Live
[Brendan Smialowski/AFP]
By Lyndal Rowlands, Ted Regencia, Zsombor Peter, Zaid Sabah, Federica Marsi, Nils Adler, Stephen Quillen, Danai Nesta Kupemba, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, Chris Hamill-Stewart, Ali Harb, Tamila Varshalomidze, Priyanka Shankar and Heba Habib
Published On 7 Apr 2026

This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage here.

8 Apr 2026 - 07:15
 (07:15 GMT)

Our coverage continues

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

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

8 Apr 2026 - 07:10
 (07:10 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

This live page will be closing soon, but our coverage will continue on a new page.

Here are some of the day’s top developments:

  • The United States won a “total and complete victory” after agreeing a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the AFP news agency.
  • Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier said the deal included “Lebanon and elsewhere” and is effective immediately.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said the agreement between the US and Iran “does not include Lebanon”.
  • Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has reacted to the ceasefire and said Netanyahu has “failed politically”.
  • Iran and Oman will be allowed to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz as part of the two-week ceasefire deal mediated by Pakistan, The Associated Press news agency reports.
  • US Democratic lawmakers have continued to call for Trump’s impeachment after the ceasefire announcement, citing the president’s “genocidal” and “unhinged” rhetoric towards Iran.
8 Apr 2026 - 07:00
 (07:00 GMT)

Cautious optimism before ceasefire talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad

By Kamal Hyder

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

It is indeed a major breakthrough.

But there is cautious optimism because there is a lot of hard talking to be done.

There is mistrust on both sides and there is of course a proposal that perhaps it will be the US Vice President JD Vance who will be heading the American side along with [Steve] Witkoff.

So it will be important to see what kind of progress is made.

Obviously, one of the conditionalities is the ceasefire in Lebanon, which Israel is not agreeing to.

So there will be of course cautious optimism as to how these talks are going to take place and what kind of results they are going to achieve.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:50
 (06:50 GMT)

Ukraine welcomes ceasefire

Ukraine has welcomed the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran and the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, and called for similar “decisiveness” by Washington in stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“American decisiveness works. We believe it is time for sufficient decisiveness to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:45
 (06:45 GMT)
Houthi

Israel issues forced evacuation order in Lebanon’s Tyre

Residents of Lebanon’s city of Tyre have been ordered to evacuate their homes “immediately” after Israel issued a warning of an imminent strike.

Citing threats from the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, an Israeli military spokesperson warned in a post on X that the order is specifically addressed to residents living in al-Abbasiyah and Shabriha districts of Tyre.

Displaced residents were told to move north of the Zahrani River in southern Lebanon.

Despite a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the agreement does not cover Lebanon.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:40
 (06:40 GMT)

Germany welcomes US-Iran ceasefire

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said his government welcomed the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States.

Merz also thanked Pakistan for its role in mediating the truce and highlighted that the aim in the coming days should be to negotiate a “lasting end to war” through diplomatic channels.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:30
 (06:30 GMT)

Trump ceasefire met with caution due to Iranian distrust of US government

By Ali Hashem

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

There’s distrust between the Americans and the Iranians.

It’s not only between the Iranian government and the American government, it’s also between the people and the American government.

In the past couple of negotiations, immediately after or even during the negotiations, wars happened.

So for now, this is a cautious reception of the ceasefire, and it’s a ceasefire. So whenever it’s a ceasefire it’s still with a cap, it still has a deadline.

So people will take this into consideration.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:20
 (06:20 GMT)

Netanyahu needs Lebanon front to distract voters from underachieving in Iran

By Nida Ibrahim

Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank

Because of a potential deal with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself in a position where he needs to continue at least one front to tell his domestic voters, his people in Israel, that war at one level is continuing.

That’s why we are seeing the push towards putting more troops in southern Lebanon.

This is the moment Israel has been fearing – an end of hostilities, a potential deal or de-escalation – because of what Netanyahu has promised his people at the beginning of the war: The ultimate victory, the change of regime, the elimination of the Iranian threat.

None of these has been achieved.

That’s why we read one of the Israeli military analysts in the Maariv newspaper as saying the Lion’s Roar, the name Israelis gave their operation in Iran, turned into the Howling Cats, because of what they believe is the Iranian supremacy in this battle.

According to this military analyst, Iran got its way by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and by defying all attempts to crack the regime.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:15
 (06:15 GMT)
Houthi

Israel’s opposition leader says Netanyahu has ‘failed politically’

Yair Lapid has reacted to the ceasefire, saying PM Netanyahu has “failed politically”.

“There has never been such a political disaster in all of our history. Israel wasn’t even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security,” he wrote on X.

“The military carried out everything that was asked of it, the public demonstrated amazing resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and didn’t meet a single one of the goals that he himself set,” Lapid said.

“It will take us years to repair the political and strategic damage that Netanyahu wrought due to arrogance, negligence, and a lack of strategic planning,” he added.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:10
 (06:10 GMT)

Attacks on Gulf regions continuing

By Malik Traina

Reporting from Kuwait City, Kuwait

Bahrain has said its civil defence team has just succeeded in extinguishing a fire at a facility due to attacks from Iran.

Overnight, we saw numerous attacks in Qatar, with the Ministry of Defence saying four people were injured by debris from an interception.

We saw attacks in Kuwait and the UAE. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five ballistic missiles.

In just the last couple of hours, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said they were responding to a fire at the Habshan gas field, although the office did not mention the cause. Just before that, the alarms sounded in the UAE.

This goes to show that the entire Gulf would hope there could be a diplomatic path and a solution here.

Throughout this conflict, the message has been to de-escalate and find a diplomatic path towards a long-term solution.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:05
 (06:05 GMT)
Houthi

Oman welcomes US-Iran ceasefire, calls for permanent peace

Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on X that it welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and the US and appreciates “the efforts of Pakistan and all parties calling for an end to the war”.

“We affirm the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions that can end the crisis from its roots and achieve a permanent cessation of the state of war and hostilities in the region,” the ministry said.

8 Apr 2026 - 06:00
 (06:00 GMT)

US-Iran deal will depend on negotiations in the next 15 days

By Rosiland Jordan

Reporting from Washington DC, United States

Over the last hour, US President Donald Trump has posted a new statement on his social media platform saying Iran welcomes the ceasefire and that it is tired of the fighting as well.

Things will come down to how negotiations in the next 15 days will play out between the US and Iran.

We don’t know if Israel will be a party in these upcoming talks that will be brokered by the Pakistanis.

Last night, the president also took to social media to thank Pakistan as well as China for helping broker the ceasefire.

8 Apr 2026 - 05:50
 (05:50 GMT)

WATCH: Iranians commemorate victims of Minab school strike

Thousands of young people and their parents gathered across Iran to mark the 40th day since a deadly US-Israeli attack on a school in Minab killed more than 160 people.

The Minab school, in the country’s southwest near the Gulf, was attacked in the early hours of February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran. Most of those killed were schoolchildren.

The vigil was held just hours before US President Donald Trump made a last-minute announcement of a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.

In the capital, Tehran, one resident criticised Trump’s threats against Iran, saying his words “are bigger than his mouth”.

8 Apr 2026 - 05:40
 (05:40 GMT)

Japan, Indonesia welcome Iran ceasefire

Indonesia is among the latest countries to welcome the ceasefire ⁠between the US and Iran, with Foreign ⁠Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang ⁠calling ‌on all parties in the conflict to respect sovereignty, territorial ⁠integrity and diplomacy.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters that Tokyo welcomes the news of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran as a “positive move” as it awaits a “final agreement”.

Read more about how countries around the world have responded to the ceasefire here.

 

8 Apr 2026 - 05:30
 (05:30 GMT)

Lebanon awaits Hezbollah’s response to US-Iran ceasefire deal

By Zeina Khodr

Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon

Israeli officials have repeatedly said they do not see the Lebanese and Iranian fronts as connected.

In fact, they were saying that once the war with Iran is over, they would be able to prioritise and focus on Lebanon.

Few here in Lebanon really trust the intentions of Israel. As of this morning, we have not yet heard from Hezbollah.

There’s also a clarification needed from Iran, because Iran has made it very clear since the start of this conflict that a deal to end the war needs to extend throughout the region.

And the response to Trump’s peace plan included a demand to end the attacks on Lebanon.

So the question now is, will the Lebanon front, the Israel-Hezbollah front, be discussed in negotiations during these two weeks of ceasefire?

Because it’s a really complicated issue.

Hezbollah joining the war allowed Iran to expand the conflict and bogged down Israel’s fight on multiple fronts.

Hezbollah’s calculation is that it has more political leverage when it joins Iran in possible negotiations. Hezbollah has been criticising the Lebanese government for failing to get Israel to agree to the terms of the last ceasefire deal.

8 Apr 2026 - 05:25
 (05:25 GMT)
Houthi

Fire extinguished in Bahrain after ‘Iranian aggression’: Interior Ministry

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reports that civil defence workers have extinguished a fire following a “sinful Iranian aggression”.

There were no injuries reported, the ministry said, describing the fire as having affected a “facility”, without providing details.

Just more than an hour ago, alarm sirens were activated in Bahrain.

8 Apr 2026 - 05:20
 (05:20 GMT)
Analysis

Ceasefire between Iran and US creates ‘off-ramps’ from conflict: Analyst

Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, says it is too early to know whether the two-week truce is a tactical pause in the conflict or a genuine diplomatic opening, but the ceasefire has created “off-ramps”.

“It’s important to understand the point at which we were just a few hours ago, which was a very, very dangerous inflection point where the United States was threatening drastic measures on Iran and Iran seemed to be standing quite firm,” Harrison said.

“I think it’s also important to say that what the United States demonstrated that it can escalate vertically. It can increase the stakes and threaten drastic action militarily on Iran,” he said.

“But Iran still had the option to escalate horizontally, which was to expand the nature of the war to the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf Arab states, and that there were still some options that the Iranians have.”

8 Apr 2026 - 05:10
 (05:10 GMT)

Trump claims ceasefire deal with Iran a ‘total and complete victory’ for US

The United States had won a “total and complete victory” after agreeing a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the AFP news agency.

“Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview shortly after he announced the deal.

He also said that Iran’s stores of uranium would be “perfectly taken care of” under the ceasefire deal, while noting that China had helped to get Iran to negotiate with the US.

8 Apr 2026 - 05:00
 (05:00 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Celebrations have been reported in the Iranian capital Tehran on the news of a two-week ceasefire to allow for peace talks between the US and Iran.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran “does not include Lebanon”.
  • Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier said the deal between Iran, the US and allies, included “Lebanon and elsewhere” and is effective immediately.
  • Trump appeared to confirm reports that Iran would use fees collected from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to fund reconstruction of the country.
  • The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it will observe a two-week ceasefire amid the cessation of fighting between Iran and the US.
  • UN chief Antonio Guterres and Australia’s Prime Minister Albanese were among world leaders who welcomed the ceasefire announcement.
  • US Democratic lawmakers have continued to call for Trump’s impeachment after the truce announcement, citing the president’s “genocidal” and “unhinged” rhetoric towards Iran.
People shout slogans as they gather after a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war was announced, in Tehran, Iran, on April 8, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters]
8 Apr 2026 - 04:50
 (04:50 GMT)

Iranian officials say ceasefire deal demonstrates people’s ‘resilience, patience and courage’

By Mohamed Vall

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

Iranian officials are framing the two-week ceasefire deal with the US as a “victory” for Iran, because they have been promising the people here that this war would end on Iran’s terms.

And now, they are saying that the fact that those 10 demands by Iran have been accepted by the Americans as a basis for negotiations, and the fact that US President Donald Trump said most of the points of contention were agreed upon between the two sides, means for these leaders that Iran got what it wanted from this war.

They are very proud talking to the people, saying that this is a result of resilience, patience and the courage of the armed forces of Iran and the unity of the country in the face of this major war.

The calculation on the part of the Americans and the Israelis was that by the act of decapitation of senior Iranian leaders on the first day, the ruling system would collapse.

That didn’t happen.

The preceding weeks of fighting have also proven that Iran is capable of waging this war and defending the country until the end.

Iranians burn US and Israeli flags as they welcome the announcement of a two-week ceasefire deal at the Enqelab Square in Tehran [AFP]