US Israel Iran War: Starmer, Trump Discuss ‘Practical Plan’ To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is seeking "to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible."

"The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon," he said in a statement, which comes as Israel faces a global backlash over heavy strikes on Lebanon over the last two days that left more than 200 dead, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

President Donald Trump asked Netanyahu in a phone call yesterday to scale back the strikes to help ensure the success of the Iran negotiations, a senior administration official said earlier. The phone call came after Netanyahu publicly vowed on Wednesday to continue striking Lebanon forcefully, the official said. Iranian officials have threatened to respond to strikes and end the ceasefire.

-NBC

After saying that Iran "better not be" charging ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said "Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!"

"There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait", he had posted on Truth Social, adding, "They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now".

Former Foreign Minister of Iran Kamal Kharrazi has died following injuries he sustained in an attack earlier this month, confirmed Iran's state media.

Head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, and an adviser to Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Kharrazi served as Iran’s foreign minister from 1997 to 2005.

Prior to the talks in Pakistan, asserting that Tehran is the “definite victor” of the war, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameinei, in a statement read out by state media, said "Iran is not seeking war but will not forfeit its rights and considers all resistance fronts as a unified entity."

The statement attributed to Khamenei added, "We will certainly not leave the criminal aggressors who attacked our country unpunished" and said that Iran "demand compensation for all damages, as well as the blood of the martyrs and the wounded”. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz and amid Trump's barbs directed at Iranian handling of the strait, Khamenei said that his country will move towards a “new phase”.

As quoted by Al Jazeera, Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Iran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, has said that Tehran’s negotiating team has not yet departed for scheduled talks this weekend in Pakistan with the US, due to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

“The Iranian delegation has not departed from Tehran because the Iranian side is saying, that by the time that the Israeli strikes against Lebanon continue, there will be no negotiations in Islamabad,” Aslani said.

“This indicates that the continuation of the attacks in Lebanon has created uncertainty about the talks,” he told Al Jazeera.

Adding that there's a trust deficit owing to shifts on the American side, the terms of the 10-point plan which was considered to be a 'workable framework' is now a major issue for Iranians.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has deleted the post on X in which he called Israel out for being a threat to humanity. "Israel is evil and a curse for humanity, while peace talks are underway in Islamabad, genocide is being committed in Lebanon. Innocent citizens are being killed by Israel, first Gaza, then Iran, and now Lebanon, bloodletting continues unabated. I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews burn in hell."

Israel had responded through a statement from the Prime Minister's Office saying, "Pakistan Defence Minister’s call for Israel’s annihilation is outrageous. This is not a statement that can be tolerated from any government, especially not from one that claims to be a neutral arbiter for peace."

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israel has attacked the town of Sarafand today, targetting the Khirbat al-Duwayr area on the outskirts of al-Baysariyah.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said all delegates, including journalists travelling to Islamabad for talks this weekend on the Iran-US ceasefire, will be issued visas on arrival.

"Pakistan welcomes all delegates including journalists from participating nations, traveling in relation to Islamabad Talks 2026," Dar said in a post on X.

"To this end, all airlines are requested to permit boarding to all such individuals without Visa. Immigration authorities in Pakistan will issue them Visa on Arrival."

After Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif deleted the post on X in which he called Israel out for being a threat to humanity, Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel (Michael) Leiter said that Ayatollahs chanted “Death to Israel”, and now a “mediator” is using similar language.

"You are not a mediator Mr. Asif, you are the problem. Even if it is to your dismay, Israel is here to stay. That’s not for negotiation," he said.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone, with both leaders discussing the need to restore freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz.

A Downing Street spokesperson said they emphasised the need for a “practical plan” to ensure ships can pass freely through the waterway.

Starmer, who is visiting British allies in the Gulf, has held meetings in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

He had earlier said there should be no tolls for ships navigating the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

-Al Jazeera

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian military experts had downed Iranian drones in several West Asia countries.

Kyiv dispatched dozens of anti-drone personnel to at least four countries in the region after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a wave of retaliatory drone attacks.

"We demonstrated to some countries how to work with interceptors. Did we destroy them? Yes, we did. Did we do it in just one country? No, in several," Zelenskyy told journalists, including AFP reporters, in comments released under embargo on Friday.

"This was not about a training mission or exercises, but about support in building a modern air defence system that can actually work. Yes, they were shooting down Shaheds," he said, referring to the Iranian drones.

Zelenskyy had said earlier this week that the Ukrainian drone units would remain in the region even after the United States and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire.

"In return for our support and expertise, we will receive various things. In some cases, it involves interceptors to protect our energy infrastructure; in others, there are financial arrangements," he said, adding Ukraine could also receive oil supplies, AFP reported.

The Islamabad district administration announced local holidays in the capital on April 9 and 10, Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon said.

-PTI

A US Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone altered course toward Iran, transmitted the emergency squawk code 7700, rapidly lost altitude, and disappeared from public tracking over the Strait of Hormuz.

The MQ-4C Triton is valued at more than $200 million per aircraft.

The MQ-4C Triton is a high-altitude, long-endurance maritime surveillance drone derived from the RQ-4 Global Hawk family. Reports indicate it is designed to deliver persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance across vast maritime areas, and routinely operates alongside P-8A Poseidon aircraft, Financial Express reported.