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People walk near an anti-US billboard on a building in Tehran [Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters]
By Lyndal Rowlands, Yashraj Sharma, Adam Hancock, Heba Habib, Stephen Quillen, Elis Gjevori and Lorraine Mallinder
Published On 18 Apr 2026

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19 Apr 2026 - 00:00
 (00:00 GMT)

Our coverage continues

This live page is closing, but our 24-hour coverage of the conflict continues.

Join us for all the latest developments, analyses and reactions here.

18 Apr 2026 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

  • Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has said the Strait of Hormuz is closed again, blaming US “violations” of the ceasefire agreement.
  • It said the vital shipping lane would remain closed until the US ends its blockade of Iranian ports.
  • An attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon resulted in the death of one French soldier and the wounding of several others.
  • Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, denied all responsibility for the attack.
  • Meanwhile, Israel carried out at least two strikes on southern Lebanon, despite a two-day-old ceasefire.
  • Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, said the truce between Lebanon and Israel could not be “one-sided”, and that its fighters remain in the field, prepared to respond to Israeli aggression.
  • US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Iran, saying it could not “blackmail” the US by using its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
18 Apr 2026 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Bahrain condemns Lebanon attack that killed French soldier serving with UNIFIL

The Foreign Ministry of Bahrain has condemned the “terrorist” attack that killed a French soldier serving with UNIFIL, and wounded three others as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

In a statement, the ministry said it affirmed Bahrain’s solidarity with Lebanon and support for the efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

It also expressed its backing for the work of UNIFIL in maintaining peace and stability in Lebanon.

18 Apr 2026 - 23:20
 (23:20 GMT)

Editor’s Choice: What to read and watch right now

We’ve published several stories covering various aspects of the conflict in recent hours. Here are a few highlights:

  • Iran reasserts control of Hormuz Strait as Trump warns against ‘blackmail’
  • Israel says established a ‘yellow line’ in Lebanon, as it has in Gaza
  • Watch: Mariana Mazzucato on the Iran war’s economic shock: Who pays the price?
  • Trump claims on Iranian concessions trigger questions, rejections in Tehran
  • Watch: Iran’s deputy FM says no date for more US talks until ‘framework’ agreed

And there’s plenty more here.

18 Apr 2026 - 23:10
 (23:10 GMT)

Photos: Protests held in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s war policy

Left-wing activists hold placards against the ongoing war on Iran and Lebanon, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government [Jack Guez/AFP]
[Jack Guez/AFP]
[Jack Guez/AFP]

18 Apr 2026 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

WATCH: Iran military orders Indian ship to abort Strait of Hormuz passage

A video shows the moment Iran’s military ordered an Indian ship to abort its passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says it has closed the strait again, calling the decision a response to the continued blockade of its ports by the United States.

Watch below for more:

18 Apr 2026 - 22:51
 (22:51 GMT)

Iranian official says no enriched uranium to be sent to US

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh says his country will not send any enriched uranium to the US and that the question is “not open for discussion”.

The IRNA news agency reported on Khatibzadeh’s comments, which came on the sidelines of a diplomatic meeting in Turkiye.

“Multiple messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States, but [the US] insists on demands that Tehran considers excessive,” he said, according to IRNA.

18 Apr 2026 - 22:40
 (22:40 GMT)
Analysis

US, Iran, and the ‘escalation trap’

Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, has cautioned that the war “is very far from over”.

“I realise there are great hopes; there’s been tremendous pain and damage as a result of this war. But we need to understand that there are large zero-sum differences between the United States and Iran,” he told Al Jazeera.

Pape said the reason for this is “simply not the result of complexity or bad diplomatic skills”, but the fact that both sides cannot have their preferred outcome in their key issues.

“Iran wants Hormuz, and it wants to keep its enriched uranium; and the US wants exactly the opposite, not half of a loaf – and that’s what’s really standing in the way,” he added.

For Pape, the “most troubling part” of this reality is that both sides are signalling they prefer war to losing on one of these key issues.

“That’s the real rub here and why you can’t just simply divide everything in the middle or have one side lose, because it will just go back to an escalation,” he said, adding that this circles back to the “escalation trap”.

“Both sides are now trapped where they prefer fighting to surrendering on one of these core issues, and it’s not likely to be resolved really any time soon,” Pape said, warning that this could effectively go on for weeks and even months.

18 Apr 2026 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)
Analysis

Iran has learned to mirror Trump’s style in communications

US President Donald Trump has attempted to play down Iran’s decision to shut the Strait of Hormuz again, framing the move as Tehran getting a little “cute”.

Analysts say the situation reflects a shift in how Iran engages with Washington.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East politics at George Washington University, said that Tehran has adjusted its approach compared with Trump’s first term, when communication followed more conventional diplomatic channels.

He argued that Iranian messaging has evolved to mirror Trump’s style, becoming more direct and, at times, provocative.

“All you have to do is to look at all the animations or all the Lego animations that are put out there, or the Iranian Embassy accounts that are trolling President Trump,” said Azodi.

“I think Iranians have learned how to talk to Trump. Even in the past, prior to the negotiations, the tweets that came out or the posts that came out on Iran’s Foreign Ministry accounts, or [from the] foreign minister – they were really attuned to reach Trump’s ears,” he added.

Azodi criticised Trump’s rhetoric around the waterway, suggesting it risks undermining the seriousness of the situation.

18 Apr 2026 - 22:27
 (22:27 GMT)
BY THE NUMBERS

‘Major differences’ in US, Iranian negotiating positions: Iran parliament speaker

The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, says that while some points of agreement with the US have been reached, there are “major differences” on other topics.

“The enemy has not achieved its goals through issuing warnings and setting deadlines, and therefore, has begun sending messages through intermediaries,” he said.

Iran had accepted the temporary ceasefire so the US could meet its demands, he said, while US President Donald Trump had accepted it because “we were the victors on the battlefield”.

“Trump did not achieve his goal of changing the regime and destroying our offensive and missile capabilities, and Iran is not Venezuela,” he added.

18 Apr 2026 - 22:20
 (22:20 GMT)
Developing

Israeli army says soldier killed in southern Lebanon on Friday

The Israeli military has said a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon yesterday.

Command Sergeant Barak Kalfon, 48, died after being wounded on Friday in an incident that also wounded three other soldiers, the military said, without providing additional details.

18 Apr 2026 - 22:03
 (22:03 GMT)

UN chief condemns deadly attack on UNIFIL

The UN’s secretary-general has condemned the attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which killed a French soldier and injured three others.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends [and] colleagues of the fallen peacekeeper, and wish a full & fast recovery to the injured peacekeepers,” Antonio Guterres posted on X.

He noted that today’s attack was the third incident resulting in the deaths of peacekeepers serving in Lebanon in recent weeks.

“These attacks must stop,” he wrote. “All actors must respect the cessation of hostilities & the ceasefire.”

18 Apr 2026 - 21:50
 (21:50 GMT)
Analysis

Iran does not trust US’s intentions in negotiations

Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, tells Al Jazeera that there are no significant signs of progress in Washington’s talks with Tehran to find a permanent end to the war.

“As it’s proceeding, there are no signs of significant new progress in the process”, he said. “The US, from Iran’s perspective, is raising maximalist demands, which seems unacceptable for Iran.”

He said that Iran has serious doubts about the US’s motives, adding: “With the US, anything is possible.”

Aslani said no signs point to the US making concessions, and that the US could be preparing for a return to conflict.

18 Apr 2026 - 21:40
 (21:40 GMT)

Israel launches new strikes in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire

The Israeli army has confirmed it has carried out new attacks against what it calls threats south of the new “yellow line” in Lebanon.

Our Beirut-based correspondent Heidi Pett said that in addition to today’s continued artillery, shelling, and machinegun fire on several villages, Israel has confirmed launching two air strikes.

One, she said, targeted a group of Hezbollah fighters that Israel said were approaching the yellow line, rather than past it.

“So that actually indicates that they were to the north of it and not inside it,” Pett noted.

The second attack, she said, targeted a man who was approaching a tunnel entrance south of the yellow line.

Israel says it has “carried out a strike on him and destroyed that tunnel entrance,” Pett added, noting that the Israeli military spokesman said this was not a violation of the ceasefire.

“If you read carefully, the text of it, which was released by the US State Department shortly after it was announced, allows Israel to act in what it defines as self-defence, in addition to allowing it to continue to occupy 55 Lebanese villages,” Pett said.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has called the document an insult to Lebanon and said the group will not allow for continued Israeli attacks while waiting for diplomatic negotiations.

As a result, Pett said, the situation on the ground is much the same as it was yesterday.

“There are still many, many people in south Lebanon on the roads heading back to their villages,” she said, but many roads are also jammed with people heading back to displacement shelters, because they do not trust that the ceasefire will hold.

18 Apr 2026 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

‘Unconditional transit’ in Hormuz is ‘fiction’ that ‘sailed’ after US-Israeli ‘aggression’: Iran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, has posted a statement on social media saying, “No rule of international law forbids Iran, the coastal State, from taking necessary measures to stop the Strait of Hormuz being used for waging military aggression against Iran.”

Baghaei’s statement came in response to a post by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, which said that transit through waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz “must remain open and free of charge” under international law.

Baghaei added: “And ‘unconditional transit passage’ in Hormuz? That fiction sailed the moment U.S./Israeli aggression brought U.S. military assets into the strait’s backyard.”

18 Apr 2026 - 21:20
 (21:20 GMT)
Analysis

Trump’s optimism on negotiations questioned as Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz

Trump has sought to project optimism that a breakthrough may still be within reach in the ongoing negotiations with Iran.

But that narrative faces growing scepticism, particularly as Iran says that the Strait of Hormuz is once again closed after a brief reopening.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sina Azodi, director of Middle East studies at George Washington University, cast doubt on the US president’s messaging, warning that the situation on the ground tells a very different story.

“I’m not sure if I can trust what President Trump claims to be true. The president likes to make a lot of claims that are not necessarily accurate at all times. In fact, when he said that the Iranians will give up their enriched uranium… Iranians 100 percent denied it.”

Azodi said Iran’s decision to reimpose restrictions in the strait was a direct response to US actions, arguing that Tehran sees the waterway as a key source of leverage.

“I think [the] Iranian response to re-close the Strait of Hormuz is [in response to] the American side continuing to do a double blockade on the strait,” said Azodi.

The Iranians understand that the strait “is their biggest card in the negotiations, [and] they’ve decided to reimpose the blockade”, he added.

18 Apr 2026 - 21:10
 (21:10 GMT)

Iran’s Quds Force commander visits Baghdad for talks

Top Iranian commander Esmail Qaani visited Baghdad today to discuss the situation in the Middle East and its impact on Iraq with political leaders and representatives of armed factions.

Qaani heads the Quds Force, the foreign branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, formerly led by Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the United States in 2020.

An Iraqi official told news agency AFP that Qaani was seeking to “coordinate positions among Tehran’s allies in Iraq and to ensure that the security situation does not deteriorate during these sensitive times”.

Caught between Tehran and Washington, Iraq has been drawn into the Middle East war with strikes targeting groups linked to Iran, which in turn have claimed attacks on US interests.

18 Apr 2026 - 21:06
 (21:06 GMT)
Houthi

Israeli forces kill Palestinian man near Rafah

Israeli forces have killed a young Palestinian man in southern Gaza, according to medical sources cited by the Wafa news agency.

The victim, Youssef Hassan, died after Israeli military vehicles opened fire northwest of Rafah. Medics transferred his body to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

Earlier, a child was wounded by Israeli gunfire in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah.

In a separate development, medical officials confirmed that 25-year-old Ahmed Hani Obeid had succumbed to wounds sustained in an Israeli air attack on northern Gaza nearly a year ago.

18 Apr 2026 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

WATCH: Iran’s supreme leader warns of ‘new bitter defeats’ for US and Israel

In a message read on Iranian state TV, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that his country’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on the US and Israel, as tensions escalate in the Strait of Hormuz.

Watch the video below:

18 Apr 2026 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)

Trump holds crisis talks and plays golf after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump has left the White House to play golf, despite Iran’s re-closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockade of Iranian ports.

“We haven’t had any announcements from the president since that comment in the morning that Iran was getting a ‘bit cute’, in his words, over the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jazeera correspondent John Holman reports, referring to how the president downplayed Tehran’s threats.

Before Trump left for the golf course, however, there reportedly was a meeting in the situation room to discuss the crisis, Holman said.

Referring to a report from Axios News, Holman said Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were all in attendance at the meeting.

“So this is obviously something, if that report is true, that they are thinking about and talking about,” Holman said, comparing it to Friday’s happier news that the strait had reopened.

“On Friday, President Trump was saying that they would get a deal within a day or two. It seemed really likely that we’d be heading back to Islamabad for the negotiations,” Holman noted, adding that there has since been no news about whether the talks are happening.

“So it’s either tit for tat in that way,” he added, referring to Iran’s response to the US blockade. “Or there is something more serious happening.”