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Iran shuts down Strait of Hormuz again, accusing US of ‘piracy’

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been pushed to the edge of total collapse, after Tehran announced it would reimpose strict travel restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reversing a one-day opening of the critical global waterway. The reversal came in direct response to Washington’s refusal to lift its ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels, which Iranian officials say violates the core terms of the temporary truce set to expire this Wednesday.

The Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s total oil supplies transits each year, has been Iran’s most impactful leverage against Western commercial and political interests since the United States and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran in February. Keeping the waterway open to unimpeded commercial traffic was the central pillar of the ceasefire agreement that took effect two weeks prior.

The cascade of escalating tensions began days earlier, when Iran declared the strait “fully open” for navigation on Friday, a reciprocal gesture following a newly announced ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed groups. That bilateral truce has already crumbled amid repeated violations by Israeli forces, which have continued shelling residential areas in southern Lebanon and demolishing civilian homes even as displaced families attempt to return to their communities.

Iranian officials justified their decision to reinstate transit restrictions by pointing to the Trump administration’s failure to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal. Since Washington launched its naval blockade of Iranian shipping over the prior weekend, US Central Command confirmed via a social media post Saturday that American military forces have already turned away at least 23 commercial vessels near the strait since the blockade went into effect on April 13.

Contradicting Iranian accounts of the agreement, US President Donald Trump claimed Friday that Iran had agreed to reopen the strait with no preconditions, while insisting that the American blockade would “remain in full force” until a broader permanent deal is reached to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh pushed back on that characterization hours later during a public panel Saturday, stating bluntly, “That is not the term we agreed on.”

Shortly after Khatibzadeh’s remarks, Iran’s military headquarters released an official formal statement confirming the new transit restrictions. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, following previous agreements met in the negotiations conducted in good faith, agreed to manage the passage of a limited number of oil and commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, the Americans, with their repeated breaches of trust that are part of their history, continue their acts of piracy and maritime theft under the pretext of a so-called blockade. This strategic waterway is under strict management and control by the armed forces. As long as the United States does not end [its blockade] and allow complete freedom of movement for vessels from Iran to their destinations and back, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain under strict control and will remain as it was before.”

Hours after the announcement, gunboats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on an oil transiting the strait, though no injuries were reported in the incident. Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem summed up the diplomatic fallout, noting that talks between Washington and Tehran have been brought “back to square one.”

With less than three days remaining before the ceasefire is set to expire, the gap between the two sides appears nearly unbridgeable. Trump continues to demand that Iran allow the US to remove all of its domestically produced enriched uranium, a demand Iranian leaders have repeatedly labeled a non-starter that violates national sovereignty.

The human cost of the ongoing conflict has already been staggering. According to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, more than 1,700 Iranian civilians have been killed in US and Israeli strikes since the war began. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that over 3 million Iranians have been displaced from their homes since the start of military operations.

Trump has already signaled he has no intention of extending the truce if a deal is not reached by Wednesday’s deadline. “The blockade is going to remain. If an agreement is not reached by Wednesday, unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again,” he said Friday. Responding to Iran’s decision to reclose the strait, Trump added that Iran “got a little cute” with the move, but insisted “Iran can’t blackmail us.”

Despite Trump’s tough rhetoric, closing the Strait of Hormuz has proven to be one of Iran’s most effective tools of pressure against the US. The disruption to global oil supplies has already pushed US gasoline prices above $4 per gallon, sending inflationary ripples across the entire Western economy. The rising energy costs have further dragged down Trump’s already weak approval ratings just months before the US midterm congressional elections.

Military analysts note that the asymmetric leverage gives Iran a distinct upper hand in the standoff. Jennifer Parker, an adjunct fellow in naval studies at the University of New South Wales, explained that the US blockade cannot inflict the same level of economic damage on Iran that Iran can inflict on global markets through closing the strait. “It is not the US blockade on Iranian ports that is impacting the majority of shipping going through that strait. It is the attacks the Iranian navy and IRGC have undertaken on civilian ships,” she told Al Jazeera. “To solve the problem in the Strait of Hormuz, there either needs to be an agreement for Iran to stop attacking vessels, or a forcible military intervention that stops them from attacking vessels, and then general reassurance across the strait that it is clear of mines and that if the IRGC start trying to attack merchant ships, they will be defended…. We are a long way from all of that.”

For many Iranian observers, the Trump administration’s inconsistent statements and refusal to abide by ceasefire terms have convinced Tehran that Washington can never be a reliable negotiating partner. Mostafa Khoshcheshm, an Iranian political science professor, noted that Trump’s erratic behavior has erased any remaining trust between the two sides. “Trump’s contradictory statements surrounding the ceasefire have convinced Tehran that the United States is not a trustworthy partner for any kind of deal,” he said. “As Trump continues to behave erratically, Iran will continue the war. Iran believes it has the upper hand and that this must be established in any future confrontation.”

18 4 月, 2026
North Korea launches ballistic missiles toward sea

Fresh tensions have risen on the Korean Peninsula following a new series of ballistic missile launches carried out by North Korea into adjacent waters on Sunday, according to announcements from the country’s neighboring nations, marking the latest in a string of weapons development tests Pyongyang has conducted throughout 2024.

South Korea’s top military body, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that the firing operations originated in the eastern coastal district of Sinpo early Sunday morning. In response to the provocation, South Korea has upgraded its intelligence surveillance posture and maintains constant, close information sharing with key security allies the United States and Japan to monitor further developments.

South Korea’s presidential administration also confirmed that the country’s National Security Council would convene an emergency session to assess the threat posed by the launches and coordinate a formal government response.

Japan’s Defense Ministry independently verified the tests, adding its assessment that the projectiles fell into waters off North Korea’s eastern coastline. Japanese officials lodged a formal strong protest with Pyongyang over the incident, noting that Sunday’s launches undermine stability across the region and the broader international community, and run counter to long-standing United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit all ballistic missile activity by North Korea.

The latest test comes just one week after Pyongyang announced that leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw a separate round of missile tests conducted from a North Korean naval destroyer. Following that exercise, Kim emphasized that North Korea would continue advancing its military capabilities, stating the country remained committed to the “limitless expansion” of its nuclear deterrent forces. He also issued new, undisclosed directives to refine North Korea’s nuclear strike capacity and rapid military response systems.

In a separate development last week, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that the UN nuclear watchdog has recorded a marked, rapid acceleration in operational activity at all of North Korea’s known nuclear facilities, adding another layer of concern to the international community’s growing scrutiny of Pyongyang’s weapons programs.

18 4 月, 2026
Britain’s youngest F1 driver on his debut season so far – and learning to skateboard

At 18 years old, Arvid Lindblad has already etched his name into Formula 1 history as Britain’s youngest driver to compete at the sport’s highest level. Just three races into his highly anticipated debut season, however, an unforeseen gap in the 2026 calendar has handed the Racing Bulls rookie an unexpected month-long break from the grid, forcing the teen to pause what has already been a whirlwind introduction to elite motorsport.

Lindblad kicked off his F1 journey with a standout performance at last month’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where he immediately delivered points to his team by crossing the finish line in eighth place. Back-to-back races in Shanghai and Tokyo followed, before the scheduled rounds in Bahrain and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were called off over escalating conflict in the Middle East. The cancellation means Lindblad was meant to hit 200mph around Jeddah’s iconic street circuit this past weekend, a date that now sits empty on his racing schedule.

With weeks of unplanned free time on his hands, the teen has used the break to slow down, reflect on his opening performances, and embrace ordinary teenage experiences he has rarely had time for. He has reconnected with friends, and even picked up an entirely new hobby: learning to skateboard. When asked about his progress, Lindblad joked that he can now ride comfortably and navigate small ramps, and has set a goal to nail a kickflip by the end of the year. Still, he admits that even with an enjoyable break, racing remains his core passion, and he is counting down the days to get back behind the wheel.

For the 18-year-old, the reality of being a full-time Formula 1 driver has not fully sunk in yet. “This is something I’ve been working towards my whole life,” he told BBC Newsbeat in an exclusive interview. “So the fact it’s come true is extremely special, extremely cool.”

Lindblad’s next shot at racing will come in a fortnight at the Miami Grand Prix, a round he says he is eagerly anticipating. Beyond that, he has his sights set on his first home Grand Prix at Silverstone in July, an event that will hold deep personal meaning for the Surrey-born driver. “My whole family will be there. I think racing at home, there’s no real feeling like it,” he said.

The rookie driver has also opened up about the multicultural heritage that has shaped his identity, which he proudly displays on the back of his racing helmet with three national flags: England, Sweden, and India. Though raised in Virginia Water, Surrey, Lindblad’s father is Swedish, while his mother comes from an Indian background. “I’ve really been surrounded by all three cultures. It’s shaped me into the person and driver I am today,” he explained.

That Indian connection has left Lindblad with a long-term dream: to compete in a Formula 1 Grand Prix on Indian soil. The country last hosted an F1 race at Uttar Pradesh’s Buddh International Circuit in 2013, before the event was scrapped following a tax dispute with local authorities, with F1 officials at the time citing “very political” reasons for the cancellation. Earlier this month, an Indian government minister claimed a 2027 Grand Prix would go ahead, but F1 bosses quickly debunked the announcement, confirming no race will be held in India next year. Still, Lindblad says a future Indian Grand Prix would mean the world to him. “I race under the British flag so having one home race is pretty cool, if there were to be a second one that’d be really special as well,” he said. “I don’t know the ins and outs of it, or how realistic it is, but it would mean a lot to me.”

As a new face on the 2026 grid, Lindblad has yet to check one major rookie rite of passage off his list: filming his intro segment for Netflix’s hit F1 documentary series *Drive to Survive*. The show launched when Lindblad was just 10 years old, at the start of his own karting journey, so the opportunity to step in front of its cameras is one he is eagerly looking forward to. “I’ve watched loads of those clips and to be able to sit in that chair will be really cool at some point,” he said.

Off the track, Lindblad says team chemistry at Racing Bulls is strong, with a positive dynamic alongside teammate Liam Lawson. He has also built a close connection with four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who has become a valued mentor for the young rookie. “His journey to F1 was quite similar to mine, we both came in at a young age and rose through the ranks quite quickly,” Lindblad explained. “He’s been really good on that side if I needed some advice or had a question.”

For now, though, the teen is just enjoying the unexpected break while gearing up for his return to racing – and it’s clear his skateboarding hobby won’t be replacing the thrill of the F1 cockpit any time soon. “I’ve enjoyed the break but racing is my passion,” he said. “It’s probably what makes me happiest.”

18 4 月, 2026
The South Korean authors rising above a tide of hate to become bestsellers

Against a backdrop of rising anti-feminist pushback across South Korea, a growing cohort of female writers and storytellers are building a grassroots, community-centered movement to claim space for women’s unfiltered voices—a shift that author Eunyu describes as a “slow-but-sure revolution.”

When Seen Aromi’s 2024 memoir celebrating the joys of intentional singlehood hit bookstores, it quickly climbed to the top of bestseller lists. *So What if I Love My Single Life!* resonated across generations and relationship statuses: women from all walks of life drew comfort from Seen’s unapologetic rejection of unsolicited social pressure, and many found validation in choosing a life centered on their own priorities. But the book’s runaway success also sparked a tidal wave of online vitriol, largely from male readers who attacked Seen, predicted she would die alone, labeled her selfish, and even accused her of betraying the nation for rejecting traditional marital and maternal norms.

Gender-based discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence remain pervasive systemic challenges in South Korea, where the term “feminism” has become deeply polarizing, often wielded as a damning accusation that triggers online witch hunts and professional or social censure. As young men have led a widespread backlash against gender equality advocacy, openly embracing female independence has become increasingly risky. Yet even in this charged climate, women have carved out a growing, vibrant niche in the country’s literary landscape to share their lived experiences.

The movement reached a historic milestone this year, when women took home top honors in all six categories of South Korea’s most prestigious literary honor, the Yi Sang Awards—a first in the prize’s history. Beyond institutional recognition, community-focused spaces for women writers and readers, called guelbang, have sprung up across the country. These reading and writing rooms offer women dedicated time and space to gather, connect, and grow as a collective. Even beyond the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature won by iconic South Korean author Han Kang, which cemented Korean women’s writing on the global stage, women’s voices were long sidelined in the country’s mainstream literary scene. The 2016 South Korean MeToo movement, Eunyu notes, was a critical turning point that encouraged ordinary women to speak up about their experiences. Eunyu, who launched her own writing space back in 2011, says that even as backlash against feminist-aligned work grew, more women stepped forward to lead writing workshops and reading sessions, making these community spaces accessible to women who had never before shared their stories. “Many of the women who joined as attendees have gone on to become writers in their own right,” Eunyu explains. “I’ve seen countless instances of attendees digesting their pain, restoring their sense of self and confidence through the act of writing. While these shifts are deeply personal, when they unfold in a community they can often inspire a chain of reaction. In that sense, what we’re witnessing here is a slow-but-sure revolution.”

Seen’s story of intentional singlehood represents a radical break from South Korea’s long-held social norms: at 39, she purchased a home in the countryside, bucking the national trend of concentrating population in the greater Seoul area, and chose to forgo marriage and children at a time when the government is scrambling to reverse one of the world’s lowest birth rates. She embraces the quiet joy of her self-designed life, from harvesting fresh vegetables for homemade salads to writing in a home decorated entirely to her taste. “I’m not claiming that everyone should abandon marriage or look down on married people in any way,” Seen clarifies. “I simply wrote about how making my own choices, prioritising my desires, has led me to truly enjoy my life. I felt that people were really waiting to hear stories like mine.” Readers have echoed that sentiment: “As someone who’s been questioning whether marriage is really right for me, this book made me tune into my inner voice,” one online reviewer wrote. Another commented, “My life might have been different if I’d read this book before I married. Back then, I never realised that marriage was optional.” The memoir’s success has earned Seen a six-figure international translation deal with Penguin Random House, placing her work in front of a global audience.

Seen is far from alone in this breakthrough. Buoyed by swelling global interest in Korean culture, sales of translated Korean books more than doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, opening new international doors for South Korean women writers. The resulting body of work is richly varied, spanning genres from thriller to sci-fi to memoir to historical fantasy: Gu Byeong-mo’s *The Old Woman With the Knife* follows a legendary 60s-year-old assassin navigating retirement and loneliness; Kim Cho-yeop’s sci-fi anthology *If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light* tells the story of a stranded scientist dedicating her life to reuniting with her family light-years away; singer and author Lang Lee unpacks intergenerational trauma from the Korean War to domestic violence that haunted the women of her family after her sister’s suicide; and Esther Park’s *The Legend of Lady Byeoksa* reimagines the story of a cross-dressing Joseon-era demon slayer and her doomed love, echoing the popularity of hit K-culture projects like *Demon Hunters*.

As South Korea’s public discourse around gender has grown increasingly hostile, the literary world has emerged as a critical outlet for conversations that can no longer safely happen in mainstream public spaces. In recent years, high-profile anti-feminist campaigns have targeted public figures ranging from A-list actors Gong Yoo and Bae Suzy to K-pop idols. Male fans have even burned merchandise from female artists after discovering they read feminist books or carried phone cases with pro-women messaging. In response, many South Koreans, both women and men, have embraced what they call “stealthy feminism” to avoid professional and social retaliation. For countless women, guelbang and other women-centered literary gatherings offer a much-needed escape from the suffocating pressure to self-censor.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, 50 women lined up outside a repurposed old church on a quiet street in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, to attend a talk by feminist author Ha Mina. Attendees traveled from across the country, and one even brought her toddler daughter along. Ha, who leads the community writing workshops, explains that in a country defined by cutthroat competition and relentless social pressure, these gatherings offer something transformative: “We listen to each other’s stories here — and that experience can be transformative, especially amid Korea’s cut-throat competition and the immense pressure to succeed. But these workshops are a safe space for women to make mistakes and grow, perhaps for the first time in their lives.” Ha, an aspiring writer early in her career, recalls that toxic, predatory behavior was rampant in writing workshops led by male writers and poets. It was only when she joined a class led by a female mentor that she found her voice. Her first critically acclaimed book, *Crazy, Freaky, Arrogant and Brilliant Women*, draws on interviews with 30 young South Korean women to explore the link between widespread female depression and restrictive social expectations and gendered violence. Making these stories public, Ha says, was a deeply healing act: “I stopped having suicidal thoughts after publishing this book. Isn’t that incredible?”

Beyond the push for systemic change, what unites most of the women drawn to this movement is a simple desire: a room of their own, a space where they can speak freely without fear of judgment or retaliation. “I don’t need to censor myself, whether we are talking about our experience of sexual violence, discrimination, or our desires and sexuality,” says 28-year-old Kim Gahyun, who traveled to Daejeon for Ha Mina’s talk. Meeting other women from varied backgrounds has shifted her perspective: “Womanhood is not a singular experience and we can’t be boxed into the same category.”

That celebration of diversity resonates deeply with 36-year-old Choi Suwon: “It’s not just women, people of all sorts of minority backgrounds bring their unique stories to the table, and we listen to each other no matter how far they are from ‘the norm.’ Writing and sharing my stories in these spaces make me feel a deep sense of liberation.” For 29-year-old Lee Hae, who traveled two hours by bullet train from Daegu to attend author Lee Sulla’s “book concert” in Seoul, the gatherings are a much-needed personal joy. “I love reading Lee’s and other contemporary women writers’ works, because I can really empathise with these stories,” she says.

Lee Sulla, whose subversive debut novel *In The Age of Filiarchy* was named the most popular work by a contemporary Korean writer in a 2023 poll by one of the country’s largest booksellers, reimagines traditional family dynamics in her bestseller. The novel’s protagonist, a successful independent publisher, becomes the head of her family, reversing generations of patriarchal structure: she hires her mother, Bokhee, as a paid chef and assistant, and her father as a paid driver and housekeeper. For the first time, Bokhee receives fair compensation for her lifelong domestic labor, while her father, stripped of his traditional patriarchal authority, finds contentment in his quiet daily routine of cleaning, caring for the family cats, and driving his daughter around the city. Lee’s understated, warm, humorous writing has made the book a nationwide hit, and she notes that even older men attend her talks. But it is her gentle reimagining of gender and family that has captured the hearts of so many women. “What I depict are not grand, ground-shaking events, only small shifts in the dynamics of a family,” Lee says. “But these can be potent enough to create a completely new order.”

18 4 月, 2026
‘I am going crazy’: Families of missing Gaza children endure agonising uncertainty

It was supposed to be a simple, ordinary trip to gather cooking fuel for the family evening meal. For 14-year-old Anas al-Sayed, that June 2025 outing in northern Gaza would turn into a missing person case that has left his family trapped in a nightmare of unknowing that has stretched on for 10 months.

Anas left the damaged, makeshift refuge his family occupied in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp at around 4 p.m. on June 24, accompanied by his 12-year-old cousin, who also needed firewood for his own household, his mother Naima al-Sayed recalled in an interview with Middle East Eye. The pair traveled to a stretch of land located close to an Israeli military outpost. What should have been a quick foray soon turned to chaos when Israeli artillery opened direct fire on the two boys, forcing them to flee in separate directions to seek safety.

“My nephew ran west toward the sea, while my son turned east, deeper into territory closer to Israeli forces,” Naima, 49, explained. The cousin managed to take cover behind large boulders, calling out for Anas repeatedly, but got no response. By roughly 10 p.m., the young boy returned to the family alone, with no clue what had become of Anas.

Panicked, Anas’s father immediately set out to search for the teen, but was turned back by an Israeli quadcopter that appeared overhead and opened fire on the area. He returned home with a warning that the zone was far too dangerous to enter. “I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I counted every minute until the sun came up,” Naima said. At dawn, she set out on foot, walking for hours, asking every person she encountered if they had seen her son. Rumors swirled: some said Anas had been detained, others claimed he had been killed. That same day, the family made three trips to al-Shifa Hospital to cross-reference his name with incoming bodies, but found no trace. Anas had vanished without a clear explanation.

Anas’s case is not an isolated tragedy. According to the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD), roughly 2,900 Palestinian children have been reported missing across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip since Israel launched its military campaign in October 2023. Overall, the group estimates that nearly 8,000 Palestinians of all ages remain unaccounted for across the enclave.

Of the 2,900 missing children, PCMFD data suggests around 2,700 are likely killed, their bodies still trapped beneath the thousands of tons of collapsed rubble that litter Gaza following months of intensive airstrikes and ground operations. Another 200 children have simply disappeared without a trace across different areas of the Strip. “These children are either detained and forcibly disappeared by the Israeli military during operations, or killed in targeted strikes that left their remains in dangerous, inaccessible areas including aid distribution sites and zones under direct Israeli military control,” explained Mona Abunada, PCMFD’s media coordinator. “Families don’t even get the closure of knowing whether their child is dead or alive. Many have told us they would accept any answer — they just can’t bear this endless uncertainty.”

Since the start of Israel’s ground invasion in October 2023, Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians from their homes, at military checkpoints, and in areas near force deployments. Israeli authorities have consistently refused to release information about people in their custody, including minor detainees, and have rejected repeated requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for access to detention facilities and details on detainee whereabouts.

Ten months after Anas went missing, his family has reached out to multiple international humanitarian organizations, including the ICRC, for help tracing the teen, but none have been able to confirm where he is or what has happened to him. The family has combed through every list of released detainees, searching for Anas’s name. “I check the ages first. I look for 15 now, because he would have turned 15 by now,” Naima said. They have shown Anas’s photo to every recently released detainee they can meet, but no one has been able to confirm they saw him in custody.

Patrick Griffiths, an ICRC spokesperson for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, confirmed the organization’s inability to assist desperate families. “We have had no access to Israeli detention facilities since October 2023, and we have not received any notification of people being detained,” Griffiths told Middle East Eye. “That creates an information black hole — we can’t share any details with families who are waiting for news of their loved ones.”

For those who may be killed and trapped under rubble, the situation is no less intractable. Thousands of bodies remain buried beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza, and rubble removal operations are severely limited by a lack of equipment and extreme safety risks. “There are almost no functional heavy machines to clear debris. We’re talking one or two working bulldozers for the entire habitable part of Gaza, and the whole area is littered with unexploded ordnance that makes clearing rubble incredibly dangerous and slow,” Griffiths added.

When the al-Sayed family was forced to flee northern Gaza for the relative safety of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Naima packed a plastic bag of Anas’s clothes to bring with her. Today, she keeps the bag beside her sleeping space in the family’s makeshift tent, holding onto the only tangible piece of her son she has left.

“I wish we knew whether he was dead or alive — just to know whether we are looking for a detained child or a body,” Naima said. “I don’t know if he’s in prison, hungry, being tortured, or if his body is already decaying. The anguish I feel is unbearable. I feel like I am going crazy.”

18 4 月, 2026
Iran says to control traffic through Hormuz until war definitively ended

TEHRAN – In a decisive statement released Saturday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has confirmed the country will maintain full control and regulatory oversight of all maritime traffic passing through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz until a definitive end to regional hostilities and the establishment of a lasting regional peace.

The official confirmation from Iran’s top security body comes only hours after the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s primary military command, ordered the resumption of strict Strait of Hormuz controls, citing the unbroken implementation of a U.S. naval blockade targeting Iranian commercial and maritime activity.

Under the new control framework laid out by the SNSC, Iran will manage all transits through the strait by mandating pre-submission of vessel identification and cargo information, requiring official passage permits for all ships, collecting fees for the provision of regional security protections and environmental monitoring services, and directing all maritime movement in line with Iran’s domestic regulations and active wartime protocols.

The statement clarified that any effort by adversarial forces to disrupt vessel transits, including the enforcement of a naval blockade that violates the existing two-week ceasefire agreement, will prompt Iran to abandon the conditional, limited reopening of the strait that was implemented during the truce.

The SNSC further emphasized that a large share of military equipment for U.S. military bases across West Asia transits through the Strait of Hormuz, a flow of materiel that the council characterizes as a direct threat to both Iranian national security and broader stability across the Persian Gulf region.

In a separate development included in the statement, the SNSC confirmed that Iran has received new diplomatic proposals from the United States, which were transmitted via Pakistani officials during a recent visit to Islamabad by Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir. Iranian authorities are currently reviewing the terms of the new offers, the statement added, stressing that Iran’s negotiating team will refuse any concessions that compromise Iranian national interests and will defend the country’s sovereignty with full force.

The current standoff over the Strait of Hormuz dates back to February 28, when Iran first tightened restrictions on transits through the waterway immediately after the United States and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iranian territory. Tensions escalated further after preliminary peace talks held in Islamabad broke down, prompting the U.S. to formalize its naval blockade of vessels traveling to and from Iran.

Just one day before Saturday’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz would remain fully open to commercial commercial shipping for the duration of the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. that took effect on April 8, aligned with the broader truce agreement reached between Israeli and Lebanese forces. The reversal of that temporary opening comes as direct violations of the ceasefire terms by the U.S. have prompted Iran to reimpose full military and regulatory control over the strategic waterway, through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies transit.

18 4 月, 2026
2026 Shanghai International Flower Show kicks off

One of China’s most anticipated annual horticultural events, the 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show, officially launched its 2026 iteration on April 18, bringing together global horticultural experts, green space enthusiasts and casual visitors to celebrate the intersection of floral art, urban ecology and cross-cultural exchange.

The opening ceremony was held at the event’s main venue located in Dongtaili, Xintiandi, Shanghai’s dynamic Huangpu District. During the inaugural event, organizers showcased 18 newly developed flower varieties that have been bred for adaptability to urban growing conditions and aesthetic diversity, marking a key milestone for regional horticultural innovation. Attendees also witnessed the official launch of a customized digital map for the flower show, designed to help visitors navigate scattered exhibition sites across the city and access detailed information about featured displays and species.

Tim Edwards, president of the Sino-European Horticultural Association, who attended the opening ceremony, shared his perspective on the event’s broader significance. “This is a celebration of plants, flowers, and green spaces, and this is a unique city,” Edwards said. He added that the flower show serves as a powerful global platform for cultural exchange: “This is a great opportunity to talk to the whole world about Shanghai and about China. Green spaces and flowers are an international language.”

As a major international horticultural event hosted annually in Shanghai, the show has grown to become a highlight of the city’s cultural calendar, blending ecological development, creative horticultural design and cross-border cultural connection to showcase Shanghai’s commitment to building people-centered green urban spaces and opening up to the global community.

18 4 月, 2026
US Coast Guard spots overturned vessel near Saipan during search for missing ship with 6 on board

Coast Guard authorities announced Saturday that a U.S. search aircraft has detected an overturned hull matching the profile of the missing American-registered cargo ship Mariana, which disappeared off the coast of the U.S. territory of Saipan with six crew members on board. Confirmation of the vessel’s identity has not yet been completed, search teams confirmed.

The sighting was made by the crew of a HC-130 Hercules aircraft early Saturday, roughly 100 nautical miles northeast of the Mariana’s last reported position, 34 nautical miles northeast of Pagan, an uninhabited small island lying north of Saipan in the western Pacific Ocean. Preliminary assessments from the Coast Guard confirmed the overturned vessel aligns with the physical description of the 145-foot dry cargo ship, which is officially registered in the United States.

The incident unfolded in the path of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which bore down on the Mariana Islands archipelago this week. On Wednesday, as the massive storm brought ferocious wind speeds and continuous torrential rain to Saipan and surrounding islands, the Mariana suffered a critical engine failure. The crew of the cargo vessel issued a distress call reporting they had lost power to their starboard engine and required emergency assistance. After receiving the call, the Coast Guard established a scheduled hourly check-in protocol to maintain contact with the stranded ship.

However, all communication with the Mariana was lost on Thursday. A HC-130 search plane was launched from Guam shortly after contact went dark, but severe wind conditions from the typhoon forced the aircraft to abort the mission and return to base.

The Mariana’s final known location was approximately 140 miles north-northwest of Saipan, which sits more than 3,800 miles west of the Hawaiian Islands. As of Saturday, Coast Guard command centers in Honolulu were processing new details from the sighting to coordinate next steps in the operation.

Officials have not yet released information on the nationalities of the six missing crew members. A multi-agency, multinational search effort has been assembled to continue the operation and confirm the identity of the capsized vessel: a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane, a Coast Guard cutter, a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft, and a Japanese vessel outfitted with a specialized dive rescue team are all scheduled to join the search.

Beyond the missing ship, Typhoon Sinlaku has caused widespread damage across the Northern Mariana Islands. The storm has triggered flash flooding, ripped roofs off residential and commercial buildings, and flipped vehicles across Saipan. Because of the typhoon’s unusually large size, Saipan endured nearly 48 hours of continuous severe wind, which significantly delayed initial damage assessments and emergency response operations across the territory. Local officials have warned that some parts of the Northern Marianas could remain without electrical power for weeks following the storm.

18 4 月, 2026
Hunan launches major recruitment drive to attract young talent

Central China’s Hunan province kicked off its 2026 large-scale talent recruitment initiative on Saturday, opening the campaign with a flagship job fair in its capital city Changsha that brings more than 12,900 open positions to young job seekers across the country.

Designed to draw recent college graduates and early-career professionals to build careers or launch new businesses within the province, the recruitment event combines both in-person and online channels to expand reach for participants and employers alike.

Organizers of the main Changsha job fair confirmed that 655 distinct employers from across the region’s key economic sectors took part in the opening event. Among the 12,900 available roles, more than 60 percent come with an annual salary package of 100,000 yuan (equivalent to roughly $13,700) or higher, addressing a top concern for young talent entering the workforce. Out of 12,000 enterprise-facing positions, 60 percent are technical roles, heavily concentrated in Hunan’s established competitive industries including engineering machinery and rail transit, as well as fast-growing emerging sectors such as digital economy, new energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology. This alignment of open positions reflects the province’s ongoing industrial upgrading and demand for skilled young workers to fuel long-term economic growth.

To streamline the recruitment process for applicants, the fair integrated on-site interview booths and dedicated instant signing zones, allowing eligible candidates to complete the full hiring workflow from application to offer acceptance in a single stop. Beyond direct recruitment opportunities, event organizers also added value-added services for attendees, including one-on-one professional career counseling and immersive practical experience sessions focused on cutting-edge emerging fields such as artificial intelligence development and drone operation. These supplementary offerings are designed to help young talent better understand local industry needs and explore career paths that match their skills and interests.

18 4 月, 2026
‘I thought I might die’: A Palestinian mother’s account of Israeli detention

Even months after walking free in the Gaza Strip, Saeda al-Shrafi cannot outrun the nightmares of her 46 days in Israeli detention. Every night, she finds herself pulled back to the cramped, cold cell of Damon prison: the thud of military boots echoing down corridor concrete, shouted headcounts cutting through the dark, the bitter chill that seeped into her bones and never truly left. For the Palestinian mother of two, the trauma of her arrest and abuse remains an inescapable part of daily life.

Shrafi’s ordeal began in late 2023, amid the mass forced displacement of civilians from northern Gaza following the outbreak of Israel’s military campaign. Like tens of thousands of other residents, she followed Israeli military instructions to travel south along what the army had advertised as a “safe corridor”, fleeing relentless air strikes that had already destroyed her home. She set out with her two young children — three-year-old Zain al-Din and one-year-old Adam — and her brother-in-law Youssef, desperate to reach safety. Before the war, she had lived a quiet life in the Jabalia refugee camp; her husband Mohammed, a local musician, had gone missing in the early weeks of the conflict.

When the group reached an Israeli military checkpoint on Salah al-Din Street, a soldier called her out over a loudspeaker, singling her out by her purple shawl and ordering her to leave her children with Youssef and approach. “My one-year-old son, Adam, clung to my clothes in terror until I was forced to hand him to Youssef,” Shrafi told Middle East Eye in an account of her detention. “I began to cry, fearing it might be the last time I would see my children. I promised to return, not knowing if I could keep that promise.”

As soon as she reached the soldiers, they bound her hands in shackles. Two female soldiers escorted her to a makeshift canvas search area, where they forced her to strip and subjected her to a violent, humiliating search. “They told me to take off my clothes, threw me to the ground, blindfolded me and beat me,” she recalled. When she repeatedly begged for information about her children, Israeli interrogators used them as leverage, telling her the children would only be returned to her if she confessed to involvement in the October 7 attacks — a claim Shrafi, a civilian housewife, immediately denied. After repeated beatings, she was dragged by her limbs and thrown onto a truck packed with other detained Palestinian civilians, beginning a journey that would end in months of abuse.

Shrafi remained blindfolded through multiple transfers, enduring ongoing beatings and verbal insults from soldiers, before she was placed in a crowded holding cell with six other Palestinian women. The number of detainees grew steadily in the small space, and for a full week, she was given no information about where she was being held or what charges she faced. Her thoughts never strayed far from her children, and interrogations brought new threats: when Shrafi stuck to her denial of any militant ties, interrogators threatened to kill her children and bomb her extended family still in Gaza. By the end of repeated questioning, she says she was on the edge of psychologically breaking, telling a interrogator her children were already dead just to end the pressure.

Instead of being released as they had been promised after interrogations, Shrafi and the other detainees were transferred to Dimona prison, a maximum-security facility in Israel’s Negev Desert. On arrival, guards made clear the brutality that awaited them. “You are in Dimona. You are in hell,” one guard whispered to her as she was processed. “They didn’t order us to move. They moved us by beating us and pulling our hair. I thought I might die under the torture,” Shrafi said.

Conditions in the cell were catastrophic. Shrafi was placed in a cell roughly 2.5 meters long by 1.5 meters wide, a space that eventually held 12 Palestinian women detainees. The group was given barely enough food to survive, access to unclean drinking water, only one shared toilet for all the prisoners, no access to medical care, and a total ban on speaking to one another. “It was unbearable,” she said. During her time there, she witnessed a 24-year-old pregnant detainee from Gaza suffer a miscarriage in the cell’s toilet; the woman’s husband had already been killed by Israeli forces, and prison staff refused to provide her any medical care, leaving only the other detainees to comfort her.

Frequent cell searches brought new psychological abuse. Guards mocked Shrafi when she cried, falsely telling her her entire family had been killed in Gaza, taunts that escalated until she collapsed from a panic attack. Promises of release were used repeatedly as a tool of torture: guards would tell the women they would be freed in days, only to reverse the decision, breaking down detainees’ sense of hope. When Shrafi was finally told she would be released, she did not believe the announcement at first.

Even the days leading up to her release brought more abuse. After being ordered to hand back their prison uniforms, the women were transferred to another facility in Beersheba, where they spent three days blindfolded, forced to sit prostrate on the ground and beaten repeatedly. Shrafi says she was struck with military boots, while another woman beside her fainted from the physical strain of being held in the painful position for hours.

On the morning of January 12, 2024, Shrafi and the other released women were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in southern Gaza, and transported to Rafah, where dozens of families had gathered to wait for their loved ones. When she was reunited with her aunt, she learned the devastating scale of loss her family had suffered while she was detained: more than 50 of her relatives had been killed, including her brother Mansour and the brother-in-law she had travelled south with. The one piece of good news was that her two children were alive and safe. When they walked into the room, she held them close, barely able to believe she was seeing them again. Her youngest son Adam, who had been just a year old when she was taken, did not recognize her, and flinched away in fear.

Shrafi’s experience is far from an isolated case. Since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinian civilians from Gaza during displacement operations and ground incursions. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have also ramped up daily arrest raids, detaining dozens of Palestinians every week. As of April 2024, more than 9,600 Palestinian and Arab detainees are held in Israeli prisons, around half of them held without formal charge or trial. This figure does not include hundreds of civilians detained in temporary military facilities since the outbreak of the war.

Marking Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on April 17, the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and other leading Palestinian human rights organizations released a statement warning that detainees currently held by Israel are facing “the harshest levels of torture, abuse, and extermination in the history of the Israeli occupation”. Over the past three years, the group reported, Israeli prison authorities have overseen “severe and widespread crimes” against thousands of Palestinian detainees. At least 89 detainees have been confirmed dead in custody since that period began, but rights groups say the true number of deaths caused by torture and neglect is far higher. Dozens of detainees taken from Gaza since October 2023 remain forcibly disappeared, with no information released to their families about their whereabouts or status.

Today, even back with her surviving children, Shrafi carries the trauma of her detention with her constantly. She thinks daily of the hundreds of Palestinian women and men still held in Israeli prisons, enduring the same abuse she survived. “Palestinian prisoners live in a dark world of torture that can break a person’s mind,” she said. “I still hold on to the same wish I had in prison: that Palestinian prisoners will not be forgotten, and that they will be free soon.”

18 4 月, 2026