AP News52%
Live updates: Standoff escalates after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz over US blockade 0%
By David Koop0% Hrvoje Hranjski0% Frank Griffiths0%
4/19/2026, 12:52:17 AM
Topics: Iran War
BS Summary: This article contains 36 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Appeal to Emotion, and Negativity Bias, with Post Hoc (False Cause) as the most egregious example at 13.3% saturation with 251 hits. Analysis detected 2,600 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,891 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 0% and a BS Rank of 0% (0 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 100.00% of the article peer group.
Live updates: Standoff escalates after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz over US blockade
Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warned that it would block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockades Iranian ports.
Bahrain’s king has ordered a review of citizenship of those deemed a threat to the island kingdom.
The decision has come amid an intensified crackdown on dissent during the war in the Middle East.
According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered the government to immediately take measures against “those who have betrayed the nation or undermined its security and stability,” including stripping Bahraini citizenship from those “who don’t deserve it.”
“The situation is still delicate,” the king was quoted as saying.
Bahrain, which hosts the U.S.
Navy’s 5th Fleet, has been one of the hardest hit by Iranian missile and drone attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Authorities in the small Shiite-majority island, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, have detained many people over the course of the war.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wants the 27-nation European Union to tear up its long-standing Association Agreement with Israel.
The agreement, in force since 2000, sets out the legal and institutional framework within which the bloc and Israel conduct trade and cooperation.
“We have nothing against the people of Israel; quite the contrary,” Sánchez said in a post on X on Sunday.
“But a Government that violates international law and, therefore, the principles and values of the EU cannot be our partner.”
Spain will present a formal proposal at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday to end the agreement with Israel, he said.
Sánchez has been a vocal critic of the decision by the U.S. and Israel to attack Iran, drawing sharp public criticism from Trump.
About 150 residents from Kiryat Shmona, located near Israel's northern border with Lebanon, traveled to Jerusalem on Sunday to demonstrate against the ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The 10-day ceasefire announced by Trump began Friday.
It is meant to shore up a broader ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
Residents of northern Israel, whose communities were subject to round-the-clock barrages of Hezbollah rockets, have reacted angrily to the truce.
They say Hezbollah remains a threat and has not been disarmed.
"It's time to remove this threat from over the heads of the northern residents," said Kiryat Shmona's mayor, Avichai Stern.
One of the protesters, Einat Dardari, said she's "very disappointed" that the Israeli military was forced to halt its offensive against Hezbollah.
"We want security, I want security at home, I want security for my children," she said.
A senior Iranian military official said Sunday that Iran has begun rebuilding its stockpile of weapons and munitions as the two-week ceasefire nears to expire, state media reported.
Brig.
Gen.
Seyed Majid Mousavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force, said they have repaired missiles and drone launchers during the ceasefire which started on April 8, according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
“Our speed in updating and refilling missile and drone launch platforms is even greater than before the war,” he said.
The broadcaster aired a two-minute video paired with uplifting music, showing missiles and drones in warehouses as well as mobile launches of missiles.
The United States and Israel say they have degraded Iran’s military capabilities over the course of the nearly six-week war.
Hakan Fidan was asked whether Turkey could replace Iran as Israel’s main adversary, a question raised in both Turkish and Israeli media in recent weeks.
“This is a fundamentalist government.
They are a problem for the whole world.
This is not just a problem for Turkey,” Fidan told a news conference at the close of a three-day diplomacy forum in southern Turkey.
Turkish officials have described Israel’s military operations in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and Syria as an “expansionist” threat to global stability.
Fidan said stopping this threat is clearly on the international community's agenda.
He also described the defense agreements signed between Israel, Greece and Cyprus in December last year as a “military alliance against the Muslim countries in the region.”
The president's post on social media Sunday did not detail which official the U.S. would be sending to a second round of in-person talks with Iran is Islamabad.
The White House and the office of Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of talks, did not immediately respond to messages Sunday morning.
Trump in his post accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement by firing bullets Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran if it does not take the deal the U.S. is offering.
“If they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” Trump wrote.
The far-right South American leader landed on Sunday for a three-day visit, meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting the Western Wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
Milei is scheduled to sign new binational accords with Israel and receive a Presidential Medal from Israeli President Isaac Herzog celebrating his commitment to fighting anti-semitism, Herzog’s office said.
It is at least Milei’s third visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall.
He has backed the United States and Israel’s decision to launch a war on Iran.
Earlier this month Argentina expelled Iran’s ambassador from Buenos Aires.
Milei is among a small cohort of right-leaning leaders who have deepened ties with Netanyahu’s government even as Israel faces diplomatic isolation over wartime conduct, including in Gaza and Lebanon.
Some of Argentina’s South American neighbors have cut diplomatic ties or withdrawn their ambassadors, and Netanyahu’s closest European ally, Viktor Orban, was voted out of office in Hungary earlier this month.
Speaking at the end of his Mass in Kilamba, Angola, Leo said the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was a “sign of relief for the Lebanese people."
He said: “I encourage those who have been committed to the search for a diplomatic solution to continue peace talks so that the end of hostilities throughout the Middle East becomes permanent."
Leo said he prays for a permanent ending of hostilities in the Middle East.
The pope is on an 11-day, four-nation African journey that has been characterized by repeated appeals for peace.
Pakistani authorities have begun tightening security in the capital, Islamabad, ahead of a possible second round of ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Authorities on Sunday deployed troops at roadside checkpoints, closed tourist sites and ordered major hotels to cancel bookings and keep facilities available.
Islamabad’s streets are largely deserted, as residents stayed home to avoid road closures seen earlier this month during the first round of talks.
While there were no formal announcements, Pakistani officials said arrangements are in place for talks in the coming days.
A regional official involved in the mediation efforts said mediators were finalizing the preparations.
He said U.S. advance security teams are already on the ground.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the preparations.
Pakistan has led mediation efforts to end the war.
Its military chief visited Tehran last week, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with regional leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
The Israeli army says it carried out a series of strikes that killed more than 150 Hezbollah fighters.
Among those killed was Ali Rida Abbas, which it said was Hezbollah's commander in Bint Jbeil.
The southern Lebanese town and its surroundings were the site of intense clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants in the days leading up to the ceasefire.
Israel gave no evidence to support its claims, and Hezbollah didn't immediately confirm the death of its commander.
The ceasefire took effect early Friday.
Iran's chief negotiator says his country wants "a lasting peace."
Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comments in a televised interview, a few days before a ceasefire deadline is set to expire, according to Iranian state media.
“What is fundamental for us is distrust of the United States,” he said.
“At the same time, we have good intentions and seek a lasting peace — one that prevents the recurrence of war.”
The army says that it has reopened the Khardali road, which links the southern city of Nabatiyeh with the town of Marjayoun.
The road that links the port city of Tyre with the village of Bourj Rahhal has also reopened.
The army is also working on reopening other roads including a bridge on the Litani River in the village of Tayr Filsay.
During Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon over the past few weeks, Israel’s air force destroyed several bridges over the river.
After a 10-day ceasefire was declared as of midnight Thursday, the Lebanese army and the Litani Authority have been working on putting up temporary bridges to replace the destroyed ones.
“It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf says.
Qalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator with the United States, says the strait is now under Iran’s control, linking the choke point’s reopening to Washington lifting of its naval blockade.
“If the U.S. does not lift the blockade, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be restricted,” he said in televised comments aired by Iranian semiofficial media.
As the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran squeezes global oil supplies, travelers have valid reasons to worry about the cost and availability of flights as they plan their late spring and summer trips.
The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that European countries could run low on jet fuel within weeks, forcing the continent’s airlines and carriers that fly to Europe to significantly reduce flights.
Many airlines have already raised checked bag fees or added fuel surcharges as the global price of jet fuel increased from about $99 per barrel at the end of February to as high as $209 a barrel at the beginning of April.
In a sign of the conflict’s ongoing repercussions for travel, Air Canada said Friday it planned to suspend its service to New York’s John F.
Kennedy International Airport from June 1 until Oct. 25 to lower its fuel costs.
Other airlines, ranging from U.S. carriers like United and Delta to Air France-KLM, SAS, Philippine Airlines and and Cathay Pacific in Europe and Asia, have reduced routes and either increased ticket prices or said they would hike them if the war keeps oil from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with U.S. officials, a senior Iranian official said, citing Washington’s refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday on the margins of a diplomacy forum in Turkey, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the United States, rejecting claims made by U.S.
President Donald Trump.
“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said.
“This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.”
Analysis
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