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President Donald Trump said the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict. In an interview on Fox News Channel, Trump said he made that decision rather than send a delegation on a 17-hour flight. Talks appeared to fall apart on Saturday, with Tehran's top diplomat leaving Pakistan, and Trump soon afterward saying he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.
Iran's Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf compared "Supply Cards" vs "Demand Cards" in the energy standoff. He listed Strait of Hormuz partly played, BEM and pipelines unplayed on supply, against inventory release played, demand destruction partly played, and more price adjustments to come on demand.
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Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi stated that it is considering negotiations with the US, and claimed that the latter is requesting them because they "have not achieved a single one of their goals."
“It is clear that Iran has stood up against the world's greatest superpower, and they have not achieved even one of their goals. This is why they have requested negotiations, and we are currently considering it," Aragchi said.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi thanked Russia for its "firm and unshaken position in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran", according to Al Jazeera.
“We have proven to the whole world that Iran maintains good allies and friends like the Russian Federation,” Araghchi stated.
Bahrain stripped 69 people of citizenship citing that they had "expressed sympathy for and glorified Iran’s sinful hostile acts."
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin met with Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Aragchi according to local news agencies cited by Al Jazeera.
Putin said Russia hopes the Iranian people will get through what he called a "difficult period" and that peace will be restored. He added that Russia would act in the interests of Iran and other countries in the region.
Militant group Hezbollah that has ties to Iran's administration, informed Al Jazeera that it would return to "tactics from the 1980s" and deploy suicide bombers to engage with Israeli officers and soliders in Lebanon's villages.
Israel's defence forces announced that they will commence strikes on Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon and other parts in the southern region due to alleged Hezbollah infrastruture present there.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a meeting with the Bank of England's representatives and the government’s emergency response committee to assess the impact of the Iran-Israel-US war on the economy, on Tuesday.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Palestinians buried a pregnant woman with twins and two of her children who were among at least 13 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. Khalid Al-Tanani, of Beit Lahiya, recalled the series of strikes that killed his wife and two of his four children in the northern Gaza Strip.
“With the first shell, thank God we all survived and were calling out to each other. Then they fired the second, third, and fourth shells one after the other. Their voices fell silent. I went inside and found my wife, Islam Al-Tanani, martyred, and my son, Hamza, and Naya in her mother's arms. I found them martyred.” The children were 4 and 13 years old.
Hamza's 13-year-old twin survived, along with another of the couple's children. Al-Tanani said they had just started talking about gathering baby items and clothes for the twins.
Family members wailed over the bodies. “You took my soul with you, Hamza, you took me with you and broke me, Hamza,” his grandmother sobbed.
(Source: AP)
New children’s textbooks in Iran feature controversial imagery of US President Donald Trump and repeatedly call the United States the “Great Satan," The New York Post reported. The material is part of a series titled, "We Defend Our Iran" being circulated among elementary, middle and high school students.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, calling them a "grave sin" that will destabilise Lebanon. "We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves," Qassem said in a statement, calling on authorities to "back down from their grave sin that is putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability".
(Source: AFP)
Iran has banned the export of steel slabs and sheets until May 30, according to local news reports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after arrival in Russia on Monday, said that his trip to Islamabad was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's top leadership, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
Aragchi arrived in Russia after his second visit to Islamabad in the last three days, where he met with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Sunday evening.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
(Source: AP)
The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady again this week as it waits to see if the inflation spike triggered by the Middle East war will prove temporary or begin to weigh on growth.
(Source: AFP)
Karex, the world's largest manufacturer of condoms, said it has raised prices by up to 30% to cope with escalating costs due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital channel for petrochemical supplies.
CEO Goh Miah Kiat said the company has little choice but to pass higher costs to customers for condoms, personal lubricants, probe covers and catheters as raw materials, logistics and production expenses surge.
The Malaysian company, which produces 5 billion condoms annually, believes demand will rise at least 30% this year as “people use more condoms during periods of economic uncertainty,” Goh said.
Karex faces rising costs for nitrile latex, silicone oil and lubricant materials, natural rubber latex and aluminum foil packaging, Goh said, adding that freight costs and supplier delays have forced Karex to hold larger inventories of key materials.
(Source: AP)
China said Monday it opposed a decision by the United States to sanction one of its refineries for purchasing Iranian crude oil shipments. The US announced on Friday it would sanction Hengli Petrochemicals in China's northeastern port city of Dalian. The measure blocks the company and others that transport Iranian oil from accessing the US financial system.
Hengli Petrochemicals is among dozens of Chinese buyers of Iran's oil. China is Iran's largest overall oil customer.
Iran's Vice President issued a direct threat of fourfold retaliation against the energy infrastructure of countries backing the United States, hours after President Donald Trump warned that Iran's oil system could catastrophically "explode" within three days under the current blockade.
Iran is offering to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz without addressing its nuclear programme, two regional officials with knowledge of the proposal said Monday, as the country's foreign minister made a visit to Russia, which he said was an opportunity to consult with Moscow regarding the war against Israel and the United States.
Iran also wants the US to end its blockade of the country as part of its proposal, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
(Source: AP)
Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial testimony, scheduled for today after an extended break due to the war, was cancelled about an hour before it started, Israeli media reported. His attorney Amit Hadad cited security reasons for the request. Netanyahu faces multiple corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in a long-running and repeatedly delayed trial.
The Middle East conflict has disrupted key raw material supplies and raised PCB prices, industry sources told Reuters. Iran struck Saudi’s Jubail petrochemical complex in early April, halting production of high-purity PPE resin used in PCB laminates. SABIC, which supplies about 70% of global high-purity PPE, hasn’t resumed output, tightening supply as Gulf shipping remains disrupted. PCB prices have climbed since late last year on AI server demand and accelerated since March as firms scramble for materials.
Israeli forces continue to bombard southern Lebanon despite a US-brokered ceasefire, killing at least 14 people, including two children, reports Al Jazeera.
The Israeli army said one of its troops was killed "during combat" in south Lebanon, where a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have accused each other of breaching the truce.
(Source: AFP)
The government is planning to roll out an airline credit scheme worth Rs 5,000-crore under a broader relief package relief package to cushion the most impacted sectors from the ongoing US-Iran war, government sources told NDTV Profit. This will be under a broader Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) framework worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore which is being worked out for multiple affected sectors. The airlines may access the government-backed credit line via the ECLGS route.
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
Video shows Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi arriving in Russia for talks with President Putin.
JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇷🇺 Video shows Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi arriving in Russia for talks with President Putin. pic.twitter.com/Ood7WMKag5
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) April 27, 2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his Russia trip was a chance to coordinate with Moscow after the war with Israel and the US, in a pretaped IRNA interview. He blamed America’s approach and "excessive demands" for delaying planned Islamabad talks, saying previous talks couldn’t achieve goals despite progress. Trump said confusion in Iran’s leadership made a deal difficult.
US President Donald Trump had a tense exchange with CBS News correspondent Norah O'Donnell during a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, calling her “disgraceful” after she read passages from a purported manifesto attributed to Cole Tomas Allen.
A standoff remained on in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passes, as Iran has restricted movement through it and the US enforces a blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
(Source: AP)
Iran MP Ebrahim Rezaei said Pakistan is a good friend but not a suitable intermediary for negotiations.
"Pakistan is a good friend and neighbour of ours, but it is not a suitable intermediary for negotiations and lacks the necessary credibility for mediation. They always take Trump's interests into account and do not say a word against the Americans' wishes. For example, they are unwilling to tell the world that America first accepted Pakistan's proposal but then went back on its word. They do not say that the Americans had commitments regarding the issue of Lebanon or the blocked assets but failed to fulfill them. A mediator must be impartial, not always leaning to one side." [sic]
پاکستان دوست و همسایه خوب ماست اما واسطه مناسبی جهت مذاکرات نیست و اعتبار لازم را برای واسطهگری ندارد. آنها همیشه مصلحت ترامپ را در نظر میگیرند و برخلاف میل آمریکاییها حرفی نمیزنند بطور مثال حاضر نیستند به دنیا بگویند که آمریکا ابتدا پیشنهاد پاکستان را پذیرفت اما بعد زیر حرفش…
— ابراهیم رضایی (@EbrahimRezaei14) April 26, 2026
Iran gave the US a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the naval blockade first, while postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage, reports Axios.
Oil prices climbed sharply as efforts to revive peace talks between the US and Iran faltered, leaving the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut and deepening a global supply crunch. Brent crude for June settlement rose 2.2% to $107.66 a barrel, after touching an intraday high of $107.97, while WTI for June delivery gained 2.2% to $96.47, holding near multi-month highs.
The US dollar started Monday stronger as fading hopes for a Middle East deal weighed on sentiment, keeping the yen near 160 ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision. President Trump scrapped an Islamabad visit by his envoys, saying Iran could reach out to negotiate an end to the two-month war, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed. The dollar rose in March on safe-haven flows but gave up gains on peace hopes, steadying recently as US-Iran talks stalled.
According to a report in Axios:
Israel and Hezbollah traded blame over violations of the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was "vigorously" targeting the Iran-backed militia as both sides claimed new attacks. But claims that both sides have breached a 10-day ceasefire agreed earlier this month have continued.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf posted on X comparing “Supply Cards” vs “Demand Cards” in the energy standoff. He listed Strait of Hormuz partly played, BEM and pipelines unplayed on supply, against inventory release played, demand destruction partly played, and more price adjustments to come on demand.
They brag about the cards.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 26, 2026
Let's see:
Supply Cards= Demand Cards
SOH (partly played) BEM(unplayed) Pipelines(unplayed)= Inv Release (played) Demand Destruction (partly played) ⏳More Price Adj (to come)
Add summer vacation to the right unless they want to cancel it for the US!
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed for Moscow after a brief stop in Islamabad on Sunday, AFP reported. IRNA said he returned to the Pakistani capital Sunday after visiting Oman. In Islamabad, Araghchi was set to hold another round of regional consultations with Pakistani officials.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict. In an interview on Fox News Channel, Trump said he made that decision rather than send a delegation on a 17-hour flight.
“We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” Trump said, not indicating when the call would take place.
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