsp;deployed in the Gulf could be sunk. &quot;We constantly hear that they (the United States) have sent a warship toward Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,&quot; said Khamenei in a speech.

The discussions are aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washington's "more realistic" position on its nuclear program.

Iran, US hold new Geneva talks as Khamenei warns of sinking US warship

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Pentagon has ordered the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as President Donald Trump weighs taking military action against Iran, AFP quoted what the US media reported on Thursday. Washington and Tehran began indirect talks last week over the future of Iran&#39;s nuclear program, and Trump on Thursday warned of &quot;very traumatic&quot; consequences for the country if it failed to make a nuclear deal. Late last month, Trump sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships to the Gulf as Trump ramped up threats against Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests. The vessels remain in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln, however, is from the &lsquo;Nimitz class&rsquo; of US &lsquo;Supercarriers&rsquo;, which are the predecessors of the &lsquo;Ford class&rsquo;.&nbsp;The Ford-class carriers are more advanced, designed to increase sortie generation rates by 25% while reducing crew size by 500&ndash;900, according to the National Security Journal.&nbsp; Key upgrades include electromagnetic catapults (EMALS), advanced arresting gear, triple the electrical power, and a more flexible deck layout.AFP reports that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will join that strike group after officials ordered it to the Middle East from its current deployment in the Caribbean Sea, multiple US media outlets reported. The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and CBS News reported on the Pentagon&#39;s preparations and the expected deployment of the second carrier, citing unnamed officials. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions from AFP. The USS Gerald R. Ford initially deployed in June and was soon directed to the Caribbean as part of Trump&#39;s pressure campaign on Venezuela, according to the New York Times. Some of the carrier&#39;s warplanes participated in the deadly January 3 operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times reported. It was not clear how long the USS Ford or the USS Lincoln would remain in the Middle East.

Americas

US media says the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to deploy to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln amid rising tensions with Iran; Trump warns of “traumatic consequences" if nuclear talks fail.

Pentagon 'orders deployment of another aircraft carrier' to Middle East

ISTANBUL:&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">T&uuml;rkiye&#39;s&nbsp;top diplomat urged Washington to start&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-france-germany-aim-to-restart-iran-nuclear-talks" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">nuclear</a>&nbsp;talks with Iran in an interview broadcast Wednesday, as US warships arrived in the region ahead of a possible strike over Tehran&#39;s protest crackdown. &quot;It&#39;s wrong to attack Iran. It&#39;s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again,&quot; Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television in English. &quot;My advice has always been to our American friends: close the files one by one with the Iranians. Start with the nuclear issue and close it. Then move on to the others.&quot; Fidan&#39;s comments after a US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier took up position in Middle Eastern waters, US Central Command said on Monday, without revealing its precise location. Washington has not ruled out new military intervention against Tehran over its harsh response to the protests, which according to rights groups saw thousands of people killed within days. Since Iran began its crackdown earlier this month accompanied by a nationwide internet blackout, US President Donald Trump has given mixed signals on intervention. NATO member Turkey, which shares a 530-kilometre (330-mile) border with Iran, has often expressed opposition to military operations targeting the Islamic Republic. Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the unrest in Iran as a &quot;new test&quot; for Tehran, pledging Turkey would &quot;stand against any initiative&quot; that would drag the region into chaos. He said he hoped diplomacy and dialogue would help Iran get through this &quot;trap-filled period.&quot; Speaking to Al-Jazeera, Fidan said the problems with Iran should be tackled individually. &quot;Do not treat them as a package. If you put everything together as one package, it will be very difficult for our Iranian friends to digest and truly process it,&quot; he said. &quot;In some cases, it may even seem humiliating for them. It would be hard to explain not only to themselves but also to their leadership.&quot; The minister made similar comments Friday, telling Turkey&#39;s NTV he had visited Tehran late last year, urging them to &quot;take steps&quot;, saying he believed an agreement with the US on the nuclear issue was &quot;possible.&quot; &quot;A friend tells the bitter truth, and I said what needed to be said,&quot; he said. Fidan also urged Iran to build trust in the region. &quot;When I was in Iran two months ago, I was very frank with my Iranian friends. They need to build trust in the region,&quot; he told Al-Jazeera. &quot;They need to pay attention to how they are perceived by regional countries.&quot;

Türkiye Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urges Washington to start nuclear talks with Iran as US warships arrived in the region ahead of a possible strike over Tehran's protest crackdown

Articles tagged with "US warships in Middle East"

US warships transit Strait of Hormuz: media

Global economic resilience 'tested yet again' by Mideast war: IMF chief

Iran, US hold new Geneva talks as Khamenei warns of sinking US warship

Pentagon 'orders deployment of another aircraft carrier' to Middle East

Türkiye urges US to start nuclear talks with Iran